United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

FORMER DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS SUPERVISOR ADMITS TO ACCESSING NCIC FOR A BAIL BONDSMAN

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES A. BARONE, 48, of East Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday, August 12, before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of exceeding his authorized access to a state computer.  The charge stems from a federal corruption probe into the Connecticut bail bond industry.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, from approximately August 1992, until he resignation in January 2008, BARONE was a Correctional Counselor Supervisor for the Department of Corrections and worked at the Whalley Avenue Correctional Center in New Haven, Connecticut.  From at least 2005 through March 2007, BARONE used his position as a Correctional Supervisor to assist bail bondsmen Robert Jacobs, Paul Jacobs and Philip Jacobs by providing them pictures of individuals who failed to appear in Connecticut state court as required.  BARONE also used his position as a Correctional Supervisor to assist Robert Jacobs in the bail bond business by  providing him inmate information from the Connecticut Online Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing (Collect) as well as from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Information Center (NCIC).  Specifically, on at least two occasions, BARONE illegally exceeded his authority and accessed a state computer to obtain information from NCIC to assist Robert Jacobs in the bail bond business.  NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice information and available to Federal, state, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies and is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  All records are protected from unauthorized access through appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.  The safeguards include restricting access to authorized criminal justice agencies and agents in order to  perform only official duties.

Finally, BARONE admitted that as a gratuity or thank you for providing assistance, during the holiday season over the years, Robert Jacobs, Philip Jacobs and Paul Jacobs gave BARONE  gift certificates to expensive restaurants and, in December 2006, Robert Jacobs gave BARONE $200 in cash as a thank you for the assistance that BARONE provided in his official capacity.

Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for November 3, 2008, at which time BARONE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of one year and a fine of up to $100,000.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Acting United States Attorney Nora R. Dannehy.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov