Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy Jail Sweep Uncovers Weapons, Drugs as Rapper Celebrates Birthday Behind Bars

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

Disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs turned 55 on Monday. He spent his birthday behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The jail recently underwent a massive sweep that uncovered different types of dangerous contraband. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber discusses the implications with Dr. DeWayne Hendrix, a retired Senior Warden with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Kalshi: Bet on the election! Get a free $20 bonus with a $100+ deposit at https://kalshi.com/SidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Can you describe the conditions of the things right now? So it is the food is edible from what I've been told. It's way too hot in summer. Sometimes there's no heat at all in the winter. The toilet water has been known to freeze.

It's violent. You know, someone like Mr. Combs, you know, might be a target for certain things. Disgrace music mogul Sean Diddy Combs is turning 55 today behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. But just how lavish will the birthday celebrations be this year? being reported that a recent sweep of that detention center has uncovered shocking contraband, further highlighting the ongoing issues with this facility. So just how severe are the conditions behind the walls of this jail? Well, I'm going to talk with a former federal warden to find out. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

Well, Sean Diddy Combs is spending his 55th birthday today behind bars. Now, of course, the party He is going to look a little bit different this year, since we know he's currently locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution charges. There will be no lavish celebrations for the disgraced rapper this year, but according to the New York Post, he does apparently get a special birthday meal plan while in jail. Breakfast reportedly includes biscuits and gravy, oven brown potatoes, bread and oatmeal. lunch includes cheese pizza, Italian pasta, green beans, and for dinner, he can have chicken or tofu fried rice with black beans and carrots. Now, aside from the food, putting that to the side,

where he is being housed has become a separate issue. Why? I'll tell you why. But first, here's the question. Why is he there? Well, that is because the rapper has been denied bail several times and has been ordered to stay in this facility while awaiting his trial, which is currently scheduled for May of next year.

And part of the reason he wants out so badly is because of the conditions within this facility. You see, P. Diddy's attorneys, they have long expressed concerns about the conditions within the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. It's also known as the MDC. And we've even covered investigations into the MDC in a previous episode of Sidebar. But now, a recent sweep of the facility has uncovered a troubling list of findings. Investigators apparently seized drugs, homemade weapons, electronic devices during an interagency operation to clean up this facility. This is according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Now, to be clear, although it's being reported that no criminal charges have been filed, maybe I should say, as of yet, as a result of all of this material that was found, as a result of this widespread search, it is alarming that there is this amount of contraband.

And investigators, they confiscated this contraband during this multi-agency sweep last week that involved the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice's Inspector General's office, and other law enforcement agencies. Although there is a history of horrors lingering within the walls of this facility, the agency said this operation was part of a safety and security initiative, that this was pre-planned, that it was not in response to any particular threat or intelligence, and also it wasn't connected to Sean Combs in any way. Although, you have to say, because he's being housed there, of course, there's a lot of eyeballs on this place.

In a statement to CBS News, the Federal Bureau of Prison said the operation was, quote, designed to achieve our shared goal of maintaining a safe environment for both our employees and the incarcerated individuals housed at MDC, Brooklyn. By the way, what do I talk about all the time on sidebar? I talk about the law, right? Law and crime sidebar, not a shocker there, but I talk about legal rulings.

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But according to Diddy's legal team and even some federal prosecutors, this jail is notoriously dangerous. It is run down. Diddy's lawyers have made repeated attempts to bail him out. And aside from the legal arguments for why he should be entitled to pre-trial release, his team has also cited terrible conditions, rampant violence, multiple deaths. Diddy's team even requested at one point to transfer him to a different jail in New Jersey. But Combs' attorney, Mark Agnifalo, indicated at a previous court hearing, quote, we're making a go of the MDC. The MDC has been very responsive for us, not entirely clear what that means,

but putting that to the side. To give you an idea of what we're talking about at the end of the end of the end. MDC. We talked about this on a previous sidebar. In September, nine inmates were charged regarding a series of attacks from April to August at the MDC. This included two inmates being stabbed to death and another inmate being speared in the spine with a makeshift ice pick. A correctional officer was even involved in a shooting at a car during an unauthorized chase. Lawsuits have been filed by inmates over the conditions as well because back in 2019, inmates filed a $10 million class lawsuit over frigid conditions during an eight-day blackout.

R. Kelly ended up suing the jail for wrongfully putting him on suicide watch after his sentencing in 2022. Sam Bankman-Fried, you remember the disgraced FTX founder. His attorney said that he survived on bread, water, and peanut butter because the jail didn't provide him vegan food while he was there. And apparently the conditions within this facility are so bad. They're so severe that at least one judge refused to impose a prison sentence if it meant the defendant was going to be confined at the MDC. Back in August, U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown of the Eastern District of New York sentenced Daniel Kalucci to nine months of an imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of tax fraud. But in a written statement, Judge Brown said, if the BOP,

Bureau of Prisons, opts to designate the MDC as the relevant facility, then the imposed term of imprisonment will be vacated. And in its place, the defendant shall serve nine months of home incarceration with electronic monitoring. Judge Brown reportedly highlighted even further examples of the MDC's failings that occurred just in the five months prior to his opinion. That included a situation where incarcerated individuals were forced to provide medical care for one another because prison staff was just not available. MDC's panic button was inoperable.

Other examples included photographs of gang members being taken while in their cells that were taken using mobile phones that were smuggled into the MDC. Allegations that prison staff had accepted thousands of dollars from inmates in exchange for smuggling in narcotics, cigarettes, cell phones. Last month, an inmate was charged in a murder-for-hire plot that led to the death of a 28-year-old woman outside of a nightclub in New York City. And last December, U.S. Attorney Damien Williams issued the following statement on the details of this murder conspiracy, saying,

DeHan McBean and his co-conspirators carried out an elaborate plot to murder another individual by causing others to shoot at the target several times in New York City. During one of those shootings, an innocent bystander, Clarissa Burgos, was killed. McBean allegedly directed this murder plot using a contraband cell phone from within a federal jail while waiting to be sentenced for a separate gang-related shooting. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the jail houses over 1,000 inmates of both genders, and despite the deplorable conditions, MDC has a history of housing some very high-profile inmates. I mentioned it before. R. Kelly, Sam Bankman-Fried,

Galane Maxwell was also housed there at one point. Combs and Bankman-Fried, by the way, they're actually being housed, apparently, in the same section of the facility. It's a unit for high-profile inmates or those that require special attention or special protection. In the past, Ja Rule served there on gun charges. Reverend Al Sharpton went on a hunger strike while serving a 90-day sentence in the MDC in 2001. This was because he was protesting the U.S. Navy bombing of an island in Puerto Rico. As for Sean Combs, going back to him, he has been denied bail multiple times in front of different judges. It appeared that he was then

taking this up to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to review his bail request, to review his pretrial release. But then that was paused. It seems they paused that because they want that request now to go to the current judge who's presiding over this case, Judge Arun's Sub-Romanian. If he denies it, then it looks like they'll go back to the Second Circuit. And during his arraignment, hearing last month on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors, they asked that he remain inside the MDC until trial. In fact, in a memo supporting this request, U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said that Combs is prone to violence, that he's a flight risk, that he poses a significant danger to the community. There were also allegations that he

was reaching out to witnesses and alleged victims, providing them false narratives. And it should also be highlighted that during a previous court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said that Combs' history of substance abuse was also one of the reasons that he should be jailed until trial. Law enforcement, they even found what is being reported as a pink powdery substance in his hotel room in Manhattan when he was arrested. So with all of that in mind, I want to bring on a special guest right now to break all of this down. I am joined by Dr. Dwayne Hendricks, who is a retired senior warden with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Thank you so much for coming on. Really appreciate it. Pleasure to meet you.

what do you make? Let's first start with this sweep by the Bureau of Prisons at the MDC. What do you take away from that? Well, I'll just say earlier this year in March of 2024, a similar multi-agency operation was also conducted FCC Coleman, Florida, a large federal prison complex there in central Florida where they have two United States penitentiaries, a medium and a low security facility. There had been some partnerships along with the Middle District of Florida's, U.S. Attorney's Office, along with other federal agencies that have been working on, staff misconduct, and also misconduct from inmates as well, because they've also had a institution. And I think what we're saying now, especially what we just witnessed last week with the MDC, is that the Bureau of Prisons is now partnering with the U. their local district offices, whether it's the Eastern District or Southern District of New York, along with the other agencies that were at the facility last week to conduct that operation. Typically, we have been, well, the organization has been more of an insider organization.

And, you know, we would, you know, take care of these type of things ourselves as far as doing mass shakedowns. You kind of move departments or staff around and you kind of do that. And then, you know, if we wanted to bring dogs in to detect, you know, drugs or different things of that nature, maybe you'd lose, use your local sheriff's office or your county police or local police department. But I think as an organization, I think they're trying to be a little bit more transparent with all the different allegations and different things that have gone on across the country, not just at the MDC, but when in terms of, you know, what you were describing earlier, NBC Brooklyn has had seven. Several big issues happened historically, dating all the way back to the 90s when the institution was activated. First, in 1997, they were 11 staff members who were convicted of accepting bribes from local organized criminals, along with nine civilians. They were smuggling in food as well as alcohol, and they were also hosting some of their business associates at the institution. In 2007, a captain, Chief of Security, was also convicted of crimes of, you know,

or beating of an inmate and covering up that beating. And in 2013, Nancy Gonzalez, a former correctional officer, was convicted of having a legal sex contact with an inmate. So it, and she had a baby by an inmate who was convicted of killing two undercover cops. So it's just, the institutions historically had these issues. Your experience is a warden. Is the MDC an outlier? I mean, the fact that they found homemade weapons, they find the drugs,

I've mentioned the multiple incidents there. What is going on to the MDC? Is it specific to them? Is it maybe a lack of resources, a lack of staffing? Maybe they're not hiring the right people. Or do you see this as more of a widespread issue among federal and state prisons? No, no, not all federal prisons have these systemic issues, but I will say historically, especially when I arrived there at the end of 2013, we had staffing shortages. We had higher propensity of staff misconduct cases. Normally, as a warrant, you may sign off on maybe one to two to three investigations a month on administrative issues. Unfortunately, Brooklyn had a higher number of staff, you know, having issues with disciplinary action. whether it's administrative or criminal, possible criminal actions.

We had a high number of staff that were on military leave because of many of our recruits come from the military and some of them had served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. So many of them were deployed on and off, so they were issues there. Medical staffing has typically been an issue there throughout the years as well, which is also similar in other institutions. and other institutions. But I think moreover, the stakeholder relationship

is probably the biggest issue that they've had over the years in terms of dealing with the attorneys that come in to see their clients. And a lot of times it would take them almost an hour to get the clients down to the visiting room. And then obviously, you know, it's an attorney. You know, they have other clients that they need to see throughout the city.

They have briefs. They need to file. They have to go to court. So that was a big issue that we worked on while I was a deputy warden there, trying to have better relations and better professionalism as it relates to the visiting room and the front lobby staff.

So there are some systemic issues that aren't outlier just to Brooklyn, but some of them are similar to other facilities. Is it difficult housing a celebrity like Sean Combs? My understanding is he's in the special unit where he's reportedly confined to his cell 23 hours a day. He's constantly monitored. I have to believe that,

a lot of the conversation about the MDC is because he's there. You know, these issues were happening for quite some time, but it feels like a spotlight was put on it because of Combs there. Is that a difficulty for prison staff to accommodate somebody of his status? No, I mean, and I'll tell you why. I think the agency learned a big hard lesson at the MCC. What happened with Mr. Epstein? There were two staff that were working at that special house unit that evening

that were not correction officers that were there working over. time and that case speaks for itself. But I think when Ms. Maxwell was arrested in house at MDC. Brooklyn, they, you know, the agency decided to put a little bit more focus on having additional staff, you know, assigned to her. And some of those staff may have even come from other facilities to make sure that, you know, one, that all the needs are being met, that this person, if they are suicidal, if they are having any issues, I mean, all things will go well, and I believe there were briefings on a day-to-day basis in regards to her. So I think Mr. Combs is probably in a similar situation there at MDC, Brooklyn,

because the population when I worked there was over 3,000 inmates. Now it's 1,200. You have two big buildings over a million square feet. So they have plenty of space there to house these particular individuals like Mr. Combs to make sure, especially the high-profile nature of this case, which is kind of similar to Mr. Epstein's. And I think it's very important that for, you know, just to be served either for the victims or for Mr. Combs, if he is somehow innocent of these charges, that the public gets to see a trial and that he gets to have his day in court. So I think in that sense, there's some heightened sense of awareness for this particular case. that's very well said and I am curious it's his birthday today I laid out kind of the

special meals he was getting is that typical no no there's a national meal plan no there's a national meal plan and it is on the agency's website each day these are the meals that are prepared depending on if the food isn't available like certain ingredients like maybe some of the sides may not be available based on one whether the food service department was able to have enough. So sometimes they can make some adjustments. But no, there is no special meal for birthday. So all those things that you outline are true,

but it's all set on a day-to-day basis. And no, there's no special meals for birth. I got it. Okay. So it's not like it was specifically brought in from, but that appears to be his meal. No. Talk to me about this, you know,

do you think that at the MDC, there is going to be another kind of operation because, I mean, I've talked about some very serious issues. This seemed, the sweep seemed to be, you know, pretty efficient at collecting a lot of contraband. As I mentioned, no charges were filed as of yet. That could change. Do you expect there to be another operation at the MDC? I was expected so at some point. Hopefully they were, I believe they were there the whole week. So I'm assuming that some additional. staff are also brought in from other facilities from the Bureau of Prisons. So there could be some additional staff still on site if there's some additional areas that needs to be looked at. Now, again, the population is down to 1,200, so they shouldn't have to look at both buildings as in the past. However, the indications, the indicators of the amount of contraband that was found, obviously, you know, staff, there need to be paying a little bit more attention to the shakedowns on a routine.

basis, but I will say with staffing shortages and high levels of burnout with the staff, sometimes when folks are fatigued, they're not necessarily performing at the highest optimal level that they need to be. So I would not be surprised at some point if the institution needs some additional assistance because at the end of the day, the staff, they show up there, they want to get home safely to their families, and they also want to maintain a safe and secure institution, even though we've seen some of these different incidents happen at MDC over the years. I guess it goes back to the other question is how can we be sure that any inmate, including Sean Combs, is actually safe if you have people who are taking money

or there's not enough resources to carefully monitor inmates. And I wonder, you know, his attorney had made the statement that there might be a target on his head. How can people feel confident that Sean Combs is going to be okay behind bars and waiting trial? Well, I'll say, you know, again, I mentioned that there's a high level of individuals that are under cases, you know, have pending cases of investigations in NBC, Brooklyn over the years. But those are typically the same staff, you know, so if you have 500 staff, maybe you're talking about 20 to 5 individuals that are typically under investigation constantly. So, you know, I think how the community can make, can feel that, you know, that Mr. and others will be safe in that environment. Does the staff continue to take their job seriously,

whatever resources that they have available to them, they make their rounds, they communicate with all the inmates to make sure whatever issues that are going on in the facility, whether it's heat, whether it's food, whether it's medical, all those things are theft. Because at the end of the day, two things you want to make sure that you provide the inmates to have a safe environment,

and that's adequate food and medical services. Those are the two major issues that can lead to rights and deaths and different things of that nature. So increasing the communication, again, I think having the agencies come in, like all the organizations that came in, so they can kind of see what the conditions are for staff as well. So that way they may be able to provide some additional assistance and information to maintain a safe and secure institution. And look, if they, his attorneys can't convince either the current judge or, for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse this bail finding,

he's gonna be housed there until trial, which is currently scheduled for May of 2025, that may change. But I'll tell you what, Dr. Dwayne Hendricks, thank you so much for coming on. I have to tell you, I don't think I've ever interviewed a current or retired warden before, but my goodness, you are probably the happiest one I've ever seen.

So thank you so much for bringing a little bit of sunshine and a nice smile to this topic. But really, really appreciate you coming on. Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thanks for having me. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us.

And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.