Middlesex County Corrections Officers Charged with Misconduct After Inmate Suicide

Two corrections officers at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center were charged Tuesday with falsifying departmental records following an investigation into the suicide of an inmate last year.

Gregory Fahy, 26, of Woodbridge, and Gustavo Sanchez, 43, of East Brunswick, were charged yesterday with two counts each of third degree tampering with public records or information, and one count each of official misconduct, which is a second degree offense.

A county grand jury indicted the two corrections officers after the suicide of inmate Eric Caposole, 22, of Lavallette, who hanged himself in his cell at the correction center in North Brunswick on June 20, 2011.

Authorities said the two officers were responsible for taking a head count of inmates and to make an inspection of walls and windows in each one of the cells in a unit at the correction center. The investigation revealed that the officers failed to check on the welfare of their inmates, despite corrections records that indicated the officers had fulfilled their duties, according to the prosecutor's office.

The grand jury charged the officers with not performing their inspection tasks and for falsely reporting that they had completed their assignments.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Fahy discovered Caposole hanging in his cell at 4:28 p.m. on June 20. Caposole, who was being held on drug charges, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Both officers were suspended without pay following the incident, pending the outcome of the charges.

Fahy, who began working as a corrections officer in February of 2008, was earning an annual salary of $54,326. Sanchez who started in September of 1996, was earning $78,273 annually.