A Department of Correction captain and 10 correction officers who worked at the Donald J. Cranston Judicial Center on Rikers Island were arraigned Wednesday on a 93-count indictment, accused of submitting signed timesheets for hours they never worked and collecting nearly $230,000 in city pay. Prosecutors say the captain, William Newlin, allegedly stole more than $50,000, while the other officers are each accused of taking amounts that range roughly from $8,000 to $30,000. The defendants are scheduled to return to court in August.
According to News12 Bronx, the indictment charges each defendant with corrupting the government, grand larceny, defrauding the government and official misconduct. The officers are identified as Raymond Espino, 37; Jason Miller, 44; Raymond Lastra, 55; Odiney Brown, 54; Clifford Compton, 44; Odelle Adams, 54; Jason Catalanotto, 43; Kenyatta Johnson, 59; Katrina Thomas, 45; and Katricia Chandler, 54. “These defendants are accused of submitting fake timesheets resulting in them being paid more than $228,000 that they did not earn,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said. DOI Commissioner Christopher Ryan also said the alleged conduct “undermines public trust and operational safety,” according to the report.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
Prosecutors say the alleged scheme ran from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2023, and centered on defendants submitting hand-signed timesheets that claimed regular and overtime hours they did not actually work. That includes, according to prosecutors, arriving late, leaving early, or not showing up for assigned shifts at all. The city was then billed for labor that never happened, which officials say piled extra pressure on already strained court and jail operations. The NYC Department of Investigation has pursued similar payroll and sick-time cases at the Department of Correction in recent months, according to a DOI press release.
Court schedule and next steps
Newlin and the officers were arraigned on the 93-count indictment and are due back in court on Aug. 4, 2026, according to News12 Bronx. The case will now move through pretrial proceedings in the coming months while prosecutors and defense attorneys work through discovery and any preliminary motions. For now, officials say written, hand-signed timesheets are the primary alleged evidence of the scheme.
Why the case matters
Officials say the alleged timekeeping scam does more than pad paychecks. They argue it erodes public trust and creates real safety risks when staffing is already thin at Rikers and in the city’s court facilities. Reporting has documented growing staffing and case-backlog pressures at Rikers in recent years, a backdrop that prosecutors say makes alleged payroll fraud especially harmful to day-to-day operations. For more on that context, see reporting by The City on staffing strains and court delays. Community stakeholders and watchdogs have warned that personnel gaps raise dangers for detainees, staff and the public.
Legal implications
The defendants face felony counts that can carry prison time, fines and restitution if they are convicted. The charges include corrupting the government and grand larceny, among others. The Bronx District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, and each defendant remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Hoodline will monitor court filings and hearings and will update coverage as official documents and statements become available.
