Former SC prison workers charged with taking bribes, smuggling contraband

COLUMBIA – After a "long-term and broad" investigation that was begun by the FBI in 2016, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that 14 former state prison employees had been indicted on federal charges related to bribery and bringing drugs, cellphones and other contraband into South Carolina prisons.

At least some of them previously faced state charges related to contraband, officials said.

The investigation is continuing.

The announcement came a little more than a week after seven inmates died in prison fighting at Lee Correctional Institution.

"The South Carolina Department of Corrections is facing a crisis in contraband," said U.S. Attorney Beth Drake. "It affects the safety and security of our institutions. It affects the safety and security in our community."

While Drake acknowledged the indictments were handed down about 48 hours after the Lee Correctional riots, she said the investigation had been ongoing for three years. She and other officials provided only limited detail about the cases, citing efforts to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

"The manner in which we indict cases is priority," she said. "Certainly the priority increased after the riots, but it's not linked to the riots. There's no cause and effect."

A press conference about the indictments was held Wednesday afternoon by officials from the FBI, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the state Department of Corrections and the U.S. Attorney's office.

Investigators and state Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling declined to answer questions on policy during the news conference. Stirling did answer some questions afterward but declined to provide information about the Lee violence, saying the matter was still under investigation..

Records and incident reports involving corrections officers are among information sought by The Greenville News and the Anderson Independent-Mail through the Freedom of Information Act after the deadly violence at Lee Correctional.

According to federal court records, the people who have been indicted are:

Joshua Cave, Frank Pridgeon, Douglas Hawkins, Camille Williams, Rachel Burgess, Shatara Wilson, Darnell Kleckley, Miguel Williams, Catherine Prosser, Robert Hill, Holly Mitchem, Sharon Johnson Breeland, James Harvey and Jamal Early.

More: Who are the officials charged with accepting bribes?

The indictments include charges of bribery, wire fraud conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute drugs.

The prisons involved are not named in the indictments, but Drake listed the prisons where the employees worked, including Lee, Perry, Tyger River, Broad River, Ridgeland, Allendale, Lieber and McCormick.

Those charged, she said, included former correction officers, a nurse, food service workers and a groundskeeper.

Frank Pridgeon, according to his indictment, was accused of accepting "bribes to smuggle contraband — including cellphones and narcotics — into a SCDC institution for inmates."

His indictment alleges his actions occurred from August through October 2015. Pridgeon is charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

Shatara Wilson is accused in her indictment of accepting bribes to smuggle contraband from January to February 2017. She also is accused of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Rachel Burgess, according to her indictment, "accepted bribes to smuggle contraband — including a cellphone, cellphone accessories and narcotics — into a SCDC institution for inmates."

The indictment charges that Burgess' actions occurred between October 2015 and April 2016. The indictment charges her with possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Sharon Johnson Breeland was accused in an indictment of bribery, wire fraud conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and a mixture containing methamphetamine in 2016.

Though the word conspiracy is used in the charges, Drake would not provide details of how those accused operated with others.

Not all of the employees indicted are charged with drug charges, and some indictments do not specify what the contraband was. Drake said it included alcohol, tobacco, hamburger and a mobile phone SIM card.

Prosecutors said investigators intercepted most of the contraband before it was delivered.

Many of the indictments charge that the prison officers "accepted something of value and a promise to supply something of value as an officer in South Carolina."

Death, violence in SC prisons: How Lee Correctional Institution puts gangs before safety

Most of the charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison, though Breeland faces a maximum sentence of 40 years, officials said.

"The message is very simple," said Jody Norris, special agent in charge of the South Carolina FBI office. "If you are in a position of public trust and breaking the law, you can stop or you can be the one behind bars."

The indictments were unsealed just over a week after a deadly riot at Lee Correctional Institution that left seven inmates dead. Officials have said the riot was a fight among rival gangs competing for territory and contraband, and they have long blamed cellphones for dangers inside prisons.

In announcing Wednesday's indictments, officials pointed to several convictions around the state from recent years as resulting from related investigations. Among them, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, are Michael Young Jr., 32, and Vance Volious, 36, both of Columbia, for dealing drugs and plotting to kill Young's ex-wife with a mail bomb; Soeuth Ath, 45, and Sean Ath, 53, of Spartanburg, for distribution and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana and laundering drug proceeds; and Sean Echols, 30, of Orangeburg, for a murder-for-hire plot targeting a corrections officer.

Lee County prison killings: A look at the nation’s deadliest prison riot in a quarter-century

Though the FBI has conducted investigations involving contraband cellphones used for criminal activity, Drake said she is not aware of other federal indictments of South Carolina prison employees in recent years for attempting to smuggle contraband.

She said federal authorities sometimes indict individuals even if the defendants have already been charged by the state if there "is significant federal interest."

Though prison investigators worked on the case, Stirling said he wanted the FBI's help because of the organization's resources.

"We're trying to pursue every avenue we can," he said.

Stirling noted that the problem of smuggled cellphones and contraband is not unique to South Carolina. Drake said the federal prison system also has experienced contraband problems.

Stirling said he and officials with his agency have brainstormed ideas over the years to fight contraband, resulting in netting over fences at two prisons. More changes are on the way, as well as recruiting more officers and paying overtime, he said.

"We're spending our resources to try and stop the contraband at every turn," he said. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but we're going to keep on trying, and these folks behind me are not going to give up until we stop it."