Police chief Larry Fisher
By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS
The Neptune Township Committee – acting upon the recommendation of the township’s Police Committee – has taken steps to secure the leadership of the Police Department in the wake of Chief Larry B. Fisher’s impending retirement.
At this week’s meeting, Captain Anthony Gualario – who came on board to the force in 1996, was elevated to deputy chief. As Fisher retires in September, Gualario will step into the top post while Capt. Michael McGee will then become deputy chief, according to Committeeman Robert Lane.
The selection process involved filling the vacant deputy police position by ranking the three captains, all of whom had more than 20 years’ experience.
Gualario, who served as the department’s accountability officer, is an Army veteran and a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1333, according to his Linkedin profile.
He has a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Fairleigh Dickinson University where in 2014, he earned his bachelor’s degree.
He is an alum of the FBI Academy’s 274th session and he has endorsements for skill and experience at the patrol level, for crime prevention and for criminal investigations.
His path to the top seat follows Fisher’s who in 2017 was named deputy chief and who in 2022 was sworn in as the first black police chief in the township’s history.
Gualario will oversee a contingent of some 75 officers responding to calls from more than 25,000 residents.
