Accused ringleader of jailhouse smuggling scheme pleads not guilty

NEWARK -- A 30-year-old Nutley man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he was the ringleader of a jailhouse smuggling organization that funneled drugs and cell phones to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility, authorities said. Joseph Mastriani, a nine-year veteran of the county corrections department, was charged with conspiracy and official misconduct after he and 12...

NEWARK -- A 30-year-old Nutley man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he was the ringleader of a jailhouse smuggling organization that funneled drugs and cell phones to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility, authorities said.

Joseph Mastriani, a nine-year veteran of the county corrections department, was charged with conspiracy and official misconduct after he and 12 other people were arrested Thursday morning following an Essex County Prosecutor’s Office investigation dubbed "Operation Jail Breach," said Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly.

Mastriani remains in custody on $200,000 bail, according to Fennelly, who said the alleged ringleader is being held at an undisclosed correctional facility outside Essex County for safety reasons. If he does attempt to post bail, Mastriani will have to prove the funds came from a legitimate source, Fennelly said.

Six other suspects arrested Thursday — including Mastriani’s girlfriend Jillian Watral, a special education teacher in Cedar Grove, and Union County Probation Officer John C. Smith — appeared via video conference and entered not guilty pleas in connection with the alleged smuggling ring, according to Fennelly, who said Watral was released on $100,000 bail.

Fennelly said 30-year-old Essex County Corrections Officer William Rupp, 31-year-old Robert Koval Jr. and 25-year-old Cheng Park, all of Bloomfield, were released on $20,000 bail and have not yet entered pleas.

Shannon Arguello-Falke, of South Amboy, also posted $20,000 bail. Smith and three other suspects, Newark residents Rose Guinyard and Madeline Rodriguez and Bloomfield resident Joseph Lehman, remain in custody.

The two inmates accused of acting as Mastriani’s point men inside the jailhouse — homicide suspect Wilbert Best, 21, and reputed Latin Kings gang member Ricardo Ortiz, 32, of Newark — did not appear in court Friday. Fennelly said Bloomfield resident Anthony Rotunda, 39, was also absent from court.

The 13 suspects, who face five to ten years in prison, are scheduled to return to court Sept. 3 for a plea disposition conference with Judge Michael Raven.