Feds made us hush on bug
Canaries in Qns. jail: Nixed lawsuit to keep sweet deals
Federal prosecutors had a message for cooperating witnesses held at a secretive private jail: keep quiet about coronavirus.
Two cooperators at the Queens Detention Facility told the Daily News that a suit alleging widespread failures to contain an outbreak was withdrawn last week after they became concerned their deals with the government were in jeopardy due to the feds’ hardball tactics.
The pair were on the verge of being questioned under oath about failures at the facility operated by GEO Group when their lawyers became concerned about the risk associated with answering questions about their cooperation with the government, they said.
“We felt it was wrong — to use cooperation as a tactic to threaten everyone and not focus on conditions at the facility,” one of the cooperators participating in the suit said.
The suit had sought class action status and provided a rare look inside the 222-bed jail near Kennedy Airport that once held rapper Tekashi69 — one of the government’s most high-profile cooperators in years. The lockup is almost entirely filled with people who have pleaded guilty and agreed to take the stand for the government in the hopes of a lighter sentence.
The two inmates said government lawyers defending the jail planned to grill them about their crimes and cooperation. They worried any inconsistencies could invalidate their cooperation agreements, which require they be truthful with the government at all times and not commit further crimes.
“Instead of (the government) doing the right thing they allowed this place to get away with how they treated us. We were definitely treated horribly,” the second cooperator said. “The bottom line for me is: just as a human being we were just left out to die….I see it as a big coverup.”
One cooperator pleaded guilty to robbery. Another assisted the government in bank robbery and murder cases. The News is withholding details to protect their anonymity.
“You had people who copped out to 30 years to life. With that (cooperation) letter they might get five years. If that gets torn up, they might not be getting out,” a cooperator said.
GEO reports that 39 detainees and 30 staff at the Queens jail have tested positive for coronavirus and recovered.
“As a government service provider, GEO plays no role in decisions related to the cases of the individuals assigned by the federal government to our care,” the company said in a statement.
Government attorneys hinted in court filings that the GEO inmates’ allegations were inconsistent with their prior statements.
When asked if participation in the suit was a potential violation of a cooperation agreement, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office answered “absolutely not.”
The lawsuit faced other problems. Judge Brian Cogan said the jail did not have an obligation to ensure “lack of contagiousness” in the midst of the pandemic.