A West Long Branch firefighter has been criminally charged in connection with the falsification and destruction of official records, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said.
Ronald Guidetti, 61, of Long Branch is charged with third-degree false uttering, third-degree Forgery, and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.
An investigation into this matter was initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office earlier this year, when concerns were raised over the validity of two specific training certificates for a single firefighter at West Long Branch Fire Company No. 2. The investigation ultimately determined that not only did Guidetti create the falsified certificates in order to effectuate a response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request filed with the company, but he also removed the certificates from the filing system and destroyed them once the request was fulfilled.
The charges against Guidetti were served via summons when he turned himself in to authorities last week. He was released on his own recognizance pending future proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, Director of the MCPO Financial Crimes/Special Prosecutions Unit. Guidetti is being represented by Robert A. Honecker, Jr., Esq., with an office in Ocean Township.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and state law.
