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Two NYC correction officers charged with accepting bribes
By
Ann Givens
Published Apr 5, 2022
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By
Ann Givens
Published Apr 5, 2022
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Two Rikers Island correction officers are among six people charged with smuggling drugs and cell phones to incarcerated gang members, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York said Tuesday in a press release.
Prosecutors said New York City Correction Officer Katrina Patterson accepted at least $34,090 in bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics and cell phones to Michael Ross, a gang member who is incarcerated in the Robert N. Davoren Center at Rikers. Two other people, Ashley Medina and Imani Matthews, who were not incarcerated at the time, acted as go-betweens, paying Patterson the bribes and delivering the contraband to Ross, according to a press release.
In a separate complaint, prosecutors charged New York City Correction Officer Krystle Burrell with accepting bribes in exchange for smuggling cell phones to, and facilitating drug sales by Terrae Hinds, an inmate at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island. Burrell accepted a total of at least $9,780, prosecutors said.
“The flow of contraband into our jails is a serious problem which puts inmates, fellow officers and potentially the public at risk,” said Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “We will continue to root out corruption at Rikers Island and work to protect incarcerated individuals and correction officers in our jails.”
Lawyers for Burrell and Patterson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Burrell, Patterson, Medina, Matthews and Hinds were arrested earlier Tuesday and were scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom. Michael Ross is currently in New York State custody and will appear in court at a later date.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
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correctional officer
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us attorney's office
Ann Givens
Ann Givens is the Public Safety Editor at Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Ann on Signal at 917-434-0736.
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