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Corruption in the ranks of Rikers Island correction officers is so rife that one convicted jail guard claims he smuggled drugs into the facility in a sad attempt to keep his own job.
Former guard Darial Diaz, 33, smuggled K-2, cigarettes and a cellphone into the George R. Vierno lockup on the island in an effort to keep “peace” among gang members housed in his unit, his lawyer said in a sentencing memo in his Manhattan federal court case.
In the court filing, the ex-guard’s attorney claims Diaz smuggled the contraband in 2020 because he desperately wanted to gain full-time employment at the jail – and needed inmates in his unit to behave for a shot at the promotion.
Diaz was completing two years of probationary employment that is required for full-time work with the Department of Correction when he began smuggling, according to the filing.
“The reality at Rikers, where the inmates overwhelmingly outnumber the guards, is that the gangs control every aspect of life on the units. If there were fights, stabbings, and other disturbances in the unit, Diaz would not get approved for full time employment at the jail, a position he was eager to secure,” his attorney, Avrom Robin, wrote.
Diaz couldn’t turn to his superiors at work for advice on how to control the inmates because he thought they would shrug it off and tell him it’s not their problem, the court papers state.
His superiors were also turning a blind eye to smuggling at the jail, Diaz’s attorney alleged.
“Corrections Officers smuggling in contraband for inmates is a routine part of life at Rikers,” Robin wrote.
“The captain in charge of the housing unit would come through and walk around, and knew what was going on, according to Diaz. That is, the captain knew inmates had cellphones, cigarettes, and worse, and he knew that correctional officers like Diaz were smuggling that contraband in,” he added.
So Diaz conspired with a gang member in the housing unit to sneak in the contraband after being paid some $8,000, according to charging documents against him.
Diaz met with co-conspirators outside of the jail to pull off the caper, which included smuggling a paper soaked in K-2, his lawyer wrote.
“Although Diaz didn’t need the money, he did need peace and order in his unit at Rikers, because without that he would never get off probation and be promoted to a permanent position,” the filing states.
The corrupt guard was arrested in May 2021 and copped to conspiracy and bribery for the smuggling operation.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27.
Diaz’s attorney did not immediately respond. A spokesperson for the Department of Correction declined to comment.
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