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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a former correction officer at Northern
State Prison in Newark pleaded guilty today
to being a member of a network that smuggled
pre-paid cell phones and drugs into the
prison.
According
to Director Taylor, Luis S. Roman, 47, of
Avenel, pleaded guilty to racketeering and
official misconduct before Superior Court
Judge Mathias E. Rodriguez in Middlesex
County. Under the plea agreement, the state
will recommend that Roman be sentenced to
14 years in state prison, including five
years of parole ineligibility. Deputy Attorney
General Cassandra Serentino took the guilty
plea for the Division of Criminal Justice
Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. The
charges stem from Operation Empire, a joint
investigation by the New Jersey State Police,
the Department of Corrections and the Division
of Criminal Justice.
“As
he participated in this elaborate smuggling
enterprise, Luis Roman demonstrated how
much he had in common with the criminal
inmates he was supposed to be guarding,”
said Attorney General Dow. “With this
plea, he will officially join their ranks.”
“This
correction officer shamelessly betrayed
his oath and compromised public safety by
smuggling cell phones into Northern State
prison, where they potentially could have
been used by gang leaders to direct criminal
activity in our communities,” said
Director Taylor. “We will remain vigilant
with the Department of Corrections and State
Police to address this threat posed by wireless
phones in our prisons.”
"People
are put in prison to keep them from threatening
public safety. This corrupt correction officer's
actions put everyone at risk by allowing
unmonitored cell phone calls from prisoners
to potentially control outside crimes. Past
examples have shown that this has resulted
in "hits" ordered on witnesses
and law enforcement personnel," said
Major Matt Wilson, Deputy Superintendent
of Investigations for the New Jersey State
Police.
“I’d
like to thank everyone from the law enforcement
community, including the Department of Corrections’
Special Investigation Division, who played
a part in securing these indictments. It
is appalling that a correction officer would
place his co-workers as well as the community-at-large
in danger by smuggling contraband into a
secure facility for his personal profit,”
said New Jersey Department of Corrections
Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan.
“This
is yet another example of why passage of
H.R. 560, the Safe Prisons Communications
Act, which would have permitted cell phone
jamming in prisons, is so critically important.
Unfortunately, the bill has not been reintroduced
during this legislative session. As I have
stated previously, cell phones and other
electronic devices in the hands of inmates
pose as grave a security risk as does a
firearm. However, we will continue to explore
the other technological avenues available
to us. And while I am gratified that the
many efforts that we have taken to deter
the introduction and use of cell phones
has resulted in fewer cell phones being
introduced into our facilities, I still
firmly believe that jamming cell phone signals
is the most efficient way to eliminate the
problem. The fact is, this legislation would
effectively transform cell phones in a prison
setting into a 4-ounce piece of garbage,”
added Commissioner Lanigan.
Roman
and 18 other defendants who allegedly distributed
contraband in the prison or acted as accomplices
outside the prison were charged with racketeering
and conspiracy in a state grand jury indictment
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
on Sept. 15, 2010. Separate indictments
obtained that month charged 16 inmates who
bought contraband.
In
pleading guilty today, Roman admitted that
he was part of a network of inmates who
solicited customers and distributed contraband
that he smuggled into the prison. Roman
smuggled contraband into the prison several
times a week, including pre-paid cell phones,
cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, hiding the
items in his protective vest and boots.
The inmates had family members or friends
outside the prison who allegedly acted as
accomplices by buying phones and drugs and
packaging them for delivery to Roman. The
investigation revealed that inmates paid
for the items by having money wired to Roman’s
wife or another accomplice on the outside.
The
Department of Corrections Special Investigations
Division began looking into the possibility
of a correction officer or other prison
worker smuggling contraband into Northern
State Prison after numerous wireless phones
of the same makes and models were confiscated
from inmates.
The
joint investigation by the State Police
and the Department of Corrections began
in July 2009. Roman’s smuggling continued
from at least August 2007 to Nov. 14, 2009,
when he was arrested with his wife. Ann
Marie Roman, 37, of Keasbey, who now is
divorced from Luis Roman, pleaded guilty
on Sept. 14, 2010 before Superior Court
Judge Frederick P. DeVesa to second-degree
conspiracy to commit bribery. She admitted
that, at her husband’s direction,
she received thousands of dollars through
Western Union and Money Gram as payment
for smuggled items.
Roman
allegedly used two trusted inmates at Northern
State Prison as his organizers or middle
men. Those inmates, Angel Vasquez, 53, and
Willie Wade, 46, in turn allegedly employed
numerous other inmates as distributors to
canvass the prison for customers. The customers
agreed to pay a fee for the contraband.
For example, if an inmate wanted a pre-paid
cell phone, he would have to pay up to $400,
plus an additional $200 as a “shipment
fee.” At each level of the organization,
middle-men and distributors received a certain
amount of money, but Roman allegedly kept
the majority of the profits. Once the contraband
was smuggled in, Roman allegedly would pass
it along to his middle men, who would give
it to the distributor inmates, frequently
kitchen and laundry workers, who would distribute
the contraband throughout the prison. The
indictments are merely accusations and the
remaining defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
The investigation was led by Detective Timothy
Hackett and Detective Sgt. Dennis Buoye
of the New Jersey State Police Street Gang
North Unit, and Principal Investigator Scott
Russo, Senior Investigator Michael Kubik
and Senior Investigator Omar Howard of the
Department of Corrections Special Investigations
Division. Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Andrew M. Butchko and Deputy Attorneys General
Cassandra Serentino, Daniel Bornstein and
Julia S. Glass prepared and presented the
case to the state grand jury for the Division
of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Michael
Wicke also assisted in the case and will
commence trial preparations.
The
indictments are posted with the Sept. 23,
2010 press release.
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