White Plains, NY – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah and Westchester County Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph K. Spano announced the arraignment of several correction officers and civilian employees on charges of accepting bribe payments and smuggling contraband into Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
The individuals charged include:
- Peter Cumberbatch, 39, of New Rochelle, a Westchester County correction officer, charged with Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree (felony) and Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree (misdemeanor) for accepting an $800 payment in March 2023.
- Shakia Smythe, 32, of Peekskill, a Westchester County correction officer, charged with two counts of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree and Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree for accepting over $500 in payments between June and August 2022.
- Wilfredo Gonzague, 36, of Briarcliff Manor, a former correction officer, charged with three counts of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree and two counts of Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree for accepting over $2,000 in payments between September 2022 and February 2023.
- Sadari Holt, 30, of the Bronx, a former commissary service employee, charged with five counts of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree and five counts of Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree for accepting over $1,500 in payments between December 2021 and April 2022.
- Shardae Moore, 35, of Yonkers, a former commissary service employee, charged with Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree for accepting a $500 payment in December 2023.
Additionally, Sean Rogers, 40, of Mount Vernon, a civilian jailor with the Mount Vernon Police Department, was charged with Promoting Prison Contraband in the Second Degree. He allegedly delivered three cylindrical objects containing a leafy substance to an incarcerated individual on March 11 and was arraigned on June 3.
DA Rocah stated, “These defendants put their own interests above the safety of incarcerated individuals, employees, civilians, and other correction officers. Our jails become less safe when correction officers and others in positions of public trust accept bribes to smuggle in contraband.”
Commissioner Spano added, “The involved correction officers have disgraced the shield that they once wore and violated the trust we put in them to uphold the law and work with integrity.”
The defendants were arraigned on June 20 in Mount Pleasant Justice Court. Investigations and arrests were conducted by the DA’s Office Criminal Investigators Squad. The Westchester County Department of Correction has suspended or terminated the involved individuals and revoked the security clearances of the former employees.
