NYC DOC Officer, Two Others Indicted for Smuggling Contraband into Rikers Island
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Department of Investigation
Commissioner Margaret Garnett today announced that a Department of Correction Officer, a
former inmate and a Bronx resident have been indicted for smuggling heroin and tobacco into
Rikers Island.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants allegedly fueled corruption and danger on
Rikers Island by smuggling heroin and other contraband for sale or trade behind bars. The
Correction Officer stands accused of tarnishing his badge and jeopardizing the safety of his fellow
officers. We will continue to work with partners such as the Department of Investigation to halt
crime in the jails, whether they are committed by staff or inmates.”
DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said, "Our City's jails are only safe if the officers
working in them are free from corruption. This Correction Officer and his co-conspirators
allegedly ferried in illegal contraband, including potentially deadly drugs and loose tobacco. In
addition to the potential danger of the contraband itself, officers providing illegal favors for
certain inmates is a threat to good order and discipline in the jails, making them less safe for
inmates and officers alike. DOI thanks the Bronx District Attorney's Office for their partnership
in this investigation."
District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Jason Prieto, 40, a Correction Officer for three
years; Anthony Rusielwicz, 41, of Brooklyn, who is an inmate; and Luz Pagan, 54, of the Bronx,
were charged in an indictment with fourth-degree Conspiracy, third-degree Criminal Possession
of a Controlled Substance, Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the third degree,
fifth-degree Conspiracy, first and second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband, third-degree
Bribery, and seventh-degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. Prieto was
additionally charged with third-degree Bribe Receiving and Official Misconduct.
The defendants were arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret
Clancy. Bail was continued at $2,000 for Prieto, Pagan was released on his own recognizance,
and bail was set at $10,000 bond/$5,000 cash and 10% partially secured bond in the amount of
$15,000 for Rusielwicz. The defendants are due back in court on December 5, 2019.
According to the investigation, from February 2, 2018 through April 16, 2018 the three
conspired to, and successfully brought in, dangerous contraband to the Eric M. Taylor Center
Rikers Island. On April 16, 2018, Correction Officer Jason Prieto was caught with 11 glassines
of heroin, loose tobacco and rolling papers by a narcotics-detecting canine.
District Attorney Clark thanked BXDA Detective Investigator Matthew Cruz and BXDA
Senior Detective Investigator Vincent Cantarella for their assistance in the case. District Attorney
Clark thanked FBI Forensic Examiner Michael D’Angelis, Captain Vincent Fuca of DOC, and
the DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for DOC, specifically, Investigator Brian Hilario,
Captain Ali Fayad, Assistant Inspector General Carmelo Galarza and K-9 Gunner, under the
supervision of Inspector General Dana A. Roth, Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations
Dominick Zarrella, and First Deputy Commissioner Daniel Cort.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
