Former LCCF cook sentenced for smuggling illicit drugs into prison

WILKES-BARRE — A Scranton man accused of smuggling illicit drugs into the Luzerne County Correctional Facility when he worked as a cook at the facility was sentenced to up to 23 months at the prison.

Christopher Maloney, 39, of Prospect Avenue, acted as a courier picking up the illicit drugs in the parking lot of the Wyoming Valley Mall before smuggling the contraband into the facility where he hid the narcotics inside a restroom paper towel dispenser, according to court records.

Maloney was arrested in an undercover sting coordinated by the Luzerne County Detective Bureau and Luzerne County Drug Task Force on Aug. 26, 2022.

Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas sentenced Maloney to 10-to-23 months at the county correctional facility on a charge of possession of a controlled substance to an inmate. Maloney pled guilty to the charge Feb. 6.

Maloney’s attorney, Jason A. Shrive of Shrive Law LLC in Scranton, requested a probationary sentence with house arrest, while Assistant District Attorney James L. McMonagle Jr. sought a prison sentence due to the nature of the offenses.

Maloney apologized in a letter he read before he was sentenced while Shrive said his client had a gambling addiction.

Court records say a prison intelligence officer discovered an inmate was receiving illicit drugs smuggled into the facility by Maloney.

An undercover sting was set up as Maloney was followed leaving the correctional facility to the Wyoming Valley Mall where he picked up two packages taped together with black electrical tape on Aug. 26, 2022. One package was $5,000 and another was illicit drugs, court records say.

Maloney parked inside the courthouse parking garage for 10 minutes before being followed to a bank in Kingston where he deposited $4,500, according to court records.

Maloney returned to the correctional facility, court records say, where he was caught with the illicit drugs in a pants pocket. Authorities found $500 inside his vehicle.

Court records say Maloney hid the illicit drugs inside a paper towel dispenser inside a restroom that was retrieved by an inmate.