New York---A corrections officer in New York state was arrested Wednesday in connection with the escape of two convicted killers who remain on the loose after a weeks-long manhunt, US media reported.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said jail employee Gene Palmer was charged, suspected of abetting the June 6 prison break, according to ABC News.
Palmer allegedly helped smuggle tools and other contraband in frozen hamburger meat, Wylie told the news station.
Convicts Richard Matt, 49, and David Sweat, 35, cut their way out of their cells at the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, sparking a massive -- and so far fruitless -- manhunt for the men on the run.
Another prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, is charged with facilitating the escape, also accused of smuggling hacksaw blades and drill bits to the pair in raw hamburger meat.
More than 1,000 US agents have been tasked with finding the escaped inmates, who may be armed and are considered dangerous, officials say.
AFP
