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Two Cuyahoga County corrections officers indicted for illegal drug smuggling operation

Stephen Thomas, Marvella Sullivan, and a jail inmate face charges ranging from trafficking and bribery, to money laundering and perjury.

CLEVELAND — Two corrections officers have been indicted as part of a massive illegal drug smuggling operation within the Cuyahoga County Jail. 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reports that three people in all have been indicted, including corrections officers Marvella Sullivan and Steven Thomas  (shown below). 

Credit: Cuyahoga County

Yost says Thomas and Sullivan served as couriers under the direction of Lamar Speights and another inmate at the jail. 

Thomas, Sullivan and Speights face numerous charges including trafficking, bribery, obstructing justice, tampering with evidence, and money laundering.

Yost adds that the investigation that led to the current indictment is ongoing and is being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office with the assistance of the FBI, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and the Cleveland Police Department.

Wednesday's announcement of the indictments is yet another black eye on the Cuyahoga County Jail and its staff. Last week, corrections officer Idris-Farid Clark, already facing charges for assault inside the jail, was arrested for intimidation and extortion. Also last week, Associate Warden Eric Ivey pleaded guilty to lying to authorities investigating the death of an inmate. He has agreed to resign his position and cooperate with ongoing investigations into the conditions at the jail.

Nine inmates have died at the Cuyahoga County Jail since the start of 2018. The facility found itself at the center of a massive scandal involving alleged corruption and mistreatment of inmates. A scathing report from the U.S. Marshals service was followed by a failed state inspection, and numerous lawsuits have been filed accusing operators of denying inmates medical assistance, forcing inmates to sleep on the floor, and even serving food with bugs in it.

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