Two corrections officers at the Butler County Prison performed flawlessly June 16 and 17 in thwarting an alleged scheme to smuggle drugs and pornography into the prison.

It was Sgt. John Hogan who got the feeling that something wasn't quite right when Dana Benco, 25, of Harmar Township, Allegheny County, came to the prison to visit her boyfriend, Mark Anthony Smith Jr., 25, also of Harmar Township. Then Capt. Dave Williams, a prison shift commander, hatched a scheme of his own to unravel the illegal scheme after a cigarette box containing suspected prescription painkillers, marijuana, rolling papers, cigarettes and pornographic magazine cutouts was found in a restroom that only Benco had used on June 16.

Williams decided to tape a decoy package under the sink of the same restroom Benco had used, then wait for a prisoner to retrieve the package. That prisoner was Paul Galster, 26, of Oakland Township, who was assigned as a night cleaner at the lockup.

Thanks to the officers' vigilance and cleverness, all three suspects are charged with felony counts of conspiracy and attempted smuggling of contraband into a prison.

"Cracking this case all comes down to officer alertness," said Detective Pat Cannon of the county District Attorney's Office. Cracking the case also is a positive reflection on their training and their commitment to keeping their on-the-job skills sharp and effective.

No doubt their success in this instance - and the punishment that might be in store for the three suspects - will serve as a deterrent to other prisoners who might have had illegal designs tied to the "outside."