GREEN BAY – A former correctional officer was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for smuggling drugs to prisoners incarcerated at Green Bay Correctional Institution.
Justin Maher, 32, of Maribel, pleaded no contest in November to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute or deliver between 15 and 40 grams of cocaine, conspiracy to deliver illegal articles to an inmate and misconduct in public office.
A fourth charge of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute or deliver between 200 and 1,000 grams of THC was dismissed.
How did the investigation unfold?
The following information is from a criminal complaint:
In November and December of 2021, Green Bay Correctional Institution staff located numerous bags of marijuana from strip searches and in people's cells.
About 31 grams of marijana, separated into 46 individually packaged bags, were located on a prisoner during a strip search. That prisoner told prison staff that each bag was selling in the prison for about $100, and he had been supplied the marijuana by another man, who gave it to him wrapped in a shirt through a food trap.
The prisoner told prison staff he did not know who initially brought the drugs into the prison, but said he believed it was a staff member.
One person, who the complaint lists as a "source only known to (a prison captain) as to protect their identity," told a prison captain on Nov. 29, 2021, that a correctional officer working in the segregation unit had smuggled marijuana, cocaine, MDMA and cellphones into the prison. The contraband would be given to two incarcerated workers, who then distributed the items among the prison's general population. The source said they did not know who the correctional officer was.
The source also said prisoners "had located a deficiency in the newly installed toilets which allows for an access panel to be removed and a concealable compartment to store contraband."
Another prisoner identified Maher to the prison captain, and said Maher had approached a prisoner to ask how he could be compensated for smuggling contraband. Prison staff found a smuggled cellphone and 7 grams of marijuana in that prisoner's possession.
Other contraband found in the prison included:
- 28 baggies of marijuana from a strip search of a prisoner.
- About 45 grams of marijuana and an iPhone and charger in a prisoner's cell.
- About 2 grams of marijuana and an iPhone from a strip search of a prisoner.
On average, each baggie of marijuana, which ranged in weight from half a gram to 1 gram, can sell for $100 to $200 in prison, while cellphones in prison can sell for between $3,000 and $5,000, the complaint states.
The two incarcerated workers who Maher had been smuggling drugs to spoke to investigators on Dec. 2, 2021. They said Maher began smuggling contraband into the Green Bay prison around October 2021. They said Maher initially approached the two prisoners about the idea of smuggling items in, because he owed someone money and was looking to make $15,000 by February 2022.
The two prisoners asked Maher to bring them a cellphone "to test how serious" Maher was. Within a couple days, Maher brought in the cellphone, they said, as a "trust building gesture." The prisoners said Maher then threatened to blackmail them and report the prisoners had a cellphone if they did not help him.
The two prisoners estimated Maher brought drugs in 15 times. They told investigators Maher would bring in marijuana or cocaine concealed in a water jug "every couple of days" he worked. Maher would then put the drugs inside a storage closet in the segregation unit.
While working a shift, one of the prisoners would then hide the drugs in a garbage can, beneath the garbage bag "as a way to mask the odor." The drugs would stay hidden there until the prisoner would bring them back to general population.
To avoid the drugs being found on the prisoner in a strip search after his shift, Maher would conduct the strip searches on that prisoner, the prisoner told investigators.
The two prisoners told investigators "the money wasn't really getting back to (Maher) as fast as he thought," and estimated that Maher only received about $5,000 for the marijuana he was distributing, either directly to him "through associates" or via CashApp.
On Dec. 6, 2021, investigators had a confidential informant go to Maher's residence in Maribel to deliver $1,500 Maher was expecting.
Officers arrested Maher the following day at Green Bay Correctional Institution as he arrived for his shift.
In a police interview, Maher initially denied knowing about any smuggling of contraband to the prison, but then admitted his involvement. Maher claimed a prisoner approached him with the idea after overhearing Maher talking to other correctional officers about needing to make money.
What are the details of Maher's sentence?
After his three years in prison, Maher will spend two years on extended supervision. That sentence is for the distributing cocaine charge.
Maher also faces one year of probation, to be served consecutive to his sentence for distributing cocaine, as a sentence for the other two charges.
While on extended supervision and probation, Maher will be required to maintain absolute sobriety, refrain from entering bars, maintain full-time employment, make monthly supervision payments and complete any required programming. He is also not allowed to have any contact with Green Bay Correctional Institution or "any known or suspected drug users or dealers" unless allowed by his probation agent, according to court records.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
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