A former federal corrections officer has pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for providing illegal contraband to people detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park.
According to Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the defendant, Jeremy Monk, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
“The defendant has admitted to violating his duty as a federal correction officer by taking bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Metropolitan Detention Center, a serious betrayal of his fellow correction officers and staff, incarcerated individuals, and the trust placed in him by the government,” Peace said in a statement. “This Office is focused on rooting out corruption that threatens the safety and security of our federal and local jails.”
Monk worked at the federal prison for just under two years, from May 2020 to April 2022, and smuggled illegal items into the detention center on multiple occasions.
In December 2020, staff members at the prison searched a cell after they said they smelled a marijuana-like odor. No drugs were found, but MDC staff did find a cell phone, which is considered contraband in a federal correctional facility. The investigation found that the romantic partner of the inmate had attempted to make seven payments to Monk via CashApp, likely in exchange for the phone. All of the transactions were blocked by the finance app.
Last April, staff members at the prison found out that Monk had agreed to bring contraband into the prison and leave it in a staff bathroom for inmates in exchange for $10,000. Later that day, staff watched Monk walk into the bathroom — and, after he exited, found over nine ounces of marijuana he had stashed on a shelf.
Three days later, before Monk was to report to work, he called into the human resources department to resign. When asked why, he said it was because of “some stupid investigation,” as previously reported by Brooklyn Paper.
