New York State corrections officers march down Sugarbush Road Wednesday during a search for two escaped prisoners from Clinton Correctional Facility. Hundreds of searchers checked all-terrain vehicle trails and logging roads and went door-to-door in far northern New York trying to close in on David Sweat and Richard Matt, who escaped from the maximum-security prison more than two weeks ago. Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life in the kidnapping, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss. At right, Gene Palmer, a maximum-security prison guard at Clinton Correctional Facility, was charged Wednesday with promoting prison contraband, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct. He used a credit card to pay his $25,000 bail. Authorities say Palmer delivered tools inside frozen meat to the inmates, but his lawyer says Palmer didn't know tools were hidden inside the meat.
BELLMONT, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state corrections officer charged in connection with the escape of two murderers from a maximum-security prison has bailed himself out of an upstate jail.
Officials at Clinton County Jail say 57-year-old Gene Palmer was released around 12:30 a.m. Thursday after using a credit card to pay his $25,000 bail.
Authorities charged Palmer on Wednesday night with promoting prison contraband, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct.
He works at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, where 35-year-old David Sweat and Richard Matt pulled off their daring escape June 6. They remain at large Thursday, which is Matt's 49th birthday.
Authorities say Palmer delivered tools inside frozen meat to the inmates. His lawyer says Palmer didn't know tools were hidden inside the meat.
