Kasia Rivera, 38, of East Orange, pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter in exchange for a recommended sentence of five years in state prison
NEWARK -- An East Orange woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conducting a fatal penis enlargement procedure in 2011.
With jury selection about to start in her trial, Kasia Rivera admitted to delivering the silicone injection that ultimately killed Justin Street, 22, of East Orange, in May 2011.
"You injected the silicone into his penis?" Essex County Assistant Prosecutor William Neafsey asked Rivera during Tuesday's hearing.
Rivera replied, "Yes."
In exchange for her guilty plea to reckless manslaughter, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of five years in state prison. Rivera would have to serve slightly more than four years before becoming eligible for parole.
Superior Court Judge Robert Gardner on Tuesday also reminded Rivera that, as a result of her guilty plea, she could be deported to her native Jamaica.
"I don't know whether that'll happen or not, but you understand that that in fact may happen," Gardner said.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19.
In unrelated cases, Rivera, 38, also had been charged with possession of a stun gun and injecting silicone into another woman's buttocks and breasts up to four times. Under the plea deal, the charges related to those cases will be dismissed.
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Authorities have said Rivera injected silicone into Street's penis when he visited her home on Glenwood Avenue in East Orange. The injection shot directly into Street's bloodstream, shutting down his organs, and he died as a result the following day, authorities said.
A medical examiner later determined Street died from a silicone embolism, and his death was ruled a homicide, authorities said.
Answering questions from her attorney, Olubukola Adetula, Rivera on Tuesday acknowledged she was not trained as a medical doctor and she was neither trained nor licensed to administer the silicone injection.
During Tuesday's hearing, Rivera also addressed the alleged jury tampering that occurred when jury selection was under way in her trial in May.
At that time, three jurors claimed they were approached on May 8 by a man associated with Rivera about influencing the outcome of the trial. Two of the jurors said they were offered bribes of $5,000.
One of those two jurors said he gave his phone number to the man and later received three calls from a woman whom he believed to be Rivera.
After hearing those allegations while interviewing 20 prospective jurors individually at a May 12 hearing, Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler dismissed all of them from serving on the trial. The judge found Rivera was complicit in the attempt to improperly influence the potential jury, revoked her bail and remanded her to the Essex County Correctional Facility.
But on Tuesday, Rivera asserted she did not participate in the alleged scheme and that the man had acted alone in approaching the jurors. Rivera said she didn't ask the man to approach the jurors or encourage him to do so. She described the man as a friend.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.