Len Guida
By WILLIAM CLARK and PETE WALTON
The Bradley Beach Borough Council met in executive session Sun., March 3 and decided to initiate disciplinary action against a borough employee.
While the name of the individual in question was not publicly disclosed, Borough Attorney Greg Cannon said the unusual Sunday special meeting was needed to comply with time requirements which must be met if disciplinary action is to happen.
The meeting was led by Council President Jane DeNoble, who voted along with council members Al Gubitosi and John Weber to approve the resolution initiating the disciplinary action. Borough Clerk Erica Kostyz was also in attendance, along with Cannon.
Not present were Mayor Larry Fox, Councilwoman Kristen Mahoney and Acting Borough Administrator Meredith DeMarco.
An investigation into actions by Bradley Beach Police Chief Len Guida, who is now retired, following an incident in the borough in November has been an issue in the borough over the last few weeks. The mayor has come under fire by residents and officials for not releasing a report on the investigation to council members sooner.
“The findings outlined in this report illustrate unmistakably that over the previous year and a half, Chief Guida has been an active hindrance to the very law enforcement agency he was entrusted to lead,” County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a statement. “The picture the report paints is not pretty, but that is precisely why we felt that it was so vitally important to publicly release it. Transparency is rendered meaningless if ugliness is kept opaque.”
A total of 28 findings were sustained against Guida.
The 22-page report was dated Jan. 18 and was addressed to Mayor Fox and acting borough administrator DeMarco.
Gubitosi said Fox withheld the report from the council and borough attorney Cannon for six weeks.
When contacted by The Coaster Fox said be believes the Sunday meeting was held without adequate notice saying that special meetings must provide 48 hours notice to the public. He said he was unavailable during the scheduled time, having only been given several hours notice via text message.
“I got a text about 2 from a council person asking to meet in person,” he said . “Texting someone on a Sunday afternoon with a cryptic message is not my idea of good communication and collaboration.
Nor does the result of the meeting, which passed a resolution to hold a hearing on Chief Guida for disciplinary purposes on March 24. Fox does he believes the meeting will be deemed illegal.
As far as releasing the report on the investigation, Fox said that the report from January was not the culmination of the investigation but part of the process.
“From that point there were a number of meetings and conference calls that ensued,” he said.
Until the report had been finalized, the responsibility was still in the hands of the prosecutor’s office. Fox said that conversations were still ongoing between Guida’s attorney and the prosecutor’s office.
Once completed, redactions had to be made, a part of the process that Fox said was imperative to the security of those involved.
“As soon as we got the redacted version we sent it to the council and attorney,” Fox said. ”We immediately sent it out.”
Fox takes exception to the assertion that he is withholding from the council. He said no council member took any interest in the proceedings until well into the process. After informing the council via email about Guida’s initial placement on administrative leave, Fox said that only one member responded.
“The first time the council showed any interest in being involved in decision making was Feb. 22,” Fox said.
Before the council could consider the Guida matter, Fox announced that Guida was retiring six months ahead of schedule and that the chief would receive payouts from the borough over the next three years for accrued time due to him by contract. Those payments are in addition to the pension he is scheduled to receive after working in the borough for more than 40 years.
Even though the report by the county prosecutor was dated Jan. 18, it made reference to Guida’s plan to retire as of March 1 — a plan and date which were not known to the council, the borough attorney or the general public until late in February.
Prosecutor Santiago said his investigation began in August of last year after he received an anonymous letter alleging misconduct by Guida.
“My office superseded the Bradley Beach Police Department’s internal affairs function and investigated these allegations,” Santiago wrote. The prosecutor said other concerns about Guida “were both identified by investigators and reported by members of the Bradley Beach Police Department, to include an incident which occurred on Nov. 9, 2023.”
Police bodycam footage of that event prompted international news coverage as the chief was shown interfering with the investigation of a motor vehicle accident. Santiago said the chief’s speech was slurred, and the video shows Guida in a physical confrontation with a subordinate.
The county prosecutor said Guida was off-duty when he showed up at police headquarters around 9 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2023. He engaged in a discussion with two employees before ordering one of them into a conference room.
“Chief Guida acknowledged putting his hands on [the officer] during the encounter and said, ‘I’m Italian, what do you want me to do?’ Chief Guida justified his actions by stating that [the officer] ‘did not object to it’ and that he ‘never said get out of my face.’ Chief Guida stated this was his way of talking things out and that he ‘yells at people all of the time,'” Santiago wrote.
“Chief Guida’s explanation that the officer ‘did not object to it’ is unacceptable.” the prosecutor said. “He is the chief of police. His subordinates are used to acquiescing to his behavior in fear of making the situation worse or getting on the chief’s bad side. Chief Guida’s conduct in this case was unprofessional and disrespectful, and thus, in violation of agency rules.”
Regarding the Nov. 9 multi-vehicle accident on Main Street, Santiago said he found “by a preponderance of the evidence, that Chief Guida was under the influence of alcohol when he reported to the crash scene.”
“Since we make a finding that Chief Guida was intoxicated, we must make the corresponding finding that Chief Guida was untruthful in his interview with this office when he denied consuming any alcohol prior to the incident,” the prosecutor said.
Santiago’s report addressed nine different events which were reviewed by his office.
“What has become clear during this investigation is that the relationship between Chief Guida and his subordinates is irretrievably broken,” Santiago said. “Chief Guida’s preference to yell at his subordinates as opposed to conducting internal affairs investigations which would document legitimate performance issues is inappropriate and contrary to the [state attorney general’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures].”
Santiago said Guida’s “management style of yelling at his subordinates, particularly over minor, inconsequential things when they are trying to do their jobs, is not only ineffective, but disruptive to the operations of the agency. It is truly the most counter-productive form of micromanagement.”
According to the county prosecutor, “one officer stated that he would not even eat his lunch in the police department because he went out of his way to avoid Chief Guida. Another officer stated that people did not want to work for the Bradley Beach Police Department after hearing stories about how Chief Guida treated his employees.”
Santiago said that when his office interviewed Guida, he “ridiculed his employees, variously calling them ‘as smart as this table,’ ‘not bright’ and ‘disgruntled.'” According to the prosecutor, Guida called his subordinates who were interviewed by Santiago’s office “not credible, not nice, and not capable.”
“The mission of the Bradley Beach Police Department, to provide effective services to the public, and to do so with the highest level of professionalism to ensure the public’s trust and confidence, is not being accomplished with Chief Guida at the helm of this agency,” the prosecutor wrote.
“The vast majority of the redactions in [the] report denote small acts of bravery,” Santiago said. “Our investigation would not have been possible without interviewing members of a particularly small police department who in some cases were understandably apprehensive about coming forward. Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the sworn members of the Bradley Beach Police Department routinely conduct themselves with the utmost diligence and professionalism. This report should not be misconstrued to reflect poorly on the department at large, as the actions of one person do not negate the excellent work of so many other individuals.”
Santiago said his office is empowered to make a disciplinary recommendation in the Guida matter.
“It is our understanding that Chief Guida is retiring as of March 1, 2024 and that he will be using accumulated leave time through his date of retirement,” the prosecutor said. “Given these circumstances, which presuppose that Chief Guida does not return to the Bradley Beach Police Department in any capacity and at any time, we do not make a disciplinary recommendation in this case. However, should those circumstances change, and Chief Guida express an intention to return to duty as chief, or to not retire as represented, please contact my office as we will wish to provide a disciplinary recommendation to the borough.”
“Additionally, it has come to our attention that Chief Guida may seek to retain his title as [Office of Emergency Management] Coordinator for Bradley Beach after his retirement,” Santiago wrote. “The decision as to who to appoint as OEM Coordinator is clearly a decision for the borough. However, given Chief Guida’s conduct toward members of the Bradley Beach Police Department as outlined herein, and the fact that the OEM Coordinator must frequently interact and cooperate with borough police officers in various public safety matters, we recommend against any such appointment.”
The next regular meeting of the borough council is slated for Wed., March 13 at 6:30 p.m.