Feb 26, 2016 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Charges were filed Friday against three corrections officers working at the State Correctional Institution-Greene for allegedly running an illegal contraband operation in the prison last year that one employee described as a “rent-a-center.”

The operation involved the illegal sale and transfer of electronic items between the officers and inmates who referred to themselves as “The Family,” court documents indicate.

The complaint also alleges the scheme included the smuggling of narcotics into the prison by one of the corrections officers. However, the complaint said no controlled substances were recovered during the investigation.

John C. Smith Jr., 46, of Caldwell, Ohio, Michael S. Berry Jr., 34, of Clarksville, and Andrew J. Schneider, 34, of Grindstone, were each charged with unlawful use of a computer, criminal mischief, obstructing the administration of law and tampering with records. In addition, Barry was charged with recklessly endangering another person; Schneider with attempting to obtain a telecommunications device; and Smith with misapplication of entrusted property.

The case was investigated by the state Department of Corrections’ Office of Special Investigations and Intelligence for incidents that occurred between Jan. 23 and Feb. 3, 2015.

When contacted, Daniel Meinert, the officer who filed the charges, referred questions to the DOC press office. A DOC spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

According to the court documents, the three guards regularly called inmates to the prison’s strip room in the evenings for secret meetings where they would sell and exchange property, including televisions, radios, keyboards and other electronics.

Some of the electronics came from inmates wanting to sell them or were taken by one of the officers from the restricted “hot trash,” a collection of items to be destroyed that were either confiscated from inmates or left at the prison when an inmate was released.

Inmates are permitted to have electronics purchased through the commissary or from approved vendors, the complaint stated. Each inmate has a property sheet on the prison’s DOCNET computer system. In addition, the inmate’s identification numbers are etched on each item.

Property in an inmate’s possession not listed on their property sheet is considered contraband.

The three corrections officers used an etching tool to scratch off one inmate’s number and replace it with the number of its new owner, charging the inmates a fee for the work, the complaint said. The guards then entered the DOCNET computer to make changes to facilitate the unauthorized transfer of the property.

The list of property seized after the investigation that was transferred without authorization included 35 televisions, 10 keyboards and 20 radios, with an estimated value between $7,240 and $13,750, the complaint said.

The complaint also alleges that one inmate involved in the scheme told investigators that Berry would on occasion smuggle narcotics into the strip room and allowed members of “The Family” to distribute them to other inmates.

Investigators said they installed a secret camera in the strip room. On Feb. 3, 2015, Berry was present in the room when two inmates exchanges a laundry bag containing items, the complaint said.

Berry did not search the bag, which was confiscated from the inmate by investigators when the inmate left the room. Among the items in the bag was a coffee container with an improvised weapon inside, the complaint said.

“Allowing the inmates to pass the weapon placed the inmates and staff of SCI-Greene in jeopardy of death or serious bodily injury,” the complaint said.

David Russo, the Waynesburg attorney representing Berry, could not be reached for comment. No attorneys were listed for Smith or Schneider.

Officials with the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association union that represents the state prison system’s guards also could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

The three men were arraigned on the charges Friday before District Judge Glenn Bates and each was released on $25,000 unsecured bond. Their preliminary hearings are set for 1:30 p.m. March 7.

Staff writer Katie Anderson contributed to this report.