DA joins probe of Gloucester police chief
Essex County prosecutors have joined an investigation of Gloucester’s suspended police chief and a detective sergeant as the largely unexplained probe into the city’s police department widened with a new audit ordered up by the mayor.
“The district attorney has received information from the city of Gloucester and the city has asked us to review the information,” said District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s spokeswoman, Carrie Kimball-Monahan. “The information is relative to audits that are taking place with the police department and two individuals.”
Prosecutors would not describe the information they are looking at, but said criminal charges could result after the review is completed. “That’s why we review information,” Kimball-Monahan said.
Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said yesterday she has hired a New Hampshire company, Municipal Resources Inc., to audit the entire police department. That comes in addition to two separate probes that are looking at Chief Leonard Campanello, and Sgt. Detective Sean Conners, both of whom were suspended with pay last month. The mayor has thus far refused to say what exactly sparked the probes.
“All firms are operating independent of the mayor’s office,” Theken said. “It is a priority for the city and administration to provide the residents of Gloucester external and objective audits and to uphold the standards expected by the mayor for all city departments. There is no anticipated timeframe for the completion of these audits.”
Campanello shot to national prominence, including scoring a White House invitation, for spearheading a treatment-based approach to the city’s opioid problem. His lawyer, Terrence Kennedy, said he does expect the city probe to drag on much longer since the DA’s office has now entered the investigation.
“It’s nonsense. It’s nonsensical,” Kennedy said.
“You can take a look at everything that they’re looking at and at the end of the day it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans,” he said. “The DA has the right and I would even say the obligation to look at whatever it is that they are looking at. Chief Campanello welcomes the investigation as long as it’s fair and impartial.”
Municipal Resources has reportedly carried out investigations into other police departments. In Dracut, the firm’s audit came back with a scathing review of the chief, who then retired in July.