You are here: Home » News »

Prisons’ New Fight: Cellphone Smuggling

06/28/2010 7:51 am 0 comments

State corrections officials are linking networks of corrupt prison employees to thousands of illicit cellphones being smuggled to inmates in the nation’s largest prison systems, according to the officials and public records.

The workers, including guards, cooks and clerical workers, represent the most troubling source of the prohibited phones in an increasingly lucrative smuggling operation that also includes criminal gangs and prisoners’ family members, state officials say.

“It’s only getting worse,” says Texas prisons Inspector General John Moriarty.

Prison employees earn $500 or more for each of the phones, which have become ubiquitous from minimum security camps to death row, says Richard Subia, California’s deputy director of adult prisons.

To read this article in its entirety visit USA Today.

Sphere: Related Content

Troy Davis’ Execution Date Set By Georgia Authorities (VIDEO)

Source: Trymaine Lee / Blackvoices / The Huffington Post Years of public appeals, pleas of innocence and international support have yet ...

Former Transit Cop Convicted In California Subway Shooting Goes Free

Source: CNN Los Angeles - A former transit police officer convicted last year in the shooting death of an unarmed man ...

Another Naughty Banker: Ex-Bank Exec Assaulted Maid (VIDEO)

The former head of an Egyptian bank was arrested on charges that he sexually abused a New York hotel employee. WATCH:

Elizabeth Smart’s Kidnapper Sentenced To Life In Prison

Source: CNN A homeless street preacher who abducted, raped and kept a 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months was sentenced ...

Supreme Court: California Must End Prison Crowding

Source: CNN The Supreme Court has affirmed a federal order against California to reduce its overflowing prison population, a situation the ...

Georgia Elementary School Teacher Strips At School

Source: Casey Glynn / CBS News CLAYTON, Ga. - A Georgia elementary school teacher was arrested last Friday on charges of public ...

Judge Orders New York Juror to Serve Indefinitely After Racist Remarks

Source: Cindy E. Rodriguez / ABC News A federal judge in Brooklyn became infuriated with a potential juror this week after ...

Supreme Court Denies $14 Million In Damages To Wrongly Convicted Louisiana Man

Source: Ariane Vogue / ABC News John Thompson spent 14 years on death row in Louisiana until a stunning revelation came to ...

Ex-Cops Get Long Prison Sentences In Katrina Killing

Source: Michael Kunzelman / AP / MSNBC New Orleans — A former New Orleans police officer was sentenced to more than 25 years ...

Ohio Executes Convict Using Single Controversial Drug

Source: Russell Goldman / ABC News Ohio executed a convicted killer today, becoming the first state to use a controversial single ...

Troy Davis’ Execution Date Set By Georgia Authorities

Former Transit Cop Convicted In California Subway Shooting

Another Naughty Banker: Ex-Bank Exec Assaulted Maid (VIDEO)

Elizabeth Smart’s Kidnapper Sentenced To Life In Prison

Supreme Court: California Must End Prison Crowding

Georgia Elementary School Teacher Strips At School

Judge Orders New York Juror to Serve Indefinitely

Supreme Court Denies $14 Million In Damages To

Ex-Cops Get Long Prison Sentences In Katrina Killing

Ohio Executes Convict Using Single Controversial Drug

More from the Roland S. Martin Blog

Media Politics Roland Martin On CNN Video
Getting To The Polls: Is There An Enthusiasm Gap Amongst Republican And Democratic Voters?

Donna Brazile, Roland Martin, Ari Fleischer, Erick Erickson, Jessica Yellen and Anderson Cooper analyze voter turn out and if there is an enthusiasm gap amongst the GOP and Democrats. Sphere: Related Content
Read more →
Media Politics Roland Martin On CNN Video
Gingrich Has Problems With Women Voters, They Don’t Trust Him (VIDEO)

Roland Martin, Erick Erickson, Donna Brazile, Ari Fleischer and Anderson Cooper discuss Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, their wives and Gingrich’s problems with women voters.
Read more →
Politics
Herman Cain Tops Mitt Romney In Latest CBS/NYT Poll

Source: Corbett B. Daly / CBS News CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. Businessman Herman Cain is now atop the field of Republican White House hopefuls, squeaking past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. Cain garnered 25 percent support of Republican primary voters in the poll released on Tuesday, compared to Romney’s 21 percent. To read this article in its entirety [...]
Read more →
Politics
Rick Perry: Obama Birth Certificate ‘A Good Issue To Keep Alive’

Source: Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the birther issue was worth “keeping alive” in a CNBC interview Tuesday morning. “It’s a good issue to keep alive. It’s fun to poke at him,” said Perry, according to host John Harwood. Perry also spoke evasively about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate in an interview with Parademagazine published over the weekend. When asked if he believed the president was born in the United States, he said, “I have no reason to think [...]
Read more →
Video
What Did You Think Of The GOP Debate? (VIDEO)

CNN’s T.J. Holmes caught up with some folks just after the Las Vegas GOP debate ended. WATCH: Sphere: Related Content
Read more →
Video
Poverty Rises For Blacks In Omaha (VIDEO)

CNN’s Thelma Gutierrez reports on the disproportionate rate of poverty among African-Americans in Omaha, Nebraska. WATCH: Sphere: Related Content
Read more →
Podcasts
TJMS: Dr. Julianne Malveaux Believes The Occupy Movement Needs To Go To The Next Level And Solidify Demands

Roland Martin talks with Dr. Julianne Malveaux about the Occupy Wall Street movement that is spreading across the United States. Sphere: Related Content
Read more →
News
Budget Cuts Claim Hundreds Of Thousands Of County, City Jobs

Source: USA Today Local governments, once a steady source of employment in tough economic times, are shedding jobs in unprecedented numbers, and heavy payroll losses are expected to persist into next year. The job cuts by city and county governments are helping offset modest private-sector employment gains, restraining broader job growth. “They’ll continue to be a drag on the overall (employment) numbers and the economy,” says Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner. Localities have chopped 535,000 positions since September 2008 to close massive [...]
Read more →
Podcasts
TJMS: The Man Behind The MLK Memorial: Harry Johnson, President And CEO of the MLK National Memorial Foundation

Roland Martin talks with Harry Johnson, President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation about the unveiling of the MLK Memorial. WATCH: Extended coverage from the MLK Memorial Dedication Week. Sphere: Related Content
Read more →
Video
REV. AL SHARPTON: A New March On Washington For Jobs And Justice (VIDEO)

CNN’s T.J. Holmes talks to Rev. Al Sharpton about the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. WATCH: Sphere: Related Content
Read more →

← previous next →

Trending On RolandSMartin.com

More from the Roland S. Martin Blog