Manhunt underway for inmate who escaped floating NYC prison barge

An inmate with possible ties to the Russian mob made a daring nighttime escape from the city’s floating jail, hours after suspicious federal investigators called the facility to check on him — only to be informed he was still in his cell, The Post has learned.

The feds called the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Facility sometime after 1 a.m. Saturday and inquired if David Mordukhaev, 30,  was in the cell, law enforcement sources said.  Jail staff told the investigators Mordukhaev was in his cell, but it’s unclear if guards at the short-staffed facility actually checked, the sources said. They made a second call at 4:30 a.m. asking about the prisoner, and that’s when authorities realized Mordukhaev was gone, sources said.