‘Nepotism machine’
Correx big with ties to commish’s hub promoted after 7 mos.
The city Correction Department’s new deputy commissioner has quickly climbed the ladder — and critics say it’s thanks to one “Maine” quality.
The Daily News exclusively reported in November that Matthew Clark had been tapped to run the Correction Department’s intel unit after years working alongside Commissioner Cynthia Brann’s cop husband in Augusta, Maine.
On Wednesday, after a mere seven months on the job, Brann announced Clark’s promotion from senior correctional administrator to acting deputy commissioner of the Intelligence Bureau.
Clark will continue to oversee the intel unit and assume oversight of the Correction Department’s K9 unit, according to a notification sent to staff.
“The Maine nepotism machine is at it again!” a former member of the intelligence unit said.
A Correction Department spokeswoman said the promotion did not come with a raise and that Clark’s salary will remain $180,250.
The K9 unit, which is critical to detecting contraband, has more than 75 members. That’s nearly double the total number of sworn officers in the Augusta Police Department, where Clark worked, according to a 2020 budget document.
The Correction Department spokeswoman did not directly respond to a question about Clark’s experience with K9s.
“The K9 unit has its own executive director who is a specialist in that area,” the spokeswoman said.
“He has not been selected for the job. He has been named acting deputy commissioner.”
The intel unit dedicates much of its time to gang activity in the jails. Augusta Police Chief Jared Mills told the Bangor Daily News in 2014 — the year Clark left the force — that the town had no “entrenched” gangs.
“He is a nice guy. A personable dude. He knows nothing about New York City — less about gangs,” a Correction Department staffer said. “If you talk to this guy he’s got a deerin-headlights look.”
Clark quit the Augusta Police Department after reaching the rank of detective sergeant. He then worked for the Maine Sheriffs’ Association and was a private investigator and security consultant for the Pine Tree State.
Jail insiders were skeptical about Clark’s qualifications from the moment he was hired. They said he was an example of a Maine to New York City pipeline at the Correction Department 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. Brann has faced criticism from the rank and file for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
A jails source conservatively estimated that a dozen people who worked in Maine corrections had landed jobs at the Correction Department in the past four years. The source referred to the hires as “the Maine Mafia.”