Former ADP CEO Butler charged with domestic violence in Bluffton
Recently retired Automatic Data Processing CEO Gary C. Butler was charged with criminal domestic violence in Bluffton earlier this month after his wife told deputies he grabbed her by the neck during an argument at their Colleton River home.
Butler, 65, was the leader of one of the world's largest providers of business services. He retired from ADP Nov. 8, two days after being arrested for criminal domestic violence at his home at 71 Inverness Road. ADP, based in Roseland, N.J., announced his retirement Nov. 9 without mentioning the arrest.
ADP said in an email that Butler told the company's board he had decided to retire for personal reasons. The company's email said the board was aware of the "circumstances surrounding his decision."
"Out of respect for his privacy, ADP is not commenting further," the email said.
Butler did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment. He had spent 37 years with the company and served as CEO since 2006. Butler's wife, Marion, told the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office that she and her husband had been arguing when they went out to dinner on Nov. 6. She said her husband drank during dinner and continued to drink when they got back to their home in Bluffton, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Marion Butler, 58, said she started packing for the couple's return to their New Jersey home. Her husband came into the bedroom and lay on a bed while they argued. Marion Butler told deputies her husband suddenly leapt out of the bed, grabbed her neck with both hands and "she felt like her bones were going to break," according to the Sheriff's Office.
Marion Butler told deputies her husband then grabbed her wrists and threw her against a bureau before she left the house.
Officers found Butler sitting alone on the front steps when they arrived, and they smelled a strong odor of alcohol on him, according to the Sheriff's Office. He told them that he and his wife had argued, but it did not become physical.
Officers said Marion Butler's neck was red, but she did not have injuries that needed medical attention. Her husband was charged with first-degree criminal domestic violence, a misdemeanor.
Gary Butler was released on his own recognizance from the Beaufort County Detention Center, on Nov. 7, the day after his arrest.
Butler told ADP he was retiring the same day shareholders re-elected him to a one-year term to the company's board.
ADP is 275th on the 2011 Fortune 500 list.
This story was originally published November 18, 2011 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Former ADP CEO Butler charged with domestic violence in Bluffton."