Meet New Bedford’s police chief, Paul Oliveira. He’s had a hand in both of the stories we’ve already heard. And the Spotlight Team's reporting shows there's a dark backstory behind Oliveira's rise to the top of the department. Oliveira wrote the playbook on using informants. In this episode, a former New Bedford narcotics cop who worked alongside the chief for nearly two decades agrees to go on the record about everything he’s seen… and taken part in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What significant change occurred in New Bedford's police department?
I've known this individual for a long time, and I'm fully confident that he is up to this job. The leadership of the department, and going forward, will be under Chief Paul Oliveira.
Beside him stood Paul Oliveira.
It takes more courage than ever to wear this badge... And I want to ensure all that I believe in and support the men and women of the department.
Chief Oliveira is handsome. A heftier Matt Damon could play him in a movie. He's in his 50s, but he still looks like he could lead a team of detectives through a drug house door.
Policing has changed dramatically throughout the careers of those of us standing here. We will take the next steps to continue changing with the times and working together to keep the residents of the city of New Bedford safe.
To understand New Bedford's policing problem and why federal authorities have had their eyes on the department for years, you need to understand Paul Oliveira. To some degree, it started with him. And it only grew from there. At least according to three of Oliveira's former colleagues in the drug unit. I talked to more than a dozen other cops who worked for Oliveira.
I even talked to one of his former informants. When it comes to speaking on the record into a microphone with their names out there, most of them stop short. But not Bobby Richard.
There's a few people that know this stuff about Paul Ver, right from the womb, right? Who have lived it with him.
And I was one of those people. Richard says he's willing to talk because he's off the force and no longer fears retaliation.
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Chapter 2: Who is Chief Paul Oliveira and what is his background?
They came and went as they pleased, dressed in plain clothes, and drove flashy cars seized from local dealers. It was exciting.
We would focus on hot areas. You know, if there was rampant, you know, dealing, we'd set up surveillance and all that stuff. We would work with, you know, outside agencies, you know, like the DEA, which was, you know, something that was pretty cool for, you know, a city kid.
Without informants, none of their work would have been possible. Richard says working a drug case without a CI is like walking into a casino and betting solely on a hunch.
I mean, like, this machine looks good, and I'm going to keep putting money in it until it hits, and it doesn't happen, you know?
The more Richard worked with CIs, the more he realized how shady it was. So much of it was off the books, and everything hinged on the word and integrity of police.
It's about credibility, is what it is, because people make up informants, right? So I could tell you that Dugan Arnett is my informant, but he might not even exist.
And when it came to informants, Paul Oliveira was a superstar.
When he came into the unit, he had an abundance of informants. He had low-level informants, medium-level informants, some upper-level people and all that stuff and everything. So it was a magic carpet ride for Paul.
Oliveira's former supervisor told me he was, quote, the cock of the walk. Others call him genius or a god. Paul had an infallible luck streak. Big cases, huge numbers. He made the department and himself look good.
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