REVISED: Complex Police Investigation Continues; OPRA Advocate Seeks Prosecutor’s Letters

Correction: Capt. David Mayer retired from Wildwood Crest Police Department May 1, shortly after issuance of the Prosecutor’s letters and Hawthorne has been asked to retire and will separate from the Crest’s police force Feb. 1, 2015.
Parts of this story have been revised.
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WILDWOOD CREST – State Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson sitting in Atlantic City Dec. 11 heard arguments regarding the OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request of John Paff, public rights advocate and also chairman of the N.J. Libertarian Party, presented by his attorney Richard Gutman.
Paff, a Somerset resident, is suing for the release of four letters Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor wrote to Wildwood Crest Mayor Carl Groon. Those letters were termed “pre-Brady” warnings from a U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, a 1963 holding that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused that has requested it violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or punishment irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.
The letters are thought to indicate two senior-ranking Crest police officers would never be called to testify in future criminal cases because of their conduct. What this potentially chilling conduct might encompass has never been made public.
Those officers have been identified as Capt. David Mayer and Lt. Michael Hawthorne; to date, neither has been charged with a crime or any official misconduct although both are no longer with the Wildwood Crest Police Department, having resigned.
Taylor refuses to release the letters, saying they are not public records although he conducted an official investigation into the conduct of Mayer and Hawthorne, the results of which also were not made public.
To further its own internal investigation, Wildwood Crest hired a special investigator, former N.J. State Police Detective James Fallon, whose report contains interviews with police subordinates within the Wildwood Crest Police Department and local business owners.
Acting Cape May County Counsel James Arsenault argued that the County Prosecutor should be able to communicate with other law enforcement agencies on a confidential basis; if not, law enforcement would be severely impaired.
“For taxpayers’ sake, we need to get to the bottom of why these officers were issued the warning letters,” stated Paff. “Rumors and innuendoes cannot take the place of reliable disclosure and ensuring the long-term function and health of this municipality’s governance. No one has any idea as to whether the retirement/resignation benefits given to Mayer and Hawthorne such as back pay, vacation pay, and pension are appropriate and whether they received too much or too little based on their reasons for leaving the Wildwood Crest police force.”
“There have been allegations of serious dishonest behavior and deceit with a lack of credibility presumed from the four letters that the County Prosecutor refuses to make public,” Gutman stated. “This lack of transparency hinders understanding as to why these two police officers would be found as not credible to give testimony or serve as witnesses in future court proceedings.”
Both Paff and Gutman noted that Johnson has asked for the entire file comprising many boxes of documents to be turned over to him by Jan. 26. He will then review this voluminous record and make a ruling as to what must be shared with the public, if anything.
Although not a named party to the litigation to release these letters, Hawthorne has been explicit as to his position on the matter. “I am proud of the job I have done for the citizens of Wildwood Crest for 25 years. I saw wrong-doing by a superior and I reported it, fully knowing that I was putting my police career on the line. I am totally in favor of having these letters made public which will inform the taxpayers of what is a systematic cover-up of misconduct and I have so stated publicly on several occasions including in court. I’m looking forward to a positive decision of Judge Johnson regarding this OPRA request since then what has happened to me will come out and hopefully be quickly rectified.”
When asked for any comments regarding what has transpired within his police department, Wildwood Crest Mayor Carl Groon said, “I can’t really comment on personnel issues where individuals have the right to expect privacy. We have, however, no problem with the OPRA process and are happy to support it.”
Taylor has not yet returned a request for comment.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.