November 20, 2015

Former Federal Corrections Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes

OCALA, FL—Senior United States District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges has sentenced Robert Lawrence Brown (32, Clermont) to two years in federal prison for accepting a bribe as a public official. He pleaded guilty on September 4, 2015.

According to court documents, beginning in January 2015, Brown used his position as a Correctional Officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex to smuggle contraband to inmates in exchange for monetary payments. On June 18, 2015, federal agents monitored a meeting between Brown and a cooperating witness. During that meeting, Brown accepted $2,600 for items that he had already smuggled into the prison. When confronted by investigators, Brown admitted that he had illegally negotiated $7,100 in cash payments in return for smuggling cellphones, prescription pills, tobacco, and other items to federal inmates.

This case was investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.