GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - Officials announced Monday the Gloucester police chief has been fired following an internal investigation.
Police Chief Leonard Campanello was placed on administrative leave at the beginning on September amid an internal investigation.
Campanello was fired for allegedly destroying cell phone evidence.
Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said Campanello was having relationships with multiple women, some of whom claim they feared for their safety. When the city looked into it, Theken said, Campanello mailed his work cell phone to his lawyer, but told everyone it had been stolen.
Campanello has been Gloucester’s police chief for four years. Before that, he spent decades working for the police department in Saugus.
He was recently honored at the White House for his work in fighting the opioid addiction crisis in Massachusetts.
Campanello’s lawyer released a statement Monday afternoon:
At 11:00 am this morning, the City of Gloucester informed Chief Campanello of their decision to terminate his contract with the City. The Chief is disappointed by this decision and strongly believes it is without justification.
This investigation has been a witch-hunt from the beginning and the reasons given by the city for terminating the contract had nothing to do with the original inquiry they were conducting. Chief Campanello intends to hold the City of Gloucester to its contractual obligations despite the fat that throughout this process, representatives of the city continually stated they didn’t care about his contractual rights. They were continuously reminded they were violating his contract. Chief Campanello cooperated fully with the city during this investigation.
The Chief is proud of the work he has done for the City of Gloucester as well as with the Angel program. That program alone has put over five hundred people into treatment and has sparked similar programs in over twenty eight states helping thousands of people suffering from the disease of addiction. He intends to continue to advocate even stronger for those suffering from addiction.
The Chief would like to thank the hundreds and hundreds of people who have reached out to him during this fishing expedition who have expressed their concern for him and their hope that he will continued to be a voice for those suffering from addiction.
Stay with 7News as this story develops.
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