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Federal Sunset Park prison guard pleads guilty to accepting bribes

September 7, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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A former prison guard at the federal correctional facility in Sunset Park pleaded guilty at Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday to one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe as a public official.

Jonathan Galicia, 34, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano for accepting a bribe while working at the Metropolitan Detention Center on 29th Street.

According to court documents, Galicia accepted a $3,700 bribe payment to smuggle an Apple iPhone into MDC and gave the phone to an inmate.

“Motivated by greed, Galicia abused his position of trust within the federal correctional system,” said Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Rohde. “Introducing a smartphone into a federal detention center is a serious dereliction of duty, as it provides an opportunity for inmates to communicate with others on an unmonitored device in order to potentially continue criminal activity, obstruct justice and intimidate witnesses.”

Galicia has to forfeit the $3,700 fine and faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing.

This is not the first time MDC has made headlines. According to a recent New York Times report, the facility has a long history of sexual abuse of both male and female inmates. Sources have also told the Brooklyn Eagle that part of the reason why Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is being held in Manhattan and not Brooklyn is because some federal officials feel MDC isn’t secure.

 

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