A retired Menlo Park district firefighter was sentenced in Santa Clara County court March 13 to 12 years and four months in prison for attempting to have his wife killed, according to the district attorney’s office.
James Guasch, 52, worked for the Menlo Park Fire Protection District from 1980 to 1989, when he left on disability leave. He was found guilty March 10 of solicitation of murder and possession for sale of pharmaceutical drugs, county officials said.
Mr. Guasch allegedly solicited two undercover county enforcement team agents to kill his wife and dump her body in a mineshaft in the Nevada desert. He was introduced to the agents by a confidential informant and reportedly paid them a retainer with a bottle of Oxycodone, the district attorney’s office reported.
The incident occurred while Mr. Guasch and his wife were in the midst of a highly contentious divorce that involved an estate estimated to be worth $15 million.
A large amount of prescription drugs, methamphetamine, ammunition, counter surveillance equipment and video of his wife’s residence were discovered in Mr. Guasch’s home during a search, the district attorney’s office said.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District released a statement on March 13 regarding Mr. Guasch.
“The charge is out of character for not only a firefighter, but especially for a firefighter with the (district),” according to the statement. “Our personnel normally exhibit the highest of human qualities in their personal conduct, attitude and unselfish service to others. It is clear that Mr. Guasch lost his way after he left the agency in 1989. Our personnel are deeply disturbed by the negative attention this places on them and the agency.”
— Bay City News Service
