Former Howell Police Chief Sentenced: Report

HOWELL, NJ — Former Howell Township Police Chief Andrew Kudrick Jr. has been sentenced to probation for interfering with an investigation into an affair he was having with a woman who worked for him, according to a report.

Kudrick, 50, pleaded guilty in May to one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon in Freehold.

Last Friday he was sentenced to two years of probation on the charge, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Under the plea agreement, which was announced by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin in May, Kudrick agreed to a lifetime ban on public employment in exchange for probation.

Kudrick retired in March 2022 after 29 years on the Howell police force, including seven as its chief, and 32 years of involvement with the department dating back to his participation in the Police Explorer program.

The charges arose from an investigation that followed a confrontation between Kudrick's wife and suspected mistress during a 2021 retirement party that raised suspicions about the possible existence of the improper relationship, authorities have said. The mistress, in addition to being Kudrick's employee, was married to another Howell officer, authorities have said.

Following that incident, the township hired a special labor counsel to conduct an internal investigation, spurred by concerns that the municipal government could be at risk for liability due to the potential existence of a hostile work environment and sexual harassment within the police department.

A captain with the Howell police department who had knowledge and evidence of the affair was slated to be interviewed a second time by the special counsel in late March 2022. The day before that interview, Kudrick threatened the captain, saying he would initiate an illegitimate internal affairs investigation accusing the captain of speaking to the township manager directly without the chief’s approval, authorities have said. The threat was an attempt to intimidate the witness against being truthful in the special labor investigator’s probe, authorities said.

At sentencing, Kudrick's attorney, Robert A. Honecker Jr., said Kudrick lied to prevent his wife from finding out about the affair, which Assistant Attorney General Andrew Wellbrook challenged.

"The argument is that he had to choose between saving his marriage and protecting his job, and that's simply not the case, your honor," Wellbrook said, according to the Asbury Park Press report. "His wife was fully aware of what was happening. That's how this investigation began, when she confronted the other individual at a bar."

Kudrick was hired in 1993 as a full-time 911 telecommunications operator. He became a patrolman in 1995 and worked as a field training officer for the department for several years, training new officers in how to perform the duties of a law enforcement professional.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2002 and was a first-line supervisor within the uniformed Patrol Division, then became a lieutenant in 2005 and was the training unit supervisor and later commander of the patrol division until 2012. He was promoted to captain in October 2012.

Kudrick was appointed chief in 2015 and in 2019 agreed to a five-year contract that would have ended in 2024.

But he retired abruptly, announcing his departure on March 31, 2022, three months after Kudrick was the subject of a no-confidence vote in December in the midst of a dispute with the Howell Township PBA, which accused him of trying to sabotage the union. Kudrick has never addressed that matter publicly.