A former employee of the New York City Department of Correction is facing indictment charges for failing to report a considerable sum of money she received from inmates' associates while employed as a cook at Rikers Island. Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that Tawanna Shackelford, a 48-year-old Manhattan resident, did not declare over $135,000 on her state personal income tax return. In a statement obtained by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Clark emphasized that "This kind of alleged criminal conduct by city employees will not be tolerated."
Shackelford, who began her employment at the Robert N. Davoren Center on Rikers' Island in 2022, is accused of receiving payments via Zelle and Cash App from associates and relatives of persons in custody. According to the indictment, from August 4, 2022, to December 31, 2022, the payments totaled more than $135,000. Yet, these substantial amounts were conspicuously absent from her New York State Personal Income Tax return she prepared on April 24, 2023. Jocelyn E. Strauber, NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner, pointed out the defendant's acceptance of these payments as a serious violation of Correction Department rules and the City’s conflict of interest law.
The indictment charges Shackelford with first-degree Offering a False Instrument, second-degree Offering a False Instrument, third-degree Criminal Tax Fraud, fourth-degree Criminal Tax Fraud, fifth-degree Criminal Tax Fraud, and a New York City Conflict of Interest Violation. Reflecting the gravity of these accusations, she was arraigned by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Laurence Busching and is due back in court on January 6, 2026. The case is prosecuted with a team under the supervision of various chiefs of the Public Integrity Bureau and the Investigations Division, as noted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
The prosecution team extends gratitude to several members within the law enforcement community, including officers from NYPD, Department of Correction, as well as New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. District Attorney Clark specifically acknowledged individuals, such as NYPD Sergeant Louis Meade and detectives of the District Attorney's Squad, for their integral work on the investigation. An indictment is not proof of guilt, and it will be the court's task to determine if Shackelford's actions are punishable under the full extent of the law.
