Guilty – prison governor who had relationship with ‘Jesse Pinkman' drug boss
A 'rising star' prison governor who began a relationship with a Liverpool drug gang boss is facing jail after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.
Kerri Pegg, 42, swapped her Honda Jazz for a £12,000 Mercedes C class car, paid for by 34 kilos of amphetamines, by Anthony Saunderson, a major organised crime boss, who is now serving 35 years behind bars.
Divorcee Pegg, described in court as, 'petite, blonde and bubbly', signed off on temporary release for Saunderson while she was a governor at HMP Kirkham.
Saunderson was known to criminal associates as 'Jesse Pinkman', the drug dealer in Breaking Bad, or 'James Gandolfini', the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV series.
Pegg, a keen gym-goer inside jail, was seen as a 'rising star' in the Prison Service, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years, along the way also having breast enhancement surgery.
During her trial at Preston Crown Court, it emerged Saunderson had developed and delivered a programme, titled BADD (Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency) 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 due to his involvement in the BADD programme.
But even members of his gang grumbled that their boss was spending too much time with Pegg and away from his wife and 'work'.
Pegg was convicted of two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of possession of criminal property.
The jury was out for two hours and 43 minutes, following a three-week trial.
Pegg made no reaction as the guilty verdicts were delivered.
Judge Graham Knowles told Pegg a prison term was 'inevitable', but bailed the defendant to the court building while a sentencing date is arranged either later on Tuesday or at a later date.
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