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Invoices reveal how much Hank Brennan was paid by Norfolk DA’s Office during Karen Read’s retrial

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office paid Hank Brennan over half a million dollars to lead the Commonwealth’s prosecution of Karen Read during her retrial for the death of John O’Keefe, invoices provided to Boston 25 News show.

On Thursday, Boston 25 News obtained invoices in response to a public records request that show exactly how much the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office paid special prosecutor Hank Brennan during Karen Read’s murder retrial.

Brennan was paid a total of $566,000 over 2,264 billable hours beginning in mid-September 2024 until the trial ended on June 18.

Brennan earned a rate of $250 per hour for meetings, phone conferences, discovery, trial and witness prep, as well as the entirety of the trial and jury deliberations.

Read’s highly publicized case drew national attention.

Prosecutors alleged that Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV in January 2022, leaving him to die in a blizzard on the front lawn of fellow officer Brian Albert’s home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton following a night of drinking. Her lawyers painted a picture of police misconduct and theorized that O’Keefe was killed by colleagues, followed by a vast cover-up.

Read was convicted of drunken driving, however, for which she will face a year’s probation.

The 45-year-old Mansfield woman next faces a civil trial over a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed last year on behalf of O’Keefe’s family.

Brennan was hired to lead the prosecution effort after Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally spearheaded the prosecution’s efforts in Read’s first trial, which ended in a mistrial.

Brennan released a statement after the verdict, describing how he was “disappointed” in the outcome.

“I am disappointed in the verdict and the fact that we could not achieve justice for John O’Keefe and his family,” Brennan said. “District Attorney Michael Morrissey appointed me, giving me full discretion to independently assess the case and follow the evidence no matter where it led. After an independent and thorough review of all the evidence, I concluded that the evidence led to one person, and only one person. Neither the closed federal investigation nor my independent review led me to identify any other possible suspect or person responsible for the death of John O’Keefe.”

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