Sgt. Richard Conte
Conte was busted on Thursday in a state-wide sting operation setup to catch child predators. This pillar of the community and "protector of the innocent" - whose base salary tops $140,000 - was caught attempting to lure who he thought was a young female child into his car.
On Friday, Conte, 47, was locked up and charged with second-degree attempted luring or enticing of a child and is being held in the Ocean County jail in Toms River.
"Prior to the arrest, I was made aware of the situation," Howell Police Chief Andrew J. Kudrick Jr. said in a statement Friday. "It sickened me to learn one of my officers, a highly competent supervisor none the less and one that I have worked alongside with for many years on the SWAT team, not only defied my trust, but fellow officers as well. But most importantly, defied the public's trust and expectations of a police officer. As such, I fully supported the investigation and provided input to ensure his apprehension."
After Kudrick expressed his disappointment in his fellow officer, he then went on to chastise NJ 101.5 for reporting on the officer's misdeeds "without first consulting with me or others directly connected to the investigation."
However, according to NJ 101.5, they reached out to the department who chose not to respond. What's more, arrest records and mugshots are a matter of public record and individuals and news organizations most assuredly do not need the permission of the police to report on them.
Any attempt to keep this information from the public - no matter how damning to the the department's image - should be seen as a slap in the face to those who advocate for transparency.
According to the Howell Police Department, they are now conducting their own investigation into Conte to determine if he may have been carrying out his sick desires while on duty. And, as his record shows, this officer has had decades to do so.
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