A correction officer at the Nassau County jail is facing charges including bribe-receiving, official misconduct and promoting prison contraband after allegedly taking money from an inmate to smuggle in cigarettes and lighters.
Harris Ferro, 35, pleaded not guilty Friday during an arraignment in Nassau County Court on charges that also include conspiracy.
A prosecutor told a judge that Ferro took money on five occasions from an inmate earlier this year in exchange for the contraband. The judge released the defendant on his own recognizance.
The officer ignored a request for comment while leaving court with his attorney and a union official.
A Newsday analysis published earlier this year showed that inmates at Nassau’s jail tapped into illicit supplies of narcotics and other drug contraband more than 200 times in recent years.
Ferro’s arrest also follows the 2017 guilty plea of a jail nurse who admitted to a misdemeanor charge of promoting prison contraband.
Ferro’s attorney, Frederick Annibale Jr., declined to comment after court.
Check back later for updates on this developing story.
