New York Prison Guard Gene Palmer Arrested for Providing Tools to Escaped Prisoners Richard Matt & David Sweat

57 year old prison guard Gene Palmer has been arrested in connection with the prison escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.  Palmer was charged Wednesday with promoting prison contraband in the first degree, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and one count of official misconduct. According to court documents, Gene Palmer is accused of accepted paintings from the two convicts in return for tools. Palmer is said to have destroyed the paintings following the prison escape. Palmer attorney stated that his client “did not know that Joyce Mitchell had conned him into giving contraband to these two individuals.” Palmer worked at the prison for 27 years.  Bail was set at 50,000 bond or $25,000 cash bail.

NBC News – New York Prison Guard Gene Palmer Arrested.

A guard at the New York prison where two convicted killers escaped earlier this month accepted paintings from them in return for tools, according to court documents.

Gene Palmer is alleged to have later destroyed the paintings — burning some of them in a fire pit at his home and burying others in woods nearby — after Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6.

Palmer was charged Wednesday with promoting prison contraband in the first degree (a class D felony), two counts of tampering with physical evidence (a class E felony) and one count of official misconduct (a class A misdemeanor). The charges carry prison terms ranging from 15 months to seven years.

The documents allege that Palmer provided a flat-head screwdriver and needle-nose pliers on “at least four separate occasions” beginning as early as November 2014. According to the complaint, this was a result of Palmer receiving paintings from the Matt and Sweat.