Former NJ corrections officer smuggled drugs into prison, authorities say

A former New Jersey corrections officer has been sentenced to five years in state prison for official misconduct, stemming from charges that he smuggled and distributed synthetic marijuana to inmates at the Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Clinton Township.

Nickoy Ellis, 31, of Lake Hiawatha, was sentenced Tuesday, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III.

According to the prosecutor, Ellis was working as a senior corrections officer for the New Jersey Department of Corrections when he was arrested on Jan. 27 of this year. The arrest followed a joint investigation by the New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office Bureau of Professional Standard, authorities said. He was charged with second degree official misconduct and bribery, and third degree possession with intent to distribute marijuana and money laundering, according to authorities.

On May 27, the prosecutor said, Ellis pleaded guilty to second degree official misconduct.

In addition to his five-year prison sentence, Ellis is forbidden from holding public office in the state of New Jersey, the prosecutor added.

According to The Trentionian, online records show that Ellis earned a salary of $45,242 in 2015. He started working as a corrections officer in February 2014.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.