Employees and Inmates at Citrus County Detention Facility Charged with Bribery and Introduction of Contraband

Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of four indictments charging employees, inmates, and associates of inmates at the Citrus County Detention Facility (CCDF) with bribery and drug-related charges. The unsealed indictments charge the following individuals:

This group of indictments charge employees and inmates of the CCDF. This facility is a private jail where federal inmates are held in custody while awaiting trial or sentencing for matters pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Like all prisons, this facility was intended to be a secure facility, and contraband, like cellphones and controlled substances, are prohibited. Across the four indictments, the above named individuals are charged with violating the law by ignoring the facility's secure nature and bringing in cellphones and controlled substances in exchange for money.

According to the first indictment, Justin Harvey was a correctional officer at CCDF. While there, an inmate (working at law enforcement's direction) approached Harvey and requested that Harvey bring in a contraband cellphone. Harvey agreed to do so. And to effectuate that smuggling, Harvey met up with another person to receive that cellphone and $4,000 as payment. Harvey later smuggled the cellphone into CCDF and gave it to the inmate.

Like Harvey, the second indictment that charges Dekarri Nixon alleges that Nixon also worked as correctional officer at CCDF. While Nixon was employed at CCDF, an inmate (working at law enforcement's direction) approached Nixon and requested a cellphone from Nixon. Nixon met with another person outside the jail and accepted $4,000 to introduce a cellphone to CCDF.

According to the third indictment, Courtney Smith and Joshua Gallimore worked together to introduce contraband into CCDF. Smith worked as a commissary worker at the facility, while Gallimore was a federal inmate. Smith agreed to smuggle contraband into the facility for Gallimore, and in return, Smith received at least $5,700 in bribes from Gallimore and his associates. Through this scheme, Smith smuggled a cellphone into facility in exchange for approximately $300.

The fourth indictment alleges that Nicole Knecht, Ashley Fraccalvieri, Ernest Grimaldi, and April Vanzant worked together to introduce contraband, including controlled substances, into CCDF in exchange for money. Knecht worked as a nurse at the facility and Fraccalvieri previously worked as a correctional officer there. Grimaldi was a state inmate at the facility. This group worked together to introduce controlled substances and other contraband into the facility. Grimaldi directed Knecht and Fraccalvieri, via the facility's jail call system, to receive contraband from individuals outside the CCDF for smuggling into the facility. Knecht received money from Fraccalvieri and Grimaldi for her smuggling services. Eventually, law enforcement stopped Knecht with controlled substances after she met with Fraccalvieri. Knecht planned to smuggle these controlled substances into CCDF. Law enforcement officers later stopped Fraccalvieri with more than 400 oxycodone pills that were to be introduced into the facility. Fraccalvieri had obtained these pills after meeting with Vanzant.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. They will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Buchanan.