Illegal drugs allegedly smuggled into MCI-Shirley were worth $528,000 behind prison walls, authorities say

She was taken into custody and will be held at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee, records show. Wright has hired Anthony R. Riccio of Quincy as her attorney, records show.

A task force made up of state police and DOC investigators turned their attention to Wright on Oct. 28 as she monitored inmates’ recreation time at the facility. grammar school at MCI-Shirley. Investigators were watching live surveillance cameras at the time, according to a state police report filed in court.

An inmate, identified in court documents as Chon Son, 39, went to the gym office where Wright was located to return two handballs, state police wrote. (Son pleaded guilty in 2008 to two counts of murder in Essex Superior Court for breaking into a Lynn home in 2005 and fatally shooting Robert Finnerty Sr., 47, and his daughter Amy Dumas, 16.)

“Son was observed entering the office in the area where Wright was positioned, but Wright was not visible on video surveillance because the view into the office was obscured by window tint,” state police wrote. “Son was observed gesturing toward Officer Wright before quickly retrieving him and placing an unknown package in the left pocket of his jacket.”

About the security In footage, Son is said to have been seen transferring the package from his pocket to the back of his pants. When he returned to his cell, Son was stopped by authorities who reportedly discovered the strung strips of paper in a parcel tucked into a pair of pants.

“The package was concealed in a blue latex glove inside a small plastic garbage bag,” state police wrote. “The blue latex glove also matches the gloves supplied to the (DOC) department.”

Son declined to talk to investigators. He currently faces no criminal charges for the alleged smuggling, authorities said.

While Son was being questioned by investigators, Wright allegedly called his housing unit and asked him to return to the gym office for supplies. Investigators then told Wright that Son had been stopped by State Police and DOC investigators, according to the report.

“Officer Wright was advised that Son was intercepted on the walkway and placed in restraints. After hanging up, Officer Wright indicated she was going home sick, but was stopped before leaving the jail, authorities wrote. She invoked her right to remain silent and did not want to talk to investigators, state police wrote.

“While investigators were with Officer Wright, they discovered that Officer Wright had her personal cell phone on her person. This is a prohibited item in the jail without prior authorization, which she did not have,” state police wrote.

Wright was allowed out of jail that day and was arrested Saturday after police obtained an arrest warrant from Ayer District Court.

Wright earned $94,000 this year, including $29,000 in overtime, an increase from her earnings of $80,000 in 2023, according to the State Comptroller’s office. She joined the DOC in 2013, records show.

Wright’s alleged trafficking activities were exposed Sunday by her former union, the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union. The union’s board of directors said its 3,000 members are at risk from black market drug trafficking in prison and also face health threats from exposure to illegal drugs.

“The Executive Board is grateful for the work our brothers and sisters in the law enforcement community did to apprehend this individual. Her actions have put all of our members, employees and inmates at risk,” the union said in a statement statement released Sunday. “We stand united with the law enforcement and public safety community in the quest to root out all who bring drugs and dangerous contraband into prisons.”

The smuggling arrest at MCI-Shirley comes after turbulence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in Lancaster. where corrections officers were stabbed last month. In addition, 150 Souza-Baranowski prisoners were allowed to file a class-action lawsuit in October, alleging that they was subjected to excessive force by DOC personnel in 2020.

According to state police, Wright resigned in September as part of her plan to move to New Jersey, where she planned to live with her sister. As part of that move, she planned to apply for a job with the New Jersey Department of Correction, state police said.

Jeremiah Manion of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe.