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NEW BEDFORD — More than three years after he was charged with theft of city property and possession of drugs, a former police officer turned city maintenance worker has resolved his criminal case.

Stephen Greany, 57, pleaded guilty on Friday to three charges of possession to distribute drugs. Four other charges, including larceny, were dismissed. He will serve two years of probation. If he violates it, he could see jail time. 

John Seed, Greany’s attorney, called it a “fair resolution.”

Greany was working a maintenance job for the city’s facilities department when he was charged in 2023. But before that, Greany and former Police Chief Paul Oliveira — who was involved in the search of his home — overlapped in the 1990s when they worked in the Police Department. 

A district court judge in 2024 ruled that Oliveira, then chief, and detectives improperly searched Greany’s home, but a higher court overturned that ruling last year after the Bristol County District Attorney’s office appealed, allowing the case to proceed. 

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said he was pleased with the outcome.  

“Initially, the court suppressed the evidence, which I felt was not supported by established caselaw,” Quinn said by email. “The Appeals Court agreed and reversed the order of suppression. The defendant has now been held accountable.” 

The Light contacted Greany by email for comment. 

Seed said that for the last three years, his client has been doing well.

“He’s stayed out of trouble. He’s working full time. He’s done everything you can ask, regardless of any personal feelings or bitterness towards the former chief,” Seed said. “Steve took responsibility … and is ready to move on with his life.”

In 2023, police found a gaming console, a dart board, fire alarms and a bullet-resistant vest at Greany’s residence — items that he allegedly stole from the city, according to police reports. The department assessed some of the stolen items to be about $500. Greany had told police the items were otherwise set to be thrown away, and that he had planned to sell them on eBay. 

The two larceny charges that resulted were among the four dismissed Friday, along with a fourth drug charge and possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card. 

“It meant a lot to him to have some of those charges thrown out,” Seed said of his client, “and take responsibility for the three he pleaded guilty to.”

Police also reported finding marijuana; suboxone strips, a prescription medication used to treat opioid use disorder; alprazolam, which is a sedative known by its brand name, Xanax; 10 vials of testosterone; a digital scale; nearly 50 rounds of ammunition; and $6,400 in cash. 

Greany’s time with the Police Department ended in the late ’90s when he pleaded guilty to taking a bribe from a drug dealer in exchange for revealing the identity of an undercover narcotics officer. For that, he served at least eight years in federal prison until his release in 2009.

In 2019, Greany was hired again by the city, this time as a parks maintenance worker. The mayor’s office previously said the mayor did not learn of Greany’s background until the Police Department began investigating him for thefts of city property.

Asked where Greany is working now, Seed said only that he is not working for any municipalities. 

Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.