Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery

WASHINGTON—Correctional Officer Thomas Ford pled guilty today to bribery of a public official in connection with a scheme to smuggle contraband into inmates in the Correctional Treatment Facility in exchange for cash, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Ford, 35, of Washington, D.C., admitted during a hearing today before U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle that between October 2008 and March 2009 he accepted cash payments in exchange for agreeing to smuggle cell phones, an iPod, and a charger to a cooperating inmate in the Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF), which is operated by the Corrections Corporation of America under contract with the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.

The maximum penalty for bribery of a public official is 15 years’ incarceration. The sentencing range for Ford under the United States Sentencing Guidelines is 12 to 18 months in prison.

In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Henry commended the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents Amanda Romek and Andrew Sekela. They also acknowledged the efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegal Maggie McCabe, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Hibarger, who is prosecuting this case.