Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan plans to announce Thursday the closure of a Baltimore jail where corruption was so bad just two years ago that inmates ran a drug ring inside the facility, according to a union official briefed on the plan.
Jeff Pittman, a spokesman for the Maryland branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the Maryland Division of Corrections discussed the plan to close the city jail with officials Thursday morning but provided few details. Mr. Hogan is expected to discuss the plan Thursday afternoon.
The decision to close the Baltimore City Detention Center, which houses hundreds of inmates awaiting trial or serving short sentences, would come after a federal investigation into corruption at the jail that exposed a drug-smuggling ring run by inmates.
“That facility was built in 1859, so we are hopeful that moving to newer, more updated facilities will improve safety,” Mr. Pittman said.
It’s still unclear when the facility would be closed or where inmates would be moved.
The 2013 federal investigation into crimes at the jail led to convictions against 40 people involved in the ring, including jail guards who carried on sexual relationships with inmates and helped smuggle drugs into the facility. The inmate at the center of the investigation, Black Guerrilla Family leader Tavon White, had impregnated four corrections officers at the jail.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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