Man accused of using rubber ducks, fake $100 bills to intimidate witnesses in Karen Read trial

STOUGHTON, Mass. — A man is facing criminal charges after prosecutors say he used rubber ducks and fake $100 bills to intimidate witnesses in the high-profile Karen Read murder trial.

Richard Schiffer Jr., 65, of Stoughton, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Stoughton District Court to charges of witness intimidation, criminal harassment, and littering.

Schiffer peppered homes and businesses in the area with the rubber ducks and bills bearing messages supporting Read, according to prosecutors.

Over several months, Schiffer allegedly scattered the ducks and bills outside the home of John O’Keefe, Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend, as well as the two Canton bars the couple drank at before he died.

Prosecutors said the rubber ducks were inspired by a statement defense attorney Alan Jackson made in court during a pre-trial hearing in January.

“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck,” Jackson said.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting O’Keefe with her car and leaving him for dead outside a home at 34 Fairview Road Canton after consuming alcoholic beverages at C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grill.

Her first trial ended with a mistrial on July 1 when the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked.

Read’s attorneys have asked the state’s highest court to dismiss two of the three charges against her, while prosecutors have submitted a formal argument to allow for the retrial.

Judge Beverly Cannone has tentatively scheduled Read’s retrial for Jan. 27, 2025.

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