Prosecutor: Former Corrections Officer Gets 5 Years for In-Prison Drug Dealing Conspiracy

A former Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) officer has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to smuggle drugs into the jail to deal them to inmates, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Saturday.

Bryant Mack, 55, of Shamong (Burlington County), was sentenced yesterday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley.

A cooperative investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Unit and the MCCI Special Investigations Division revealed that Mack, who had been a corrections officer for 18 years, would smuggle drugs and other items into the facility hidden in potato-chip bags. He would then provide the items to an inmate, who would then facilitate the distribution of the items throughout the jail.

The scheme was initially uncovered on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, after officers caught two inmates with synthetic marijuana and other contraband in their cells.

During a plea hearing held in November of 2022, Mack admitted that he entered into an agreement with an inmate to smuggle synthetic marijuana into the jail in exchange for payment. He then pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (CDS).

At that time, Judge O’Malley entered an order forfeiting Mack’s job at MCCI and prohibiting him from holding public office ever again in the state of New Jersey.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office