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CMC guard guilty of smuggling

October 20, 2011

A employee at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo County was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for smuggling tobacco to prisoners. [Tribune]

Kevin George Malone, 48, was found guilty of three bribery counts in accepting $20,000 in exchange for tobacco he gave three prisoners over two years. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy also ordered Malone to pay a $40,400 fine, serve three years of felony probation, and provide 150 hours of community service.

Several CMC guards, who prefer to remain unnamed to protect their employment, told CalCoastNews that some guards, upon reaching retirement age, routinely smuggle cell phones and tobacco into the prison. When caught, they quickly retire and generally do not face criminal action, the employees said.

The correctional officers said that complicit prison guards frequently escape charges of smuggling contraband into prison. Since the disciplinary process is expensive and creates bad publicity, California prisons are often content with merely accepting resignations from offending officers.

In June, Kern County, however, bucked that trend by sentencing Avenal State Prison correctional officer Randy Motl to a three-year prison sentence for bribery. Motl admitted to distributing cell phones and tobacco to inmates in exchange for cash, electronic devices and toys for his children.

A former CMC guard recently retired after being accused of bringing contraband into the prison.

Correctional officer Miguel Mendes was allegedly videotaped smuggling cell phones into the prison. Mendes retired on June 10 after 17 years at the prison.


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That’s a different guy… The link you provided was on a guy named Mott who was smuggling stuff into Avenal. The guy we’re talking about is Malone, who worked in the paint shop as “free staff”.


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I read in another article that the individual was a non-uniformed employee(freestaff) that supervised inmate sign painters. Are you sure CCN that dude was a guard? If not, you should retract that portion because the guards get a bad enough rap without being misrepresented.


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You must not have read this arcticle then, as they not only have his photo, but his background. According to the Hanford Sentinel, Randy is a prison guard with 10 years of experience.


I usually assume CCN is correct over the Tribune. Almost always.


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Okay, but how does that relate to whether this Kevin from the above article is a Correctional Officer or not?


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I understand that we certainly don’t want drugs or cellphones in the prisons or jail but what is the big deal about cigarettes? Why don’t they just let people who smoke tobacco smoke it? They all get to go outside and do other things, why can’t they smoke? The prison could have a cigarette lighter on a chain or something? Cigarette smokers are much calmer when they smoke and highly irritable when denied.


Don’t just give me a thumbs down, I really am curious about why?????


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I suppose that from a purely financial standpoint, smoking increases health care costs for the state.


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it’s not about smoking, really, it’s about currency. Since cigarettes are not allowed, they are a simple currency. Letting them work to buy their smokes would eliminate a currency and cause other rare, unobtainable items (i.e. drugs, cellphones, etc) to become the defacto item of trade.


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Mackerel Economics


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Agreed! Let the inmates light up a cig, maybe offered up by a corrections officer, and relax. Health care costs is a bogus argument, cigarettes SAVE the government money (numerous studies). You pay for retirement and health care for 5 years, not 30, and these guys aren’t paying any taxes. I’m part of the 30, and pay taxes, so I want more for me! Smoke ’em if you got ’em.


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What scares me is the ones due to get laid off soon . . . They are going to be competing for jobs in an already bad market on top of the fact that so many of them are criminals themselves . . .


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Disgusting.


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What will they end up doing if they don’t get jobs quickly and pay mortgages? Lots and lots of more drugs on the streets soon?


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It’s going to be like Sunnyvale trailer park unleashed onto the rest of the world. lol


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“Lots and lots of more drugs on the streets soon?”


Do you think layoff’s will cause more drug’s to be on the streets? There is no shortage of drugs. Anybody can get marijuana, it’s everywhere and at this time of the year people are giving it away. People who grow for medical usually end up with extra and look for other people with recommendations that they can give it to! Really, a neighbor over on another street asked me if I smoke or know someone who might need some extra medical? He said his crop did extra well and after he put away his yearly supply he has extra and he can’t cut it down or it will be illegal for him to have that much combined with what he processed so he was looking for people who wanted to come by and pick and trim their own for free (must have a recommendation)! TOO COOL!! I don’t smoke it myself but I know that it’s way coll to hear something like that.


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Now, if the judges started demanding forfeiture of 10% of their pensions for each count, this would dry up in a big hurry.


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HELL YES! Start demanding that with ALL public sector crooks! Start with the judges!


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Very interesting. This, of course, opens the door to further investigations, lots and lots of them, and the public should be DEMANDING them.


But they won’t happen; the situation is too far gone. We’ll have a damned revolution before this ever gets cleaned up.


Told you folks you were living in a CRIMINAL STATE. Do you believe it now?


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Yeah, they probably have to supplement their income because they are not paid enough…


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Can’t tell the criminals from the guards without a scorecard. Its clearly time to privatize the entire prision system. Then let the guards supplement their income from the prisoners and deduct it from their pay. The taxpayers are being robbed by these rent-a-cops.


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Nah, just outsource incarceration to 3rd party contractors in Mexico for 10 cents on the dollar. Our state’s costs would drop 90% and we wouldn’t be on the hook for unfunded pension liabilities.


Not to mention crime rates would drop as nobody wants to end up in a Mexican prison.


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