Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara takes key role in two-year review of New York State's prison system

Manhattan’s former top prosecutor Preet Bharara, known for his anti-corruption crusades and probe into failures at the Rikers Island jail complex, is helping to lead New York's $9.3 million, two-year audit into its prison system and the "root causes behind the Robert Brooks incident," according to public records obtained by Newsday.

The investigation by public corruption experts is to result in a report on the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s "patterns and practices related to the use of force, our internal systems and processes to determine if there are any systemic issues within DOCCS," according to a copy of the contract for the work.

The report was prompted by the 2024 death at Marcy Correctional Facility of inmate Robert Brooks, in which several correction officers have since pleaded guilty to charges from manslaughter to murder. The scope of the report was extended to cover the death of Messiah Nantwi, who died months later.

The investigation is to be completed by the end of this year — at which point a report and public recommendations are to be issued. By late January, over $5 million had been spent by the date on the probe. A DOCCS spokesperson said Tuesday the "report will be completed in the near future."

Bharara is one of four partners at the law firm WilmerHale that have agreed to nondisclosures to investigate the state’s prison system. He is joined by at least one other partner who has taken on state corruption, Robert L. Boone, who prosecuted the case of a former close aide to then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Joseph Percoco.

WilmerHale also enlisted Stephanie Avakian, former director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s division of enforcement, and a retired partner of its practice, Brent J. Gurney, a trial lawyer with a focus on white collar crime. The law firm did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for DOCCS referred to Bharara’s work at the Southern District of New York investigating Rikers Island, "culminating in a 2014 report finding a pattern and practice of use of excessive force against adolescent male inmates."

DOCCS also pointed to WilmerHale’s role as counsel to the Working Group on Police Reform and Racial Justice of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, "which released a detailed blueprint for improving policing and promoting equal justice in America’s cities."

The scope of the law firm’s work includes a "comprehensive review of patterns and practices relating to use of force, the root causes of the Robert Brooks incident, the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms, training, facility staffing and operations and health and mental health services," according to a separate document, obtained by Newsday through a public records request.

The law firm is working with a subject matter expert, Falcon Correctional and Community Services, which is expected to go to Sing Sing Correctional Facility "to conduct comparisons with Marcy and Mid-State."

The report will be used with agencies to "enhance transparency and enhance confidence in the criminal justice system," according to the contract.

"As with any external review, the department will carefully review and assess the report’s recommendations and determine the appropriate path forward within the existing oversight and legislative processes," DOCCS spokesman Thomas Mailey said in a statement Tuesday.