Former St. John the Baptist soccer coach sentenced in workers' comp case

A former UPS worker was given community service and ordered to repay thousands of dollars after a state watchdog found he collected workers’ compensation benefits while earning nearly $40,000 in unreported income coaching boys soccer at St. John the Baptist High School and selling sports apparel.

Nicholas Gallagher, a former UPS overnight supervisor was sentenced Tuesday in Suffolk County First District Court to a conditional discharge with community service and ordered to pay more than $13,400 in restitution, according to a press release from the New York State Inspector General’s office. 

Gallagher claimed a back injury from a workplace fall in March 2021 and told doctors and the Workers’ Compensation Board multiple times that he was unable to work, the office said. He began collecting benefits shortly after, taking in more than $13,000, authorities said.

But surveillance footage and subpoenaed bank records showed he made more than $37,000 in undeclared earnings from jobs that included coaching boys varsity soccer at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip and working for Lacrosse Unlimited, a sporting goods company, according to the inspector general's office.

Gallagher initially pleaded guilty to petit larceny, or petty theft. He was permitted to withdraw the misdemeanor plea and instead plead guilty to a disorderly conduct violation after performing 55 days of community service and has 10 days of community service remaining, the inspector general's office said Friday.

Newsday reported in 2011 that Gallagher was the new varsity boys soccer coach at St. John the Baptist High School. He was named Newsday's Suffolk Coach of the Year that same year. Gallagher has not coached the team since at least 2022. The school's athletic director declined to comment for this story.