Keith Harris was convicted of bribery in connection with a 2013 tobacco smuggling ring in the N.J. state prison
TRENTON - A former New Jersey State Prison employee was found guilty Thursday of accepting bribes to smuggle tobacco into the jail over two years ago.
After a weeklong trial, a Mercer County Jury found Keith Harris, a former trade technician at the prison in Trenton, guilty of bribery and money laundering Thursday. The jury did not find him guilty of official misconduct, Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward said.
The sentence carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, with five years that he must serve before he is eligible for parole, Ward said.
Harris was just one person involved in a large-scale tobacco smuggling operation two years ago that involved civilians, inmates, Harris and a former corrections officer, Eric Dawson, according to prosecutors.
Details revealed in smuggling ring
The operation began shortly after a 2013 ban on cigarettes in New Jersey prisons made tobacco a precious commodity.
On the first day of the trial last week, Raphael Dolce, an investigator with the New Jersey Department of Corrections testified that in March, 2013, investigators interviewed Dawson who admitted to receiving money from a civilian named Lorenzo Blakeney.
Blakeney was a regular visitor of Roosevelt Withers, an inmate at the prison, Dolce testified. Withers had a connection to Harris, who was working at the prison and had also received money from Blakeney, Ward said Thursday.
Prosecutors believe Harris received around $2,000 as payment for smuggling tobacco into the prison, Ward said.
Harris, Dawson, eight inmates and 10 civilians were indicted in 2014 for connections to the tobacco smuggling ring.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.