Prosecutor: Area Firefighter Charged with Forgery, Records Tampering

An area firefighter is facing forgery charges in connection with the falsification and destruction of official records, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Tuesday.   

Ronald Guidetti, 61, of Long Branch, has been charged with third-degree false uttering, third-degree forgery, and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.  

An investigation was initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office earlier this year when concerns were raised over the validity of two specific training certificates for a single firefighter at West Long Branch Fire Company No. 2.

The investigation determined that not only did Guidetti allegedly create the falsified certificates in order to effectuate a response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request filed with the fire company, but he also removed the certificates from the filing system and destroyed them once the request was fulfilled.

The charges against Guidetti were served via summons when he turned himself in to authorities on Monday. He was released on his own recognizance pending future proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, Director of the MCPO Financial Crimes/Special Prosecutions Unit. Guidetti is being represented by Robert A. Honecker, Jr., Esq., with an office in Ocean Township.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office