Platkin announces bribery charges against Northern State Prison officer

A corrections officer at Newark’s Northern State Prison has been charged with smuggling contraband for an inmate in exchange for bribe payments, acting Attorney General Matt Platkin announced today.

“A corrections officer who can be bought, who is willing to break the law and violate prison policy for a fee, poses a potential threat to fellow correctional officers and the individuals incarcerated in the facility they are sworn to serve,” Platkin said. “We will not allow such individuals to sabotage the public’s faith in the criminal justice system.”

According to Platkin’s release, the officer, Werner Gramajo of Newark, smuggled items such as cash, jewelry, cologne, cold cuts, and espresso to inmate Thomas De Vingo beginning in 2020. Gramajo allegedly received payments of up to $500 a month in return for the contraband.

The arrangement was first uncovered when other officers discovered $40 in cash and a note requesting food be brought to “Tommy Two Times,” or De Vingo.

Cramajo faces charges of bribery, official misconduct, and conspiracy – each of which potentially carries a sentence of between five and 10 years in prison – as well as tampering with public records, which carries a lesser three-to-five year sentence. De Vingo also faces charges of bribery, official misconduct, and conspiracy.