This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A pair of Chicago cops are headed to prison for their misdeeds, and a trio of prison guards break bad. Let's get to it:

In Henning, Tennessee, a state prison guard was arrested last Sunday for trying to smuggle drugs into the West Tennessee State Penitentiary. Officer Trayvon Lee went down after he arrived at work smelling of marijuana. A subsequent search of his vehicle uncovered 13 ounces of marijuana and ten ounces of tobacco wrapped up in packages in the trunk of the car. He is now charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility and possession of schedule VI drugs. And he was fired.

In St. Gabriel, Louisiana, a cadet corrections officer was arrested last Monday on charges she tried to smuggle contraband into the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. Paige Destiny Ruiz, 21, went down after prison officials staked out the prison to watch her try to make a drop and found her carrying a paper bag with six cell phones, 45 pieces of loose-leaf paper sprayed with a substance suspected to be synthetic cannabinoid enclosed in clear bags, a four-ounce clear bottle of a liquid substance suspected of being cough syrup with codeine, 250 pills suspected to be MDMA (ecstasy), three packs of tobacco, 42 Nugenix Total-T testosterone pills, five taped bundles of suspected illicit substances containing 200 grams, and 26 cell phone manuals with activation packages. She also had two cigars in her front pants pocket. She is facing eight counts of introduction of contraband into a penal institution, malfeasance in office, possession with intent to distribute MDMA, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute synthetic cannabinoids, and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance. She had been on the job less than two months.

In Spokane, Washington, a guard at the Airway Heights Corrections Center was arrested Monday after being caught bringing 15 grams of meth into the prison. Michael Mattern, 45, a 20-year veteran guard was also carrying heroin and suboxone in his lunch box. Mattern went down after inmates ratted him out, and the prison's internal investigations "led to evidence that Mattern has been compromised as a corrections officer and is introducing controlled substances into AHCC's secure facility in exchange for money, drugs and sex." He faces federal drug distribution charges.

In Chicago, a Chicago police officer was sentenced last Wednesday to nearly six years in federal prison for using bogus search warrants to raid homes and steal cash and drugs. Officer David Salgado will now join behind bars his former partner, Sgt. Xavier Elizondo, who was sentenced last month to seven years and three months in the same scheme. Both men were guilty in October of conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. Elizondo was also convicted on one count of attempting to destroy evidence, while Salgado was also found guilty of one count of lying to the FBI. The pair used fake informants to provide false information to judges to get search warrants signed. Their lawless rampage lasted from June 2017 to July 2018 while they were working on a gang crime squad.