Former Northern State Prison guard admits taking bribes to smuggle contraband

Christopher Santana faces a recommended three-year prison term after admitting he accepted payments to carry prohibited items into Newark prison

A former senior correctional police officer has admitted taking thousands of dollars in bribes from associates of incarcerated people in exchange for smuggling contraband into Northern State Prison, a scheme authorities say continued for more than a year before investigators caught him arriving for work with tobacco and bottles of an unidentified liquid hidden beneath his clothing.

Christopher Santana, 33, of Hackensack, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree conspiracy to commit bribery during a hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin in Essex County, according to New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

Santana, who was terminated from his New Jersey Department of Corrections position in July 2025, admitted accepting payments to bring prohibited items into Northern State Prison in Newark.

Under a plea agreement with state prosecutors, the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability will recommend that Santana be sentenced to three years in state prison.

Santana also forfeited $4,500 in alleged bribe proceeds and his right to public employment. He will be permanently barred from holding public office or public employment in New Jersey as a consequence of his guilty plea, authorities said.

Ravin scheduled sentencing for Oct. 5.

The guilty plea resolves a corruption case that began after investigators discovered contraband hidden on Santana as he arrived at Northern State Prison for a scheduled shift on June 10, 2025.

A state grand jury indicted Santana in May on four second-degree charges: conspiracy, bribery in official and political matters, acceptance or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior, and official misconduct.

Contraband discovered under protective vest

According to court documents cited by the Attorney General’s Office, Santana arrived at the prison on the evening of June 10, 2025, when law enforcement officers noticed what appeared to be a large bulge protruding from the chest area of his clothing.

Investigators searched Santana and discovered two vacuum-sealed bags containing tobacco and three bottles of an unidentified liquid. The items had been concealed beneath his protective vest and near his upper thigh, prosecutors said.

The discovery led investigators to examine Santana’s activities and financial transactions more closely.

Authorities said the investigation determined that from about May 2024 through June 2025, Santana received thousands of dollars from associates of people incarcerated at Northern State Prison in return for carrying contraband into the facility.

The payments were made both in cash and through Santana’s personal mobile digital payment account, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

When Santana was indicted in May, prosecutors alleged that the arrangement involved payments from people acting on behalf of incarcerated individuals in exchange for his bringing prohibited items into the prison.

His guilty plea Tuesday converts what had been allegations into an admission of criminal conduct.

‘Serious breach of public trust’

Davenport said correctional officers occupy positions of significant responsibility because they are entrusted with maintaining security inside institutions where contraband can endanger employees and incarcerated people.

“It is a serious breach of public trust when anyone responsible for upholding the law and maintaining order betrays his duties for personal gain,” Davenport said.

She said corruption involving prison contraband threatens institutional security and damages confidence in government.

“Corrupt actions like these make correctional facilities less safe and secure for inmates and officials alike, and undermine public trust in government,” Davenport said.

New Jersey Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn said the case should not overshadow correctional employees who perform their duties lawfully but demonstrates why misconduct must be aggressively investigated.

“Accepting bribes and smuggling contraband undermines the work of the thousands of correctional professionals who serve with integrity every day and directly jeopardizes the safety of staff and incarcerated persons,” Kuhn said.

“The Department will continue to aggressively work with law enforcement to investigate misconduct and hold accountable anyone who compromises the security of our institutions,” she added.

Indicted nearly a year after his arrest

Santana was arrested in June 2025 following the discovery of the concealed items. He was subsequently terminated from his state corrections job in July 2025.

Nearly a year later, on May 26, a state grand jury returned an indictment charging him with four second-degree crimes.

At the time of the indictment, Davenport accused Santana of betraying his responsibility to keep the prison secure by using his position to bring contraband inside for money. The Department of Corrections similarly said employees accused of compromising prison security would be investigated and held accountable.

Second-degree crimes ordinarily expose defendants in New Jersey to sentences of five to 10 years in state prison and fines of as much as $150,000. The three-year sentence prosecutors have agreed to recommend for Santana is part of the negotiated plea agreement and is below that ordinary sentencing range.

The final sentence will be imposed by the court.

Contraband a continuing security concern

The Santana prosecution is one of several recent New Jersey cases involving correctional employees accused of bringing prohibited items into secure facilities.

In April, a former Atlantic County corrections officer was sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling synthetic marijuana and tobacco into the county jail, and another state correctional officer was charged in June in an alleged contraband scheme at South Woods State Prison.

Contraband presents particular problems in correctional institutions because prohibited goods can become a form of underground currency, contribute to violence and interfere with officials’ ability to maintain security.

The investigation into Santana was conducted jointly by the Corruption Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and the Special Investigations Division of the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Deputy Attorney General Samantha Eaton of the Corruption Bureau prosecuted the case.

Santana is represented by Newark attorney Anthony Pope.

With his guilty plea, Santana now faces the recommended three-year prison sentence, the loss of $4,500 in bribe proceeds, and a lifetime prohibition against returning to government employment in New Jersey — consequences stemming from a scheme in which a correctional officer entrusted with keeping prohibited goods out of a state prison admitted to accepting money to bring them inside.