Former Rikers officer pleads guilty to smuggling illegal drugs into jail for bribes

A former New York City Department of Correction officer has pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs and other contraband into the Rikers Island jail complex in exchange for bribes, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Ghislaine Barrientos, a 37-year-old Mount Vernon resident, conspired with others to smuggle cocaine, a synthetic drug called K2, and food to detainees housed at the troubled jail’s Robert N. Davoren facility, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

She was caught on April 24 of last year when a drug-detecting dog alerted other correction employees to the presence of narcotics as she was coming into work, prosecutors said. When the employees searched her belongings, they found sheets of paper that tested positive for K2, and discovered $2,466 in cash in her car, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said surveillance video from prior weeks showed Barrientos entering a detainee’s cell where sheets of paper later tested positive for cocaine. Barrientos and an associate of that detainee had discussed sending Barrientos a package via a delivery service, prosecutors said.

“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,” Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Kim said in a statement. “We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption that jeopardizes the well-being of inmates and staff.”

Barrientos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. She is scheduled to be sentenced before a judge on April 16.

Her plea comes as the Rikers jail continues to face scrutiny over sexual assault scandals, detainee deaths and other dysfunction in recent years.

In 2022, another former correction officer testified in federal court that he had smuggled pounds of marijuana into the jail in paper bags topped with apples, accepting more than $10,000 in bribes from detainees before he was arrested. At least seven Rikers officers were eventually charged in connection to that alleged drug-smuggling ring.

After several detainees died from opioid overdoses that same year, former city Correction Commissioner Louis Molina announced that officers would inspect vehicles and mail entering the island.

In a statement on Thursday, the current commissioner, Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, said her department does not tolerate misconduct by its employees.

"The NYC Department of Correction worked closely with authorities to bring this case and to protect our staff — who overwhelmingly do their jobs with honor and integrity — from anyone who would bring dishonor to the uniform," she said.

Neither the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association union nor Barrientos' lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.