Dear Senators Ossoff and Grassley,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our support for S. 4142, the “Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act,” which would make the introduction of a cell phone into a prison a felony offense.
Despite all efforts to combat the presence of cell phones and other wireless devices from being obtained by Federal prisoners, they remain a deadly threat to Bureau of Prisons’ staff, facility inmates, and the public. Prisoners who unlawfully obtain a cell phone can continue to manage criminal enterprises from their prison cell, from drug trafficking operations to witness intimidation to murdering law enforcement officers.
The bill you have introduced is named in honor of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Correctional Officer, who was murdered in 2013 for his persistent efforts to stop the flow of contraband, including cell phones, into the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), Guaynabo, in Puerto Rico. His frequent seizures of contraband cell phones at the MDC led to three inmates to conspire with five other men outside the prison walls to murder Lt. Albarati. They planned his killing using a cell phone that was smuggled into the prison.
This legislation would increase the charge of smuggling of contraband cellphones into a Federal prison from a misdemeanor offense to a felony. The dangers of contraband cell phones in our Federal facilities cannot be overstated—they are, quite literally, deadly weapons and we need to do more to keep them out of Federal prisons. This legislation will make it easier for investigators and prosecutors to more effectively bring to justice those smuggling cell phones into prisons and reduce the flow of illicit cell phones into prisons.
On behalf of the more than 373,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I thank you both for your leadership on this issue and look forward to working with you to get it to the Senate floor for a vote. If I can be of any help or provide additional information in support of this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President