Rikers Guard From Westchester Gets Prison For Smuggling Drugs To Jail

MOUNT VERNON, NY — A former correctional officer will spend time on the other side of the bars, after smuggling drugs into the notorious Rikers Island ail.

Matthew Podolsky, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that 37-year-old Ghislaine Barrientos, of Mount Vernon, a former corrections officer, was sentenced last week to six months in prison, to be followed by six months of home detention, for her involvement in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics and other contraband into Rikers Island.

She previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who imposed the sentence.

In addition to the prison sentence, Barrientos was ordered to forfeit $11,866.

"Ghislaine Barrientos smuggled drugs and other contraband into Rikers Island in exchange for more than ten thousand dollars in bribes," Podolsky said. "Barrientos not only abused her position of public trust as a corrections officer, she made Rikers Island less safe for inmates and officers alike. Corrupt corrections officers have no place in our jail facilities, and this Office will continue to work to rid our jails of those who take advantage of their positions to enrich themselves."

According to court documents, Barrientos, a former NYC Department of Correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as "K2"), and food, to inmates at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes.

For example, on April 11 of last year, Barrientos discussed with an associate of an inmate about how the associate would send her a package through a delivery service, according to law enforcement. On April 15 of last year, surveillance footage showed Barrientos entering the inmate's cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions. Two days later, the DOC searched the inmate's cell and found sheets of paper that tested positive for cocaine.

On April 24 of last year, the associate 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, federal officials said. DOC employees searched her belongings and found approximately 10 sheets of paper that tested positive for K2.

In an interview, federal officials say, Barrientos falsely stated, among other things, that no inmate had ever asked her to bring them contraband. Law enforcement officers then searched her vehicle and found additional sheets of paper, as well as around $2,466 in cash.