RIKERS WORKERS NABBED

Six city workers were arrested yesterday on charges of smuggling
drugs and other contraband to Rikers Island inmates, Department of
Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn announced.

The six - three correction officers, two jail cooks and a nurse's
aide - all met with undercover agents and accepted bribes of $50 to
$1,000 to smuggle cocaine, marijuana, tobacco and a cell phone into
jails. Investigators were tipped off to each case separately by
Correction Department staff members or by inmates.

"These city employees ruin their careers and lives by engaging in
this criminal activity," Hearn said.

Correction Commissioner Martin Horn said: "Smuggling contraband of
any type is one of the worst things a correction employee can do. It
breaks faith with their fellow employees, puts other employees at
extreme risk and jeopardizes public safety."

The employees face charges including bribe receiving, official
misconduct and promoting prison contraband. All are expected to be
suspended without pay pending the resolution of the criminal cases against them.