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| Penn. Co. Prison Investigator Charged |
| By Allentown Morning Call |
| Published: 03/28/2003 |
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Bucks County Prison was rocked by scandal once again Tuesday when authorities announced the arrest of a prison employee on charges including drug dealing, theft and extortion. District Attorney Diane E. Gibbons said Joseph Schuck, an investigator at the jail for nearly a year, turned himself in at noon to county detectives conducting an investigation. He was arraigned before Judge Kenneth G. Biehn and held for court under $100,000 bail. Biehn directed that he be held in a prison outside Bucks County to ensure his safety. Schuck, 47, is accused of extorting money from a prison inmate under the promise of having a drunken driving case dropped and selling the inmate quantities of OxyContin, a prescription painkiller. Gibbons said at least one delivery of the pills was made in Schuck's office on the prison grounds in Doylestown Township. Other deliveries were made outside the prison, Gibbons said, but Schuck used his office telephone, county-issued cell phone and a county vehicle to carry out the deals. ''It's always worse when somebody who is supposed to be enforcing the law is violating the law,'' Gibbons said. Schuck is one of three investigators employed by the county corrections department. Their duties include investigating infractions of jail rules by inmates, which occasionally result in criminal charges. They also track down inmates who walk away from work-release jobs. Schuck's salary is $46,119 a year. During his arraignment, Schuck, a retired Philadelphia police detective, told Biehn he suffers from an addiction problem and is enrolled in a methadone treatment program. He asked Biehn if he could be released on low bail so that he might continue receiving methadone treatments. Biehn responded that methadone programs are available in prison. ''I just don't think I'm a flight risk,'' Schuck told Biehn. ''I live under six or seven minutes from here. I have two children; I have an eighth-grader in a Catholic school and a wife of 21 years.'' But Biehn refused to consider a lower bail. Schuck's only other comment in court was: ''These are strictly allegations.'' Schuck was charged with possession of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance, criminal use of a telecommunications device, bribery, theft by extortion and official oppression, which stems from the accusation that Schuck used his influence to have the drunken driving charge dismissed. Gibbons said he faces up to 28 years in prison. Kathleen Dominick, the county chief operating officer, said Schuck was placed on unpaid leave following his arrest and faces dismissal. She said a hearing into his dismissal won't occur until the criminal case is resolved. Schuck is the fifth prison employee to be arrested in the past two years. |
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