Based on a true story, the book by the reporter, sure. But is it devoid of current sjw, white man bad, woke justifaction and modern political nonsense? Not so much.
So much stuff in baltimore way worse than the fiction in the wire.
As the BGF leader, prosecutors said, White claimed ownership of the facility. “This is my jail; you understand that?” he stated, according to transcripts of phone calls recorded by investigators. “I’m dead serious… I make every final call in this jail … and nothing go past me, everything come to me.”
“You see what I am saying?” the transcript continued. “Everything comes to me. Everything. Before a mother-f—– hit a n—– in the mouth, guess what they do, they gotta run it through me. I tell them whether it’s a go ahead, and they can do it or whether they hold back. Before a mother-f—– stab somebody, they gotta run it through me…. Anything that get done must go through me.”
According to court documents, high-ranking jail officials held “town hall meetings” with gang members to discuss operations at the facility.
“In this case, the inmates literally took over the asylum, and the detention centers became safe havens for the BGF,” declared FBI special agent Stephen E. Vogt.
“Correctional officers were in bed with BGF inmates, in violation of the first principle of prison management,” added U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. Court records alleged that “BGF members recruited correctional officers through personal and often sexual relationships, as well as bribes, and that some officers traded sex for money.”
In a press release issued by his office, Rosenstein said the corruption enabled those involved to “make large amounts of money through drug trafficking, robbery, assault, extortion, bribery, witness retaliation, money laundering and obstruction of justice.”
BGF members used the guards to smuggle cell phones, marijuana, Oxycodone, Xanax, and other drugs into several jails, primarily the Baltimore City Detention Center, which were then sold to other prisoners, according to the initial indictment. Gang members paid “dues” and used prepaid debit cards to pay for contraband; other prisoners were “taxed” for their own illegal activities.
Investigators said guards brought contraband to work with them. “The chances of being searched were remote,” prosecutors noted. The guards concealed contraband in their underwear, hair, body orifices, and elsewhere and walked through the jail’s main entrance, where co-conspirators were often present to wave them through.
According to the indictment, the female guards impregnated by White included Jennifer Owens, 31; Katera Stevenson, 24; Chania Brooks, 27; and Tiffany Linder, 27. A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Owens had “Tavon” tattooed on her neck, while Stevenson had the same name inked on her wrist. Owens and Stevenson were among the guards who pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Another guard, Kimberly Dennis, 26, was named in the indictment for allegedly having sex with a different BGF prisoner in a closet. Guard Jasmine Jones, 26, reportedly stood watch for them.
Other guards were accused of tipping off White and his BGF associates when shakedowns were going to occur, among other inappropriate actions. On January 6, 2013, White reportedly said on a cell phone call, “I just got a message [from guard Tiffany Linder] saying that they were going to pull a shakedown tonight. Let me call all these dudes in my phone and let them know.”
White allegedly purchased several cars with profits from the BGF contraband smuggling scheme, including a Mercedes and BMW. He gave one guard a diamond ring and provided luxury cars to several others. Profits were also used to fund BGF’s street activities outside the jail, which were affiliated with other gang chapters.
Appearing to prepare for what he believed would be White’s eventual release from the Baltimore facility, a lieutenant allegedly told gang member Joseph Young, seen as White’s successor, that he could keep making money selling contraband if he could control violence at the jail, according to wiretap recordings.
When news of the scandal at the Baltimore City Detention Center first broke, shock spread at the extent of the corruption.
“These types of insidious gang issues cannot and will not be tolerated,” Governor O’Malley said on April 26, 2013, three days after the original indictment was announced. “Over the last six years, we’ve made it a priority to work with our federal and local law enforcement partners to combat prison gangs.”
Then-Maryland Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Gary D. Maynard stated at a press conference that his office had participated fully in the joint state-federal investigation that led to the indictment and took full responsibility for the problems at the jail.
“It’s totally on me. I don’t make any excuses,” he said. “It’s absolutely my responsibility. It becomes embarrassing for me when we expose ourselves, and we participate in an investigation that’s going to show what’s going on in our jails that I am not proud of.”
Maynard moved his office into the detention center following the indictment to directly oversee further investigations and required polygraph tests for top jail officials. Other employees would have to undergo “integrity reviews,” he added.
State lawmakers scheduled a rare out-of-session hearing to demand answers. State Sen. Joseph M. Getty called the scandal a “pretty harsh indictment” of Maynard’s policies. “This is frightening to us as legislators, the level of collusion that has existed between the correction officers and inmates,” he said.
State Sen. Christopher B. Shank called the level of corruption at the jail “shocking.” He added, “These folks need to be held accountable.”
“The indictment that came down makes us look like a third-world nation,” complained Delegate Michael Smigiel.
Yet this was not the first time the BGF was implicated in corruption involving Maryland prison guards. In 2009, under Maynard’s tenure, 20 gang members and four employees at the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore were indicted on drug, gun, and extortion charges. Several guards were convicted and sentenced to up to 24 months behind bars, and 15 more BGF members were indicted in 2010. [See: PLN, Aug. 2010, p.40]. The following year, an employee at the Chesapeake Detention Facility was sentenced to 37 months in prison for assisting the BGF with drug trafficking and other crimes.
More than 50 guards at the Baltimore City Detention Center have been fired for fraternizing with prisoners or smuggling contraband since 2010, according to Maynard’s spokesman. Maynard announced his retirement in December 2013, shortly before releasing a legislative report on corruption at the jail.
