Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber today announced that a NYC Department of Correction Officer, an inmate and the inmate’s wife have been indicted in a contraband smuggling conspiracy that brought security tools, marijuana and tobacco into a Rikers Island jail. The officer is also charged with stealing nearly $8,000 in pay for hours he did not work.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants allegedly engaged in a scheme that provided an inmate with contraband that fuels violence behind bars. Even more troubling, the veteran correction officer allegedly supplied the inmate with tools that can unscrew special security screws used throughout the jails, creating a security risk. These actions placed his fellow officers, other staff and inmates in jeopardy.”
Commissioner Strauber said, “As charged, this City Correction officer abused his position of trust, acting in concert with a person in custody and a co-conspirator, to smuggle contraband, including security tools, into Rikers Island jail facilities. Introducing contraband destabilizes the City’s jails, endangering staff and inmates. Additionally, according to the indictment, the defendant is charged with time theft—stealing approximately $7,783 in wages from the City. I thank the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its continued commitment to hold accountable those who commit fraud and undermine the stability and security of the City’s jails.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendants, NYC DOC Officer Steven Davis, AKA “Sistrin,” 43, appointed to DOC in 2009; inmate Lorenzo Manuel, AKA “Despo,” 43, and Natasha Laing, 51, of Manhattan are charged with first and second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband and varying degrees of Conspiracy. Davis was also indicted on second and thirddegree Bribe Receiving, Official Misconduct, Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny, Corrupting the Government, Defrauding the Government, and Falsifying Business Records. Manuel and Laing were also indicted on second and third-degree Bribery. Davis and Laing have been arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. They are due back in court on February 10, 2026. Manuel is awaiting arraignment.
According to the investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Public Integrity Bureau, the Bronx DA’s Detective Squad, and the Department of Investigation, between May 2024 and November 2024 the defendants allegedly conspired to smuggle contraband into the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC) on Rikers Island. In return for thousands of dollars in bribes, Davis met with Laing multiple times in Harlem to coordinate contraband deliveries and to collect contraband and payment.
On July 3, 2024, Davis allegedly used his position in OBCC to deliver contraband tobacco to Manuel inside of the 5 North housing area of OBCC. On August 15, 2024, Davis allegedly delivered a carton of cigarettes worth at least $10,000 behind bars, marijuana, a lighter, and specialized security tools to Manuel, inside of the 5 North housing area of OBCC. Those security tools could unfasten the screws on light fixtures, vents and other places where inmates could hide contraband such as cell phones and scalpels. On October 25, 2024, Davis allegedly left his post in OBCC, drove to Harlem, collected additional contraband from Laing, returned to Rikers, and delivered contraband to Manuel in the early morning of October 26, 2024.
In return for smuggling contraband, Davis allegedly collected cash payments from Laing multiple times, totaling more than $5,000 in bribes.
In addition to the contraband scheme, Davis also allegedly committed time theft from January 2024 through March 2025, stealing approximately $7,783 in taxpayer dollars.
District Attorney Clark thanked Correction Officer Investigators Pawel Watroba, Ernesto Gonzalez, Brian Hilario and Squad 1 from the New York City Department of Investigation, and NYPD Detectives Sandy Nunez, Milton Feliberty, Jennifer Cordero, and Sergeant Louis Meade and the Bronx District Attorney’s Squad for their work in the investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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