Michael A Haber PA Criminal DUI Defense Litigation Miami Blog

Prison Guard enlisted Strippers to help Smuggle Contraband into Prison ~ Smuggling Ring Inadvertently Caught due to Careless Escaped Inmate

Meet the players:  1) The Criminal Mastermind - {Former - meaning "first retired and then indicted} Florida Department of Corrections Officer Henry Blackwelder (yes, that's his mugshot below);

2)  The Convict - Jason Adams, who was serving a six (6) year sentence for burglary and grand theft and who was on a work crew detail in suburban Pasco County, Florida in September, 2014 (yes, that's his mug-shot below):

In September, 2014 Blackwelder was supervising a work crew in suburban Pasco County, Florida, about 30 miles north of downtown Tampa, and Adams was an indentured member of that group.  The problem:  Adams skipped out and didn't return to the work site.  The bigger problem:  Blackwelder didn't report it until some three (3) hours later, leading to a determined investigation by corrections personnel.  And what did the investigation reveal?

For starters they found an area in the woods near the work site a "camp" area containing empty cans of "Straw-Ber-Rita" and "Loko Malt Liquor", empty packets of "Spice" (a dangerous and  illegal synthetic marijuana product) and a blanket which was determined to have been used for sex.  Then they found time stamped video footage of Adams, the inmate, purchasing a variety of such items in a nearby convenience store.  Finally they found Adams himself, the very next day, riding a bicycle, and after they took him into custody the nefarious scheme was unfolded.

Adams confessed to having left the work crew, under Blackwelder's supervision and at his direction, on several occasions to buy booze, smokes and spice.  Some of it got used to enhance impromptu "conjugal visits" in the woods (the proverbial quid-pro-quo for acquiring the goods and keeping his mouth shut), some of it was consumed by Blackwelder himself  and some of it was smuggled back into the prison per Blackwelder's scheme.  Per Sheriff Chris Nocco: "Blackwelder was paid with cash and food for the contraband and would finish any leftovers from the food the two women brought for their inmate boyfriends.  He was like Yogi Bear out there eating their leftovers."

Blackwelder enlisted the help of the two (2) strippers (who happened to  moonlight as convenience store workers and who became "romantically involved" with two (2) of the work crew inmates), both of whom admitted their participation in the "ring" over the course of about a year, and who also indicated that they provided such items as cigarettes which were smuggled into the prison at Blackwelder's instruction.  The ladies have been charged with "introducing contraband into a state correction facility", giving alcohol to an inmate and giving articles of food and clothing to an inmate.  Adams earned an escape charge and Blackwelder was charged with official misconduct, unlawful compensation for official behavior and smuggling contraband into a state facility.

The moral:  Prison is bad.  It is not where you want to be.  Apart from being regimented and structured, constantly monitored, having no privacy, being subjected to a large percentage of "bad people" who have done and who will continue to do "bad things", you are also a target for corrupt corrections personnel.  So don't go to prison, but, if you do, then do your time quietly, peacefully and respectfully.  Get in, get out and get on with your life.

Since 1991 Michael A. Haber, P.A. has been creatively, effectively and zealously representing clients, both juvenile and adult, in both State and Federal Courts, in criminal cases ranging from DUI to drug trafficking and from misdemeanors to first degree murder.

At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"! 

Michael A. Haber, Esq. is prepared to speak with you about your case!