Northern State Prison, Frontage Rd, Newark, NJ
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that an ex-corrections officer at Northern State Prison in Newark has pleaded guilty to smuggling items into the prison for an inmate in exchange for cash.
Werner Gramajo, 48, of Newark, New Jersey, a former senior correctional officer at the facility, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit official misconduct (2nd degree) during a hearing before Judge Carolyn E. Wright in New Jersey Superior Court in Essex County.
In exchange for the guilty plea and as part of an agreement with OPIA, prosecutors will recommend the court sentence Gramajo to 364 days in the Essex County jail and, after his release, to probation supervision for a period of years to be determined by the court. Under the plea agreement, the defendant will also forfeit the approximately $6,000 he received as proceeds of the scheme, as well as forfeit his position and be subject to a permanent ban from public office and employment in New Jersey. Sentencing is scheduled for September 22, 2025.
“The defendant misused his position of trust, authority, and access to this facility in order to unlawfully enrich himself,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Corruption within correctional institutions cannot be tolerated. It compromises facilities’ security and puts inmates and the vast majority of law-abiding officers working there at heightened risk.”
“Any law enforcement officer who betrays their oath and duties in exchange for illicit payments betrays all law enforcement and the public and will be prosecuted. The defendant will rightly no longer be in public service or in public safety in this State,” said OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner.
According to the indictment, criminal complaint, other documents and statements made in court, the investigation started after the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) Special Investigations Division discovered evidence of contraband smuggling within an officer-controlled, secure area of a housing wing at Northern State Prison.
An investigation by OPIA’s Corruption Bureau found Gramajo had been involved in a months-long contraband smuggling arrangement, in which he provided an inmate with cash, jewelry, eyeglasses, clothes, cold cuts and other foods, cologne, and stamps. The investigation found the former officer had been paid cash on a monthly basis for supplying the contraband. During his plea allocution, Gramajo admitted being paid $500 a month, earning to total of approximately $6,000 through the scheme.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Randolph Mershon and Adam Gerken for OPIA, under the supervision of Corruption Bureau Deputy Chief Laura Croce, Bureau Co-Directors Jeffrey J. Manis and Eric Gibson, and OPIA Executive Director Skinner.
