Former corrections officer sentenced to prison for smuggling drugs into state prison

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A longtime corrections officer at the Belmont Correctional Institution was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 30 months in prison for smuggling contraband into the prison.

Alfred M. Horvath, 59, of Shadyside, conspired with others to sneak illegal drugs and tobacco into the prison.

According to court documents, from 2015 through 2018, Horvath received cash from multiple inmates and their representatives in exchange for smuggling tobacco, oxycodone pills and Suboxone strips into the prison.

On several occasions, and for several years, Horvath was paid approximately $500 to $1,000 for each smuggling trip.

He would meet inmates’ representatives outside the prison in locations in the Southern District of Ohio and elsewhere. The individuals would provide him with the drugs and his cash profit. Horvath admitted to smuggling or agreeing to smuggle at least 300 30-milligram oxycodone pills and several thousand Suboxone strips.

Horvath pleaded guilty in January 2019 to conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Joseph M. Deters, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Annette Chambers-Smith, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction; and officials with the Jefferson County Drug Task Force announced the sentence imposed by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States in this case.

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