Michael R. Dale Jr.

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First Posted: 6/3/2013 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Luzerne County jury was selected Monday to hear the case of a county prison guard charged with providing drugs to inmates and other guards.
Jason Fierman, 38, of Hayes Lane, Wilkes-Barre, faces charges of criminal conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.
Fierman was charged in March 2011 along with three other prison workers after a 13-month investigation.
County Judge Fred Pierantoni said attorneys will present opening statements in the case this morning. The trial is expected to last two days.
Deputy Attorney General Tim Doherty is prosecuting the case. Fierman is represented by attorneys William Ruzzo and Basil Russin.
According to court papers, prosecutors say Fierman would bring prescriptions of Suboxone to at least one inmate locked up at the prison. Suboxone is a drug typically used to treat opiate addiction.
Prosecutors say they learned through grand-jury testimony that Fierman was supplying the drug to the inmate from 2006 to 2008, a total of about 60 pills.
Fellow prison guard Christoper Walsh, 30, of Pittston, was acquitted of drug-related charges in March 2012 after a jury trial. Prosecutors alleged Walsh sold drugs to another guard but not inmates.
John Carey, 39, of Kingston, also a guard, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2012 to 18 months&#8217; probation on charges he purchased drugs from a fellow guard.
A fourth man, Kevin Warman, 52, of Edwardsville, a prison nursing supervisor, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on May 2012 to 18 months in the county&#8217;s Intermediate Punishment Program on charges he provided prescription drugs to guards and other workers.
Last week, Doherty asked that the previous testimony of two witnesses in the case, James Dormio and John Ricci, be read during the trial because of his belief that they would refuse to testify this week at Fierman&#8217;s trial.
Prosecutors allege Dormio, a prison inmate, received the drugs from Fierman. Ricci, 38, of Wilkes-Barre, is serving a seven- to 14-year prison sentence on charges he participated in a $3.6 million cocaine distribution ring.

Guard accused of supplying drugs gets jury