Prison governor jailed for nine years over affair with drug lord
Kerri Pegg, 42, swapped her Honda Jazz for a £12,000 Mercedes C-Class car, paid for by 34kg of amphetamines by Anthony Saunderson, a major organised crime figure who is now serving 35 years behind bars.
Saunderson was known to criminal associates as 'Jesse Pinkman', the drug dealer in the show Breaking Bad, or 'James Gandolfini', the actor who played mafia boss Tony Soprano in the eponymous TV series.
Members of his gang complained their boss was spending too much time with Pegg, neglecting his wife and 'work', a court heard.
Pegg, described in court as 'petite, blonde and bubbly', signed off on a temporary release for Saunderson, though she did not have the authority to do so.
During her trial at Preston Crown Court, it emerged Saunderson had developed and delivered a programme titled Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency (BADD) for inmates at several jails while at the time being a major drug dealer, running an amphetamines factory.
Pegg claimed her contact with Saunderson was because of his involvement in the BADD programme.
Pegg was convicted of two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of possession of criminal property, following a three-week trial last month.
Phil Copple, chief executive of HM Prison and Probation Service, said: 'The criminal misconduct in this case lets down the public we serve, as well as the vast majority of honest and hard-working prison staff. But it also demonstrates our determination to take robust action against those who fail to achieve proper professional standards.'
The court heard Pegg joined the Prison Service in 2012 as a graduate entrant, working at prisons including Risley, Liverpool and Styal, and by April 2018 she was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was reaching the end of a 10-year sentence for drugs offences.
He had been one of Merseyside's most wanted fugitives for his part in importing £19 million of cocaine in shipments of corned beef from Argentina.
There were concerns about Pegg being inappropriately close to Saunderson, with the two often in her office with the door closed.
She told jurors there were 'cultural issues' at the jail, and clashed with bosses over her 'progressive' and 'hands-on' open-door policy with prisoners.
Saunderson was released from Kirkham in May 2019 and within two months, while still on licence, was involved in another massive drug conspiracy.
Saunderson and his gang were producing and supplying drugs on an industrial scale from a lab on the border between England and Wales and a storage unit in Aintree, Merseyside.
He was jailed for 35 years at Liverpool Crown Court in August 2022 after law enforcement agencies cracked the EncroChat system – a phone network used by serious organised criminals.
It revealed Saunderson's drug dealing – and his relationship with Pegg.
When police raided her Wigan apartment in November 2020, the Mercedes paid for by Saunderson in drugs was parked outside.
They discovered designer clothes, handbags and jewellery, and found Pegg living beyond her means.
Detectives discovered that despite her £3,000 a month income, Pegg was deep in undeclared debt, which amounted to misconduct as debts make officials vulnerable to corruption.
Her four credit cards were maxed out and she had 6p in her savings account.
Andrew Alty, defending, in his closing speech to the jury, claimed Pegg had been 'green and stupid', a naive and gullible person who was manipulated by Saunderson.
Pegg tearfully told jurors she had been 'incredibly stupid' but did not think she had done anything wrong.
Barbara-Louise Webster, prosecuting, said Pegg had a promising future, but added: 'Anthony Saunderson was her downfall.'
After her arrest and resignation from the Prison Service, Pegg became the operations manager for The Brick, a poverty and homelessness charity.
The charity was aware of her being under investigation, but she kept her job with 'substantial restrictions'.
Tarryn McCaffrey, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Pegg's actions in becoming involved with a prisoner who had committed serious drug offences portrayed a total lack of integrity or judgment.
'She displayed a shocking lack of professionalism in her role, overriding rules around Saunderson's temporary release and ignoring her obligations to declare personal debts.'
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