ANOTHER ONE OF THE FORMER PRISON GUARDS WHO KILLED INMATE ROBERT BROOKS NEEDS SPECIAL PROTECTION
FORMER NEW YORK STATE PRISON GUARD ANTHONY FARINA TRANSFERRED TO OHIO TO SERVE 22-YEAR MANSLAUGHTER SENTENCE
Anthony Farina being led to prison after being sentenced to 22 years in 2025. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
MALONE, NEW YORK Aug. 13, 2026
The ringleader of a all-white gang of correction officers convicted of killing a black inmate at an upstate New York prison has been sent to Ohio to serve his sentence.
Anthony Farina, one of the 11 former New York State guards convicted of crimes in connection with the killing of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility in 2024, was transferred to an out-of-state prison for his safety, a spokesperson for the state agency that runs the state's prison system said.
"On August 11, 2026, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) transferred incarcerated individual Anthony Farina from New York State custody to the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections," Nicole A. Whitaker said in an email to The Free Lance News on Thursday.
Whitaker explained Farina's transfer was "pursuant to the Interstate Corrections Compact between the State of New York and the State of Ohio," which "permits participating states to transfer incarcerated individuals under specified circumstances."
Farina pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in 2025 and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He had been housed at New York's maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in the Adirondacks.
But Whitaker, DOCCS' spokesperson, said "DOCCS determined that his continued placement in a New York State facility posed significant safety and security concerns for the individual, correctional staff, and the broader incarcerated population."
"Interstate transfers are considered on a case-by-case basis.," Whitaker explained. "Each transfer decision is made following a review of multiple factors by the involved states to ensure the safety, security, and orderly operation of their correctional systems."
Farina helped lead the "beat-up squad" of state prison guards that killed Brooks. The killing was unintentionally captured on video by body cameras worn by four of them. Farina was caught stuffing a rag down Brooks' throat and stomping on the helpless, handcuffed man's genitals as other guards beat and choked Brooks to death.
Farina was convicted of drunk driving in 2020, and had 24 documented misconduct charges filed against him before he helped kill Brooks, yet still remained employed by the state prison system.
He met his match when Buffalo native Timé Thomas, then 26, stood up to him in an epic prison showdown in 2020, as previously reported.
The Free Lance News previously reached out to Farina to give him the chance to share his side of the story, but he did not respond.
Two other guards who killed Brooks have also been transferred to out of state prisons to serve their sentences.
Christopher Walrath, who also pleaded guilty to first desgree manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years, was transferred to New Jersey in June. Nicholas Anzalone, who also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and, like Farina, was sentenced to 22 years, was sent to Maine in March.
A total of 11 former guards have been convicted in connection with Brooks' killing. The case broke the "blue wall of silence" that historically gave guards who abused and sometimes even killed prisoners de facto immunity.
On DOCCS' website, Farina is officially listed as "out to court" because it's the only designation DOCCS has on its website to reflect that Farina is not physically in DOCCS' custody while also indicating he continues to serve his sentence.
Meanwhile, people continue to die and be killed in New York’s prisons.
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