Rat poison wasn’t in Rikers meatloaf, probe finds

IT WASN’T Col. Mustard who put the rat poison in the meatloaf in the kitchen.

But a probe of clues by the Department of Investigation couldn’t solve the mystery of the tainted food at Rikers Island that allegedly sickened 19 inmates last year.

The allegation that Department of Correction staff put the rat poison in the meatloaf was deemed “unsubstantiated” and the case marked closed, according to a DOI document.

In fact, the DOI concluded there was no evidence that anyone was even poisoned, the Daily News has learned.

The inmates claim in a federal lawsuit that meatloaf dished out to them on March 3, 2015, at the Anna M. Kross Center contained bluish-green pellets and caused vomiting, bleeding, diarrhea and fainting.

The suit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court also alleges they were denied medical treatment.

“Inmates who were from Housing Area 3B were running around the clinic waving plastic bags with what appeared to be a green component on the meat product,” according to the DOI memorandum obtained by the Daily News.

“Based on the medical staff accounts, none of the inmates treated that day showed signs of food or other poisoning,” the memo states.

A sample of the meatloaf preserved by an inmate was sent out for testing by his lawyers and the city also hired an independent lab to analyze the pellets.

Tests confirmed the meatloaf contained Brodifacoum, an anticoagulant used in d-Con rat poison.

The DOI investigation could not verify that Brodifacoum was used at that jail because the exterminator rotates different insecticides on Rikers Island to prevent vermin from building up an immunity to a particular poison.

“The results also revealed that the Brodifacoum was only on the top layer of the meatloaf as sprinkling and was not cooked inside of it,” according to the DOI memo.

The Department of Correction’s investigative report was sealed last week by Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo due to the ongoing litigation. A spokesman for the city Law Department said in a statement: “We will not discuss the report findings while a protective order exists, but our position all along has been that we’ve seen no evidence to support any claims of wrongdoing by the city.” The inmates’ lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.