NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A former correction officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for smuggling a gun into the facility for an inmate and lying about his role in the scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
Greg McKenzie, 35, lied to investigators about using a prepaid phone to secretly communicate with inmate Deejay White and his wife Dawntiana White in order to smuggle a handgun into the federal prison where he worked.
“Greg McKenzie, a former correctional officer, obstructed an investigation into the smuggling of a firearm into the MCC that endangered the safety of inmates, prison staff, and the greater community,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “By lying about his secret communications with the very inmate who possessed a firearm in the MCC and that inmate’s wife, who helped smuggle the firearm into the MCC, McKenzie thwarted a serious criminal investigation and sacrificed the integrity of the institution he swore to protect.”
McKenzie met with Dawntiana before a midnight shift at the MCC on Jan. 31, 2020.
He circumvented a metal detector as he started his shift. He then called and texted Deejay before going to the inmate’s cell block alone carrying an object under his arm.
The loaded gun was recovered on March 5, 2020.
Deejay and Dawntiana each pleaded guilty to charges relating to the smuggling incident in the summer of 2021.
McKenzie initially denied participating in the scheme during an interview with federal agents on Nov. 4, 2021, but he later pleaded guilty to lying about the use of the cellphone to communicate with his conspirators on Sept 14.
In addition to the three-year sentence, He was sentenced to three years supervised release.
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