Maryland correctional officials are scrambling to explain how a gang got effective control of one of their prisons after more than a dozen Maryland state prison guards were arrested for assisting the Black Guerrilla Family in drug-trafficking and money-laundering. Thirteen female corrections officers are accused of a wide range of unlawful practices involving drugs, sex, and expensive cars that left four corrections officers pregnant by one inmate. It was probably not to hard to spot. In addition to the four pregnancies, two of the guards had tattoos of the inmate’s first name, Tavon. That is the first name of suspected gang leader Tavon “Bulldog” White (left). One guard had “Tavon” on her neck and the other on a wrist.
White bragged about his control of the prison. He was intercepted on a prison phone call saying “I’m dead serious… I make every final call in this jail… and nothing go past me, everything come to me.”
The guards allegedly smuggled in everything from cellphones to drugs in their hair and underwear.
What is most striking about this story is the sheer stupidity. Did these guards honestly think that a conspiracy of this size would go undetected? You have a large gang of thugs and allegedly co-conspirators — any one of which could drop a dime on the conspiracy. Then there are those rather curious pregnancies and tattoos. The first priority, after looking at the intake security at the prison, is the hiring practices. One would think that with high unemployment we could get a more intelligent (not to mention more ethical) applicants.
According to news reports, Tavon left no question as to who was in charge: “I hold the highest seat you can get,” he told another alleged member of the gang. “So regardless of what anybody say, whatever I say is law. Like, I am the law. My word is law.”
Source: Washington Post
Corection men with men
Mr Spinelli i am in no way suggesting we should go back to all males my personal opinion is women with women and men with i had a sister who was also a corrections officer. Notice my use of the past tense. My sister committed suicide when she was raped by a superior officer and when she reported it. They harassed her until she couldnt deal with it anymore. Think adrian schoolcraft when he blew the whistle.. so no we cant turn back the hands of time. But something has to give to end these situations
Hi Jude, The first article linked in the Professors posting identifies the facility as the Baltimore City Detention Center where the gang seems to have taken over the facility, as does the first newspaper report of multiple stabbings that I posted.
The second newspaper article I posted clearly states “for the youth at the Baltimore City Detention Center”. The third article was written a couple of weeks prior to the second and states [complaints about how his agency deals with youthful offenders are overblown and that those that are valid could be solved] “by building a new $70 million juvenile jail downtown. But recent reports of violence and unsafe conditions at the adult facility where minors charged with serious crimes are currently held”…. seems to reference the BCDC mentioned in the second newspaper article and seems to indicate that some juveniles are held at the adult facility referenced in the second article which clearly states that.
The fourth and fifth newspaper reports are for different facilities though, mea culpa.
I’m only making an issue of those first three newspaper articles because the newspaper reports indicate that at least some juveniles are being held with adults in the BCDC and man, the BCDC sounds like a real snake-pit. It’s probably a symptom of the nature of incarceration; putting juveniles that have committed serious crime with juveniles that have committed minor or non-violent crime is not a good idea but housing them with adults is not a good solution either. Building new prisons and new categories of prisons doesn’t seem like a good idea either. We need to end the war on drugs and turn people doing time for drug possession and minor sales go. That would probably free up a lot of space.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/keyword/detention-center
When I first started commenting here I was called a “troll” by a few. I didn’t know what that meant. I now see via Michael Powell what a troll REALLY IS.
Cell phones are more valuable and dangerous than drugs and equally dangerous as weapons in a prison. My experience working in a prison predates female correctional officers and cell phones. Hell, there were no females working in Leavenworth, and when a female visitor came into the prison for a tour it was a show stopper, mostly for the population but even for staff. I had escort duty for a month and once had to escort a female visitor from the US Attorney’s office investigating a stabbing in the dining hall. I heard the song, “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You” as we walked through main st in Leavenworth. My wife was the first female caseworker @ Leavenworth[after I left] and that was in 1979.
This is said w/ trepidations, but it’s my honest opinion. Let me preface this by saying that there were, and most certainly still are, more male crooked correctional officers than women. I know some female correctional officers. I have an inlaw who is one and although I have not seen her @ work, based on her converstions, demeanor, personal integrity, etc. I have little doubt she’s a good one. While male correctional officers are overwhelminly hetereosexual, there have been incidents such as this involving homeosexual correctional officers. There’s a whistleblower case here in Wi. where an officer reported illegalities and he was attacked viciously by his own union. That’s another topic entirely. We know the vast majority of people are hetereosexual, @ least 90%. So, when you add sex to the equation in prisons you are mixing volatile chemicals, almost literally. I don’t know what the answer is here. I have hopefully shown myself here not to be a sexist. I’m quite certain I have done so w/ the people whose opinion matters to me. I say this to get some thoughts from folks here. I know there is @ least one person here who has a daughter that is a correctional officer. We have had civil discussions on this where I sincerely praised that. Every bone in my body says we should not go back to all males. But what is a practical solution. I read of incidents like this locally and nationally all too frequently.
i will never understand why they allow women to guard the men aand men the women. though in todays lgbt world. i guess it wouldnt make to much diffence. over and over through out history there are stories of men guards impregnanting women prisoners and the female guards falling in what is their version of love with male prisoners.. cop killer ronelle wilson got a woman guard pregnant in an attempt to keep from receivng the sentence of death. she gave birth about 2 weeks ago
Kinda makes that whole “mommy, where did you meet daddy” conversation take on a whole different tone.
I can understand how the Black Guerilla Family would not attract any attention. Nothing in the least bit suspicious there.
Some women just like to be dominated and are attracted to dangerous, bad men. For this reason, perhaps they should make the prison guards the same sex. This is not the first time, it keeps happening. Some of the male convicts have female fans outside prison also.
Apparently, the only thing you couldn’t smuggle into the prison was condoms…
How about a story about how Connecticut Justice treats innocent men that can’t afford to PAY our way out o false charges???
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That would be ” guerilla” not “gorilla”…snicker..
Gives new meaning to “gang banger.”
lottakatz, Baltimore City is not the same as Baltimore County. This incident happened at a city facility. The last article you linked mentions the county. The first mentions a city facility, and the second is a different facility where juveniles are housed.
Ah, my home state…
These are a years worth of articles about the facility from a local paper. It sure seems to be a facility in trouble and known to the state and federal officials to be in trouble. Apparently Maryland has committed to the federal government to improve conditions over two years ago according to the third story listed. No federal followup between August 2010 and August 2012. Apparently minors charged with serious crimes are housed in the adult facility also.
By Jessica Anderson, The Baltimore Sun | March 1, 2013
Four pretrial inmates at the Baltimore City Detention Center were stabbed by a fellow detainee
A better future, not a better jail
By Karen Helm | August 20, 2012
Sun reporter Justin Fenton ‘s recent coverage of the flagrantly inhumane conditions for the youth at the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC) is a call to action.
A broken juvenile justice system
August 6, 2012
Maryland public safety secretary Gary D. Maynard insists that complaints about how his agency deals with youthful offenders are overblown and that those that are valid could be solved by building a new $70 million juvenile jail downtown. But recent reports of violence and unsafe conditions at the adult facility where minors charged with serious crimes are currently held – and the fact that federal officials haven’t visited the place in more than two years to certify that that Maryland is honoring its commitment to improve conditions there – suggest the problem goes deeper than that.
Inmate serving murder sentence escapes
By Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun | May 25, 2012
An inmate serving a 10-year prison sentence for second-degree murder walked out of a Baltimore detention facility on Friday morning, never reported to his scheduled work-release job and was considered escaped by Friday afternoon, according to Maryland State Police.
Dundalk woman guilty of assaulting detention center officer
By Arthur Hirsch, The Baltimore Sun | April 19, 2012
A Dundalk woman who was sentenced last week to 60 years in prison in her husband’s murder pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting an officer at the Baltimore County Detention Center last August,
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/keyword/detention-center/recent/2
Thank god this guy was a crook! Imagine someone with his charisma and persuasiveness in elected office!
I have always heard that a great con man can make the wildest stories plausible, my guess is this guy wove one heck of a tale.
Is this a corporate “run” prison or a “state” run prison? Bulldog sounds like a CEO. While this is a particularly blatant example of the inmates running the jail, I think that prisons are in many ways run by gangs today. There are many stories about guards allowing gangs to set the agenda as long as the the pros in stays relatively quiet.
Solution…… De-nut the guy!
“So regardless of what anybody say, whatever I say is law. Like, I am the law. My word is law.”
Sounds like Bloomberg….another mental defective….
As in the street, as in the prison…. Something’s never change….