Brian Harrell of Pelham and eight other current and former employees of the New York City Department of Correction were indicted last week for allegedly taking bribes in return for smuggling contraband including scalpels, razor blades, drugs, alcohol and cell phones to inmates in New York City jails, according to a press release from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The nine defendants were arrested Wednesday and were to be presented before United States Magistrate Judges, said the release. Seven defendants were arrested in New York, one defendant in Pennsylvania and one defendant in Virginia.

The unsealing of the indictments was announced by Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; William Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Margaret Garnett, commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation.

At 60, Harrell is the oldest of those charged. According to the release, the allegations in the indictment are that Harrell “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle K2, alcohol, cigarettes and other contraband into the Manhattan Detention Complex, in return for over $6,500 in bribes, from at least in or about May 2020 up through and including in or about June 2020.”

“He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal crimes, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of distribution of a controlled substances analogue, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison,” the release said.

“These defendants were responsible for maintaining a safe and orderly environment in New York City’s jails,” Straus said in the release. “Instead, as alleged, they abused their positions to enrich themselves by smuggling weapons, drugs and other dangerous contraband in return for thousands of dollars of cash bribes. This alleged activity violated the defendants’ duties, and endangered the inmates they were charged to supervise and guard.”

The other indicted individuals and the alleged charges against them follow (complete copies of the indictments are available here):

• Miguel Compres, 35, of New York, N.Y., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle scalpels, smokable synthetic cannabinoids, often referred to as ‘K2’ or ‘Spice,’ cell phones and large quantities of cigarettes into the Manhattan Detention Complex in downtown Manhattan, in return for over $6,000 in bribes, from at least in or about November 2019 up through and including in or about August 2020.”
• Tameka Lewis, 41, of Brooklyn, N.Y., “abused her position as a counselor with the Department of Correction to smuggle K2 and other contraband into the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, in return for over $40,000 in bribes, from at least in or about June 2019 up through and including in or about September 2020.”
• Dariel Diaz, 33, of Reading, Pa., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle K2, a cell phone and large quantities of cigarettes into the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island, in return for over $8,000 in bribes, from at least in or about March 2020 up through and including in or about September 2020.”
• Jasmine Reed, 34, of Norfolk, Va., “abused her position as an exterminator with the Department of Correction to smuggle a razor, K2, marijuana, cigarettes, a cell phone and other contraband into the Manhattan Detention Complex in downtown Manhattan in return for cash bribes, from at least in or about September 2019 up through and including in or about December 2019.”
• Temaine Pelzer, 45, of Brooklyn, N.Y., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle cigarettes and other contraband into the Manhattan Detention Complex, in return for over $8,000 in bribes, from at least in or about August 2019 up through and including in or about February 2020.”
• Rashawn Assanah, 25, of Queens, N.Y., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle a cell phone, a large quantity of cigarettes and other contraband into the Robert N. Davoren Center on Rikers Island, in return for over $7,500 in bribes, from at least in or about November 2020 up through and including in or about February 2021.”
• Robert Balducci, 33, of the Bronx, N.Y., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle razor blades, marijuana and other contraband into the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, in return for at least $5,000 in bribes, in or about October 2020.”
• Johnathan Garrett, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., “abused his position as a correction officer to smuggle methamphetamine, K2 and other contraband into the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, in return for at least $5,000 in bribes, from at least in or about September 2020 up through and including in or about October 2020. “

The cases are being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s public corruption unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Marguerite Colson, Jarrod Schaeffer and Hagan Scotten are in charge of the prosecutions. The charges in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.