Morgan Stanley Fires Rep Charged With Stalking Ex-Girlfriend
The advisor/broker, who had been in the business for 25 years, is charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor in South Florida.
A veteran advisor and broker who had worked for Morgan Stanley in Boca Raton, Florida, since 2009 was fired by the wirehouse on Monday. The development came four days after the former registered representative was arrested on suspicion of stalking his ex-girlfriend, in violation of a temporary protection order, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County court records.
Gary T. Guglielmo, 49, of Boca Raton, was charged Thursday with aggravated stalking and obstructing justice/witness tampering, both felonies, as well as contempt of court by violating an injunction providing protection to his ex-girlfriend, who had accused him of domestic violence. The latter is a misdemeanor.
“Morgan Stanley promptly terminated his employment following a review of these serious allegations,” a spokesperson for the firm said late Monday.
(Earlier, AdvisorHub reported that Morgan Stanley had placed Guglielmo on administrative leave while it reviewed the charges.)
Jonathan Kaplan, Guglielmo’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Guglielmo was released on $15,000 bail and is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 29, according to court records.
Restraining Order, Threats
In July, Guglielmo’s ex-girlfriend Julia Wissner, with whom he had been romantically involved for three years, secured the restraining order against him, barring him from contacting her, according to court records. The order, issued July 22 and served on July 26, ordered Guglielmo to have no contact with Wissner.
But Wissner alleged that he called her about 20 times from a “no caller ID” phone number on Aug. 2 and threatened to “bankrupt, ruin and humiliate her in court until she was left on one leg,” according to his arrest record.
Guglielmo also warned her that he had “eyes on her everywhere,” attempted to bribe her to drop her court case, and sent nine unsolicited text messages, including 13 photos of the two of them and himself, the arrest record showed.
Guglielmo entered the advice business in 1997, when he became a broker and rep for Prudential Securities. During his 25-year career, he was the subject of three disputes by clients, according to disclosures in his report at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website.
The first dispute claimed Guglielmo traded excessively in a client’s accounts without authorization. The client requested $500,000 and was paid $600,000 as part of a 2013 settlement. Claims of unsuitable investments made in the other two complaints were denied in 2017 and 2018.
(Photo of Gary Guglielmo courtesy of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)