A crew of Westchester County jail staff, together with present and former corrections officers, have been arraigned on bribery expenses in long-running smuggling scams, prosecutors stated Thursday.
Two jail guards, a former corrections officer and two jailhouse commissary staff are charged with pocketing 1000’s of {dollars} lately to sneak marijuana and different contraband to inmates, Westchester County District Legal professional Mimi Rocah stated in a press launch.
“These defendants put their very own pursuits above the security of incarcerated people, staff, civilians and different corrections officers,” Rocah stated in a press release. “Our jails change into much less secure when correction officers and others in positions of public belief settle for bribes to smuggle in contraband.”
The Publish first reported on the bribery scheme earlier this month.
Based on new particulars launched by prosecutors, the rip-off dated to late 2021, with inmates’ friends greasing the jail staff’ palms with hefty payoffs to sneak banned objects to prisoners behind bars.
Investigators reviewed hours of visiting room surveillance footage and examined dozens of texts and telephone conversations between the employees and the prisoner’s associates, in response to the DA’s workplace.
“Inform Litle Cuzzo I’mma push her a further 150 on prime of what I simply did for this subsequent one,” an inmate advised a good friend on the skin about alleged funds to commissary employee Sadari Maintain in a Jan. 2, 2022 name.
“Alright,” the good friend stated. “So I’m about to offer her that proper now and I’mma name her and let her know.”
Based on prosecutors, Holt allegedly acquired a $150 wire switch later that day.
Holt, 30, who labored for the corporate contracted to offer meals companies because the Valhalla jail, is accused of accumulating about $1,500 in whole between December 2021 and April 2022.
The DA stated Holt’s safety clearance was revoked on April 4, 2022 because the investigation started.
One other commissary contractor, Shardae Moore, 35, is charged with accumulating $500 to sneak within the contraband in December 2023 and had her clearance revoked later that month.
In the meantime, corrections officers Peter Cumberbatch, 39, and Shakia Smythe, 32, are awaiting termination proceedings after jail investigators and prosecutors accomplished their probe.
Cumberbatch is accused of accumulating $800 in March 2023 to sneak in banned objects, whereas Smythe is charged with greater than $500 in bribes between June and August 2022.
The fifth suspect, former corrections officer WIlfredo Gonzaque, 36, allegedly took greater than $2,000 in payoffs between September 2022 and February 2023 and was fired on Feb. 7, 2023.
Based on prosecutors, all 5 have been charged with numerous counts of bribe-receiving and selling jail contraband launched with out bail after their arraignments this week.
Not one of the expenses are eligible for bail underneath the state’s prison justice reform measures.
“The concerned correction officers have disgraced the defend that they as soon as wore and violated the belief we put in them to uphold the legislation and work with integrity,” Westchester County Correction Commissioner Joseph Spano stated in a press release Thursday.
Supply hyperlink
