Corruption inside prisons

Corruption...Fraud, Gambling, Prostitution, Extortion, Drugs, Physical/Emotional/Sexual abuse…

It sounds like your everyday criminal activity, right? It is, but in a place you’d least expect it. Inside prison walls. The very place we send those to stop this kind of criminal activity. But it doesn’t stop them. They are criminals after all.

I hate to burst your bubble but it’s not the inmates that I am talking about. I am referring to the criminal activities that are committed on a daily basis by the correction officers themselves. The very officers we hold to a higher standard and believe they risk their lives daily while working in these prisons, keeping control of the “criminals” sentenced there.

Some of us look at these men and women officers with a high degree of respect. We have all seen commercials on TV or heard ads on the radio telling the state and every community how they risk their lives every day asking us to donate money and support these officers that work for New York State DOCCS.

Indeed, there are some very good, honest men and women officers that work for DOCCS, however there are a lot...I mean a lot of very corrupt officers that work for DOCCS, who get away every criminal activity under the sun. Why? Because the very people who need to listen refuse to listen, especially to inmates who are trying to stop this, as well as their union is very strong. Their union protects them. Rarely do you see or hear of an officer getting fired for doing something wrong...even if it is a crime.

Fraud: Do you have any idea of how many corrections officers are out on comp? Those C.O.s play the system to the max! Hundreds...HUNDREDS of C.O.s are out on Workman’s Comp at any given time. The overtime being paid to the remaining C.O.s is astronomical due to all these officers that are out on fake comp cases and from other officers who “bang in” (call in sick) every single day throughout the entire state.

This fraud costs our state...us the taxpayers million of dollars per year. This money should be allocated to where it’s most needed: education, hospitals, hospice centers, etc. Instead, these thieves steal the money for themselves.

Gambling: These officers gamble on everything. Sports (professional and prison), they bet on inmates--on a fight, or even on pedophiles...on how long it will take before he gets beat up, extorted, raped on a company or signs-in to protective custody.

Prostitution: Yes--prostitution. Especially in prisons around the Buffalo area and down toward the New York City area. Male officers encourage women to take the civil service test to become a corrections officer because they can make a lot of money on the side.

Inmates are willing to pay for sex. How? Easy...the most common way that they also pay for their drugs, is to call home  and have their family do a no-ID Western Union or cash app; or the inmates sends money out of his commissary account to a P.O. Box; or the inmate pays in cash. Cash that he’s not supposed to have, but has gotten for selling something, doing something for a C.O., or cash he received from a visitor.

Extortion: It’s very common inside not only inmates versus inmates but C.O.s against inmates. Officers will go in an inmate's cell and do cell search (authorized or unauthorized) and the officers will simply take from the inmates. Things like Newports cigarettes, snacks, food, chains, even a TV or radio. Officers will extort the inmates for things the inmates are entitled to, such as showers, phone calls or even for the inmates to get their mail. It’s ridiculous and WRONG.

Drugs: There are a lot of drugs inside prisons. Pot, heroin, cocaine, suboxone, K-2, Molly, crystal meth. If you listen to the state, who claims these drugs enter the prison via visitors to the inmates, they are only partially right! A fair amount is brought in by officers. Officers who are greedy. All it takes is for an inmate to approach the right C.O. and the next thing you know, they are doing business together.

Physical, emotional and sexual abuse: This is a very serious issue inside prisons. Officers beat up (they actually have officers that are called or known as the “beat-up squad” or “the black glove gang”) inmates everyday. What they do is handcuff the inmate with their hands behind their backs then will kick the crap out of him, and/or throw him down the stairs. The officers will then cover their tracks by taking the inmate to the infirmary to be checked for injuries first. Then the inmate is restrained and escorted from the infirmary to their cell or to the SHU (special housing unit). That is when these officers will strike and beat the inmate up all over again, including breaking bones. A “use of force” is filed but if the inmate tries to file a grievance or lawsuit, they lose because they were checked by medical staff and had no injures. Slick huh?

The amount of emotional and sexual abuse inmates endure is high. They really have no way to prove it and if the inmate tries to stop it, he is the one who will suffer.

So one has to ask...why don’t the powers-that-be care? Shouldn’t we care? How many of us have a friend or family member that is incarcerated? How many of us pay taxes and are always wondering why our taxes are so freaking high here in NY State? This is one of the reasons right here…

Our courts are flooded with bogus workman’s comp cases filed by those C.O.s and lawsuits against these C.O.s But guess what? There are ways to stop 95% of this criminal activity.

If those that are in our state government offices would just LISTEN and do the job they were elected to do. There wouldn’t be hardly any fraudulent comp cases, or lawsuits; 99% of the drugs wouldn’t be inside prisons, and no more prostitution, rapes, physical/emotional/sexual abuse.

My son has sent countless letters to our governor’s office. Our awesome governor and his people never responded. Not once. Shawn’s words fell on deaf ears.

My son also wrote several letters to the acting commissioner. His response? ABSOLUTELY NOT A SINGLE WORD.

A serious change needs to be made! My son may not have all the answers but 15 years inside the system have given him plenty of ideas on how to change the system. People NEED to listen to him. We can change these things, we have the voice and the power to do so! This corruption affects every single one of us and it’s time to stop it.

Please share this and open up a dialogue with anyone you can. It’s not just New York State...I am pretty sure it’s every state that deals with this. It needs to stop!

Thank you for reading!