A city correction officer was charged over the weekend with trying to smuggle a razor-like weapon into Rikers Island during the start of his shift, authorities said.
The officer, Queens resident Charles Bracey, 47, was arrested on Saturday after he put his bag through the X-ray machine at the prison, according to the city’s Department of Investigation. He was charged with first- and second-degree promoting prison contraband.
In Bracey’s bag, officers allegedly found a credit card-sized metal tool with a saw and razor edge. It was concealed inside a paper sleeve and wrapped in electrical tape, according to the DOI.
“This is the seventh Correction employee DOI has arrested in the last five weeks on an array of charges contributing to violence and disorder within the City’s jails,” DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said in a statement. “More arrests can be expected as DOI continues to intensify its widespread investigation into smuggling and violence at Rikers. Already, based on DOI recommendations, the City Correction Department has enhanced its screening procedures and is helping us catch those individuals who seek to undermine safety behind bars.”
Bracey, who has worked for the Department of Correction since June 2006 and earns more than $76,000, was suspended without pay.
If convicted, Bracey faces up to 8 years in prison. Attorney information for Bracey was not immediately available.
