Correctional Institution Employee Sentenced on Bribery-Related Offense

RALEIGH—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today Rashonda Cross, 27, a former correctional officer at the Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, North Carolina, was sentenced by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan for one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, to three years’ probation, 45 days' intermittent confinement, and a $100 special assessment.

Investigation revealed that Cross, while employed as a correctional officer at the Rivers Correctional Institution, accepted payments from inmates within the facility in return for smuggling in contraband items such as cell phones and cigarettes. It further showed that some inmates paid bribes to correctional officers to gain their cooperation in the scheme. Four others have been previously convicted and sentenced for their conduct in the scheme: former Rivers Correctional Officer Rhonda Boyd was sentenced in July 2013 to 20 months’ imprisonment; former Rivers Correctional Officer Raye Lynn Holley was sentenced in October 2013 to 20 months’ imprisonment; former Rivers’ inmate Roland Bazemore was sentenced in April 2013 to 30 months’ imprisonment; and former Rivers’ inmate Kenneth Dodd was sentenced in October 2013 to 37 months’ imprisonment.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service.