Trenton, NJ – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) reported a retired Howell Township police chief, Andrew Kudrick, admitted to making false statements in a township investigation and concealing a sexual affair with a subordinate. Kudrick, 50, of Farmingdale, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to obstructing the administration of law in a 4th-degree offense on May 13 before Judge Paul X. Escandon in state Superior Court for Monmouth County.
A plea agreement between Kudrick and OPIA includes a lifetime ban on public employment, with recommended non-custodial probation pending sentencing set for July 19, 2024.
Documents indicate Howell Township initiated an inquiry into possible workplace hostility and sexual harassment after an event involving Kudrick. During the investigation, Kudrick confessed to denying the affair with an employee during an official interview.
Allegedly, in March 2022, Kudrick purportedly threatened an illegitimate internal affairs probe against a police department member linked to the affair to deter cooperation during an official interview. The prosecution involves Deputy Attorney General Sherrod Smith and OPIA Corruption Deputy Bureau Chief Andrew Wellbrock, overseen by Corruption Bureau Chief Jeff Manis and OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner.