Five Morris County Cops Plead Guilty To Drug Charges: Prosecutor

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - Five Morris County police officers pleaded guilty to drug offenses Wednesday, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

The plea comes at the culmination of a narcotics investigation that resulted in the arrest of four Morris County correction officers and one Morris County Sheriff’s officer for drug-related offenses.

A multi-month investigation conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Special Enforcement Unit's Narcotics Task Force began after receiving a Morris County Sheriff’s CrimeStoppers Program tip about illegal drug activity involving use by a Morris County Sheriff’s officer.

“After discovering this information through our Morris County Sheriff’s CrimeStoppers program, I immediately forwarded it to the County Prosecutor for investigation," Sheriff James Gannon said.

The investigation identified four Morris County correction officers employed in the Bureau of Corrections who were engaged in an ongoing conspiracy to purchase cocaine for their own personal use, officials said.

Two of these correction officers were also engaged in an ongoing conspiracy to distribute cocaine to their fellow officers, police said.

Additionally, the investigation identified a Morris County Sheriff’s Officer within the Bureau of Law Enforcement who was engaged in the ongoing conspiracy to purchase oxycodone prescription pills for his personal use, officials said.

Two of the officers were also charged with obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function for utilizing a county law enforcement database for an unauthorized purpose in connection to their drug conspiracy, police said.

On Wednesday, the following defendants appeared before the state Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor and pleaded guilty to the below referenced charges:

Corrections Sergeant Dominick Andico, age 33

• Hired December 2009.
• Salary $112,156.
• Was a housing unit sergeant at the jail.
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine
• One Count of Disorderly Person Obstructing the Administration of Law or Other Governmental Function

Albert Wyman IV, age 36

• Hired March 2008.
• Salary was $72,055.
• Worked in the Records unit at the jail.
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine
• One Count of Disorderly Person Obstructing the Administration of Law or Other Governmental Function

Robert Busold, age 27

• Hired March 2017.
• Salary was $56,613.
• He worked on a housing unit.
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

Brian T. Rzucidlo, age 35

• Hired April 2009.
• Salary was $68,194.
• Worked in the Policy Unit at the jail.
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine

Nicholas Ricciotti, age 31

• Was assigned to courthouse security (Protective Services).
• He started out as a Corrections Officer on Oct. 27, 2014, and moved to the Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Law Enforcement in January 2016.
• His salary was $58,318.
• One Count of Third Degree Conspiracy to Possess Oxycodone (prescription medication)

As part of the plea agreements all defendants agreed to:

• immediately resign from their positions as law enforcement officers, forfeiting their current public employment, and will be disqualified from holding any future position in public employment
• term of probation with mandatory drug treatment

Andico, Wyman, Busold and Rzucidlo were all employed by the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and assigned as correction officers at the Morris County Correctional Facility. Ricciotti, a former Morris County correction officer, was a Morris County Sheriff’s officer assigned to the Bureau of Law Enforcement.

“All law enforcement officers must be held to a high standard of conduct. The illicit drug use of these individuals must be dealt with swiftly and effectively. There has been no evidence of distribution other than for their personal use amongst each other," Prosecutor Frederic Knapp said. "Nevertheless, they are all being terminated immediately and shall forfeit any and all possibility of future public employment. We thank Sheriff Gannon for his unswerving cooperation throughout this investigation.”

Gannon noted that one of the silver linings to this sad episode is how effectively the Crime Stoppers reporting system works.

"It proves that nobody - even Corrections and Sheriff's Officers - are above the law. I trust that the people of Morris County won't allow the criminal actions of a few bad apples to cast a shadow over the other 322 honest, moral, and hardworking staff at the Sheriff's Office," he said. "I am proud of my team, and we are stronger today for rooting out and removing those who would bring dishonor to our organization and our county.”

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