GRAND JURY INDICTS RIKERS ISLAND CORRECTION OFFICER FOR FALSIFYING RECORDS AND RELATED CHARGES

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a grand jury has indicted a 34 year-old Riker’s Island Correction Officer on charges of falsifying records and other related charges.

Matthew D’Orazio, of Staten Island, has been charged with 1 count of Falsifying business records in the 1st degree, 1 count of Offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree, and 1 count of Assault in the 3rd degree for a September 21, 2002 incident involving Hector Rodriguez, 34, an inmate. If convicted of the most serious charges of falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing, both class "E" felony offenses, D’Orazio faces a maximum term of up to four years imprisonment.

Arraigned before Acting State Supreme Court Justice John N. Byrne today, D’Orazio was released on his own recognizance and was suspended from duty pending the outcome of this case. D’Orazio is due back in court on Friday, June 27, 2003 in Part M60.

The incident occurred during a routine institutional search at the George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC), on Riker’s Island. It is alleged that while Rodriguez was being restrained by corrections staff, D’Orazio assaulted him resulting in an injury to his face. After the incident, the defendant filed a written report to the NYC Corrections Department that falsely stated that he used force defensively and struck the victim in the torso. However, a portion of the incident was captured on video by a Department of Correction staff member present during the incident.

Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Donald H. Levin of the Investigations Bureau is prosecuting this case.