Rikers Con Job

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http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-08/news/rikers-con-job-task-force/

A shadowy jail "violence reduction" unit linked to a top Corrections Department official is under investigation for falsifying reports, beating inmates, and violating department regulations, the Voice has learned.

The plainclothes unit, known as the "violence-reduction task force" or "special search squad," allegedly operated outside the rules, Correction sources say. The unit was not properly cleared to perform sensitive investigative work, and its members were improperly assigned to the unit and entered jails without following security procedures.

The city Department of Investigation is probing a range of allegations, including filing false reports about the discovery of a weapon at the Manhattan jail known as the Tombs and punitive beatings of inmates in the George R. Vierno Center and the West Facility on Rikers Island. One of those inmates suffered broken facial bones.

The DOC's Assistant Chief of Security, Eliseo Perez, who was involved with the unit, retired after being formally interviewed about his alleged role in a July 11 beating of an inmate in GRVC. (In an odd reversal last week, with the investigation still pending, Perez withdrew his retirement papers.)