OCALA, FLORIDA
A federal judge sentenced Robert Lawrence Brown, 32, of Clermont, to two years in federal prison for accepting bribes for smuggling cellphones, prescription pills, tobacco and other items to federal inmates, officials said.
He plead guilty on Sept. 4.
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, according to officials.
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, officials said.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the FBI investigated the case.