WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Last week, a corrections officer who works at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge was indicted for official misconduct, after he was accused of getting into a physical altercation with an inmate.
Several days after the altercation, the inmate died of a stroke.
The corrections officer is Giuseppe Mandara.
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The inmate, who was not named, was incarcerated in a “special treatment unit” of the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC). The ADTC is a maximum-security prison for New Jersey’s male sex offenders, and it is located in the Avenel section of Woodbridge.
The incident between the inmate and guard occurred on August 23, 2019, said the Attorney General.
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The indictment alleges that Mandara abandoned his equipment, including keys and radio, and used excessive force, but did not elaborate.
Several days after the altercation, the resident suffered a fatal stroke. Among other evidence presented, the grand jury heard testimony from the state medical examiner about what caused the stroke and death.
Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office sought a homicide charge against Mandara, but the grand jury declined to indict him on that most serious charge. Instead, the returned an indictment of one count of second-degree official misconduct.
The Attorney General says Mandara’s actions were in violation of New Jersey Department of Corrections policies, procedures and training.
The Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel is one of the most secure prisons in the state, as it houses men convicted of the most serious sex crimes under the law. Approximately 700 adult men are currently housed there, all of whom have violent or repetitive sex offender status. Many have been deemed to have a high likelihood to re-commit sex crimes upon their release.
However, the ADTC has a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, with intense “cognitive–behavioral treatment and relapse prevention to repetitive, compulsive sex offenders,” according to this profile on the Avenel prison from the U.S. Justice Department.
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