Sonia Rogers
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that a state grand jury has indicted a Newark code enforcement officer after she allegedly tried to use her official position to extract bribes of cash and free items from a Newark retailer.
A state grand jury in Trenton voted to indict Sonia Rogers, 50, of Newark, New Jersey, after Rogers allegedly inspected a store on Broad Street in September 2024, shuttered the business, then started seeking illegal payments and free merchandise in exchange for reopening the store and not levying fines she was threatening to impose.
The indictment charges Rogers with four counts:
- Official misconduct (2nd degree)
- Bribery in official and political matters (2nd degree)
- Theft by extortion (2nd degree)
- Acceptance or receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior (2nd degree)
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in New Jersey state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
“The defendant’s actions, in seeking bribes to refrain from enforcing or imposing fines for city code violations, were an abandonment of her duty to keep the public safe, all for the sake of personal gain,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This type of alleged corruption, where a business owner and patrons are victimized rather than served by someone representing the municipality, erodes public trust in government institutions, and my office is committed to prosecuting such abuses.”
The investigation revealed that in September 2024, Rogers entered the store in uniform and, after conducting an inspection, she ordered the business closed.
It is alleged that the defendant advised store management that the store’s municipal business license had expired, and if she were to allow the store to re-open to the public, she should be compensated with a cash bribe for doing the business a favor. The evidence revealed that Rogers asked for $800, telling a store employee to take care of her since, under the city’s code enforcement regulations, the store should have remained closed until a fire inspection was completed and the business license was reinstated.
It is further alleged that in exchange for re-opening the store and not imposing any fines, Rogers initially solicited the bribe in cash, but she settled for taking store merchandise without paying.
In addition to the other charges, the grand jury concluded the defendant had committed extortion by allegedly threatening to take or withhold official action to get what she wanted.
The charges against the defendant are merely accusations, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Deputy Attorneys General Diana Bibb and Samantha Eaton are prosecuting the case for OPIA, under the supervision of Corruption Bureau Deputy Chief Laura Croce, Bureau Co-Directors Jeffrey J. Manis and Eric Gibson, and OPIA Director Drew Skinner.