Feds Charge Correctional Officer, Two Inmates and Two Others in Smuggling Ring at Wyatt
Monday, July 19, 2021
A correctional officer at Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, two detainees, a defendant released from the Wyatt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and another person have been charged by the U.S. Attorney for their alleged participation in a scheme to smuggle Suboxone into the Central Falls facility.
The charges were announced by Acting United States Attorney Richard Myrus.
It is alleged in court documents that according to the U.S. Attorney's office, in early and mid-February, two inmates housed at the Wyatt Detention Center, Emmanuel Nolasco, 34, and Matthew Pizarro, 32, communicated with former detainee Roosevelt Dale, 32, of Providence, and Yahaira Cristina Contreras, 29, of Providence, to arrange to provide Suboxone strips to correctional officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones, 25, who then smuggled the Suboxone inside the facility. Dale had been released from the Wyatt in May 2020, after claiming he was at heightened risk to contract Covid-19.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to court documents, on February 15, members of the Wyatt Detention Center Professional Standards Unit searched Nolasco’s cell and seized approximately 70 loose strips and a “brick” of 100 strips of Suboxone. Later that day, Almeida-Falcones was placed on paid leave and told by Wyatt Detention Center administrators not to return to the facility until advised to do so.
Kaii Almeida-Falcones, Emmanuel Nolasco, Matthew Pizarro, Roosevelt Dale, and Yahaira Cristina Contreras are charged by way of federal criminal complaints with drug trafficking and providing contraband in prison.
Almeida-Falcones, Contreras, and Dale were arrested Friday morning by members of the FBI and United States Marshals Service, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General and appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan. Dale was ordered detained. Almeida-Falcones and Contreras were released on conditions.
Emmanuel Nolasco remains detained at the Wyatt Detention Center awaiting trial in an unrelated matter. Matthew Pizzaro is currently incarcerated at United States Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, VA. Both will have court appearances at a later date.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: an earlier version of this story misspelled Matthew Pizarro's name.