Two law enforcement officials tied to Sheridan case will retire
Two high-ranking officials in the Somerset County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office are retiring in the wake of allegations that authorities failed to properly collect and store evidence, and destroyed other evidence, in the 2014 investigation of the deaths of Cooper Health System CEO John P. Sheridan Jr. and his wife.
Two high-ranking officials in the Somerset County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office are retiring in the wake of allegations that authorities failed to properly collect and store evidence, and destroyed other evidence, in the 2014 investigation of the deaths of Cooper Health System CEO John P. Sheridan Jr. and his wife.
The office's deputy chief of detectives, Steven Ughetta, and chief of detectives, Timothy M. Fitzgerald, will retire Tuesday, acting Prosecutor Michael Robertson confirmed Wednesday.
The retirements, Robertson said, are unrelated to the Sheridan investigation or any of the allegations. Both Ughetta and Fitzgerald, Robertson said, had submitted paperwork to retire before he took office March 7.
Ughetta, who is paid $163,914 a year, has been with the Prosecutor's Office for 25 years, said Jack Bennett, spokesman for the office. Fitzgerald was hired in 1989 and earns $170,453. Fitzgerald and Ughetta could not be reached for comment.
The office has been sharply criticized since ruling in March 2015 that Sheridan killed his wife, set their house on fire, and committed suicide. The couple's four sons believe both parents were murdered by an intruder. They allege that the investigation was not handled properly because authorities prematurely decided the deaths were the result of domestic violence.
Robertson previously said he intended to restructure the office with significant changes in personnel, administration, and the training of detectives and assistant prosecutors. He said Wednesday that the restructuring is to improve the efficiency of the office and would have taken place regardless of any individual case.
Robertson said he planned to release more information about changes in the office early next month.
In April, veteran Somerset County detective Jeffrey Scozzafava filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the Prosecutor's Office, alleging that he was transferred out of the forensic unit to the fugitive unit after he complained to his supervisors about the way evidence was handled in the Sheridan case.
Although Ughetta is mentioned in the lawsuit, there are no allegations that he did anything wrong. Fitzgerald is identified in the lawsuit as one of the officials who failed to act when Scozzafava discussed the way evidence was handled in three criminal cases.
In his suit, Scozzafava alleged that the forensic unit had not been properly supervised since the retirement of a lieutenant in 2010. Sgt. Lee Niles was promoted to lieutenant in 2010 and to captain in 2013, but lacked adequate forensic training to oversee the unit, Scozzafava alleged in the lawsuit.
In February 2014, Scozzafava told Fitzgerald he was concerned about the work "product" of the forensic unit and its supervisors, the lawsuit said.
"Chief Fitzgerald was openly irritated and stormed out of Mr. Scozzafava's office, stating, 'You're killing me!' " according to the lawsuit.
After voicing his concerns, Scozzafava alleged, he was subjected to retaliation when his SUV was taken away and he was assigned a vehicle that had no lights and sirens, and was not large enough to transport the equipment needed to process a crime scene.
Retaliation peaked, Scozzafava alleged, after he expressed concerns about the Sheridan case, alleging Niles fabricated a fingerprinting technique using a flashlight at the Sheridan home. The detective also alleged that Niles discarded charred bedding taken from the Sheridan house. The allegations in the lawsuit have bolstered the family's concerns that the investigation had been "botched."
John and Joyce Sheridan, well known within New Jersey's elite political and social circles, were found dead in their Montgomery Township home on Sept. 28, 2014. Both had multiple stab wounds and severe burns after the couple's master bedroom had been set on fire.
Then-Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, after a six-month investigation, concluded that John Sheridan, 72, fatally stabbed his wife, 69, set the fire, and stabbed himself five times. A state medical examiner ruled the deaths murder-suicide.
The announcement in March 2015 made public a dispute between the Prosecutor's Office and the Sheridan children, who accused Soriano and the medical examiner of concluding the deaths as a murder-suicide to cover up incompetence in both offices. The sons have sued to overturn the suicide ruling and have requested that the death investigation be reopened.
They have received considerable support from former law enforcement officials and former New Jersey Govs. Thomas H. Kean, Christie Whitman, and James J. Florio. All had signed an open letter in February requesting that the investigation be reopened and the cause of death for John Sheridan be changed to undetermined. A day after the letter was released to reporters, Gov. Christie announced that he was replacing Soriano.
The governor had said in February that he had lost confidence in Soriano, who had served a six-year term. Soriano is now working for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office as special counsel for the Division of Criminal Justice.
When Robertson took office, an internal affairs investigation into Scozzafava's allegations had already been initiated by Soriano. Robertson has previously declined to comment on the Sheridan case or Scozzafava lawsuit, citing rules of judicial conduct that limit what prosecutors can discuss regarding pending matters.
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