Newport Beach : Police Chief Announces Plans to Retire in 1986

Police Chief Charles R. (Pete) Gross has announced plans to retire from his $63,000-a-year post after eight years on the force. Trent Harris, a spokesman for the department, said the chief’s retirement will be effective July 1, 1986, after which Gross, 58, will work as a consultant to his successor.

Harris said Gross’s decision to retire had “nothing whatsoever” to do with his recent battles with Harbor Municipal Judge Russell Bostrom over a $10-million marijuana case. The case prompted a grand jury investigation, triggered by Bostrom’s allegations that Newport Beach police may have lied and tried to obstruct justice during court hearings on the matter.

Bostrom eventually dismissed charges in the case, ruling that police had conducted an illegal search of the boat, which yielded five tons of marijuana.

In May, 1983, Gross angered several Orange County minority leaders over comments he made about deteriorating conditions at the Newport Beach Pier and the influx of minority groups into the area. Gross said his comments had been misinterpreted and were sensationalized by Latino leaders.

Before coming to the Newport Beach department, Gross spent 28 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. He retired from the LAPD as a deputy chief in charge of special investigations, Harris said.