U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff says a measure he’s back will help crack down on contraband within federal prisons.
Sens. Ossoff and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced The Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act to crack down on the smuggling of contraband cellphones into Federal prisons. The bipartisan bill would upgrade the charge of smuggling of contraband cellphone into a Federal prison from a misdemeanor offense to a felony.
Ossoff says the legislation is named in honor of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officer who was murdered after completing his shift at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Guaynabo in Puerto Rico in 2013. Five men who later pleaded guilty to the crime admitted they targeted Albarati as a direct result of continuous seizures of contraband, including cellphones, by Albarati and other correctional officers. The inmate who placed the hit on Albarati did so using a contraband cellphone.
From the press release:
In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led a 10-month bipartisan investigation into corruption, abuse, and misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta (now FCI Atlanta). Among its many findings, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan investigation uncovered a particular need to remove the massive number of illegal cell phones in the facility. For example, a 2021 sweep found 800 contraband cell phones, which had been used, among many things, to run illegal drug rings and gang activity in and outside the facility.
A recent DOJ Inspector General report identified contraband, like cell phones, as a critical threat to safety and security not only to prison staff and inmates, but also to the entire community. The report found that nationwide, contraband contributed to at least 1/3 of deaths in Federal prisons and also found that USP Atlanta had the most deaths of any Federal prison nationwide between 2014-2021.
“My bipartisan investigations of corruption, abuse, and misconduct in the Federal prison system have revealed systemic challenges that allow for the dangerous flow of contraband, which is a threat to safety and security,” Sen. Ossoff said. “Senator Grassley and I are introducing this bipartisan bill to strengthen penalties for smuggling contraband into Federal prisons.”
“A cell phone in a prison is a deadly weapon. Yet, as our investigative work continues to demonstrate, contraband cell phones have proven to be pervasive inside many federal prisons, a reality that undermines the safety and security of these institutions for BOP staff, inmates, and the public. Lieutenant Albarati was a true hero, selflessly dedicated to making MDC Guaynabo and his community safer by preventing criminal activity inside the facility. I commend Senators Ossoff and Grassley for honoring his memory by sponsoring this public safety reform and for recognizing the severity of this problem,” said Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz. “By making the introduction of a cell phone into a prison a felony, as numerous states have already done, the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act will allow investigators and prosecutors to more effectively bring to justice those introducing cell phones into prisons, curb the flow of illicit cell phones into prisons, make our communities and prisons safer, and help to save lives.”
Click here to read The Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act.
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