Jury convicts former SCI-Greene worker in contraband case
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
WAYNESBURG – An SCI-Greene food services worker accused of smuggling contraband into the state prison was convicted on all but two charges Thursday.
The Greene County jury of 12 women convicted Judy Victor, 53, of Franklin Township, of two counts each of conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility, and one count each of contraband of a controlled substance and contraband of a telecommunication device to prisoners. She was acquitted on other charges of criminal use of a communication facility and contraband of a telecommunication device to prisoners.
Victor’s daughter, Brittany, stormed out of the courtroom in tears as Greene County Judge Lou Dayich read the jury’s verdict.
Judy Victor, who was allegedly involved romantically with an SCI-Greene inmate serving a life sentence for murder, was charged in October 2016 of smuggling cellphones and drugs into the prison for him to use and sell.
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fitch said the two charges jurors dismissed made sense, as one of the cellphones investigators said she smuggled in was never recovered. The prosecution laid out a premeditated contraband scheme between Victor, inmate Jose Villoch and his bunkmate.
“Let’s get one thing straight: This case is about that defendant, who smuggled in two cellphones and Vicodin pills,” Fitch began his closing statement Thursday morning.
On the first day of the trial Tuesday, Villoch’s former cellmate at SCI-Greene told jurors he benefited from Victor and Villoch’s contraband scheme. He detailed how he received wristwatch-style cellphones from the pair, one of which was found in a search of their cell. The inmate said contraband was placed inside emptied milk cartons inside a brown paper bag. Victor worked in the dietary area of the prison, along with Villoch.
The inmate, who has since been transferred from the state prison near Waynesburg, also said there were pills he hid in a chemical closet. He said he was part of the plan to bring the items into the prison and told investigators the location of the pills after the phone was located because he wanted “to do the right thing.”
But Dave Russo, Victor’s defense attorney, took issue with the inmate, his family and friends’ claims they wanted to do the right thing, pointing out inconsistencies in their testimony against their prior statements to investigators. Russo tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s evidence, claiming their witnesses were comprised of “thieves, liars, murderers and a child covered in drugs.”
“They’re not being truthful to you. Their stories are not adding up,” Russo said during his closing statements. “You’re being fooled. You’re being lied to by individuals that are not credible and you’re putting Judy Victor’s life on the line.”
He tried to demonstrate to the jury, through Victor’s daughter, how text messages could be faked by altering a contact’s information after the fact. The prosecution presented text messages provided to SCI-Greene.
“There’s nothing that’s been put before you that couldn’t be manufactured,” Russo said. “Judy Victor is innocent. She didn’t do anything.”
The state during testimony Wednesday played two phone calls, reportedly between Victor and Villoch. The male and female voices exchanged several “I love you’s,” alongside dialogue that verged on sexual. Prison workers are not permitted to have outside contact with inmates.
Victor did not face charges involving an alleged sexual relationship with Villoch because investigators could not pin down when or where the two engaged in sexual activity. A search of his cell in September 2015 turned up a cellphone and a search of Victor’s home led investigators to evidence of a contraband scheme.
Not brought up in the trial was a bag full of letters from Villoch investigators said they found during a search of Victor’s home in November 2015, many of which explained what contraband the prisoners wanted and how to smuggle it in.
Fitch said some evidence brought up at Victor’s preliminary hearing, including the letters and text messages allegedly between Victor and Villoch, were not relevant to the charges Victor was facing.
She remains free on $20,000 unsecured bond until her sentencing hearing.