FORMER NYC DOC OFFICER SENTENCED FOR SMUGGLING CONTRABAND WORTH $15,000 INTO RIKERS ISLAND

 

Defendant Illegally Smuggled 200 Cigarettes and Cell Phone

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a former NYC Department of Correction Officer was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution for taking a bribe to smuggle cigarettes and a cell phone into Rikers Island. 

District Attorney Clark said, “Correction Officers protect, serve, and embody public trust. This defendant’s misconduct placed his fellow officers, and the people incarcerated in jeopardy, by smuggling valuable commodities that fuel violence. He tarnished Correction Officers reputation and broke his oath for $3,000. Now, he’s on probation for three years and must pay restitution.”

Acting NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Christopher Ryan said, “This defendant accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in return for smuggling cell phones and cigarettes into the Rikers Island jail facility, compromising the security of the facility and placing his fellow officers and persons in custody at risk. Today’s sentence publicly holds him accountable for his criminal actions and requires he pay the City what he took in bribes. I thank the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for its partnership on this investigation and the Department of Correction for its cooperation.” 

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Kendell Felix, 38, was sentenced February 26, 2026, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Jay Kim to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $3,000 and participate in two years of programming. The prosecution had asked for a sentence of one to three years in state prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to third-degree Bribe Receiving on January 8, 2026. 

According to the investigation, between August 25 to 27, 2024, Felix was working as a Correction Officer assigned to the North Infirmary Command when he smuggled in 200 cigarettes and a cell phone in exchange for $3,000. Cigarettes are sold for $50 to $100 each in Rikers Island jails, and the estimated value of the contraband smuggled in by Felix was worth approximately $15,000.

District Attorney Clark thanked NYC Department of Investigation Correction Officer Investigator Brian Hilario, supervised by Assistant Inspector General Sasha Holguin, Deputy Inspector General Sony Fortune, Inspector General Whitney Ferguson, and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella for their work on the case.