Newark City Inspector Pleads Guilty To Bribery Charge, Banned From Future Government Work

NEWARK, NJ — A woman has pleaded guilty to bribery in connection with an incident that took place while she was working as a city code enforcement officer in Newark, state prosecutors recently announced.

Sonia Rogers, 51, of Newark, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery (3rd degree) on June 26, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

Here’s what happened, prosecutors said:

“As alleged, the investigation revealed that in September 2024, Rogers entered a Newark-based store in uniform and, after conducting an inspection, ordered the business closed. [Rogers] advised store management that their municipal business license had expired, and if she were to allow the store to reopen to the public, she should be compensated with a cash bribe for doing the business a favor. Under the city’s code enforcement regulations, the store should have remained closed until a fire inspection was completed and the business license was reinstated.”

“As she admitted, in exchange for re-opening the store and not imposing any fines, Rogers initially solicited the bribe in cash, but she settled for taking store merchandise without paying,” prosecutors said.

Rogers was charged by complaint-warrant and arrested in February 2025. She was indicted by a state grand jury in August 2025.

Rogers will forfeit all public employment and be permanently disqualified from public office or government employment in New Jersey as part of her plea agreement, prosecutors said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 14.

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