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Correctional Officer Charged With Taking Bribes To Smuggle Drugs, Tobacco, More Into NJ Jail
A New Jersey correctional police officer pocketed thousands of dollars in bribes from inmates in exchange for smuggling drugs, tobacco and other contraband into the Mercer County jail, authorities charged.
Tyree L. Hobbs, 39, of Hamilton, was on the take for nearly five years, beginning in 2017 -- less than a year after he joined the Mercer County Department of Corrections, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.
And although he paid some inmates in cash, others paid the $300 to $2,500 fee per delivery through mobile apps, the attorney general said.
A grand jury in Trenton ind…
Essex Jail Officer, GF Stung By FBI In Scheme To Smuggle In Tobacco, Cell Phones: Feds
A corrections officer and his girlfriend were busted for smuggling tobacco and cellphones into the Essex County Jail from a source who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, federal authorities said.
Efrin Wade, 34, and Yairisa Lizardo, 29, both of Jersey City, accepted $14,000 for the illegal acts and apparently were counting on another $30,000 when they were busted, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said following their arrests on Tuesday, March 14.
Wade, who’d worked as a corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF) in Newark since February 2020, be…
Indictment: Inmate In Burned-Body Case Got Drugs, More Into NJ Prison Through Sister, Guard
A New Jersey convict serving time for helping burn a shooting victim's body distributed drugs, mini-cellphones and other contraband to fellow inmates with help from his sister and a crooked correctional officer, authorities charged.
James "NuNu" Todd, 30, and his sister, Hassanah Todd, 32, paid the now-former officer to smuggle items that included synthetic cannabinoid -- otherwise known as "K2' -- into Northern State Prison in Newark, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Tuesday.
Todd had been serving time there following his 2013 conviction for helping another man dispose of the b…
All For $20,000: New Brunswick Meter Reader Who Took Bribes To Cut Bills Gets 5 Years In Prison
A former New Brunswick Water Department meter reader who took payoffs to help reduce customers’ water bills by as much as 90% was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison.
Guillermo Quinones, 51, of Somerset joins two former co-workers who also got five-year state prison terms: Joseph DeBonis, a 58-year-old former senior account clerk from Toms River, and William Ortiz, 59, of North Brunswick, a former meter reader.
Their scheme “cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Thomas Eicher, director of the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
Ten residents accu…
Brick City Backhander: Feds Charge Newark Councilman With Taking Payoffs For Influence
Federal agents caught a sitting Newark City Council member pocketing payoffs in exchange for influence, authorities said Tuesday.
West Ward Councilman Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 65, was charged with soliciting and collecting bribes and kickbacks at the same time that a consultant from the city, 60-year-old Malik Frederick, was pleading guilty to his role in the scheme, they said.
McCallum “schemed to receive concealed bribes and kickbacks from Frederick, funded by developers, contracting companies, and other businesses seeking contracts and approvals principally related to development, constru…