RIKERS ISLAND — A correction officer charged with smuggling a cell phone and marijuana into Rikers Island for an inmate she had a personal relationship with was sentenced to one year behind bars on Thursday.
Tessie Clifton, 53, worked as an officer with the Department of Correction for 3 and half years and was accused of putting a black cellphone into a garbage can inside the Anna M. Kross Center on May 8, 2015 for inmate Tyrone Williams, according to the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
She repeatedly brought marijuana hidden in her sock to Williams as well, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
Clifton pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband on Sept. 20, and Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett sentenced her on Thursday to one year in jail.
Clifton appeared in court wearing khaki pants and a black shirt, and she spoke briefly before her sentencing to apologize.
"I'm ashamed, and I'm sorry," she said.
Williams pleaded guilty to attempted murder earlier this year and has been charged with promoting prison contraband as well. His case is ongoing.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who has made reforming Rikers Island one of her top priorities, said in a statement that Clifton had helped create an anarchic atmosphere within the city's troubled jail.
"The actions of this defendant, whose job is to help maintain order in an often chaotic environment, are what fuel lawlessness both inside and outside Rikers Island," she said.
