A Rikers Island guard was in a Brooklyn courtroom on Wednesday and faces corruption charges for allegedly smuggling tobacco into the jail for inmates.
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson and Department of Investigations Commissioner Mark Peters jointly announced that guard Jorge Garcia accepted $8,600 in bribes in exchange for the contraband. RELATED:Legionnaires’ found in inmate on Rikers Island, NYC’s main jail Garcia, 51, faces 19 criminal charges and was held without bail. He faces up to seven years in prison.
Thompson’s office noted this is the first case of city employee being charged under the “Corrupting the Government” statute that went into effect in April 2014.
“This indictment,” Thompson said in a statement, “shows our determination to thoroughly investigate and prosecute alleged acts of bribery committed by any public servant.”
Corrections officer arrested for smuggling tobacco to Rikers inmates
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