The two Cook County state's attorney's investigators who let convicted robber Robert Maday escape have been fired, State's Attorney Anita Alvarez announced Thursday.

The office moved to terminate Nick Argentine and Joe Fallon after an internal review determined they had violated numerous policies and procedures regarding the transport of prisoners. State's attorney spokeswoman Sally Daly said she was unaware of any criminal charges against Argentine and Fallon at this point.

Maday, 39, led authorities on a 26-hour manhunt in September after overpowering the guards as they drove him to the Rolling Meadows courthouse for a sentencing hearing.

The Elk Grove Village man has since been charged in Cook County court with aggravated vehicular hijacking and attempted armed robbery in connection with an alleged encounter during the incident. He pleaded not guilty and next appears in a Rolling Meadows courtroom on those charges on Dec. 23. Federal charges in connection with the escape also are pending, according to authorities.

"The escape of the prisoner was an extremely serious breach of security that put the health and welfare of an untold number of Cook County residents at great risk," Alvarez said in a statement. "Our investigation has shown that the investigators displayed an inexcusable and unacceptable inattention to duty."

The state's attorney's office said Maday was able to unbuckle his seat belt and grab the service weapon of the investigator who was driving. He then ordered the investigator in the passenger seat to surrender his weapon, Daly said. Maday was handcuffed and shackled, but the restraining devices weren't properly affixed according to department policies.

"There was too much slack in the chain," said Daly. "He should have been more restrictively constrained."

The review also found Maday should have been transported in a cage car and that Argentine and Fallon ignored a supervisor's instructions to do so, even though a cage car was available at the time, Daly said. Additionally, one investigator should have been seated in the back seat with the prisoner to have him under constant supervision. Instead, both investigators were seated in the front, contrary to department policy.

Alvarez has implemented several new procedures as a result of the incident, according to the news release. Those include increasing the number of cage cars available for prisoner transport from one to four. Additionally, if a cage car is unavailable, a third investigator will be assigned to the transport the prisoner, Daly said.

In addition, investigators had to undergo training on the proper procedures for prisoner transport, and the U.S. Marshall's Office provided specialized training for supervisors and command staff.

Staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report