NH policeman is nice to elderly lady, gets in trouble when she leaves him $2.7 million in her will

BY JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent

PORTSMOUTH — A police sergeant poised to inherit a $2.7 million estate from an elderly woman he befriended violated a department policy on accepting gifts, while his superiors failed to act when his relationship with the late Geraldine Webber became known, a report concluded.

The findings in the 64-page report was made public Wednesday, criticizing Sgt. Aaron Goodwin for not refusing Webber's offer to make him a main beneficiary of her estate before she died in December 2012.

"The command staff at the time failed to recognize the ramifications of the bequest and the relationship between Mrs. Webber and Sgt. Goodwin and failed to take appropriate action," the report concludes. "The police commission was not timely notified of the existence of the bequest or the relationship, but when it did become aware of the conduct of Sgt. Goodwin, it also did not take appropriate action."

A three-member task force – headed by retired Judge Stephen Roberts – reached its conclusions after reviewing thousands of documents and interviews with 58 witnesses.

The panel concluded that Goodwin violated a department policy against accepting gifts from residents and engaging in a relationship with Webber while off duty.

"In our opinion, after learning of Webber's expressed intent, Sgt. Goodwin should have unequivocally and continually refused even the possibility of the bequest," the report stated. "His immediate supervisor should have been notified of Mrs. Webber's stated intent and his chain of command should have advised him to the applicability of (the rule)."

Questions of whether Goodwin exerted undue influence on Webber, who died at age 93, to revise her will before she died in December 2012 is at the heart of a probate dispute in 7th Circuit-Probate Division-Dover.

Judge Gary R. Cassavechia will decide whether Webber was of sound mind when she revised her will to make the young detective the main beneficiary to her estate.

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