Ex-Inmate Alleges Pr. George's Jail Tryst

The head of security at the Prince George's County jail was suspended yesterday while authorities investigate allegations that, as a guard two decades ago, she smuggled food and alcohol into the facility for an inmate with whom she was having a sexual relationship.

Lt. Col. Kathleen M. Costello was placed on paid leave after an attorney for the former inmate wrote to jail officials describing the relationship and requesting an investigation. After inmate Kristine L. Krick was released, she and Costello were involved for many years until they split in 2005, Krick said in recent interviews.

The claim that they were involved while Krick was an inmate, which an attorney for Costello denied, is the latest blow for a detention center that has been roiled in the past 15 months. In March 2008, two female guards were suspended for allegedly having sex with male inmates, and two other guards were suspended for allegedly providing cellphones to inmates. All four later resigned.

In June, an inmate was found asphyxiated in his cell -- the death was ruled a homicide -- less than 48 hours after he was charged with killing a county police officer. Also that month, Corrections Director Alfred J. McMurray Sr. was fired after officials discovered that four handguns were missing from the jail's armory.

Vernon Herron, the county's director of public safety, said yesterday that the police department will conduct an investigation into Krick's allegations. The Washington Post provided him with a copy of the letter, which Krick said had been mailed to the jail's acting director.

"These allegations, if proven true, are serious," Herron said. "We've terminated officers for having improper relationships with inmates and providing them contraband."

Costello did not respond to two phone messages left at her office this week. Her attorney, Susan Silver, said Krick has a history of alcohol abuse and is not reliable. "The allegation that any relationship occurred while Krick was incarcerated is untrue," Silver said.

Silver acknowledged that Krick and Costello were together for years as domestic partners. They moved in together within two weeks of Krick's release from the jail, Krick said.

In a series of interviews, Krick, now 43, said Costello, now 52, befriended her shortly after she was jailed Jan. 9, 1988, on charges of robbing and assaulting a man in Langley Park.

At the time, Krick was 21. She said she was afraid of being attacked by other inmates in the jail. She said Costello began visiting her cell to talk and then began bringing her food from outside the jail and putting money in her commissary account, which inmates use to purchase food in jail.

After about two months, Krick said, the relationship became sexual. One night, Krick said, Costello took her from her cell on an upper tier to a cell on a lower tier, in an area that was unoccupied by other inmates.

Costello brought takeout food and alcohol in a thermos, Krick said. "I was buzzed up pretty good," she said. "She started groping me, then started kissing on me. I guess I just went with it. We had sex."