Philadelphia corrections officers accused of selling drugs, phones to inmates

PHILADELPHIA -- Four current and two former correctional officers within the Philadelphia prison system have been charged with supplying drugs and cell phones to inmates in exchange for cash, reports CBS Philly.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the officers attempted to deliver Oxycontin pills and phones in exchange for payments ranging from $500 to $1,500.

The six charged are John Wesley Herder, 49, Bryant Fields, 43, George Kindle, 29, Marc Thompson, 23, Dupree Myers, 27 and Joseph Romano, 31.

The men were employed at several different facilities, including the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center and the Riverside Correctional Facility.

All of the men are charged with attempted extortion and attempted distribution of controlled substances. Herder is also charged with making false statements to law enforcement officers.

"Prison safety depends on prison guards acting with honesty and integrity," United States Attorney Zane David Memeger said during a press conference on Wednesday. "Prison guards who violate security procedures by smuggling drugs and other contraband to inmates undermine that safety and make an inherently dangerous environment more dangerous."

Philadelphia Prison Commissioner Lou Giorla said he requested the federal investigation because guards were making increasing numbers of drug and phone seizures.

"We believe that several of these employees were engaged in this activity for some time. We don't know how deep the activity was, but after seizing street drugs in our facilities and cell phones, we knew we needed assistance," he said. "Our reach as far as investigations is limited to the prison reservation, so we knew we needed assistance to confront this."

If convicted, Thompson, Fields, Romano and Myers each face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Herder faces 45 years and Kindle faces a maximum sentence of 80 years behind bars.