BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker reiterated Monday that he is taking seriously allegations that Massachusetts State Police troopers fraudulently collected overtime pay and that he does not believe any troopers who are convicted should receive state pensions.

"If these folks are guilty of stealing from the commonwealth and stealing from toll payers and taxpayers, they should pay the price," Baker said.

Last week, three state troopers were arrested for allegedly earning thousands of dollars of overtime pay for hours and shifts that they never worked. The Boston Globe reported Monday that two of those troopers had retired and were collecting retirement pay.

It will be up to the State Retirement Board whether to continue issuing pension checks. State law allows the board to withhold pensions for someone convicted of a crime related to their employment. The governor said he does not believe any troopers who are convicted should be allowed to get state pensions.

"If anybody is found guilty of stealing from the taxpayers and the toll payers, then in my opinion they should not receive their pension," Baker said.

Baker would not say if he anticipates more arrests, but he noted that the administration referred 40 troopers to the attorney general's office as part of a state police investigation.

"This is a statement about the fact that we are all taking this enormously seriously, as we should, and that this sort of behavior's not going to be tolerated," Baker said.

Baker said Friday that he considers the overtime scandal a "conspiracy." On Monday, he declined to say whether prosecutors should bring RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) charges, which are generally used to prosecute organized crime.

"It's really important that the attorney general and the U.S. Attorney pursue these cases based on the information they receive from us in whatever way makes the most sense to them," Baker said. "I'm assuming they will make the right calls with respect to the right way to handle that."

Baker said the administration will continue to provide prosecutors with any information that appears to rise to the level of a criminal offense.