Prisoners Run Crime Ops Via PlayStation

(NEWSER) - Some 15 vehicles packed with criminals wearing police uniforms arrived at a Mexico prison yesterday to free as many as 59 inmates linked to a drug cartel, reports the BBC. The men convinced guards they were members of the federal police there to conduct an inspection. Once inside, they overpowered the guards and fled with the prisoners. The army and federal police have launched a massive search near the Zacatecas prison facility in north central Mexico to recapture the crooks and their cohorts. More»

Profiles, photos can haunt defendants, help prosecutors

(AP) - Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have offered crime-solving help to detectives and become a resource for employers vetting job applicants. Now the sites are proving fruitful for prosecutors, who have used damaging Internet photos of defendants to cast doubt on their character during sentencing hearings and argue for harsher punishment, reports the AP. In one Rhode Island case, Facebook photos helped lead to a 2-year prison sentence. More»

NJ cops bust dozens in major blow to Lucchese crime family

(NEWSER) - New Jersey officials have nabbed a cadre of suspected mob bosses to bust up a sophisticated $2.2 billion gambling ring, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Others among more than two dozen arrested included a prison officer and a Bloods gangster, said to be part of an "alarming alliance" between the Mafia and Bloods that smuggled drugs and phones to inmates in a Jersey prison. More»

It's an 'amazing' program, says one inmate

(NEWSER) - When it comes to behind-bars occupations, it’s not all license-plate-making anymore: At the Southern Desert Correctional Center, near Las Vegas, some 33 medium-security inmates show up Monday through Friday to restore vintage cars. "We've got a '56 Jaguar, a '48 Rolls Royce, and a Studebaker pickup," one inmate tells the Wall Street Journal . Customers bring their battered cars to the prison, where inmates return them to their former glory for up to $5.15 an hour. More»

Measure is designed to save money

(NEWSER) - Texas prisons are taking some heat over a decision to keep cooks out of their kitchens. Since April the state has been serving prisoners just two meals a day on weekends in some prisons, in an effort to cut food service costs, the New York Times reports. (Amusingly, the meal that is served between 5am and 7am is called brunch.) That puts the state out-of-step with American Correctional Association guidelines, which recommend three meals per day, with some variations allowed. But “I’ve never read the standard to mean you can do it every weekend,” the head of the Association says. More»