Former Federal Correctional Officer Sentenced to 7 Years’ Imprisonment for Soliciting a Crime of Violence And Possessing a Firearm

Earlier today, George Gonzalez, a former officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons assigned to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC), was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf.  Gonzalez pleaded guilty on March 16, 2018 to one count of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and one count of possession of a firearm while subject to a protective order.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, John B. Devito, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Guido Modano, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Office (DOJ OIG), announced the guilty plea.

“Gonzalez, a former federal correctional officer, will fittingly serve time in a prison cell for soliciting an inmate, and a hit team he believed were gang members, to brutally attack his former wife and her spouse,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “Thanks to the swift response of our law enforcement partners, including the ATF undercover agents, Gonzalez’s plan was thwarted.”  Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the United States Bureau of Prisons for their assistance during the investigation.

“Mr. Gonzalez hatched a plan that would have resulted in a brutal attack on his estranged wife and her new partner. Today’s sentencing sends a loud and clear message that those planning heinous acts of violence will be met with swift justice and appropriate punishment by our criminal justice system,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Devito.  “ATF stands firm on protecting the public from violent criminals of all kinds. I would like to thank the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the NYPD/ ATF Joint Robbery Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Office of the Inspector General for their coordination and diligent efforts on this case. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”

“In the process of attempting to carry out a brutal attack, Gonzalez put many lives at risk and abused his authority with extremely violent intentions,” stated DOJ OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Modano.  “Federal inmates should never be solicited for crimes, not least by correctional officers.  This case should serve as an example to anyone that dares to threaten the integrity of the law enforcement profession.”

In November 2016, Gonzalez approached an inmate under his supervision and asked him to locate someone willing to carry out a “hit.”  The inmate reported the request to law enforcement.  Thereafter, Gonzalez had multiple recorded meetings and conversations with individuals he believed to be gang members, but who were actually undercover ATF agents.  Gonzalez offered to pay them to have his ex-wife and her new spouse assaulted and tortured, and make it “look like a robbery.”   He added that they should “take a hammer to the spine” so that the victims would be paralyzed and “suffer … for the rest of their lives … that’s how I do business … I have no compassion for anybody.”  Gonzalez then provided the supposed gang members with photographs and pedigree information of the intended victims.

Agents executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence in Staten Island, and seized two loaded, unlicensed handguns.  At the time he solicited the attacks, Gonzalez was subject to an order of protection issued by the Richmond County Family Court, prohibiting him from having any contact with his ex-wife and requiring him to surrender any firearms in his possession.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

George Gonzalez
Age: 56
Staten Island, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-51 (RRM)