Rikers Island Correction Officers Accused Of Trafficking Drugs Into Prison

One former and two current Rikers Island correction officers have been arrested and indicted on charges of drug trafficking, smuggling contraband, and bribery. The indictments come as the result of a five-month wiretap investigation dubbed "Operation Correction Connection," during which undercover investigators posed as friends and family of Rikers Island inmates and made deals with accused officers Steven Dominguez and Divine Rahming.

During the course of the investigation, the officers were found to have received fees ranging from $400 to $900 in exchange for distributing what they believed to be oxycodone. The two also used their credentials to transport what they believed to be cocaine into the prison.

“By smuggling drugs into a correctional institution, they undermined the security of everyone at Rikers Island — inmates, officers and staff," said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan.

According to a statement issued by the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, Dominguez and Rahming were arrested on June 23rd. The two accused men were in possession of more than eight ounces of cocaine and some marijuana when they were caught.

Over the course of the investigation it was discovered that former correction officer Deleon Gifth was also guilty of receiving a cash payment in exchange for delivering what he believed to be oxycodone to an inmate. He was arrested yesterday with no connection to the other two officers.

"Corrections officers hold the public’s trust and must be held to the highest standards expected of law enforcement officers," said James T. Hayes Jr., Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations. “Instead, these three officers abused their positions and smeared their badges by collaborating with inmates and others to operate a for-profit operation aimed at smuggling narcotics and dangerous goods into the facilities they swore to protect."

The DOI is also requesting the termination or demotion of four other correctional staff including a captain and three correction officers, due to their misconduct and possible knowledge of the smuggling incidents.

The indictments come weeks after other Rikers correction officers were charged with beating an inmate with a baton and covering up the incident.