FBI to investigate possible corruption at Clinton Correctional Facility


The FBI has launched an investigation into corruption at the Clinton Correctional Facility, law enforcement officials told CNN Monday, looking into possible drug trafficking and other criminal behavior.
Convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from the upstate New York prison earlier this month, and the new inquiry is being fueled by evidence uncovered by authorities while investigating the jailbreak. Some employees told authorities that prisoners were using heroin and employees were part of the drug trade, sources told CNN, and specific people have been identified and are the focus of the investigation.
The New York Inspector General and New York State Police have also launched investigations into the escape, with the inspector general looking at the relationships between guards and inmates and the things they would discuss; investigators now believe Matt and Sweat spoke with guards about the terrain around the prison, gaining knowledge that would be useful during their escape. Corrections officer Joyce Mitchell is accused of smuggling in the tools Matt and Sweat used to break out of prison, while another prison worker, Gene Palmer, is charged with delivering those tools. Matt was killed on Friday, while Sweat was captured alive on Sunday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
The countries around the world without jury trials
The Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users