A lieutenant in the West Tisbury Police Department is raising issues with the town’s recent decision to pass over him when selecting the town’s next police chief, and he is asking for compensation to make up for him not getting the job.
According to his representing attorney, if the town does not want to settle with Lieutenant Matthew Gebo, he will take his case to the courts.
Gebo claims in a letter submitted to the town through his attorney that his rights were violated under a number of laws including the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act, which protects employees against retaliation from employers and the Employee Collective Bargaining Law, which gives public employees the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Gebo alleges that he deserves compensation for his losses, which, according to the letter, are calculated to be over a million dollars if he were to work in the role for 20 years.
The letter was sent to the town’s select board on Sept. 5, the day after Sergeant Bradley Cortez was sworn in as the next chief of West Tisbury during a ceremony at town hall. Cortez was selected over two other finalists earlier this year, including Lt. Gebo and Sgt. Jeremie Rogers. Cortez joined the department in 2014, was awarded “Officer of the Year” several times, and select board members noted his focus on community policing and his readiness to help the immigrant community in their decision to select him as the next chief.
But Gebo, in his letter, alleges that the Police Chief Selection Committee, chaired by former Chief Daniel Rossi, had a close personal relationship with Cortez, creating “an obvious conflict of interest” in the decision making process.
The letter, which outlines a number of complaints, alleges the integrity of the decision making process was further compromised when a job posting for the chief’s position was changed to benefit Cortez. Gebo alleges that the job asked for five years of supervisory experience, but the Select Board adopted a revised job description requiring only three years. The letter claims one member of the selectboard suggested accepting an “exceptional candidate” with less than three years experience.
Gebo, in the letter, alleges that he was also targeted and retaliated against because of his union affiliation, and denied the “promotion he had earned.”
“The facts here demonstrate blatant retaliation and corruption in violation of Massachusetts and federal law. Lt. Gebo is prepared to enforce his rights fully, but he remains open to an early settlement if the Town is prepared to act in good faith,” read the letter submitted on Gebo’s behalf by attorney Ryan Kenny.
Town officials have so far not commented on the accusations, but the town’s select board had the letter on its agenda for a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
In the meeting, West Tisbury selectboard members said at the moment, there was nothing to discuss and they will be retaining a labor council.
“We are ready to see this process through trial if the town does not want to resolve this order. We are confident as the litigation progresses information will come out supporting Mr.Gebo’s case,” said Kenny.
“Gebo is prepared to hold the town accountable not just for his sake but to be sure this never happens again.”
Former police chief Daniel Rossi directed questions to the West Tisbury select board; town administrator Jennifer Rand declined to comment.
“I am familiar but I haven’t taken the time to look at it yet and I haven’t been contacted by any of the Town’s attorneys,” former West Tisbury Chief Matthew Mincone told the Times on Tuesday.
The disparity between the chiefs and lieutenants pay is submitted as the only exhibit in the letter. In the exhibit it depicts that over a 24-year career, a police chief starts at an annual base salary of $195,000 and receiving 3% cost-of-living adjustments would accumulate a total compensation of $6,876,115.73 compared to $5,437,123.92 for a lieutenant. — a pay difference of $1,438,991.82, along with a total pension difference over a 20-year span of $1,286,174.
“It’s possibly going into litigation,” said Kenny. “But we are confident that if the town doesn’t want to resolve this case, the evidence will come out and it will be very clear.”
en·ti·tle·ment
the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.
Brad was chosen because his personality and manner matched the needs for the job of Chief.
If entitlement for the job were based on rank, then there would never be a need for job searching.
I could not have said it better myself!
Exactly.
Every once in a while someone special comes along. It appears the town acted on that knowledge. Best wishes to our current Chief of Police, Matt Mincone, for a wonderful retirement.
Small towns work in funny ways, demanding hyper-accountability for our actions and relations, through time. We do require special needs that are not always in line with the rule book. Whistleblowers deserve full respect regardless of outcome. Not easy putting yourself out there to speak up when you know it’s probably not going to make your life easier.
They can choose whoever they want. However if they really did change the job search criteria from 5 years to 3 years, that is a problem. If he can prove that the selected candidate was in a conflict of interest with the Board, that is a problem. His overt offer to settle out of court is troubling since it suggests all he wants is money, some money. The officer whether right or wrong is building a bad reputation for himself if he moves on and/or in his existing job
Well said Iman.
From a July 20th Times article: “It was a tough decision, but the West Tisbury select board unanimously voted to appoint Bradley Cortez, a sergeant with the town’s police department, to be the next police chief.” I believe that it was a tough decision. It saddens me that one of the candidates feels he was cheated out of the position. I do trust that the unanimous decision was well deliberated by the town to promote Sergeant Cortez to be our Chief of Police. I’ve only briefly come across Sergeant Cortez twice around town a few years ago, and I quickly sensed both times that he was a gift to the West Tisbury Police Department. We are lucky to have him as our new Chief of Police. I’ve never met Lt. Gebo but I hope this resolves amicably.
That is a sure the worst way to get the position you wanted. It will also harm this candidate in any other town he tries to work in, as someone with a reputation who sues when not getting his way. Looks like a bad mistake.