Law enforcement personnel search a wooded area after they received a tip that convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat were in the area on June 24, 2015 in Mountain View, New York.Scott Olson/Getty Images
A prison guard charged in connection with the escape of two killers admitted providing them with tools, paint, frozen hamburger and access to a catwalk electrical box, but claims he never knew they planned to bust out, authorities say.
As the search for the convicts entered its 20th day Thursday, Gene Palmer was released on $25,000 bail after his arrest on charges of promoting prison contraband, tampering with evidence and official misconduct.
Mr. Palmer, 57, became the second Clinton Correctional Facility employee to be charged since Richard Matt and David Sweat used power tools to cut their way out of the maximum-security prison in northern New York on June 6.
Prison tailor shop instructor Joyce Mitchell, 51, stands charged with helping them break out.
But in contrast to the allegations against Ms. Mitchell, Mr. Palmer said he was an unwitting helper. "I did not realize at the time that the assistance provided to Matt or Sweat made their escape easier," he told authorities in a signed statement.
District Attorney Andrew Wylie said that based on Mr. Palmer's statements and a polygraph test, investigators have no reason to believe he was knowingly involved in the escape.
In the statement, Mr. Palmer admitted providing Mr. Matt with paint and paintbrushes. On four occasions over eight months, he supplied Mr. Sweat with needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. He said he gave Mr. Sweat access to the catwalk later used in the escape to change the wiring on electrical boxes as "a favour" to make it easier for them to cook in their cells. And a week before the escape, he delivered to Mr. Matt a pound of frozen ground beef in a package left by Ms. Mitchell.
"Matt provided me with elaborate paintings and information on the illegal acts that inmates were committing within the facility," Mr. Palmer told authorities. "In turn, I provided him with benefits such as paint, paintbrushes, movement of inmates, hamburger meat, altering of electrical boxes in the catwalk areas."
Mr. Wylie said Ms. Mitchell told investigators she smuggled hacksaw blades, a screwdriver and other tools into the prison by hiding them in the frozen meat.
Mr. Wylie said Thursday that investigators have no proof Mr. Palmer knew hacksaw blades were embedded in the meat.
After the escape, Mr. Palmer burned and buried the inmate paintings, according to court documents.
Mr. Palmer, who has been suspended, will plead not guilty, according to his lawyer. The misconduct charge relates to receiving the inmate-made paintings in exchange for the contraband pliers and screwdriver. The tampering charges stem from the destruction and concealment of the paintings.
Authorities say the inmates cut through the steel wall at the back of their cells, crawled down a catwalk, broke through a brick wall, cut their way into and out of a steam pipe and then emerged from a manhole outside the prison.
About 1,100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers took part in Thursday's search.