Two Rikers Island corrections officers have been charged with covering up a brutal assault on an inmate in 2009. 49-year-old Victor Rodman, who has been part of New York's Boldest for almost a quarter century, allegedly visited another guard, 43-year-old Michelle Hubert, in July of 2009 when a fight broke out between inmates. Investigators tell Newsday that Rodman broke an inmate's nose and caused permanent vision loss in one eye. "These defendants are charged in a disturbing inmate assault and cover-up, betraying their integrity and the city's trust in them," the city's Department of Investigation's commission Rose Gill Hearn said. more ›

Police in Queens arrested off-duty corrections officer James Robinson today and charged him with rape, assault and wrongful imprisonment. Details on the charges are still scant but a source tells us the charges are "domestic." more ›

Two Rikers Island guards have pled guilty to felony assault charges for running a violent "Fight Club" like enforcement system that pitted gang members against inmates and resulted in the death of one 18-year-old prisoner. 33-year-old Michael McKie is expected to receive a two year sentence in January, while 37-year-old Khalid Nelson will receive one year. Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Hearn said in a release that the two guards "fittingly…face prison sentences themselves. As inmates, they will appreciate the importance of Corrections Officers' maintaining integrity and safety in the City jails." more ›

On Saturday afternoon Mayor Bloomberg assured the city that in the event of serious destruction of property by Hurricane Irene, there would be no looting because, "We don't have that sort of thing...That's just not the New York of today." But two Staten Islanders seem to have taken this as a challenge, and set about impersonating Corrections officers for residents on Oceanside and Liberty Avenues, asking them if they planned to evacuate, presumably so they could loot the empty homes, the Post reports. more ›

A retired corrections officer working the security detail at a Woodside bowling alley shot two rowdy patrons early this morning, sending them to the hospital. Gerard Hourigan and Justin Donaghy, both 29 years old, were having cigarettes in the vestibule, flouting city non-smoking regulations when the guard, Michale Iavecchio, gave them the boot. But when he escorted them outside the friends attacked him, he says. Iavechhio—who because of this past employer had a license to carry a concealed weapon—reached for his .380 Ruger and fired two rounds, hitting one man in the stomach and the other in the chest. more ›

More trouble at the Tombs! Today cops arrested a Muslim chaplain for smuggling box cutters into the jail in lower Manhattan. Imam Zul-Qarnain Shahid has worked as a spiritual adviser for the city Department of Corrections for three years, and now he may face a prison term of his own. Sources say Sahid was caught this morning attempting to bring three box-cutters into the prison, though so far it's not known why he brought them or for whom, reports the Post. It's not the first scandal to hit the Tombs: last year a chaplain at the facility organized a catered prison bar mitzvah for the son of an inmate, hosting a band and a long guest list of non-inmates. 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 ›

Using a Leica M2 with a 90mm lens, Cuban photographer Alberto “Korda” Díaz snapped the iconic photograph of Ernesto “Che” Guevara during a mass funeral for the victims of a mysterious series of explosions in Havana harbor that killed at least 75 people 1960. The service was held the day after the tragedy, and Korda, who was Castro’s official photographer at the time, managed two photos of Guevara as he briefly stepped onstage to look out at the mourners. Korda later said that Che’s countenance was one of “absolute implacability, anger, and pain.” more ›