Prison guard says he didn't know about escape plan
A prison guard charged in connection with the escape of two Northern New York inmates told investigators he did not know the killers were planning a breakout and did not realize he was aiding them by exchanging favors for artwork and information on other prisoners, according to his statement to the State Police.
Gene Palmer, 57, of Cadyville, N.Y., was released Thursday on $25,000 bond after being charged with promoting prison contraband, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct.
Palmer, who worked for 27 years at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., is accused of providing Richard Matt and David Sweat with use of a screwdriver and pliers several times in exchange for jailhouse paintings. Court documents released by prosecutors also claim that, after the killers vanished from the prison June 6, Palmer burned some paintings and hid others.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said the tools were apparently for the inmates' artwork and not connected to the escape.
The claims are based on a statements Palmer made to investigators. His lawyer, Andrew Brockway, said Palmer is cooperating with authorities.
"The district attorney has gone on record by saying (Palmer) had no knowledge that they were planning to escape," Brockway said. "He passed a polygraph test."
At a court hearing Thursday afternoon, Palmer requested a new attorney. The hearing was adjourned until Monday to give him time to confer with his new counsel.
In his statement to investigators Saturday, Palmer said he also gave the inmates access to electrical wiring in tunnels -- tunnels they would later use for their escape. Palmer let Sweat alter a fuse box because a hot plate wasn't working, Wylie said.
The men lived in an "honor" unit where cooking was allowed. Matt -- who marked his 49th birthday Thursday -- arrived there in 2009, and Sweat a year later.
Palmer, who worked on their cellblock for eight years, told investigators he provided the favors to Matt in exchange for "elaborate paintings" and tips on illegal activity by other inmates.
"In turn, I provided him with benefits such as paint, paint brushes, movement of inmates, hamburger meat, altering of electrical boxes in the catwalk areas," Palmer said in his statement. "I did not realize at the time that the assistance provided to Matt or Sweat made their escape easier."
Palmer is also accused of delivering a package of frozen meat to the men with hacksaw blades and other tools hidden inside May 30, a week before the breakout. Defense lawyer Andrew Brockway said Palmer trusted Joyce Mitchell, the prison tailor who asked him to deliver the meat, and did not know what was inside.
"He did pass the hamburger meat," Brockway said. "He shouldn't have done it and he has apologized for it."
More than 1,100 police officers continued the manhunt Thursday, focusing on the small towns of Belmont and Malone in a 75-square-mile area not far from the prison, State Police said Thursday.
A day earlier, Maj. Charles Guess said the men may be armed with guns and ammunition stolen from unoccupied hunting cabins in the rugged Adirondack Mountains.
He would not confirm whether Matt and Sweat had a shotgun reportedly missing from a hunting camp on Black Cat Mountain, where clothing and possibly DNA evidence indicated the killers had been Saturday.
The anticipation of a capture that came with Saturday's find grew distant as the week dragged on without another sighting.
"They could easily move 10 miles per day on trails if unimpeded," Guess said. He said police have received more than 2,200 leads "and we have investigated each one."
Prison tailor Joyce Mitchell remained jailed, accused of providing the men with hacksaw blades and other tools by placing them in the frozen meat, then convincing Palmer to deliver the meat to the inmates.
Matt and Sweat fled the prison by cutting through a metal wall and some pipes and tunnels, and then crawling out of a manhole within site of the prison walls. It was the first escape from maximum security in the prison's 150 years.