Defendant Passed Cigarettes, Marijuana to Inmate Who Brought Them to Rikers Island Where One Cigarette Fetches Up to $100
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber announced that a New York City Department of Correction Officer has been indicted for bribe receiving and promoting prison contraband for passing thousands of dollars’ worth of banned items to an inmate who was appearing for a court date in the Bronx Hall of Justice.
District Attorney Clark said, “Cigarettes and marijuana are valuable commodities that fuel violence and corruption in the jails, and this Correction Officer allegedly contributed to the lawlessness for a $500 bribe. That the alleged crime occurred in the courthouse is remarkably audacious. The investigation is continuing.”
Commissioner Strauber said, “City correction officers have a duty to maintain safety and order in the jails, for the protection of persons in custody as well as their officer colleagues. As alleged, this correction officer totally disregarded his obligations when he handed off contraband to a person in custody at the Bronx Hall of Justice, who thereafter returned to Rikers, undermining security in the courthouse and at the City’s jails. I thank the City Department of Correction for reporting information to DOI that led to these charges and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its dedicated partnership in bringing to justice those officers who jeopardize the safety of those they have a duty to protect.”
NYC Department of Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said, “Smuggling contraband into our facilities puts our Correction Officers, staff, and people in our care at great risk. Anyone doing so should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their egregious and dangerous actions. Thank you to the Department of Investigation and District Attorney Clark and her team for their extensive efforts on our common goal – improving the safety of New York City’s jails.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Andre Brown, 59, was arraigned May 15, 2024, on one count of third-degree Bribe Receiving and two counts of second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Brenda Rivera. He is due back in court on August 6, 2024.
According to the investigation, on February 15, 2024, the defendant, a NYC Department of Correction Officer assigned to the DOC holding facility in the Bronx Hall of Justice courthouse, allegedly provided an incarcerated individual in the facility with 16 cigarettes and 30.25 grams (about an ounce) of marijuana in exchange for money. The defendant passed the items in small packages, and the inmate took them on the bus from court and into jail, where cigarettes are sold for between $50-100 each, and three grams of marijuana sells for between $350-500. The total jailhouse value is about $6,600. Brown allegedly received $500 through a payment app.
District Attorney Clark thanked DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for DOC, under the supervision of Assistant Inspector General Sasha Holguin, Deputy Inspector General Sony Fortune, Inspector General Whitney Ferguson, Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives Christopher Ryan, and Deputy Commissioner/ Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella for their work in the investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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