Prosecutor Calls City’s Release of Confidential Information ‘Outrageous’

CAPE MAY – At the March 3 meeting, Cape May City Council voted to end the one year probationary contract of Police Chief Robert Sheehan rather than appoint him to the position on a permanent basis. The council meeting then erupted into a heated debate over the action regarding Sheehan and resulted as well in the public resignation of newly elected council member Jerry Inderwies, Jr.
Cape May residents, in the span of just a couple of hours, lost their police chief and a member of council. What was not at all clear was why. A better picture of how this all happened is beginning to come into focus.
In a press release just days after the contentious council meeting, City Attorney Anthony Monzo outlined the events that led to Council’s action. The press release revealed things began to unravel for Sheehan just a few months after his appointment. In July 2014, an attorney for the Police Benevolent Association wrote to City Manager Bruce Macleod concerning alleged improper actions by the second ranking member of the department, Lt. Chuck Lear. Based on information from two current city police officers, the PBA letter claimed that Lear was wrongfully accumulating compensatory time and later using those hours to take time off with pay, which is a practice the city maintains is not allowed under his contract. Monzo stated that when Lear was made lieutenant, “The promotion was accepted by Lear with that understating.”
The mysterious references to an ongoing investigation at the March 3 council meeting were prompted by the actions taken in response to the PBA letter in July of last year. The path from the letter to the meeting is a somewhat convoluted one.
Following the PBA letter, both the city and Sheehan separately contacted the county prosecutor’s office. The alleged abuse of paid leave by Lear amounted to approximately 27 days of compensatory leave valued at approximately $11,000 and compiled between Jan. 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. For the majority of that period, Diane Sorantino served as chief.
The prosecutor’s office found no basis for a criminal investigation and suggested that the city conduct its own administrative investigation for disciplinary purposes. We now know that the prosecutor’s office twice in the summer of 2014 refused to take any action on a criminal investigation. In response to the city’s request for direction, the prosecutor’s office did recommend James Fallon, a retired major with the New Jersey State Police, to conduct the administrative investigation. In fact the prosecutor’s office took the step of placing Sheehan in charge of the internal investigation in late December, 2014.
Why there appeared to be confusion at the council meeting concerning a possible criminal investigation is not clear. The public discussion at the time provided no context concerning Lt. Lear’s alleged improprieties.
“The prosecutor’s office has confirmed there is no criminal investigation,” said Monzo in an interview with the Herald.
Sheehan stated at the council meeting that there was an “administrative investigation not a criminal investigation” and he also claimed that he was the one who requested it.
Monzo also clarified that “Mr. Fallon was hired on the prosecutor’s office recommendation. He completed his administrative investigation last month and the report has been delivered.”
Given the timing Monzo provides, it means that the report from Fallon was turned over to the city prior to the council meeting. No access to the report or its conclusions is currently available. Sheehan, in his remarks after the council’s vote to rescind his contract as chief of police, expressed his disappointment with the “11th hour” nature of the council’s “ambush style” action.
Monzo was asked why Council delayed so long, taking the vote with only one day left on the probationary contract. He said, “I am unable to comment, other than he was given a full one year period.”
Fallon’s report did not conclude the investigation. On March 3, council members frequently referred to an “ongoing investigation,” and the press release stated there was an “ongoing investigation regarding Police Department personnel.”
The status of that investigation is not clear. Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor said that his office “is going to be conducting an administrative investigation” regarding the matter of the alleged infractions in the police department. Taylor clarified that he was not saying there was an “on-going investigation at the present time.”
Monzo referred to Sheehan as a “chief witness” and stated that Sheehan, Sorantino and Lear all “would not cooperate in the investigation.” According to Monzo, this lack of cooperation left it unclear whether Lear’s action “was approved or not approved” by the two chiefs during the period in question.
Monzo also stated that this lack of clarity and Sheehan’s position as a witness to the alleged abuse of paid leave is “why Sheehan had a conflict” and why the city felt he “could not oversee the investigation.” Attempts by the Herald to talk with Sheehan have so far been unsuccessful.
Council’s action placed Sheehan back in his role as captain, which still left him in charge of the police force as the senior officer.
Monzo stated that Sheehan’s contract “required that he revert to his position as captain, which continues to be the highest ranking position” and thus gives him command in the absence of a chief. The next ranking officer is the lieutenant who Monzo points out “is the subject of the underlying administrative investigation.”
Taylor expressed great concern with the press release. He said the city was “releasing confidential information on an internal affairs investigation contrary to Attorney General Guidelines.” He called these actions “outrageous and contrary to all notions of due process.” In a letter sent to Monzo March 6, Taylor said that he “will not confirm or forward any future information to you regarding the Cape May City Police Department.” In his letter, Taylor told Monzo, “Neither you or the City based upon your actions fully cooperated with my office.”
What the council’s action did, given the public nature of the council meeting, is leave a cloud over the department until the investigation concludes and more is known.
The press release stated that the council’s vote to rescind the appointment of Sheehan as chief was one taken “pending the ongoing investigation… as well as other matters.” When asked about the nature of the other matters, Monzo’s reply was that they are “performance related.”
This issue of evaluation of Sheehan’s performance was a significant one in the heated words between Inderwies and Macleod at the council meeting. Inderwies made a motion that the council should investigate why Macleod had not performed the personnel evaluation “required” by Sheehan’s contract. The motion failed, but it left open the issue of performance evaluations for individuals in senior appointed positions. Monzo this week stated unequivocally, “The contract did not require that the city manager conduct an evaluation of the chief.”
Inderwies said he resigned rather than sit by while the council engaged in what he termed a “witch hunt.” Sheehan spoke of feeling “ambushed.” The city, through its press release and the comments of its City Attorney has presented a case where the council took action because time on the probationary period had run out and at least three members of the council felt they could not go forward with a permanent appointment until the investigation was complete.
Council must now decide if it will make a temporary appointment to fill the seat vacated by Inderwies. The police department is still subject to the same command personnel but with the position of chief vacant. Council must decide whether to seek a new chief now or reconsider Sheehan when the investigation is complete.
The next meeting of the council had already been rescheduled for March 24 in order to allow for public discussion of the City Manager’s budget for 2015. Whether or not issues related to Inderwies’ seat on the council or the position of Police Chief will be on the agenda is not known at this time.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
For related coverage, go to:
– Council Member Resigns Following Rescinding of Police Chief’s Contract: http://goo.gl/Tm9dTx.
– Prosecutor Installs Police Monitor: http://goo.gl/N8xjlo.