Nurse accused of bringing drugs into Nassau County jail

A nurse who provided health care to the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow was arrested on Feb. 28 after evidence came to light that she engaged in an romantic relationship with an inmate and smuggled drugs to him, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

Carroll Ann Clarke Pilgrim, 31, of Far Rockaway, is being charged with official misconduct and conspiracy, both misdemeanors, after authorities said that she smuggled marijuana into the jail for 33-year old Laphael McClenic and maintained an unlawful relationship with him.

According to court records from Clarke Pilgrim’s March 1 arraignment, the nurse, working at the jail under Nassau University Medical Center, took part in a three-way call between McClenic and his mother on Dec. 18, during which they discussed the alleged conspiracy.

The records also say that Clarke Pilgrim admitted to receiving marijuana from McClenic’s mother and brining it to the jail on Feb. 25. McClenic, who was arrested and charged with armed robbery in October 2015, was not cited as a defendant in the case.

“There is zero tolerance for illegal activity at the Nassau Correctional Facility,” said Acting Sheriff Vera Fludd in a statement released after Clarke Pilgrim’s arrest, adding that it “should serve as a warning to anyone who may be thinking of breaking the law at the facility.”

In February 2016, a similar case to Clarke Pilgrim’s occurred when a nurse and two inmates were arrested for promoting prison contraband. Chantiel Cox, 27, of Huntington, and inmates Sharonda Hall, 24, of Wyandanch, and Amanda Minnieer, 27 of Baldwin, pleaded guilty to smuggling razors and K2, or synthetic marijuana, into the East Meadow jail and putting an end to former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano’s long-term investigation.

Clarke Pilgrim was terminated from her position at NUMC, according to officials. She pleaded not guilty, however, to the misdemeanor charges and was conditionally released to probation officials. Her next appearance at the Nassau County First District Court is on March 26.