A U.S. Bureau of Prisons correctional officer has been arrested after a criminal complaint alleges he received bribes in exchange for providing contraband to prison inmates.
Quandelle Joseph, 34, of Brooklyn, was arrested on April 18. Later the same day, he appeared before U.S. magistrate judge James Cho and was released on $50,000 bond pending trial.
“As alleged, the defendant violated his duty as a correction officer and accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to smuggle contraband into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn,” said Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York.
“By accepting bribes, the defendant violated the public’s trust and promoted conditions that risked the safety of the officers and inmates in the MDC. This office will continue rooting out corruption at our federal and local jails, and holding corrupt public officials accountable,” Peace continued.
As alleged in an unsealed criminal complaint, Joseph became a correctional officer at the MDC in May 2020.
Currently, approximately 1,500 individuals are incarcerated at the MDC. Incarcerated individuals are not permitted to possess contraband inside the MDC.
During his employment, Joseph accepted tens of thousands of dollars from at least two different inmates to smuggle narcotics, cigarettes and cell phones into the facility.
“We allege the defendant participated in a scheme to smuggle contraband into a federal prison in exchange for money, breaking not only his oath of duty but also the law. The defendant’s actions put both the inmates of MDC and his fellow correctional officers at risk,” stated FBI assistant director-in-charge Michael Driscoll.
In one instance, Joseph entered a unit he was not guarding during a lock down, opened an inmate’s cell and provided him with contraband.
A few hours later, MDC staff smelled marijuana in that inmate’s cell and recovered a contraband cell phone from the cell during a search. The inmate had flushed the marijuana down the toilet prior to the search.
In June 2020, Joseph texted the inmate’s contact outside the facility that the inmate owed him $12,000.
Joseph also used a burner telephone to communicate with another inmate about the bribery scheme and warn him about upcoming contraband searches.
For example, on Jan. 26, 2021, Joseph texted an inmate from whom he was receiving bribes, “[t]ighten up search comin clean phones out call logs n text n try to stash it.”
The next day, Joseph texted the inmate, “keep your phones cleannnnnnnnnn erase texts and call logs every night.”
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Joseph faces a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
“As alleged, Joseph’s corrupt actions of accepting bribes to smuggle contraband into MDC Brooklyn endangered his fellow correctional officers, inmates, and the public. The department of justice office of the Inspector General is committed to rooting out these kinds of dangerous schemes,” Ryan Geach, special agent-in-charge with the U.S. department of justice.
The government’s case is being handled by the office’s public integrity section. Assistant U.S. attorneys Philip Pilmar and Marietou Diouf are in charge of the prosecution.
