By Nancy Fischer
The Buffalo News
LOCKPORT – A Niagara County Sheriff Department corrections officer has been arrested and charged with receiving a bribe and other crimes.
Officer John Dale, 33, of Niagara Falls was arrested 9 p.m. Tuesday night and accused of the felony as well as promoting prison contraband and official misconduct. He was arraigned before Town Justice Cheryl Antkowiak and bail was set at $2,500. A return court date was set for Thursday.
The criminal complaint alleges that Dale accepted cash from an outside source to transport contraband into the jail for an inmate. The nature of the contraband was not specified.
The sheriff’s department reported in a press release that it acted after receiving intelligence on the alleged acts.
Chief Deputy Michael P. Dunn said in a statement that Dale, who had been a corrections officer for the Niagara County Sheriff Department since 2013, was immediately suspended without pay pending a departmental investigation and hearing.
The sheriff’s department declined to offer any further information on the arrest.