Leaders, Security Staff Suspended at Clinton in Escape Aftermath

Twelve staffers at the Clinton Correctional Facility—from which two murderers escaped early this month—have been suspended, according to news reports.

They include the superintendent, first deputy superintendent and deputy superintendent for security, Newsweek reported.

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• Corrections Officer Arrested in Clinton Killers’ Escape
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The search for the two escapees, which ended with the death of Richard Matt and the capture of David Sweat, involved roughly 1,300 federal, state and local law enforcement members. Agencies active in the search included: Forest Rangers and Conservation Officers from the Department of Environmental Conservation, officers from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Plattsburgh Police, Vermont State Police, the Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Washington County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Clinton and Franklin County District Attorney’s offices.

The manhunt cost $1 million a day, according to the International Business Times.

No one had ever before escaped from Clinton, the third-oldest prison in New York, having been built a few years after Sing Sing and Auburn.

The suspensions are not the prison’s only problem.

Newsweek reports that the FBI has launched an investigation into drug trafficking and corruption there.

PHOTO: Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours Clinton Correctional Facility June 6 after 2 prisoners escape/credit Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office