Restaurateur resigns volunteer Sheriff’s job

A Newport Beach restaurateur resigned his post as an Orange County Sheriff’s Department volunteer last month before an internal investigation could be completed, officials said Friday.

Freddie Glusman, owner of the Ritz Restaurant and Garden in Newport Center, reportedly flashed his volunteer badge July 4 when a Balboa Peninsula business owner told him not to park on private property, police said.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino could not confirm that Glusman resigned because of the July 4 incident. The sheriff’s department was conducting an internal investigation of Glusman after the department received a complaint about him, Amormino said.

“Definitely it’s against any policy to unnecessarily show it [the badge] for any reason,” Amormino said.

The business owner waved down a parking control officer to report that Glusman had been parking in the private lot. A police officer was then dispatched to the scene, where the owner told police that during the verbal argument, Glusman used “colorful language” and displayed his sheriff’s badge, said Newport Police Sgt. Bill Hartford.

A police report was not taken because neither party made any criminal allegations, Hartford said.

Glusman could not be reached for comment through his restaurant Friday.

Glusman was a professional services volunteer with the sheriff’s department, not a reserve deputy, Amormino said.

To become a volunteer, applicants go through a background check and complete a 16-hour training course, Amormino said.

Glusman has owned the Ritz since May 2002. He also owns Piero’s Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas, according to the restaurant’s website.