Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that a corrections officer at Northern State Prison in Newark has been arrested and charged after allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for providing contraband to inmates at the facility.
Senior Correctional Police Officer Christopher Santana, 32, of Hackensack, New Jersey, was taken into custody by the Special Investigations Division (SID) of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) and charged by complaint with contraband (3rd degree), bribery in official and political matters (2nd degree), and official misconduct (2nd degree).
The charges arise from an investigation by OPIA’s Corruption Bureau and the Department of Corrections’ SID.
“As alleged, this officer violated his duty to secure Northern State Prison, putting personal profit above his obligations and the safety of inmates and his fellow corrections officers,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This type of behavior damages the public’s perception of the many hardworking, honest officers who every day do the difficult, essential work of overseeing correctional institutions across our state.”
“Public officials who would accept bribes, as alleged here, will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA.
According to the complaint and documents filed in this case, the investigation revealed that the defendant received approximately $2,000 in bribes from associates of inmates incarcerated at Northern State Prison, and that the scheme to smuggle contraband into the prison dated back to approximately May 2024.
As alleged, information was received that Santana was scheduled to bring unknown contraband to the prison during his shift on the night of June 10, 2025.
When he arrived for that shift, Santana was allegedly observed with a large bulge protruding from his clothing. A search was conducted and, underneath the defendant’s protective vest as well as near his upper thigh area, two vacuum sealed bags were allegedly discovered, containing suspected tobacco and three bottles of an unknown liquid.
Subsequent searches were conducted of the inmates who were believed to have conspired with the defendant. At the completion of the searches, one cellphone, suspected tobacco, suspected marijuana, and various pills suspected to be controlled dangerous substances were discovered and seized.
Santana was arrested and appeared in New Jersey Superior Court in Essex County on June 11, 2025, and was released, with the condition that he have no contact with witnesses or co-conspirators.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in New Jersey state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Wellbrock and Deputy Attorney General Samantha Eaton are prosecuting the case for OPIA, under the supervision of Deputy Corruption Bureau Chief Laura Croce, Bureau Co-Directors Jeffrey J. Manis and Eric Gibson, and OPIA Director Skinner.
