NY governor orders investigation into escape of 2 inmates

David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt. (AP/NDN)

NEW YORK — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday ordered an investigation into the escape of two convicted killers from a maximum-security prison, saying it was “critically important” to determine how they planned and carried out their brazen getaway.

Richard Matt and David Sweat remained at large for a 10th day as more than 800 law enforcement officers combed dense woodlands near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in upstate New York.

A female prison worker accused of helping the men escape was due to appear in court on Monday morning.

Sweat, 35, and Matt, 48, were discovered missing from their adjoining cells at 5:30 a.m. on June 6.

Their elaborate escape involved cutting through a steel wall and slithering through a steam pipe before emerging from a manhole on the street outside the prison’s walls.

The prison is about 20 miles (32 km) south of the Canadian border.

The governor announced that state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott would conduct a thorough investigation to determine all factors involved in the escape.

She will look at such issues as prison design, operations and security, and make recommendations to prevent future escapes, the governor’s office said in a statement.

“Capturing these killers and returning them to state custody remains our top priority,” Cuomo said in the statement. “However, it’s critically important to examine the circumstances that enabled these inmates to escape in the first place.

“We have zero tolerance for anyone who aided or abetted these criminals, no matter how minor their role,” he said.

Joyce Mitchell, who worked as an industrial training supervisor at the prison’s tailor shop, is accused of providing chisels and hacksaw blades to the men.

Mitchell, 51, was due in court in Plattsburgh on charges of promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation.

Mitchell had agreed to drive the getaway car but had second thoughts and never showed up, Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie has told local media.

The prosecutor said authorities do not believe the pair had a backup plan and that they were still in the area.

The Albany Times Union, citing an unnamed investigator, said Mitchell had agreed to drive them to a cabin in Vermont.

The newspaper also cited a source saying the pair had possibly planned to kill Mitchell’s husband.

She has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to eight years in prison.