A Newark woman who has spent more than a decade waiting for authorities to solve the murders of her three young sons has now pleaded guilty to accepting an $800 bribe while working as a construction code inspector, resolving a low-level corruption case brought by New Jersey’s embattled Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
Sonia Rogers agreed to a plea deal that will require her to serve up to 364 days in a county jail, followed by a period of probation. Meanwhile, the murders of each of Rogers’ three sons remain unsolved.
Rogers entered a Newark store in uniform in September 2024, conducted an inspection, and ordered the business to close after determining its municipal business license had expired. They allege Rogers told the store’s management that she would allow the business to reopen only if they paid her a bribe – which came in the form of store merchandise, not cash.
Under Newark’s code enforcement regulations, the store was required to remain closed until it passed a fire inspection, and its business license was reinstated.
Rogers is an extraordinarily sympathetic figure: all three of her young sons were victims of gun violence, killed in separate incidents between 2011 and 2014. She acknowledged to the Star-Ledger in a 2017 interview that her sons were “no angels” and that one was a ranking member of the 793 Bloods street gang.
The state put tremendous resources behind prosecuting Rogers. She was charged in February 2025 following a months-long investigation, and indicted by a grand jury six months later. The investigation was led by a team of OPIA detectives and prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Robert J. Serrano and Samantha Eaton.
Initially, then-OPIA director Drew Skinner pushed for a prison sentence of five to ten years, roughing up the mother of the murder victims.
When she was charged, Skinner issued a scathing statement.
“The defendant’s trying to line her own pockets, instead of ensuring public health and safety, as alleged here, damages the public’s trust in government and could put lives at risk,” said Skinner.
Superior Court Judge Naazneen Khan is scheduled to sentence Rogers on August 14.
The state is seeking a lifetime forfeiture of all public employment by Rogers, as well as probation after her jail term.
