Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a New York City
Department of Correction Officer has been sentenced for bringing a cell phone into a
Rikers Island jail for an inmate with whom she had a personal relationship.
District Attorney Clark said, “The actions of this defendant, whose job is to help
maintain order in an often chaotic environment, are what fuel lawlessness both inside and
outside Rikers Island.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Tessie Clifton, 53, of Manhattan, a
DOC Officer for three-and-a-half years, was sentenced today before Bronx Supreme
Court Justice Steven Barrett to one year in jail. Clifton pleaded guilty to first-degree
Promoting Prison Contraband on September 20, 2016.
According to the investigation, Clifton and inmate Tyrone Williams developed a
personal relationship.
According to the indictment, Clifton placed a black cell phone into
a garbage can inside of AMKC Quad 11 Lower housing area on May 8, 2015, per
Williams’ instructions.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ann Lee of the Public
Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Omer Wiczyk, Deputy Chief of the Public
Integrity Bureau, and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau.
