Advertisement 80 people indicted in racketeering scheme at Maryland's largest prison Officials: 2 federal indictments returned against inmates, correctional officers, others Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A three-year investigation has led to two federal grand jury indictments of 80 people in a racketeering conspiracy operating at Maryland's largest state prison, federal officials said Wednesday.READ the full indictments: East Compound | West CompoundThe indictments charge 18 correctional officers, 35 inmates and 27 outside facilitators for their roles in the conspiracy, which allegedly involved paying bribes to correctional officers to smuggle contraband, including narcotics, tobacco and cellphones, into the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover. The indictments, returned Sept. 29, were unsealed Wednesday."Prison corruption is a longstanding, deeply rooted systemic problem that can only be solved by a combination of criminal prosecutions and policy changes," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said. "We will continue to work closely with state officials to prosecute correctional officers who bring cellphones, drugs and other contraband into correctional facilities, and to propose appropriate changes in prison policies and practices.""Few things threaten our society more than public servants who betray their oath for personal gain," said Gordon B. Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore Division. "It was extremely courageous of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to allow the access required to conduct this type of investigation. The state of Maryland and the FBI together have made this community safer."ECI is a medium-security prison for men built as two identical compounds (east and west) on 620 acres, housing more than 3,300 inmates in Somerset County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The east and west compounds are divided into housing units: 1 through 4 in the west and 5 through 8 in the east.The first indictment covers the west compound and charges 39 defendants, including nine COs, 17 ECI inmates and 13 outside suppliers or facilitators. The second indictment covers the east compound and charges 41 defendants, including nine COs, 18 ECI inmates and 14 facilitators.The indictments allege that the COs accepted payments from facilitators and/or inmates, or engaged in sexual relations with inmates, to smuggle contraband into ECI, including drugs, cellphones and tobacco. The going rate for a CO to smuggle contraband into ECI was $500 per package, although some COs charged more and some charged less.According to the indictments, inmates and facilitators paid COs for smuggled contraband in cash, money orders and through PayPal. Inmates were able to use contraband cellphones to pay COs directly using PayPal from within ECI and also received payments from other inmates for contraband through PayPal, often with the assistance of facilitators, according to the indictments.The indictments allege that the defendants conspired to smuggle and traffic in drugs in ECI including heroin; cocaine; MDMA, commonly referred to as molly or Ecstasy; buprenorphine, commonly referred to as Suboxone, a prescription opioid used to treat heroin addiction; marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids (otherwise known as K2); and other contraband, including cellphones, pornographic videos and tobacco, in order to expand their criminal operations.The profits made by the inmates by selling contraband in the prison far exceeded the profits that could be made by selling similar items on the street, authorities said. For example, defendant inmates could purchase Suboxone strips for $3 each and sell them inside ECI for $50 each, a profit of more than 15 times the purchase price, officials said.According to the indictments, although COs and other ECI employees were required to pass through security screening at the entrance to ECI, defendant COs were able to hide contraband on their persons and some COs took breaks during their shifts and went to their cars to retrieve contraband.Once the COs had the smuggled contraband inside the facility, they delivered it to inmates in their cells; in clerk's offices, private offices within each housing unit where an inmate clerk worked; the officers' dining room, where officers could interact with inmate servers and kitchen workers; and pre-arranged stash locations like staff bathrooms, storage closets, laundry rooms and other places where contraband could be hidden and then later retrieved by inmates, according to the indictments.The indictments allege that inmates who had jobs that allowed them to move throughout the housing unit and elsewhere in the prison, commonly referred to as "working men," took orders for contraband from inmates, provided orders to corrupt COs and delivered contraband to inmates. The affidavits filed in support of the search warrants discuss an inmate who admitted paying COs $3,000 per week to smuggle. According to the west indictment, another inmate said he aimed to make $50,000 before he was released.The defendants are accused of using cellphones to communicate with one another and coordinate contraband smuggling and trafficking activities, and some shared a "dirty" phone among themselves for contraband smuggling purposes. According to court documents, the conspirators rented post office boxes to send drugs and bribe payments to the COs.The indictments allege that COs warned inmates when the prison administration was planning cell searches so that the inmates could hide contraband or pass it to other inmates whose cells were not being searched. The COs also monitored inmates to determine if they were providing information to the prison administration about contraband smuggling. When the COs learned that inmates were providing information to the prison administration, they tried to prevent them from doing so or alerted defendant inmates so that they could retaliate against them, sometimes violently, according to the indictments."We had an inmate who the corrections officer believed was telling the authorities what was going on, and the officer arranged for another inmate to attack and stab that first inmate," Rosenstein said.According to the indictments, defendants used violence to obtain contraband once it was smuggled into the facility to ensure that contraband paid for by an inmate was delivered to that inmate and to retaliate against inmates who provided information, or attempted to provide information to the prison administration about corrupt COs and contraband smuggling or who otherwise interfered with their contraband-trafficking activities.For example, the west compound indictment alleges that an inmate was stabbed at the direction of a defendant CO after the inmate filed a complaint against the CO, which caused the CO to be removed from the housing unit. At the time of his removal, the CO owed several inmates contraband that he had been bribed to smuggle into ECI, the indictment said."There's no allegation that the higher level officials at the facility were participating in the corruption," Rosenstein said. "In fact we found here, as we did at the Baltimore City Detention Center, that the senior management not only wasn't involved, but was actively working to combat the corruption."Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the racketeering conspiracy, and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute drugs.Two correctional officers and two inmates charged in the indictment covering the west compound also face a maximum of 10 years in prison for deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly participating in the stabbing of two inmates in separate incidents.Initial appearances for the correctional officers and facilitators arrested Wednesday are being held in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The inmates charged in the indictments will have initial appearances later."After taking office last year, I assigned eight investigators to work directly with the federal agencies to root out corruption, which is my chief priority," Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen T. Moyer said. "Today’s actions, which are a result of the extraordinary partnership of the DPSCS Investigative unit, the FBI and our other state and federal partners, send a strong message that we will no longer tolerate corruption committed by a few tarnishing the good work of our 10,500 dedicated and committed department employees."State and federal authorities executed dozens of federal search warrants Wednesday, which coincided with the simultaneous searches of cells of the more than 30 inmate defendants, some of whom are no longer at ECI."Today’s arrests by postal inspectors and our law enforcement partners serve as a warning to street criminals and corrupt public servants that the nation’s mail system is not a tool for use by those who traffic in drugs and illegal contraband," said Postal Inspector in Charge Terrence P. McKeown of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division. "We are committed to safeguarding the interests of law-abiding citizens and our Postal Service employees by working to eliminate these dangerous substances from the U.S. mail."West Compound IndictmentCorrectional officers:- Aaron Bohl, 34, of Parksley, Virginia- Rozlyn Bratten, 31, of Snow Hill, Maryland- Rachelle Hankerson, 26, of Salisbury, Maryland- David Hearn, 54, of Eden, Maryland- Xavier Holden, 27, of Salisbury- Jesse James Jones, 27, of Delmar, Maryland- Thomas Leimbach, 32, of Pocomoke City, Maryland- Kimberly Rayfield, 37, of Crisfield, Maryland- Stephen Wise, 34, of Pocomoke, MarylandInmates:- Mohammed Akram, 34- Aaron Bell, 34- Shawn Benbow, 33- David Bond, 30- Joseph Branch, 35- Robert Costen, 35- Michael Counts, 37- Travis Gie, 24- Jamar Hutt, 27- Samuel Johnson, 36- Troy Johnson, 37- Demario King, 37- Mark Lance, 36- Michael Page, 35- Ternell Lucas, 42- Shawn Sullivan, 41- Kevin Stanley, 36Facilitators:- Reggie Fosque, 26, of Princess Anne, Maryland- Cammay Gray, 31, of Los Angeles, California- Chastity Harmon, 40, of Princess Anne- Leondrus Higgins, 29, of Salisbury, Maryland- Deonya Johnson, 34, of Baltimore- Terrell King, 23, of Chestertown, Maryland- Markayla Reynolds, 23, of Salisbury- Chavia Savage, 23, of Salisbury and Baltimore- Ronald Stewart, 33, of Baltimore- Tyeacha Thomas Counts, 34, of Columbia, Maryland- Kevin Thompson, 37, of Baltimore- Trina Williams Johnson, age 44, of Baltimore- Angel Whittington, 35, of SalisburyEast Compound IndictmentCorrectional Officers:- Sherima Bell, 37, of Pocomoke, Maryland- Erin Burfield, 32, of Salisbury, Maryland- Jocelyn Byrd, 39, of Salisbury- Erica Cook, 32, of Snow Hill, Maryland- Travis Dennis, 27, of Pittsville, Maryland- Aaron Ennis, 35, of Hebron, Maryland- Donte Harris, 26, of Kennisburg, Colorado- Jessica Vennie, 27, of Crowley, Texas- Robert Waters, 32, of SalisburyInmates:- Michael Andrews, 27- Artie Bailey, 31- Orlando Bowen, 25- Jamar Butler, 33- Alexander Crippen, 42- Maurice Fox, 36- Stewart Gough, 38- Darian Holmes, 38- Marty Imes, 35- Reginald Johnson, 37- Zachary Martin, 36- Devon Matos, 33- Vincent Middleton, 31- Michael Null, 31- Sean Smith, 25- Darrell Timms, 32- Alvin Williams, 35- Ramel Chase, 34, of Glen Burnie, Maryland (recently released)Facilitators:- Keisha Barksdale, 30, of Baltimore- Eugene Bowen, 51, of Salisbury, Maryland- Nicole Carpenter, 29, of Denton, Maryland- Katrina Crippen, 38, of Ft. Washington, Maryland- Darren Dale, 29, of Salisbury- Antoine Gray, 44, of Ft. Washington, Maryland- Elvia Hall, 46, of Baltimore- Marcus Lisbon, 37, of Brooklyn, Maryland- Miguel Matos, 46, of Ft. Washington, Maryland- Samantha Oliver, 28, of Baltimore- Rahman Shabazz, 50, of New York, New York- Rose Thomas, 56, of Brooklyn, Maryland- Dameshia Vennie, 34, of West Palm Beach, Florida- Apryl Robinson, 32, of Baltimore (former correctional officer with DPSCS from 2004-2007)Gov. Larry Hogan releases statementGov. Larry Hogan today released the following statement Wednesday afternoon:"The indictments announced today are a clear victory in the fight against corruption, and I want to thank all the hardworking federal and state law enforcement officers whose tireless dedication and sacrifice made it possible. This morning, I spoke with Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein and personally commended him for his work and partnership with our state investigators to successfully execute this complex operation."While running for office, I made it clear that the systemic corruption that had been allowed to take hold in our state prison system was unacceptable, and I promised Marylanders that our administration would combat it head on. Today, together with our federal partners, we have taken decisive action to make good on that promise."I hired Secretary Stephen Moyer with the directive to aggressively root out corruption in our state correctional facilities, and that is exactly what he has done. From closing the notoriously dangerous Baltimore City Men’s Detention Center to the many actions taken over the course of this investigation, our administration has been and will remain steadfastly committed to stopping this kind of illicit criminal behavior."I want to publicly thank U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, the FBI and other federal authorities, Secretary Moyer and the Maryland Department of Corrections, and the Maryland State Police, all of whom worked tirelessly, and at great personal risk, to see justice done."Under this administration, Maryland will remain unafraid to target corruption and criminal behavior of all kinds."WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller and 11 News reporter Kai Reed contributed to this story.Get the WBAL-TV News App