Brooklyn youth detention center workers charged with bribery for contraband

Five current and former employees of a city-run juvenile detention center in Brooklyn are facing federal charges for allegedly smuggling contraband into the facility in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said the employees, who worked as youth development specialists at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville, accepted cash payments from the facility’s residents or their associates for sneaking in drugs, weapons and other prohibited items in recent years. They are accused of receiving between $2,000 and $20,000 each in bribes for bringing in contraband, including razors, marijuana, phone accessories, prescription pills and alcohol, and were arrested on Wednesday morning.

If convicted, they could face prison time of up to five years each, according to prosecutors.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that the defendants “violated their duty to the city and the residents at Crossroads” by “placing young people and other staff members at an alarming risk of serious harm.”

“Today’s arrests demonstrate that this office remains committed to rooting out corruption and cleaning up our city’s jails and juvenile detention facilities,” he added.

The workers — Da’Vante Bolton, 31; Roger Francis, 58; Christopher Craig, 37; Nigel King, 45; and Octavia Napier, 26 — were expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday afternoon. They are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery under the U.S. Travel Act and were responsible for supervising Crossroads residents, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for Bolton, Craig and King declined to comment. Napier’s attorney said his client is pleading not guilty, but had no further comment. Francis’ attorney could not be immediately reached.

Bolton, Francis, Craig and King were still employed by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services when the charges were unsealed on Wednesday, while Napier was not, according to prosecutors. A spokesperson for ACS, which oversees Crossroads and the city's other juvenile detention facility, said the agency was immediately suspending those who were still employed, pending further disciplinary action.

“ACS’ first priority is always keeping our young people safe,” agency spokesperson Stephanie Gendell said in a statement. “Anyone who violates that mission has no place working for ACS.”

The Crossroads detention center has previously had issues with contraband ending up in residents’ possession. The five arrests on Wednesday come four months after a guard there was arrested for allegedly smuggling in cellphones and SIM cards for detainees between 12 and 21 years old.

Last year, Gothamist reported that employees at all levels, including leadership, had snuck drugs, alcohol, cash and razor blades into Crossroads and the city’s other juvenile detention center, the Horizon Juvenile Center in the South Bronx. ACS said at the time that it used dogs to detect contraband at the facilities and was implementing new security measures, including enhanced searches at the entrances and portable phone detectors.

About 120 young people are detained at Crossroads, where staff are trained to confiscate contraband, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Still, more than 75 cellphones, 340 scalpels and blades, and various amounts of drugs and tobacco were discovered at the facility between March 2022 and May 2024, prosecutors said.