Guilty Pleas Expected In Md. Prison Smuggling Scheme

BALTIMORE (AP) — Court records show four defendants in a large racketeering case at Maryland's largest prison have agreed to plead guilty.

Indictments unsealed last month allege that the scheme at the Eastern Correctional Institution involved 18 prison guards, 35 inmates and 27 civilians who helped coordinate the flow of drugs and other contraband.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Wise wrote in a status update last week that four defendants have signed plea agreements and others want to discuss them.

The docket lists four defendants slated for "rearraignments," hearings where defendants can change pleas and which typically signal guilty pleas. The first such hearing is scheduled Tuesday for Miguel Matos, who has been called a "facilitator" who helped get drugs to a corrections officer to smuggle them inside.

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