Federal law enforcement officials secured indictments against 80 people — including a number of corrections officers and inmates — for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to sneak cell phones, cocaine, heroin, pornography and other contraband into Westover’s Eastern Correctional Institution. The case has become the largest federal indictment in the history of Maryland. It’s the latest involving a criminal enterprise and conspiracy taking control over a state prison. Back in 2013, the Black Guerilla Family gang used a similar scheme to run criminal operations in a state prison.

A major scheme uncovered

The individuals charged with criminal activity include 18 corrections officers and 35 prison inmates. Officers are accused of taking bribes to help sneak contraband into Eastern Correctional Institution, the largest prison in Maryland. Some officers are accused of having sex with inmates, while others allegedly attempted to identify any “snitches” who were reporting the scheme to prison administrators, encouraging other inmates to retaliate against those parties. On two separate occasions in July, for example, corrections officers allegedly instructed inmates to stab other inmates in retaliation for filing complaints. A collaboration between the FBI and local law enforcement agencies uncovered the scheme. The case has been striking due to the fact that it involves so many people in different positions of power, from prison inmates to the people charged with supervising them. If you or a loved one has been implicated in a crime and are in need of sound legal defense, reach out to the experienced La Plata criminal defense attorneys at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A.