Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a New York City
Department of Correction captain and two officers have been sentenced to five years’
probation for covering up an assault on an inmate in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
District Attorney Clark said, “These Correction Officers concealed an assault on an
inmate during the chaotic days after Superstorm Sandy, but were caught and prosecuted for
a felony, and now they have lost their jobs. Correction Officers must realize that they will
pay a steep price if they cover up brutality or corruption on Rikers Island.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Moises Simancas, 40, Tyrone Wint, 31,
and April Jackson, 36, were sentenced today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Martin
Marcus to five years’ probation, and waived their right to appeal. The defendants pleaded
guilty to first-degree Falsifying Business Records on November 10, 2016.
According to the investigation, on October 30, 2012, a day after Superstorm Sandy hit
New York, inmates at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island were confined in their
cells for longer than usual. After a dispute with inmate Gabino Genao, Captain Simancas
and COs Wint and Jackson handcuffed him and took him to a vestibule where they
allegedly beat him. The officers falsified reports regarding the incident.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Newton Mendys,
Supervisor of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and Meagan Powers of the Public
Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Stuart Levy, Deputy Chief of the
Investigations Division, and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division.
District Attorney Clark also thanked Investigator Alexandria Maldonado of the
Department of Correction Investigations Division and Assistant Inspector General
Carmelo Galarza and Inspector General Jennifer Sculco of the Department of
Investigation.
