By Forum Staff
Ghislaine Barrientos, a former City Department of Correction officer, was recently sentenced to six months in prison, to be followed by six months of home detention, for her participation in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics and other contraband into Rikers Island, federal prosecutors said.
In addition to the prison sentence, Barrientos was ordered to forfeit $11,866.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
“Barrientos not only abused her position of public trust as a corrections officer, she made Rikers Island less safe for inmates and officers alike,” Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Podolsky said.
Barrientos, 37, a Mount Vernon resident, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments.
For example, on April 11, 2024, CC-1, an associate of an inmate (“Inmate-1”), and Barrientos discussed CC-1 sending Barrientos a package through a delivery service. On April 15, 2024, surveillance footage showed Barrientos entering Inmate-1’s cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions. Two days later, DOC searched Inmate-1’s cell and recovered sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
“Ghislaine Barrientos smuggled drugs and other contraband into Rikers Island in exchange for more than ten thousand dollars in bribes. Barrientos not only abused her position of public trust as a corrections officer, she made Rikers Island less safe for inmates and officers alike,” Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said. “Corrupt corrections officers have no place in our jail facilities, and this Office will continue to work to rid our jails of those who take advantage of their positions to enrich themselves.”
