A New Jersey police chief who outed a witness to members of a “violent street gang” was allowed to retire in good standing with a $177,000 payout and other benefits, NJ Advance Media has learned.
Penns Grove Police Chief Patrick Riley, 54, was suspended but ultimately faced no discipline for the July 2020 incident, in which he tried to call a witness to see if they had information on the location of a fugitive wanted on gun charges, but inadvertently left a voicemail message on another person’s phone.
A family member said the witness had no information about the case, had not previously provided information to law enforcement and was upset that a single errant phone call had placed their life in danger.
Nonetheless, word got out in the neighborhood, and the witness’ son received a message that their parent was a “snitch,” — a claim the witness’ family says is simply not true — according to documents detailing an internal affairs probe by the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office.
The screw-up forced the borough to concoct an impromptu witness protection program, putting the witness in an out-of-town hotel because of threats against the witness’ life made by members of the local gang, who believed the witness was cooperating with police, documents show.
The borough’s mayor, LaDaena Thomas, accused Riley of trying to cover up his role in placing a potential witness in harm’s way, documents show.
Riley, who oversaw a small department of between 13 and 15 sworn officers, declined to comment for this story. Under a December 15 settlement agreement, Riley admitted no wrongdoing and the borough dropped the internal charges.
The former chief, who retired on December 31, received a $150,000 payout, plus $15,000 in unused sick time and $12,454 in unused vacation, the settlement agreement shows. That is on top of his $55,999.92 annual pension, according to state Treasury data.
Riley’s attorney, Michael Mormando, said his client “steadfastly denies” any allegation he was untruthful about his role in the incident.
An investigation by the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office found Riley violated department regulations by disclosing confidential information and making other errors, but told the truth once he was confronted with a recording, telling an investigator he had “no desire to lie about the incident because he was aware that there were phone records that could show whether he made the call or not.”
“The matter is now concluded,” Mormando wrote in an email to NJ Advance Media. “My client has unilaterally decided to retire after a long career of serving the public. My client retires in good standing. My client is choosing to retire on his own accord and is not being compelled to do so in any manner.”
Presented with information contained in the prosecutor’s probe, Mormando threatened a reporter with a lawsuit.
“If you publish documents that are confidential, or facts that are contained within confidential documents, I will take action against you in Superior Court,” Mormando wrote.
NJ Advance Media obtained the records, which are typically considered confidential, from a source with access to the files and took steps to confirm their veracity. The newsgathering process is also protected both by the First Amendment and New Jersey’s press shield law.
Riley’s settlement agreement, which references the disciplinary action, was obtained through an Open Public Records Act request.
While police internal affairs files are considered public records in many states, here in New Jersey they are mostly shielded from public view. A bill before the state Legislature (S2656) that would make such records public was introduced amid protests demanding police reform last summer, but has yet to get a hearing.
The documents show how a veteran officer rose to be chief at a small department despite a previous episode in which his department accused him of dishonesty.
The borough tried to terminate Riley for “malingering” in 2013 after the then-sergeant was accused of deliberately overstating his injuries following a drunken attack by a fellow officer in 2012 in order to obtain a disability pension, records show.
Riley was never fired, and he never received a disability pension, records show. His attorney said the malingering allegation was “completely false and defamatory.”
Riley went on to become chief in December 2019.
Thomas, the mayor, said she could not discuss Riley’s employment, citing the settlement agreement.
But in a July letter to Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan, she expressed concerns that Riley had tried to cover up his responsibility for jeopardizing the witness, insisting he had made no such phone call until confronted with a recording of it.
“In my judgment, Chief Riley posed a hazard to the public if he remained on the job and his suspension was necessary to maintain safety, order, and effective direction of public services,” Thomas wrote in the letter, requesting an internal investigation.
Penns Grove is a small, minority-majority town with about 4,800 residents on the banks of the Delaware River in Salem County. Thomas, who took office last year, was the first woman — and the first Black woman — to hold the office of mayor.
In an interview, Thomas said she was working to restore trust among the borough’s minority communities with its police department, which is predominantly white and male.
“It’s important that our police officers have a relationship with our residents, and our residents have a relationship with our police officers,” she said. “And that they trust one another and work together.”
An ordinance scheduled to be heard at the next council meeting on February 4 would replace the position of police chief with a civilian police director.
Walter Hudson, a South Jersey civil rights activist and Penns Grove resident who has publicly clashed with the police department, told NJ Advance Media there were longstanding issues between police and members of the community.
“They have hurt us economically, they have hurt us physically, and so, that was one of the movements around getting a new mayor in,” Hudson said, referring to Thomas’ election.
The mayor’s move to suspend Riley in July prompted backlash from the Penns Grove Police Officer’s Association, the local police union, which in an Aug. 1 statement called the charges against Riley “unsubstantiated, frivolous” and a deliberate effort to discredit the chief.
Citing a recent spike in gang-related activity, the union said Riley’s removal would put borough residents at risk.
Penns Grove Borough Hall, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Penns Grove police recognized what they were dealing with when a “concerned citizen” told them members of a “violent street gang” believed the would-be witness was giving police information and “was looking to retaliate,” according to a July 17 report.
Several officers were later dispatched to the witness’ house to warn them of an unspecified threat against the witness’ life, records show.
It turned out that Riley, trying to reach the witness to obtain information about the location of a member of a local gang wanted on gun charges, had inadvertently called somebody else in the neighborhood and left a message for the witness on that man’s phone.
The witness later went to the man’s home and used their own phone to record the voicemail message. The man said he returned the call from Riley.
Afraid for their safety, the witness went to Mayor Thomas, a distant relative, playing her the recording, records show.
Through an attorney, the witness declined to comment. NJ Advance Media is not identifying the witness to prevent placing them further at risk.
Thomas confronted Riley about the call, but Riley initially denied making it, according to Thomas’ letter to the county prosecutor.
Thomas told Lenahan that Riley had blamed the mistaken voicemail on the U.S. Marshall’s service, which was also looking for the man wanted on gun charges, and then disobeyed her order not to interfere in the case pending an investigation, allegedly contacting other officers involved in the ordeal.
“These circumstances included his insubordination by continuing his participation in a matter that may have actually originated by his error or misconduct,” Thomas wrote.
Through his attorney, Riley rejected those claims.
The borough asked the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office to place the witness in witness protection, but the office declined because it was not their witness, records show. The individual also was not a registered confidential informant for the Penns Grove Police Department, meaning they were not a regular source of information for police.
Ultimately, Penns Grove taxpayers put the witness and their family up in an out-of-town hotel for several days.
An investigation by the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office upheld five of six charges against Riley, finding he had improperly divulged confidential law enforcement information and neglected his duty, among other misconduct.
In a letter to Thomas, Lenahan recommended Riley be verbally reprimanded, citing their 17-year relationship and praising Riley as possessing the “highest level of integrity, ethics and professionalism.”
The investigation determined the allegation of untruthfulness against Riley was “unfounded” because he “readily admitted his mistake in the course of this investigation.”
“He made a mistake, albeit, a potentially very serious mistake,” the prosecutor wrote. “It was one mistake.”
That distinction was crucial because “untruthfulness” was the only disciplinary charge that rose to the level of a fireable offense, documents show. The rest, the prosecutor’s office found, amounted to “technical violations.”
Reached by phone, Lenahan declined to comment on the case.
As mayor, Thomas was considered the “appointing authority” and notified the chief that she disagreed with the prosecutor’s determination, finding that Riley had been untruthful and interfered with the investigation, documents show.
But after Riley filed notice of intent to sue, borough officials entered into a settlement agreement allowing Riley to retire in good standing.
In an interview, Thomas said the borough leaders are in the process of setting up a town watch system and a civilian police advisory board, which will provide recommendations to the borough council on improving relations with residents.
“My goal is to help the residents who don’t have trust for our police officers to get to know them and build that trust,” Thomas said.
S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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