HUDSON COUNTY — A joint investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Affairs Division of the Hudson County Correctional Facility has resulted in the arrest of a correctional officer for allegedly accepting bribes to bring contraband into the County Jail.
Freeholder Chairman Anthony Romano said the Freeholder Public Safety Committee will be reviewing the matter of the arrestGerald J. Dawson III.
Romano said his office has already received a copy of the written report and the freeholders’ Public Safety Committee will meet with Correctional Facility Director Oscar Aviles prior to the next public meeting to get an oral report.
The arrest came as a result of a sting operation during which Dawson allegedly agreed to smuggle cigarettes and a cellular phone in exchange for a bribe.
Dawson, according to County Spokesperson Jim Kennelly, has been a correctional officer for about five years and earns about $43,000. Kennelly said he has been suspended without pay.
The investigation, according to Romano, came after Dawson was suspended for allegedly smuggling in an iPad to an inmate.
Dawson, Romano said, is currently being housed at the Essex County Detention Center.
Last month, Director Aviles said his office has worked aggressively to limit the ability for smuggling by controlling access to the facility, including some trailers being used for some personnel after Hurricane Sandy.
Romano said the trailers are already being phased out as damaged facilities at the jail come back on line.
“We do not need a new wing at the jail, we just have to repair the modular units,” Romano said.