Mercer Times

A former New Jersey Department of Corrections officer has been sentenced to three years in state prison for aggravated assault. The announcement was made by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA). Giuseppe Mandara, 55, a 15-year veteran of the department, pleaded guilty to using excessive force against a resident at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center’s Special Treatment Unit in Woodbridge.

Mandara was sentenced on February 21, 2025, by Judge Thomas K. Isenhour at the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. He is required to surrender in March to begin his sentence. As part of a plea agreement with OPIA, Mandara will forfeit his public employment and be disqualified from future public office or employment.

Attorney General Platkin commented on the case: “This needless, unprofessional attack was inconsistent with the years of experience and training that this officer had. In a moment of rage, he lost sight of his responsibilities and his position and set out to simply inflict excessive physical harm.”

Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA, added: “Rather than following his training and de-escalating this situation, the defendant enflamed a verbal dispute into a physical confrontation.” Skinner noted that Mandara created a false narrative claiming self-defense.

The incident occurred on August 23, 2019. After a verbal disagreement at Mandara's desk escalated into an altercation inside the sally port area of the West Housing Unit at STU. Mandara removed his duty belt containing sensitive equipment before pursuing the victim.

Despite efforts by another corrections officer to intervene, Mandara continued with physical aggression leading both men to end up on the ground where Mandara repeatedly punched the victim. Days later, the victim suffered a fatal stroke; however, no homicide charges were initiated as per N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2).

Deputy Attorneys General Amy Knutsen and Peter Choy prosecuted under Executive Director Skinner’s supervision. Defense attorney Stuart Alterman represented Mandara.