Luis Roman was a walking black market inside prison walls, officials said. Several times a week the former Department of Corrections officer would arrive at work with drugs and pre-paid cell phones stuffed in his boots or under his protective vest. Then, officials said, he walked right past security checkpoints and into Northern State Prison in Newark, one of...
Paula Dow, N.J. Attorney General, announced indictments against a former correction officer and 34 other defendants in a major scheme to smuggle pre-paid cell phones an narcotics into Northern State Prison ; outside Northern State Prison in Newark.Luis Roman was a walking black market inside prison walls, officials said.
Several times a week the former Department of Corrections officer would arrive at work with drugs and pre-paid cell phones stuffed in his boots or under his protective vest. Then, officials said, he walked right past security checkpoints and into Northern State Prison in Newark, one of the state’s most secure facilities.
State law enforcement officials said Thursday that Roman made thousands of dollars by selling the contraband to inmates running an illegal smuggling network with 35 others.
"I’m appalled that a member of this department would place his fellow employees, as well as the public, in danger by smuggling contraband including cell phones into a prison for personal gain," Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan said at a press conference outside the prison’s main entrance. "Illegal cell phones are as dangerous as any weapon."
Law enforcement officials say inmates use the phones to direct gang activity and intimidate witnesses, and state authorities pledged to continue prosecuting smugglers and increasing prison security. "We have zero tolerance for this," Attorney General Paula Dow said. "We’re going to be aggressive."
Authorities said they routinely find illegal phones behind prison walls, admitting the system remains vulnerable to corrupt insiders with knowledge of security procedures.
"There are ways you can circumvent the system," Lanigan said. "I’m not going to say it’s foolproof."
Martin Horn, a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who previously ran New York City’s prison system, said cell phone smuggling is a nationwide problem. "You’ll never completely stop it," he said. "You have to rely on the integrity of your staff."
A bill in Congress would allow jamming cell phone signals in prisons, now banned by the Federal Communications Commission.
An 18-year veteran, Roman started working at Northern State Prison early last year. He previously worked at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, where officials said he also smuggled contraband.
His lawyer, Howard Teitelbaum, called the charges "nonsense." He said Roman is innocent, but declined further comment.
Roman and 18 others are charged with racketeering. That includes two inmates who officials said served as Roman’s trusted middle men: Angel Vasquez, 53, and Willie Wade, 46.
Luis Roman, 47.Another 16 inmates are accused of buying phones.
Officials described an intricate network of co-conspirators, inside and outside the prison, who worked together to smuggle contraband. They said inmates would contact sources outside the prison, who obtained drugs and cell phones to pass to Roman. After Roman smuggled in the contraband, it was passed from the middle men to inmates — often kitchen and laundry workers — who would distribute them to other inmates, officials said. Each cell phone could cost up to $400, plus a $200 "shipment fee" that greased the operation.
Roman, 47, of Avenel, was suspended without pay and arrested in November. He was fired the following month. Roman’s ex-wife, Ann Marie Roman, 36, of Keasbey, was also arrested. She pleaded guilty earlier this month to collecting payments for contraband through wire accounts.
Previous coverage:
• Indictments to be announced against people accused of smuggling phones, drugs into N.J. prison
• Jail inmate admits smuggling cell phone into N.J. prison in Newark