A city Correction officer was indicted Wednesday for allegedly smuggling more than $15,000 worth of contraband – including 200 cigarettes and a cell phone – into Rikers Island, prosecutors said.
Kendell Felix, 37, is accused of accepting a $3,000 bribe from an outside person in order to sneak the illicit items into the jail complex and distribute them to the inmates, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement sources.
The estimated value of the contraband in prison is about $15,000, the DA’s Office said.
Felix, who is assigned to the North Infirmary Command, was arraigned before Judge Shari Michels on the charges of third-degree bribe receiving, first-degree promoting prison contraband, two counts of second-degree promoting prison contraband, and official misconduct, prosecutors said.
“Cigarettes are sold for $50 to $100 each in Rikers Island jails, making this contraband extremely valuable, and a fuel for violence,” Bronx DA Darcel Clark said.