WESTCHESTER CORRECTIONS OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO DRUG POSSESSION

A Westchester County corrections officer pleaded guilty yesterday to
narcotics possession and could face up to four years in state prison,
authorities said.

Timothy Connolly of Yonkers was charged with one count of
second-degree hindering prosecution, a felony, and one count of
seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a
misdemeanor, for interfering with a narcotics investigation.

As part of his plea bargain, Connolly must resign from the
Westchester County Department of Correction on June 28, according to
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore.

Connolly was arrested following an investigation by the Westchester
District Attorney Narcotics Initiative, the Westchester County
Department of Correction Special Investigations Unit and police
officers from Yonkers and New York state.

While assigned to the county jail, Connolly told a suspect in the
narcotics investigation that the suspect was being watched and should
cease cocaine sales and stop using his phone, which was being monitored.

Sentencing for Connolly's case is scheduled for Aug. 30.

In December, another Westchester corrections officer was arrested for
his involvement in a drug raid. Michael Gray of Hawthorne was charged
with first-degree promoting prison contraband and third-degree
criminal sale of a controlled substance, officials said.