Another employee at the upstate New York prison where two inmates escaped earlier this month has been arrested, officials said Wednesday. Gene Palmer, a guard at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in Dannemora, is charged with promoting prison contraband in the first degree (a class D felony), two counts of tampering with physical evidence (a class E felony) and one count of official misconduct (a class A misdemeanor), said Maj. Charles E. Guess, a New York State Police spokesman.
Palmer was arraigned Wednesday night in Plattsburgh Town Court. His attorney, Andrew Brockway, told NBC News that his client would plead not guilty. Brockway told reporters after the hearing that Palmer has been “completely cooperative with the investigation” and “wants these individuals caught.” “He made a mistake, and he’s sorry about that,” Brockway said.
Palmer, 57, worked in the cell block that Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from on June 6. Clinton prison seamstress Joyce Mitchell has already been arrested and has told investigators that she smuggled escape tools to the prisoners inside raw ground beef, officials revealed Tuesday.
Palmer allegedly took the meat to Matt, according to Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie. Palmer, who has worked at the prison for 27 years, was suspended with pay Friday. He told investigators he didn’t know the meat contained contraband.
