Correctional Officer Arrested For Accepting A Bribe To Smuggle Cellphones Into The Metropolitan Correctional Center

Correctional Officer Dario Quirumbay Accepted a Bribe from a Family Member of a Federal Inmate in Exchange for Smuggling Cellphones into the Jail

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Guido Modano, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (“DOJ OIG”) announced today the unsealing of a criminal Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging federal correctional officer DARIO QUIRUMBAY with taking a bribe in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”), a Manhattan detention facility that houses federal inmates. QUIRUMBAY was arrested this morning and will be presented today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Dario Quirumbay abused the trust placed in him by the Department of Justice and used his position to enrich himself by smuggling prohibited contraband inside a correctional facility in exchange for cash. Now he finds himself on the other side of the law.”

DOJ OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Guido Modano said:  “Corruption has no place in our federal correctional system and will not be tolerated.  The OIG is committed to investigating allegations of corrupt employees within the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice.”               

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

QUIRUMBAY has been employed as a correctional officer at the MCC since 2016.

QUIRUMBAY, in exchange for approximately $1,000, agreed to smuggle two cellphones into the MCC and also provided an inmate with alcohol.  QUIRUMBAY met with a relative of one of the inmates in his custody to retrieve his cash bribe and two Apple iPhones, which QUIRUMBAY then delivered to an inmate inside the MCC. 

QUIRUMBAY, 29, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has been charged in the Complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and to provide contraband in a prison, which carries a maximum prison term of five years; one count of bribery, which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years; one count of providing contraband in a prison, which carries a maximum prison term of one year; one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the DOJ Office of the Inspector General in this investigation.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.