3 charged with helping escaped prisoner

Police have charged three people with helping murder suspect Oscar Alvarado escape from a city prison last month.

His sister Kamilah Alvarado, 22; Crysta Otto, 27; and Dean Ortiz, 33, were arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and hindering apprehension after they were found with him Monday in a Bucks County hotel room.

Prison officials are still waiting to interview Alvarado about his escape.

Eight officers at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility have been reassigned pending an investigation into the escape. The officers, all on duty when Alvarado walked out on Thanksgiving, could face disciplinary action.

Authorities said Alvarado, jailed on charges of gunning down a woman in Kensington last year, had obtained an unauthorized pass to a visitors' lobby and changed into civilian clothes before walking out the doors of the Holmesburg prison.

Alvarado and the three were found about 3 p.m. Monday after a tip led U.S. marshals and Philadelphia detectives to the Neshaminy Inn in Trevose.

Prison officials have said they are reviewing Curran-Fromhold's security procedures.

Authorities had said Alvarado's escape was the first in the building's 14-year history. In fact, at least two others escaped in past years.

In 1995, a mentally ill inmate walked away from Curran-Fromhold after donning a prison guard's jacket. Corrections officers chased him down and returned him to the prison. The prison was not fully operational at the time, spokesman Robert Eskind said yesterday.

In 2002, Andrew Becht, who was held on drug charges, escaped after switching identification bracelets with another prisoner. When the other prisoner's bail was paid, Becht left. Police apprehended Becht about three weeks later in New York.