Ex-Monmouth Jail Officer Gets 5 Years For Smuggling Drugs To Inmate

FREEHOLD – A former Monmouth County corrections officer has been sentenced to five years in state prison for conspiring to smuggle drugs into the jail via potato chip bags, drugs that were then distributed to inmates, the prosecutor's office said.

Bryant Mack, 55, of Shamong in Burlington County was sentenced Friday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley, County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said Saturday.

Mack, a corrections officer for 18 years, pleaded guilty in November to smuggling synthetic marijuana to an inmate in potato chip bags, officials said.

An investigation was conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Unit and the Monmouth County Correctional Institution's Special Investigations Division.

It revealed that Mack would smuggle drugs and other items into the facility hidden in the snack bags. He would then give the items to an inmate who would distribute them throughout the jail, the prosecutor's office said.

The scheme was initially uncovered on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, after officers caught two inmates with synthetic marijuana and other contraband in their cells, authorities said.

During a plea hearing in November 2022, Mack admitted that he entered into an agreement with an inmate to smuggle synthetic marijuana into the jail in exchange for payment, pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance.

At that time, O’Malley entered an order forfeiting Mack’s job at the county jail and prohibiting him from holding public office again in the State of New Jersey.

“Mr. Mack violated his sworn duty to protect and serve when he brought contraband into the jail for his own personal gain. By doing so, he placed his fellow officers and other inmates at the jail in danger and justice requires that he take responsibility for his actions," Santiago said at the time of Mack's guilty plea.

This case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Falco, Director of the Office’s Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Unit, as well as Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Gilhooly.

Mack was represented by Frank Cioffi of Clifton.