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Giuseppe Mandara of Brick Township pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Dec. 3 to third-degree aggravated assault, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability said in a news release on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Mandara confessed to attacking Darrell "Malik" Smith on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. Smith served more than 23 years in state prison on convictions for kidnapping and aggravated assault on a police officer.
Mandara, 55, was an officer at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge.
"This conviction demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that those in positions of power do not abuse their authority or harm those in their custody," Platkin said. "Those in state custody have rights and are entitled to the protections of the law, and violators will face justice."
According to court documents, Mandara assaulted Smith inside the secured exit of the special treatment unit's west housing unit. Smith was walking to his assigned work location when Mandara removed his duty belt, which included facility keys and a radio, to continue "an earlier verbal dispute" with Smith.
A lawsuit filed by Smith's family claimed he had been promoted to cook and was at the end of a shift serving meals. He asked another resident to bring some leftover peanut butter and bananas to his room while he cleaned the kitchen.
The suit also claimed a female officer stopped that resident and took items out of Smith's room. Smith then told Mandara and the officer that they couldn't just go into his room and take things, sparking the argument.
According to the suit, Mandara pressed Smith against a wall, slammed his head into a door, and tackled him to the ground.
Mandara repeatedly punched Smith while on the ground, prosecutors said. As part of his plea, Mandara admitted that his punches intended to significantly injure Smith, were excessive, and weren't justified.
The suit also said the female officer sounded an alarm requiring corrections officers to arm themselves with riot helmets, shields, and batons. Several other officers joined in Smith's beating.
Smith didn't receive any medical attention and was again beaten a day or two later, the suit claimed. He was then thrown in the facility’s suicide watch wing, where he involuntarily defecated and vomited on himself.
Nearly four days after the initial beating, Smith was rushed to JFK University Medical Center in Edison, according to the suit. He was placed on a ventilator and died from a stroke on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
The state's medical examiner presented evidence to a grand jury and gave testimony about Smith's stroke and its possible connection to the assault. The grand jury ultimately didn't indict Mandara on homicide charges.
Prosecutors said they planned to recommend a four-year prison sentence for Mandara. He also forfeited his public employment in the plea deal and was banned from future public employment or office.
Mandara was scheduled for sentencing on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
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