Yesterday afternoon cops busted a corrections officer who was caught cruising in Queens with eight ounces of heroin. Police came up flashing behind Marco Villacris's tan Chevy van when he ran a red light, but when they pulled him over they noticed an open baggie and smelled "the strong odor of the heroin," reports the Post. (What does heroin smell like, you ask? Google says Cheerios, tar, rancid ketchup or vinegar.) The 42-year-old Rikers Island guard—who'd been working for the Corrections Department since 2008—was charged with criminal possession and will be terminated from his job. more ›

Three prison officials called it quits yesterday, months after they allowed several prisoners to hold religious parties and even let rapper Foxy Brown conduct an interview and photo shoot while still locked up. Chief of Department Carolyn Thomas, Assistant Chief of Special Operations Frank Squillante and warden of the Manhattan detention complex (aka the Tombs) George Okada all turned in their resignations yesterday. The President of the Correction Captains' Association, Patrick Ferraiuolo, expressed his enthusiasm for the resignations, "He allowed his deputy wardens to run his jails." more ›

Oy vey: The Post reports that Rabbi Leib Glanz has resigned as a city jail chaplain, as tales of his generous ways towards Orthodox Jewish inmates—from allowing one to throw his son's bar mitzvah at the Tombs to entertaining some with clowns and allowing them to have sex with female prisoners—grew. Glanz, who was suspended after the unorthodox bar mitzvah (held at the Manhattan Detention Complex's gym, complete with knives), said, "Yes, I resigned. I decided it was best for everybody." more ›

The Post follows up its awesome story about how the Tombs—you know, the Manhattan Detention Complex—hosted one inmate's son's bar mitzvah party—complete with knives!— by saying the correction facility "was like a 'private club' for a group of Orthodox Jewish jailbirds, whose politically connected prison-chaplain rabbi regularly treated them to feasts of roast beef, salmon and chicken with all the trimmings." The Post also got hold of a corrections memo which read, "The inmates are untouchable. When it comes to the Jewish inmates, all rules are put aside." more ›

The Department of Corrections spoke with us today to clarify that "there is no timetable" for the reopening and expansion of the "House of D" in Downtown Brooklyn reported on yesterday. The original assertion that it would reopen shortly came from a Daily News claim that a letter to the state from the DOC stated the jail would reopen in a few months. more ›

A fire that erupted in a two-family Rosedale home yesterday morning claimed the lives of a Corrections Department captain and her two sons. The Corrections Dept. union said that the victims were Captain Renee Chong and her two young sons. more ›

Police officer Jacqueline Melendez Rivera was indicted on two charges related to the February 10 shooting of fellow cop Andrew Suarez. The shooter was Melendez Rivera's husband, Jose Rivera, who shot at Suarez and other undercover officers in an unmarked car while driving in Park Slope. (Suarez was shot in the arm.) more ›

Sometimes Gothamist comes across a news story that makes our head hurt. Such is the story of the excess security doors the city bought six years ago, which were never installed, and now have been given to the State Department. more ›

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I don't get up to the Bronx that much- my parents grew up there, but it's definitely off the beaten track- even Queens is more convenient. Off the northeast coast of the Bronx is City Island, where four teenagers disappeared and most probably drowned this weekend. The Times has a good article on Hart Island, the spookiest island in the Long Island Sound, which was where the kids were probably rowing when their skiff went down. I actually prefer the Morning News' lyrical history of the island, and the New York Genealogical Society's page on Hart Island, which includes pictures. More pictures from the Corrections Department, which operates the island. more ›