NYC Mother Pleads Guilty To Bribery Charges

A Brooklyn mother was caught paying bribes to smuggle marijuana and blades to her incarcerated son, which has led her to plead guilty on federal charges.

At a Glance

Jessica Alicea paid $14,000 in bribes to smuggle marijuana and scalpels to her son in a juvenile detention center.
Alicea pleaded guilty to federal program bribery charges in Brooklyn federal court.
The smuggling operation involved over 130 instances of contraband entering the Crossroads Juvenile Center.
Five juvenile detention center employees were charged earlier this year with conspiracy to commit Travel Act bribery.

Mother’s Misguided Love Leads to Federal Charges

Jessica Alicea, a Brooklyn mother, has pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. Alicea admitted to paying $14,000 in bribes to smuggle marijuana and scalpels to her son, who was detained at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville. The case reportedly involved over 130 instances of smuggling contraband.

Davante Bolton, a youth development specialist at Crossroads, was convicted earlier this year for his role as Alicea’s accomplice in the smuggling operation. The investigation, which began in August 2022 and concluded in February, led to federal charges against both Alicea and Bolton. Alicea is now awaiting sentencing in April, facing potentially severe consequences for her actions.

NYC mom paid $14K in bribes to sneak weed, blades to son jailed inside juvenile facility: feds https://t.co/dd88nZdLyw pic.twitter.com/30KABIzG0n

— New York Post (@nypost) November 21, 2024

Another Discovery

The case against Alicea and Bolton isn’t the only one. In a separate development from earlier in the year, five individuals, including four current and one former employee of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, were charged with conspiracy to commit Travel Act bribery. These Youth Development Specialists at the Crossroads Juvenile Center were accused of smuggling weapons, drugs, and other contraband into the facility in exchange for bribes ranging from $2,000 to $20,000.

“These so-called ‘Youth Development Specialists’ violated their duty to the City and the residents at Crossroads by smuggling in weapons, drugs, and other contraband in exchange for bribes, placing young people and other staff members at an alarming risk of serious harm,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace back in June. “Today’s arrests demonstrate that this Office remains committed to rooting out corruption and cleaning up our city’s jails and juvenile detention facilities.”

The scale of the contraband smuggling operation is staggering. Between March 2022 and May of the current year, numerous items were reportedly confiscated at Crossroads, including mobile phones, scalpels, and various drugs.

Systemic Issues and the “Raise the Age” Law

According to The New York Post, juvenile centers have brought scrutiny to New York’s “Raise the Age” law. This legislation, which increased the age of criminal responsibility to 18, has inadvertently led to overcrowding and increased violence in youth detention facilities, per a DOI investigation. The law’s implementation has strained the system’s resources and created an environment more susceptible to corruption and safety breaches.

The Department of Investigation (DOI) has emphasized the dangers of contraband smuggling in juvenile detention centers. The presence of weapons, drugs, and other illicit items not only poses immediate physical risks but also undermines the rehabilitative goals of these facilities.