Prison guard implicated in jailbreak commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
Elizabeth, NJ Jan 3 2008 -- A prison guard under investigation for the Hollywood-style jailbreak of two inmates in December, has committed suicide. Corrections Officer Rudolph Zurick, 40, was found dead at his home in Sayreville, according to his lawyer, Michael Mitzner. Zurick was scheduled to have his first interview with Union County police on the same day.
The cause of death has not been confirmed, but several news stories have reported Zurick's death as a suicide. County officials in Union and Middlesex have not provided any information about his death.
Mitzer is quoted by Fox News as saying that Zurick has not been criminally charged for the December 15 jailbreak, and has submitted a report to police. He maintained that Zurick had not assisted the inmates in any way.
The prison guard was named in a note left by the two escaped inmates. The note, released by investigators without Zurick's name, said:"Thank You Officer ... for the tools needed. You're a real Pal! Happy Holidays."
Otis Blunt, 32, and Jose Espinosa, 20, broke out of the Union County jail through holes in the walls of their adjacent prison cells. They had removed cement blocks from the walls using a 10-pound shut-off wheel and a metal wire, according to the county prosecutor's office. They covered up the holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis and arranged pillows in their beds to keep prison guards from searching for them.
The inmates were able to scale the jail's 25-foot-high fence. Both had been held in a special area that was supposed to be the most secure section in the 15-floor jail.
Blunt was awaiting trial on robbery and weapons charges in connection with the shooting of a convenience store manager in 2005. Espinosa, a Bloods gang member, was scheduled to be sentenced for the 2005 drive-by shooting of Hassan Jackson in Elizabeth city. He faces up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty this year to manslaughter.
The prison break, the first since the jail opened in 1986, caused authorities to review security in the Union County jail. Officials have prohibited inmates from putting up pictures on the walls of their cells. They plan to implement other security measures such as adding patrols, surveillance cameras and razor wire.
The cause of death has not been confirmed, but several news stories have reported Zurick's death as a suicide. County officials in Union and Middlesex have not provided any information about his death.
Mitzer is quoted by Fox News as saying that Zurick has not been criminally charged for the December 15 jailbreak, and has submitted a report to police. He maintained that Zurick had not assisted the inmates in any way.
The prison guard was named in a note left by the two escaped inmates. The note, released by investigators without Zurick's name, said:"Thank You Officer ... for the tools needed. You're a real Pal! Happy Holidays."
Otis Blunt, 32, and Jose Espinosa, 20, broke out of the Union County jail through holes in the walls of their adjacent prison cells. They had removed cement blocks from the walls using a 10-pound shut-off wheel and a metal wire, according to the county prosecutor's office. They covered up the holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis and arranged pillows in their beds to keep prison guards from searching for them.
The inmates were able to scale the jail's 25-foot-high fence. Both had been held in a special area that was supposed to be the most secure section in the 15-floor jail.
Blunt was awaiting trial on robbery and weapons charges in connection with the shooting of a convenience store manager in 2005. Espinosa, a Bloods gang member, was scheduled to be sentenced for the 2005 drive-by shooting of Hassan Jackson in Elizabeth city. He faces up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty this year to manslaughter.
The prison break, the first since the jail opened in 1986, caused authorities to review security in the Union County jail. Officials have prohibited inmates from putting up pictures on the walls of their cells. They plan to implement other security measures such as adding patrols, surveillance cameras and razor wire.
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