A federal prison employee in California has died, and investigators are looking into whether he was exposed to fentanyl shortly before his death, three people familiar with the case told The Associated Press.
Marc Fischer, a mailroom supervisor at the U.S. penitentiary in Atwater, California, died Friday after reporting feeling unwell, the people said. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead in the afternoon, they said.
Investigators are looking into whether he was exposed to a substance authorities believe may be fentanyl while sorting mail at the prison, the people said. They could not publicly disclose details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Fischer’s cause of death remained unknown Saturday, and it was unclear whether possible exposure may have contributed. Brief contact with fentanyl cannot cause an overdose, and investigators have found that the risk of a fatal overdose due to accidental exposure is low.
In a statement, the Bureau of Prisons said one prison employee “began to feel ill after coming into contact with mail laced with an unknown substance” and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. A second worker was taken to the hospital for observation after coming into contact with the mail and was later released, the agency said.
“Our hearts are heavy as we extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of our fallen Office employee,” the statement read.
His death is the latest in a series of serious incidents at the Bureau of Prisons, which runs 122 federal prisons and has faced a host of crises in recent years, from rampant sexual abuse and other criminal conduct by staff to chronic understaffing, escapes and high-profile deaths.
In 2019, the agency began photocopying inmate letters and other mail at some federal correctional facilities across the country instead of delivering the original packages in an effort to combat the illegal introduction of synthetic narcotics.
A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers introduced legislation in 2023 requiring the Bureau of Prisons director to develop a strategy to ban the mailing of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs to federal prisons across the country. The bill is stalled in the House of Representatives.
__
Sisak reported from New York.
