Mar 30, 2016 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – The trading of confiscated televisions, radios and other electronics by corrections officers to prisoners for confidential information was so prevalent at SCI-Greene, it was not only condoned, but encouraged by supervisors in order to “protect” the state prison, according to a lawyer representing one of the three guards accused of running an illegal-contraband operation.

Defense attorney Chris Blackwell said some prison workers were “shocked” when the three guards were charged Feb. 26 with selling and transferring the electronics in what state Department of Corrections investigators allege was similar to a “rent-a-center” before the ring was broken up last February.

Michael S. Berry Jr., Andrew J. Schneider and John C. Smith Jr. faced a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Glenn Bates, although the three-hour proceeding Wednesday afternoon was continued until next month.

“It’s not a systemic issue. It’s a way of getting information to protect the facility,” said Blackwell, who is representing Smith, regarding the methods the guards used to persuade confidential informants to cooperate. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing because it achieved results.”

That allegation was backed up by a written statement Schneider gave to investigators March 19, 2015 – about six weeks after the undercover sting revealed the operation – describing who knew the three guards were trading electronics, engraving them with new prisoner identification numbers and even altering paperwork to make it appear legitimate.

“I was told by several (lieutenants) to exchange (inmate) property to get information and also weapons,” according to Schneider’s written statement read at the preliminary hearing. “I’ve gotten several weapons and information from doing so. There was many times (lieutenants) have walked in on me changing property and never told me to stop or even question me. My (intention) was to protect staff and inmates, also security of the prison.”

Daniel Meinert, investigating officer with the state Department of Corrections who filed the charges, testified he began reviewing the situation at SCI-Greene in 2014 after receiving tips contraband was being brought into the jail.

Investigators set up hidden surveillance cameras in a strip room and security office between Jan. 23 and Feb. 3, 2015, that Meinert testified showed the three guards on various occasions exchanging electronics with several inmates using a laundry cart and allowing prisoners to pass laundry bags filled with contraband. In one case, the bag contained a 6-½-inch typewriter prong filed down to a makeshift shank, he said.

Some prisoners brought cigarettes and smoking tobacco during the meetings in exchange for the electronics, which then would be smuggled into the general population and given to other inmates. Meinert said the guards could be seen on video using an engraving tool to remove the real property owner’s information and etching the new inmate’s identification number.

Investigators reviewed the surveillance video for several days before busting the operation Feb. 3, Meinert said.

Blackwell alleged the operation was widely known within the jail staff and used as a tool to gain information that could be used to keep prisoners and corrections officer safe. He noted several other corrections officers, who have not been charged, are seen on the videos walking through the strip area during the exchanges.

“Have you found this to be part of the culture, to exchange contraband for information,” Blackwell asked.

“Under some circumstances, yes,” Meinert said.

Meinert said a statewide Department of Corrections seminar nearly two years ago addressed “rumors” of this practice in numerous state prisons, so corrections officers at SCI-Greene were ordered in September 2014 to “stop doing it immediately.”

Meinert testified the investigation is continuing, but declined to specify if others could be charged.

Blackwell claimed loose policies in dealing with confidential informants led to the current situation.

Joseph Trempus, a major overseeing unit management at SCI-Fayette prison, testified there are various procedures in place for the disposal of televisions and other electronics when confiscated or no longer in use. He said prisoners are not permitted in the strip room or a nearby security office during evening hours, but he admitted those isolated places are sometimes the only areas where private interviews with confidential informants can be conducted.

He said a “misconduct hearing” is held for any inmate found in possession of an electronic device that is not approved by the prison. The item is confiscated and held until after the hearing, he said. Other times, the electronic device’s cord is severed and the unit is disposed in “hot trash” for destruction.

However, Trempus said multiple times there were no written policies for a variety of issues in dealing with informants and whether they could receive rewards for tips. He added what might not be permitted at his state prison in Fayette County could be allowed elsewhere.

“This again is an example of an unwritten procedure,” Trempus said. “It would be up to the facility, up to the officers. I would venture there would be some chain of command.”

Berry 34, of Clarksville, is charged with criminal conspiracy to commit obstruction, unlawful use of a computer, records tampering, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Schneider, 34, of Grindstone, faces charges of criminal solicitation, criminal conspiracy to commit obstruction, unlawful use of a computer, records tampering and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. Smith, 46, of Caldwell, Ohio, is charged with criminal conspiracy to commit obstruction, unlawful use of a computer, records tampering, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and misappropriating government property. All three are free on unsecured bonds.

Their preliminary hearing before Bates will continue at 9 a.m. April 14 where more testimony will be heard from Meinert to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Blackwell also noted his client, Smith, had his 30-day suspension lowered to a written reprimand following an arbitration hearing on the matter last week. The officers remain on indefinite suspension while awaiting the case to be adjudicated.

A Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association representative attended the preliminary hearing, but declined to comment.