Essex County Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Smuggling Contraband

Former Officer Admits to Accepting $14,000 in Bribes to Smuggle Tobacco and Cell Phone into Essex County Correctional Facility

NEWARK, N.J. – Efrin Wade, a former correctional officer at Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF), has admitted to accepting $14,000 in bribes to smuggle contraband, including tobacco and a cell phone, into the facility for inmates. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Wade, 36, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court on July 17, 2024, to an information charging him with one count of extortion under color of official right.

Details of the Case

Wade served as a correctional officer at ECCF from approximately February 2020 through March 2023. In January 2023, he began communicating with an individual he believed to be interested in smuggling contraband into the facility for sale to other inmates. This individual was actually an undercover FBI agent.

On February 1, 2023, Wade arranged for his associate, Yairisa Lizardo, to meet the undercover agent in Bayonne, New Jersey. Lizardo received $10,000 in cash and a significant amount of tobacco intended for smuggling into ECCF. Wade then hid the tobacco within the facility, but law enforcement recovered it after Wade informed the undercover agent of its location.

On February 8, 2023, Wade met the undercover agent in Jersey City to receive a cell phone concealed within tobacco, which he successfully smuggled into ECCF. The contraband was again recovered by law enforcement from its concealed location. A week later, on February 15, Wade accepted an additional $4,000 from the undercover agent and discussed plans to smuggle 15 more cell phones into the facility, expecting to be paid $30,000 for this effort.

Wade was apprehended on March 14, 2023, during his shift at ECCF, in possession of multiple packs of contraband cigarettes, tobacco, and cigars.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

The extortion charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Wade's sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2024. The charges against Lizardo, Wade's co-defendant, remain pending. Lizardo is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Acknowledgments

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the FBI's special agents, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, and the Internal Affairs Unit of the Essex County Department of Corrections, under the direction of Ronald Charles, for their investigation leading to these charges. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren of the Office’s Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.