By Prison Legal News Six Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members were hanged during a riot at a juvenile rehabilitation center in Tonacatepeque on September 24, 2013 — El Salvador’s Prisoners’ Day. Two of the dead were minors, and four were adults who had been sentenced at a younger age. Police believe the murders were carefully
By Prison Legal News On September 25, 2013, a Pitkin County Jailer obtained a restraining order against a prisoner who threatened her family. Deputy Deborah Kendrick sought the order to prevent Robert Rice from contacting her, her husband — who is a Pitkin County sheriff’s deputy — and one of their family members. Kendrick said
By Prison Legal News A report issued on September 26, 2013, by the Independent Commission Against Corruption recommended prosecution for a Long Bay prison guard who showed up for tower duty while high on ecstasy, sold steroids to both prisoners and fellow prison guards and lied to the commission about his conduct. Robert Di-Bona worked at
By Prison Legal News On September 25, 2013, a man who escaped from a California prison in 1977 was taken into custody at his home in Jessieville, Arkansas, where he had been residing under an assumed name. Michael Ray Morrow scaled a fence at the California Institute for Men in Chino some 36 years earlier
A cell phone video, which went viral on the Internet, showed several Angola prison guards kicking prisoners and beating them with sticks, then laughing as they left the prisoners bleeding and crying on the floor. Amnesty International called the incident shocking and urged the government to prosecute the guards. In a rare reaction from one
Carbon Hill Mayor James “Pee Wee” Richardson, 61, was arrested on September 19, 2013, on multiple charges related to sexually abusing four prisoners at the city’s municipal jail; he was released eight days later after posting a $250,000 property bond. In addition to the criminal charges, Richardson faces a civil lawsuit filed by a former
By Prison Legal News
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from New York through Oklahoma and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.
New York Prison News
The wife of a Rikers Island mental health worker was arrested on May 8, 2013 for making death threats to her husband’s alleged mistress, another Rikers Island employee. Victoria Beltran, a transsexual actress, suspected an affair after finding unusual credit card charges made by her husband, Brett Bergmann. Furious, Beltran began to pepper the suspected mistress, Katarzyna Sakowicz, with voicemails and text messages, which Sakowicz reported to authorities. The two women also argued about whether Bergmann knew that Beltran was born a man. Beltran, who was charged with aggravated harassment, said her husband was aware of her sex change operation from the beginning of their relationship. Bergmann is reportedly filing for divorce.
New York Prison News
Former Erie County sheriff’s deputy Cutolo Buffalo, 54, was charged with pepper spraying a prisoner who was handcuffed and being escorted by two other deputies. The August 2012 incident led to an FBI investigation and Cutolo’s termination from the sheriff’s department. Cutolo pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 2, 2013 to six months’ home confinement on electronic monitoring plus one year of probation.
New York Prison News
Nancy Gonzalez, 29, a former guard at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, was impregnated by a prisoner at the jail. Gonzalez was arrested in March 2013 and pleaded guilty on July 3, 2013 to having sex with MDC prisoner Ronell Wilson, resulting in the birth of her son, Justus Liam Gonzalez. Defense attorney Anthony Ricco compared the pair’s relationship to that of Romeo and Juliet — although unlike the Shakespearean play, Wilson was facing the death penalty for killing NYPD undercover officers Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin during a gun purchase sting in 2003. Gonzalez refused to testify at Wilson’s death penalty hearing and he was sentenced to death on July 24, 2013. She lost her parental rights to Justus on November 15, 2013 after drinking alcohol during meetings with Wilson’s relatives, which violated a condition of her bail.
By Prison Legal News
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Mississippi through New Hampshire and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.
Mississippi Prison News
In three separate incidents that occurred between July 14 and 19, 2013, two guards and the 65-year-old mother of a prisoner were arrested as a result of DOC investigations. Ciarra Harley, a 27-year-old guard at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), is accused of having a sexual relationship with a probationer.
Patricia Bennett-Armstrong, also employed at CMCF, was arrested for possession of prohibited items after a large amount of tobacco was found in her vehicle.
Further, Gloria Edwards, the mother of a prisoner serving time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was arrested for allegedly planning to deliver contraband to a prisoner. Edwards was at the facility to see her son but was arrested before the visit; she had several pills concealed on her body and more drugs were found in her vehicle.
Mississippi Prison News
On June 11, 2013, Harrison County jailers Frederick Corso and Joseph Tuten were fired for their roles in the mistreatment of a prisoner and an attempted cover-up of the abuse. A review of surveillance video confirmed the mistreatment, which was witnessed by a third guard who alerted jail administrators. Although the prisoner did not suffer any injuries, Corso and Tuten were terminated when one participated in the abuse and the other falsified incident reports.
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from France through Mexico and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.
France Prison News
Members of the UFAP-UNSA prison guard union gathered to protest in front of more than 100 jails on June 18, 2013. The action by the union, whose members are banned from striking, was to bring attention to overcrowding and safety concerns in French prisons. Protestors set fire to wooden pallets, tires, and other objects, and blocked deliveries to the facilities. “This is a shot across the bows, to make the powers be aware of the urgency of the situation,” said Union Secretary General Ste’phane Barraut.
Hawaii Prison News
John Joseph Kalei Hall was sentenced to thirteen months in prison on June 27, 2013 after receiving an estimated $10,000 to $30,000 in one year for smuggling cartons of cigarettes into Halawa Correctional Facility. Federal prosecutors said Hall sold the tobacco to the United Samoan Organization, a prison gang, and tipped them off to contraband searches. U.S. District Court Judge Helen Gillmor said Hall deserved prison time because he promoted criminal activity he was hired to prevent.
Honduras Prison News
On August 2, 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a report stating that control at the nation’s 24 prisons had “been ceded into the hands of the prisoners themselves.” The next day, Honduras President Porfirio Lobo ordered military troops to take control over the National Penitentiary following a violent disturbance that resulted in three deaths and 15 injuries. Prisons in Honduras are extremely overcrowded and have been cited for poor conditions.
Illinois Prison News
Timothy Ware, a 20-year-old veteran guard at the Decatur Correctional Center, was suspended without pay in June 2013 and charged with eight felony counts of official misconduct. Ware allegedly solicited phone numbers from two female parolees, called them repeatedly to pursue personal or social relationships, and then lied to investigators about obtaining the women’s numbers and the nature of the calls. DOC regulations prohibit employees from socializing with parolees. Ware was released from custody after posting a $2,500 cash bond.
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