February 21, 2006

Attorney General Corbett and Pennsylvania State Police announce criminal charges against state corrections officer and 9 others in prison drug & forged check rings

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EBENSBURG - Attorney General Tom Corbett and Pennsylvania State Police today announced that Pennsylvania State Police have filed criminal charges against a former Pennsylvania Department of Corrections officer and nine others allegedly involved in a prison drug ring and a check forging scheme.

Corbett said the investigation began in May 2005 when officials at the State Correctional Institution - Cresson (SCI-Cresson) forwarded information to the Pennsylvania State Police about a prison employee who was allegedly bringing cocaine and other drugs to an inmate at the prison.  The drugs were then allegedly being sold to other inmates at the prison.

Corbett said that during the course of the drug investigation information was also developed about forged checks allegedly being produced by inmates at SCI-Cresson, including checks drawn on accounts at another state prison, along with an insurance company and a private business. 

Evidence and testimony about the drug trafficking and check forging operations were presented before a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended that Corbett file the criminal charges being announced today.

Johnson / Avery Drug Organization

The grand jury found that Clarence Johnson, a corrections officer at SCI-Cresson, was smuggling drugs into the prison for inmate Nathan "Mook" Avery. 

Corbett said that Nathan Avery allegedly contacted his brother, David Avery, of Philadelphia, to transport drugs from the Philadelphia area to Cambria County.  David Avery allegedly met in Cambria County with Clarence Johnson, who would then smuggle the drugs into the prison.

The grand jury found that Nathan Avery distributed the drugs to other inmates at SCI-Cresson, and those inmates paid for the drugs by sending money orders to David Avery in Philadelphia.

Corbett said that in July 2005 state troopers learned of a planned trip by David Avery from Philadelphia to Cambria County, allegedly for the purpose of delivering drugs to an individual who would smuggle the drugs into the prison.  In preparation for that trip, David Avery allegedly obtained heroin from Tirek Jefferson, of Philadelphia.

The grand jury found that on July 28, 2005, David Avery traveled from his home in Philadelphia to the Bedford Exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Avery parked in a nearby fast-food restaurant, removed a bag from the trunk of his car and got into another car parked nearby.  Avery exited the second car a short time later, without the bag, returned to his own vehicle and headed east on the turnpike.

Corbett said state troopers followed the second car to a location near Ebensburg, Cambria County, where they stopped the vehicle.  The driver, Clarence Johnson, had five grams of cocaine and $230 in cash in his possession.  In a subsequent search of Johnson's vehicle troopers found 40 packets of heroin, two ounces of marijuana and approximately 130 tablets of the prescription drug Xanax.

The grand jury found that Johnson delivered drugs to Nathan Avery at various locations inside SCI-Cresson, including the guard's control room, a utility room and the cell block laundry room. 

Nathan Avery allegedly was assisted by Jermaine "Strong" McElveen in the packaging and distribution of drugs within SCI-Cresson.

Corbett noted that Clarence Johnson was suspended by the Department of Corrections following his July 28, 2005, arrest on drug charges and subsequently terminated as a corrections officer.

Dickson Forged Check Scheme

Corbett said that during the course of the investigation into drug trafficking at SCI-Cresson, authorities also learned of a fraudulent check scam involving an inmate at the prison and several individuals outside the prison.

According to the grand jury, Chad Dickson, an inmate at SCI-Cresson, used copies of legitimate checks and a typewriter to create a series of fraudulent checks.  The bogus checks were sent to individuals outside the prison with instructions that the checks be cashed and the money distributed.

Corbett said that Dickson used various methods to obtain the necessary information to create the fraudulent checks.  In one case, he used a legitimate insurance payment check to produce additional fraudulent copies.  Dickson is also charged with producing several fraudulent checks drawn on an account at SCI-Somerset.

The grand jury found that Brian Bland, another inmate at SCI-Cresson, assisted Dickson in the check forging scheme.  Bland allegedly had his wife, Hadiyyah Ali of Philadelphia send him a copy of her payroll check, which Dickson used to produce fraudulent checks drawn on that business account.

Corbett said that Adam Colon, who was Dickson's cellmate at SCI-Cresson, assisted in the scheme by forging the name of then-Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer on a check that Dickson had created.

The grand jury found that several individuals outside the prison supported or participated in this forged check scheme, including Hadiyyah Ali of Philadelphia, the wife of inmate Brian Bland, and Kathleen Burgos of East Boston, Massachusetts, the mother of an another inmate at the prison.

The defendants will be preliminarily arraigned before Cresson Magisterial District Judge Charity Nileski.

Corbett said the defendants will be prosecuted in Cambria County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Donna J. McClelland of the Attorney General's Drug Strike Force.

Corbett thanked the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and Cambria County District Attorney Patrick Kiniry's office for their assistance with this investigation.

Below is a list of the defendants and the charges filed against them:

- Clarence Johnson, 30, P.O. Box 38, Mentcle (Indiana County) is charged with four counts of violating the controlled substance, drug, device, and cosmetic act, one count of conspiracy to violate the drug act, seven counts of furnishing controlled substance contraband to a confined person, one count of conspiracy to furnish contraband, one count of bribery in official or political matters and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
NOTE:  Clarence Johnson is also awaiting trial on charges of drug possession with intent to deliver and participating in a corrupt organization.  Those charges were filed on July 28, 2005.

- Nathan "Mook" Avery, 31, SCI - Cresson, is charged with seven counts of violating the controlled substance, drug, device, and cosmetic act, one count of conspiracy to violate the drug act, seven counts of furnishing controlled substance contraband to a confined person, one count of bribery in official and political matters, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization.

- David G. Avery, 26, 6459 Morton St., Philadelphia, is charged with seven counts of violating the controlled substance, drug, device, and cosmetic act, one count of conspiracy to violate the drug act, seven counts of furnishing controlled substance contraband to a confined person, one count of bribery in official and political matters, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization.

- Jermaine "Strong" McElveen, 32, SCI - Cresson, is charged with three counts of conspiracy, three counts of furnishing controlled substance contraband to a confined person and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization.

- Terik E. Jefferson, 32, 452 East Vernon Road, Philadelphia, is charged with one count of violating the controlled substance, drug, device, and cosmetic act, one count of conspiracy to violate the drug act, one count of furnishing controlled substance contraband to a confined person, one count of conspiracy to provide contraband, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and two counts of participating in a corrupt organization.

- Chad Bradley Dickson, 31, SCI- Greensburg, is charged with six counts of theft by unlawful taking, seven counts of criminal attempt to commit theft by unlawful taking, one count of conspiracy, 13 counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, six counts of theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, six counts of receiving stolen property and 13 counts of bad checks.

- Adam Colon, 33, SCI-Coal Township, is charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, two counts of receiving stolen property and two counts of bad checks.

- Brian Edward Bland, 37, SCI - Houtzdale, is charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of attempted theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and two counts of bad checks.

- Hadiyyah Amatullah Ali, 46, 922 North 48th St., Philadelphia, is charged with two counts of criminal attempted theft by unlawful taking, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of attempted theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and two counts of bad checks.

- Kathleen Burgos, 57, East Boston, MA, is charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, two counts of receiving stolen property and two counts of bad checks.

(A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)

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Editors' Note: Photos of the defendants and copies of the grand jury presentment are available by contacting the Attorney General's Press Office at 717-787-5211.

  Watch the announcement.