Former small-town cop to tackle jail gangs He’s the latest correx big from moose-land
Insiders said the hire was the latest example of a Maine to New York City pipeline at DOC since Mayor de Blasio hired former Commissioner Joseph Ponte, who previously served as commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections. Ponte hired Brann — his eventual successor — who also worked in Maine corrections.
Ponte resigned in 2017 after a Department of Investigation probe determined he used city vehicles to frequently travel back to his home state. The Daily News reported in September that Brann (inset) had designated an “acting commissioner” on the 151 days since she took the job. Brann was back in Maine for some of those days, officials confirmed.
The intel job is mainly dedicated to tracking gang activity in the jails, making arrests for crimes committed behind bars and tracking down inmates mistakenly released early, a former high-ranking member of the unit told The News. More than 1,900 inmates have been assessed by the agency as gang members, the source said.
Augusta Maine Chief Jared Mills told the Bangor Daily News in 2014 — the year Clark left the force— that the town had no “entrenched” gangs.
At least one former member of the intelligence unit was incredulous about the hire.
“The guy worked for her husband! You can’t tell me that wasn’t undue influence,” the ex-DOC staffer said.
“We’re in New York City. Our population is 8 million people. You can’t find anybody in the city who knows about gangs who is willing to work here? You gotta go to Maine?”
A DOC spokesman countered that gang expertise was not the most critical qualification for the job. The most important skill, the spokesman said, was leadership. At the Augusta PD, Clark supervised about five detectives and around 30 uniformed officers. After he left the department Clark worked for the Maine Sheriffs’ Association and was a private investigator and security consultant for the Pine State. He is now in charge of 50 correction staffers.
“I hired Matthew Clark because he stood out as the top candidate for this critically important job, and the integrity and leadership experience he brings are already proving to be huge assets to this department. With a career spanning over 20 years, Clark has collaborated with state and federal law enforcement agencies to train officers and investigate gang activity and narcotics. We trust that he will bring the same level of skill and expertise to the department,” Brann said.