MONMOUTH COUNTY – A Monmouth County Correctional Institution Officer has pled guilty to distributing drugs to inmates within the jail, officials said.
Bryant Mack, 54, of Shamong, pled guilty to second-degree Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS).
Mack was a corrections officer for 18 years. According to officials, he would smuggle drugs and other contraband into the facility by hiding them in potato chip bags. He would give the substances to an inmate who proceeded to distribute them within the jail.
Authorities discovered Mack’s criminal activity on September 4, 2021, after officers caught two inmates with drugs and other contraband in their cells. Detectives were able to trace the items back to Mack.
During his plea, Mack admitted that he entered into an agreement with an inmate to bring CDS and other contraband into the jail, in exchange for payment.
“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. I commend my staff and our law enforcement partners for their tireless work on this complicated investigation. Mr. Mack’s conduct is not indicative of the honest, hard-working, law enforcement officers who risk their lives daily to protect and serve our county,” Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago stated.
“All members of the law enforcement profession have a duty to exhibit at all times the highest level of professionalism with honor and integrity. Any conduct that does not meet that expectation will not be tolerated” said Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden. “I’m proud of the correctional police officers who tirelessly serve this agency. An officer who violates his or her oath of office does a grave disservice to their co-workers, as well as the entire law enforcement profession, and will be held fully accountable with proper disciplinary action taken.”
Mack faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on April 21, 2023. At the time of his plea, the judge entered an order forfeiting Mack’s job at MCCI and prohibiting him from holding public office again in the State of New Jersey.
