GREENFIELD — A former Leyden police chief must pay $10,950 in restitution after having been found in possession of town-owned equipment received through a program that transfers excess military equipment to nonmilitary law enforcement agencies.

Daniel J. Galvis, 72, admitted to sufficient facts related to two charges in Greenfield District Court on Thursday morning and his case was continued without a finding for a year, meaning the case will be dismissed if Galvis remains law-abiding for the next 12 months he is on probation.

“Screwed over by the town, that’s how I feel,” he told the Greenfield Recorder over the phone Thursday afternoon.

Galvis admitted to sufficient facts on one count of larceny over $1,200 and one count of violating the public employee standards of conduct. As part of a plea agreement, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office dismissed two additional counts of violating the public employee standards of conduct, two additional counts of larceny of a motor vehicle and an additional count of larceny over $1,200.

According to DA’s office spokesperson Laurie Loisel, the charges were brought about a year ago after the state Office of the Inspector General launched an investigation in 2022 to dig into allegations that Galvis had embezzled from the town by improperly taking possession of equipment owned by the Leyden Police Department and selling some of it without returning proceeds to the town. The investigation was reportedly spurred by a complaint made to the OIG’s Fraud Hotline and it concluded that Galvis was responsible for the theft of a skid steer loader, a motor, a trailer and a Ford truck between 2018 and 2021.

“It is an affront to the community when a public official violates their oath of office to enrich themselves, as is alleged in this case,” Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro said in a statement at the time of the arraignment. “I am most appreciative that District Attorney [David] Sullivan and his team brought forward this prosecution and know its significance to the people of Leyden. I hope that the work done by the OIG investigators underscores our commitment to protect public resources from fraud, waste or abuse.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Atallah.

Galvis reportedly still faces civil enforcement proceedings from the state State Ethics Commission in relation to these allegations and others.

James McCall, Galvis’ defense attorney, told the Recorder it “is absolutely absurd” to suggest his client took actions to enrich himself at the town’s expense.

“Yes, some things may not have been done exactly right, but it was all done for the benefit of the town,” he said. “It was difficult to manage every detail perfectly. Some decisions were made for the sake of expedience.”

McCall said Galvis will pay the $10,950 in restitution within the next month.

He said his client was a dedicated public servant who worked as the town’s police chief roughly 30 years and also served as emergency management director. He said Galvis is frustrated that his decades of service did not afford him any benefit of the doubt when it came to these charges and that he took the plea deal “for closure.”

McCall said Galvis traveled, at his own expense, to places like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maryland to acquire equipment for the town.

“If you did a tally, he would be owed money,” McCall said.

Galvis stepped down as emergency management director in the spring of 2022 after retiring as police chief the previous fall. Though no reason was given for that retirement decision, the announcement came following Selectboard discussions concerning racist, misogynistic and xenophobic content in emails Galvis shared with other town employees between 2015 and 2016.

On Thursday, Selectboard Chair Katherine DiMatteo read a victim-impact statement in which she said Galvis’ actions resulted in a difficult three years for Leyden’s 630 residents.

“Like many tiny towns in Massachusetts, the relationships between neighbors and families can go back generations, as well as with the assimilation of new residents,” she said. “While Leyden, like all places in a great melting pot, has had its disagreements and fiery periods, the upheaval that Mr. Galvis’ crimes and the call for accountability by citizens created a rift that has yet to heal. Our town may never completely return to respectful discourse and debate, which is a loss of community spirit that is a tragedy.

“Our crisis began when Selectboard meetings, normally dedicated to the daily running of town business, were flooded by residents furious with clearly racist emails that were entered into the public record when the former chief of police, Mr. Galvis, terminated the employment of a popular, long-term officer in town,” DiMatteo continued. “Those emails had been sent to the Selectboard chair at the time, as well as the town’s police captain, [the chief’s wife] Gilda Galvis, and additional officers. Not one person from the town government implicated in the receipt of these emails took action to halt the perpetuation of discrimination and racism or bring Mr. Galvis to account, and still have not taken responsibility for their part.”

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.