By John Annese
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A former correction officer at MDC Brooklyn who went corrupt about a year after taking the job has pleaded guilty to smuggling pot and cigarettes into the troubled federal jail inside his protective vest.
Najee Jackson, 32, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court Tuesday to attempted provision of contraband in prison.
Jackson started working at MDC Brooklyn in November 2023, and on Jan. 21 of this year, he tried to sneak in the illicit goods when he showed up for his night shift.
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He never got past the jail’s metal detector, which also scans for unusually dense objects, according to federal prosecutors.
He triggered the detector six times, removing his personal items, his two coats, and finally his vest, in an attempt to get past without the scanner beeping, the feds said.
When his fellow correction officers searched the vest, they found four vacuum-sealed bags, three with cigarettes, the fourth with pot.
Jackson quit two days later, and on Jan. 29, the feds arrested him.
The charge to which Jackson pleaded carries a five-year maximum sentence, but based on federal guidelines, Jackson will likely face from no time to six months.
“The defendant admitted to bringing contraband into the very jail he was charged with protecting,” Joseph Nocella, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Tuesday. “His actions undermined the safety and security of his fellow correctional officers and the inmates at MDC Brooklyn. As today’s conviction demonstrates, my office will ensure that anyone who would abuse their position of trust at a federal prison is brought to justice.”
Contraband is a regular problem at MDC Brooklyn, which is notorious for violent incidents, including two murders last year, as well as instances of medical mistreatment, a near-constant lockdown and infested food.
Court filings from March detailed how inmates schemed to use a 50-foot rope to “fish” goods up through an open window with the help of an outside accomplice.
In August, Fabienne Osias, 40, admitted in federal court that she tried to sneak five USB charging cubes and nine cables to an inmate.
In July, former Correction Officer Quandelle Joseph was sentenced to 2.5 years behind bars for taking bribes to smuggle contraband into the federal jail.
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