PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Philadelphia corrections officer with smuggling cellphones and drugs into the Industrial Correctional Center on State Road.
The indictment alleges 33-year-old Corrections Officer Haneef Lawton agreed to smuggle items into the jail for Kernard Murray in exchange for a series of bribes, which amounted to $11,400.
Murray, 36, would then sell the items to other incarcerated individuals, the indictment says, who would pay for them by sending money to Murray’s girlfriend, 42-year-old Charene Stallings, often via CashApp.
In all, authorities say Murray and Stallings trafficked as much as $69,000 worth of contraband into the prison.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gibson said the scheme was discovered when COVID-19 forced visitations to go virtual.
“The individuals calling into that system are made aware that their participation is going to be monitored and recorded by the facility. Nonetheless, Murray and Stallings were communicating about their contraband scheme,” he said.
A prison spokesperson said officials acted swiftly on the information and Lawton resigned.
Gibson said Lawton’s actions endangered colleagues, incarcerated people and the public.
“It’s a security threat — plain and simple,” he said.
If convicted, they each face a maximum of 45 years in prison and a $2 million fine. Stallings additionally faces a cocaine distribution charge, which could carry a minimum 10-year mandatory sentence to life in prison and a $10 million fine.
Attorneys for the defendants did not return calls seeking comment.