Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes In Exchange For Smuggling Narcotics Into Rikers Island

Press Release Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes In Exchange For Smuggling Narcotics Into Rikers Island Wednesday, January 8, 2025 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GHISLAINE BARRIENTOS, a former corrections officer, pled guilty today to bribery in connection with her participation in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics into Rikers Island. BARRIENTOS pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025.Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Ghislaine Barrientos took bribes when working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island. Rikers Island is less safe, for inmates and officers alike, when corrections officers and others in positions of public trust accept bribes to smuggle contraband. We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption that jeopardizes the well-being of inmates and staff.”As reflected in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:BARRIENTOS, a former New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments.For example, on April 11, 2024, CC-1, an associate of an inmate (“Inmate-1”), and BARRIENTOS discussed CC-1 sending BARRIENTOS a package through a delivery service. On April 15, 2024, surveillance footage showed BARRIENTOS entering Inmate-1’s cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions. Two days later, DOC searched Inmate-1’s cell and recovered sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of cocaine.On April 24, 2024, CC-1 sent BARRIENTOS another package using the delivery service. When BARRIENTOS went to work later that day, a drug-detecting canine alerted for the presence of narcotics. DOC employees searched BARRIENTOS’s belongings and found approximately 10 sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of K2. In an interview with law enforcement, BARRIENTOS falsely stated, among other things, that no inmate had ever asked her to bring them contraband. Law enforcement officers then searched BARRIENTOS’s vehicle and recovered additional sheets of paper, as well as approximately $2,466 in cash, as shown in the following photographs: * * *BARRIENTOS, 37, of Mount Vernon, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.The statutory maximum sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption and Narcotics Units. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Coyle is in charge of the prosecution. Contact Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford(212) 637-2600 Updated January 8, 2025 Topics Drugs Public Corruption Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 25-005

Press Release Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes In Exchange For Smuggling Narcotics Into Rikers Island Wednesday, January 8, 2025 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GHISLAINE BARRIENTOS, a former corrections officer, pled guilty today to bribery in connection with her participation in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics into Rikers Island. BARRIENTOS pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025.Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Ghislaine Barrientos took bribes when working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island. Rikers Island is less safe, for inmates and officers alike, when corrections officers and others in positions of public trust accept bribes to smuggle contraband. We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption that jeopardizes the well-being of inmates and staff.”As reflected in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:BARRIENTOS, a former New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments.For example, on April 11, 2024, CC-1, an associate of an inmate (“Inmate-1”), and BARRIENTOS discussed CC-1 sending BARRIENTOS a package through a delivery service. On April 15, 2024, surveillance footage showed BARRIENTOS entering Inmate-1’s cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions. Two days later, DOC searched Inmate-1’s cell and recovered sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of cocaine.On April 24, 2024, CC-1 sent BARRIENTOS another package using the delivery service. When BARRIENTOS went to work later that day, a drug-detecting canine alerted for the presence of narcotics. DOC employees searched BARRIENTOS’s belongings and found approximately 10 sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of K2. In an interview with law enforcement, BARRIENTOS falsely stated, among other things, that no inmate had ever asked her to bring them contraband. Law enforcement officers then searched BARRIENTOS’s vehicle and recovered additional sheets of paper, as well as approximately $2,466 in cash, as shown in the following photographs: * * *BARRIENTOS, 37, of Mount Vernon, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.The statutory maximum sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption and Narcotics Units. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Coyle is in charge of the prosecution. Contact Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford(212) 637-2600 Updated January 8, 2025 Topics Drugs Public Corruption Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 25-005