New York Prison Break: Twelve Employees Placed on Leave After Escape

A host of correctional officers and prison executives — including the superintendent — have been placed on leave from the upstate New York prison where two convicted murderers escaped, authorities said Tuesday.

The decision to put three members of the Clinton Correctional Facility's executive team and nine security staff on "administrative leave" come as law enforcement sources told NBC News that a "public corruption investigation" was launched into allegations that prison employees smuggled heroin into the prison to be trafficked among inmates.

The New York State Department of Corrections did not offer further details about the dozen employees placed on leave.