A South Carolina prison official is facing charges related to a series of offenses and stands accused of having accepted over $219,000 in bribes and smuggling 173 contraband cell phones for inmates.
Her case represents one of many highlighting more widespread issues of corruption in South Carolina’s prison system.
A supervisor who managed security at a South Carolina prison accepted more than $219,000 in bribes over three years and got 173 contraband cellphones for inmates, according to federal prosecutors.
Christine Mary Livingston, 46, was indicted earlier this month on 15 charges including bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
Livingston worked for the South Carolina Department of Corrections for 16 years. She was promoted to captain at Broad River Correctional Institution in 2016, which put her in charge of security at the medium-security Columbia prison, investigators said.
Livingston worked with an inmate, 33-year-old Jerell Reaves, to accept bribes for cellphones and other contraband accessories. They would take $1,000 to $7,000 over the smart phone Cash App money transfer program for a phone, according to the federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Reaves was known as Hell Rell and Livingston was known as Hell Rell’s Queen, federal prosecutors said.
The operation in which Livingston was involved appears to have been rather extensive, working with her partners to earn money through illicit means.
In 2018, she conspired with Reaves, who was incarcerated at the Broad River Correctional Institution on a voluntary manslaughter conviction, court filings say. He paid Livingston at least $42,600 in bribes, according to the indictment.
But Reaves was just one of about a dozen inmates and their associates from whom Livingston accepted bribes, according to the indictment.
Livingston had around 14 peer-to-peer payment accounts, including Cash App, which were under pseudonyms and linked to financial accounts under her name.
Altogether, she accepted more than $200,000 in bribes over the years and smuggled in at least 173 cellphones, as well as headphones, screen protectors, phone chargers, SIM cards and other types of contraband, according to the indictment.
This case appears to be part of a more widespread problem in the state’s prison system. Livingston is one of many officials who have been caught allegedly accepting bribes and smuggling contraband into prison facilities.
Last year, the state attorney general announced a slew of indictments against multiple people involved in a myriad of illegal activities, including allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, production of child sexual abuse material, and public corruption.
Officials said Jacob Nathaniel Lance, a Lee Correctional inmate, is alleged to have used a contraband cell phone from within the facility to perpetrate the abuse of a minor victim with his alleged co-conspirator, Abbygale El-Dier. Lance was served with the State’s notice of intent to seek a sentence of Life Without Parole as a result of this accusation.
The investigation also revealed the alleged corruption of a sworn correctional officer, Brittany Welch, who is alleged to have participated in the contraband conspiracy at Lee Correctional and enabled the access and availability of contraband to prison inmates officials said.
Officials said Brian Keely, a kitchen worker at Lee Correctional, is alleged to have participated in the illegal contraband trade and to be in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material.
In the investigation known as “Block Party,” two state Department of Corrections officers were indicted for offenses relating to illegal contraband in Broad River Correctional Institution. The Attorney General said this led to the seizure of over 600 grams of methamphetamine, 200 grams of cocaine, and marijuana, tobacco, cell phones, and other electronics.
In another case, the state charged five Department of Corrections officers for corruption and conspiring to smuggle drugs and phones into McCormick Correctional Institution.
Indicted are Brittany Pixley, Judy Mather, Shaquaila Morgan, Dion Gaines and George Leverette. All face numerous charges that range from misconduct in office to sexual misconduct with an inmate, money laundering and unlawful possession of prescription medication.
There are several other stories highlighting the problem of corruption in South Carolina’s prison system. The problem has become quite pervasive. The authorities have vowed to clean up the system, but it appears they still have a lot of work to do.
