By: Richard L. Smith
A former Essex County correctional officer admitted to accepting $14,000 in bribes to smuggle contraband tobacco and a cell phone to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Efrin 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 one count of extortion under color of official right.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Wade, who served as a correctional officer at ECCF from February 2020 through March 2023, began communicating in January 2023 with an individual he believed was seeking to smuggle contraband to inmates.
This individual was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Wade agreed to smuggle in tobacco and cell phones, which inmates at ECCF are prohibited from possessing.
On February 1, 2023, Wade sent his associate, Yairisa Lizardo, to meet the undercover agent in Bayonne, New Jersey.
Lizardo accepted $10,000 in cash and a large quantity of tobacco for Wade to smuggle into ECCF.
Wade then concealed this tobacco within ECCF, but law enforcement recovered the items after Wade disclosed their locations to the undercover agent.
On February 8, 2023, Wade met the undercover agent in Jersey City, where he received a cell phone concealed within tobacco.
Law enforcement again recovered this contraband from its concealed location within ECCF. On February 15, 2023, Wade met the undercover agent in Jersey City and accepted an additional $4,000 for his smuggling activities.
Wade also outlined plans to smuggle 15 more contraband cell phones into ECCF, expecting to be paid at least $30,000. He anticipated that the phones would be resold to inmates for approximately $5,000 each.
During his shift at ECCF on March 14, 2023, Wade was found with multiple packs of contraband cigarettes, tobacco packs, and cigars when approached by agents.
The extortion charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2024.
The charges against Lizardo, Wade's associate, remain pending. Lizardo is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.