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How Much Would You Pay To Escape Rikers?
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 6, 2011
Modified Apr 6, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 6, 2011
Modified Apr 6, 2011
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Have you ever wondered how much it might cost you to pay off a guard to help you escape prison? Well, we can now tell you one going rate: $90,000 worth of cocaine. That's how much one prisoner allegedly paid off a guard to help him escape Rikers Island.
Police arrested guard Robert Whitfield yesterday, as well as an accomplice, Islime Duvivier, who allegedly picked up six-and-a-half pounds of cocaine on Whitfield’s behalf. Investigators caught wind that Whitfield had promised to help free a Rikers inmate, who NBC identifies as a "drug kingpin", in return for cash or drugs; they set up their own sting with an undercover DEA agent acting as an intermediary between the parties.
Whitfield, a Queens resident and 21-year veteran Corrections Officer, is charged with drug possession, bribe taking, conspiracy and official misconduct. We can most assuredly guarantee that the next time he returns to Rikers will not be ladies' night.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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