Newark Code Enforcement Officer Indicted For Taking Bribes To Allow Businesses To Stay Open

On Tuesday, August 19, a grand jury indicted a 50-year-old Newark code enforcement officer on allegations that he accepted payments from companies to keep them open, according to officials.

Rogers, Sonia

According to Attorney General Matthew Platkin, Sonia Rogers ordered the closure of a retail shop, threatened to impose fines on the owners, and asked for bribes in the form of cash and free store products in exchange for reopening the business and avoiding the imposed penalty.

Rogers inspected a store on Broad Street last September while wearing a uniform and then ordered the establishment to close. According to Platkin, Rogers informed store management that the store’s municipal business license had expired and that she should receive a financial bribe in exchange for doing them a favor if she permitted the store to reopen to the public.

According to Platkin, Rogers requested an 800 dollar bribe and instructed a store employee to look after her because the store was supposed to stay closed until a fire inspection was finished and the business license was restored in accordance with the city’s code enforcement requirements.

According to Platkin, Rogers first asked for the bribe in cash in exchange for reopening the store and not enforcing any fines, but she ultimately agreed to take store products without paying. According to Platkin, Rogers agreed to assist in a fire inspection of the establishment in return for payment from the store. Through November 2024, Rogers continued to visit the business several times in an effort to receive additional payment, including fruitless attempts to remove a television, according to Platkin.

Following the murders of her three sons—Anthony, Antoine, and Tyquan—between 2011 and 2015—none of whom lived to turn 21—Rogers rose to prominence as a voice against gun violence.She openly supported the city’s strategy to address violence as a “public health issue.”

Official misconduct, bribery, theft by extortion, and soliciting or receiving any reward to affect the execution of an official duty were among the charges brought against Rogers.