Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced
today the arrest of a New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) Legal Coordinator assigned to Trials and
Litigations on charges of providing false and misleading information on her pre-employment application to
become a Correction Officer (“CO”). DOI’s investigation revealed that BREANNE RILEY allegedly submitted
several notarized statements pursuant to her application in which she denied any gang affiliations or police
contact, although the investigation showed she has relationships with multiple gang members and has identified
herself previously as a member of a gang. The case is being prosecuted by the Office of Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown.
DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “As alleged, this defendant concealed her history of gang
affiliations and police contact in order to get a job at the very jails where many of these gang members were
incarcerated. This arrest highlights, once again, the importance of a robust screening process for DOC
employees, an issue we have issued Reports on in the past and continue to review.”
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said, "The defendant in this case is accused of lying about
her affiliation with gang members - and in fact is alleged to have stated she was a member of a street gang in the
past. It is vitally important that the people working for the New York City Department of Correction are law abiding
citizens and trust-worthy."
DOI looked at the issue of DOC’s screening of new hires in 2015 and found serious discrepancies and
issued a series of recommendations for improvements. Most of those recommendations were never
implemented. Read the Report at the following link:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/reports/pdf/2015/2015-01-25-Pr01rikers_aiu.pdf
RILEY, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is charged with two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
First Degree, a class E felony. Upon conviction, a class E felony is punishable by up to 4 years in prison.
RILEY has been employed by DOC as a Legal Coordinator since August 2015 and receives an annual
base salary of approximately $46,804. DOC suspended RILEY upon arrest.
According to the criminal complaint and DOI’s investigation, RILEY submitted two applicant
investigation forms in which she stated that she did not have any gang affiliations and listed ten inmates with
whom she had prior contact. RILEY also stated on documents that she had no prior police contact. DOI
determined through its investigation, background checks, and recorded inmate phone calls, that RILEY
maintained close contact with at least seven additional inmates incarcerated on Rikers Island through multiple
phone conversations that she did not disclose in her application forms. Furthermore, in several recorded calls
with an inmate, RILEY admitted to being a member of the Folk Nation gang, saying in one conversation, “Why
you calling me crip? I’m Folk as of yesterday.”
Additionally, DOI’s investigation found that RILEY had police contact in August 2017, when she was
stopped and interviewed by the NY/NJ U.S. Marshal Task Force for driving a person known by the NYPD to be a
member of the Folk Nation, and who was wanted for questioning in regards to a homicide. RILEY was
questioned for two hours and released. RILEY signed, had notarized, and submitted several DOC Pre-Employment
Forms declaring that the information she disclosed on forms and questionnaires was true and
correct to the best of her knowledge.
A criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
