Nearly a dozen Big Apple jail guards, including a Rikers Island captain, pocketed more than $220,000 in salary and overtime when they weren’t even on the job, Bronx prosecutors said as the officers were hit with criminal charges for the alleged scam Wednesday.
The cadre of corrections cops submitted signed timesheets throughout 2023 claiming they were on the clock when they were nowhere near the jail, with the ranking officer in the group, Capt. William Newlin, walking away with more than $50,000 on his own, according to a 93-count indictment.
“During that time, each of the officers and Captain Newlin are alleged to have submitted signed time sheets that were inaccurate and overestimated the time they were actually present at work,” Bronx Assistant District Attorney Christian Commelin said in court.
“In fact, the signed time sheets indicated that they were at work sometimes when they even weren’t present at all for whole days,” the prosecutor said.
Acting Department of Investigation Commissioner Christopher Ryan, whose office took part in the joint investigation, noted that the alleged thefts came at a time when the city Department of Corrections was struggling with serious staffing shortages and needed all hands on deck.
“This charged misconduct was billed to the taxpayers and undermines public trust and operational safety,” Ryan said in a statement.
He said the $228,000 total is “a conservative estimate” covering just one year.
In addition to Newlin, 51, prosecutors said 10 correction officers — Raymond Espino, 37, Jason Miller, 44, Raymond Lastra, 55, Odiney Brown, 54, Clifford Compton, 44, Odette Adams, 54, Jason Catalanotto, 43, Kenyatta Johnson, 59, Katrina Thomas, 45, and Katricia Chandler, 54 — allegedly put in for fraudulent pay totals ranging from $8,2412 to $30,800.
The indictment charges them with grand larceny, corruption and other charges.
Bronx DA Darcel Clarke called them “veteran civil servants who abused the public trust.”
Prosecutors did not say if the officers have been fired or suspended during the investigation, but sources told The Post that at least three had recently put in for retirement.
Nearly two dozen corrections officers packed the courtroom to support their colleagues. All 11 officers pleaded not guilty and were released without bail. They are due back in court Aug. 14.
