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Rikers Nurse Indicted For Smuggling Drugs & Booze Into Jail
By
Lauren Evans
Published Feb 19, 2015
Modified Feb 19, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Feb 19, 2015
Modified Feb 19, 2015
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A Rikers nurse was indicted for accepting bribes from inmates in exchange for helping to smuggle alcohol, tobacco and drugs into the jail, the Department of Investigation announced today. Three inmates have also been charged for their involvement with the ring.
Jeffrey Taylor, an employee of Corizon Health Inc., was arrested in September along with the inmates, identified as Kevin Lides, 25, Howard Powell, 56, and Trent Patterson, 49, all of whom have been charged with promoting prison contraband and bribery. The investigation found that, between May and September, Taylor accepted at least $2,200 in bribes to smuggle the goods into the jail for disbursal among the inmates.
“Contraband smuggling is a dangerous influence on Rikers Island, one that breeds a culture of violence and corruption in the jails and threatens the integrity of the City’s Correction system," DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said in a statement. "DOI will continue to expose and stop these illegal schemes.”
In 2014, DOI investigations resulted in the arrest of 11 correction officers, nearly three dozen inmates and, with the addition of Taylor, one nurse.
Corizon, a private company contracted by the city to provide medical care to inmates, is currently facing a lawsuit from the family of Andy Henriquez, a 19-year-old who died in his cell in 2013 after jail employees failed to properly treat a tear to his aorta.
A report commissioned by the New York State Commission of Correction in December also blames Corizon for the death of Bradley Ballard, a mentally ill inmate who died in solitary after he was denied proper medication to control his diabetes and schizophrenia.
As a result, Corizon's mental health unit chief was simply "transferred to a smaller jail with fewer responsibilities."
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