A 26-year-old former corrections officer with the federal Bureau of Prisons faces up to 15 years in federal prison after taking money for smuggling cigarettes into the Three Rivers Correctional Institution.
Justin Matthew Gonzalez, of Three Rivers, Texas, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in a news release Tuesday from Corpus Christi. Three Rivers is around 73 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.
“Gonzalez’s selfish acts compromised the safety and security of the federal prison,” Special Agent in Charge Cloey C. Pierce, of the Department of Justice – Office of the Inspector General, South Central Region, said in the news release.
Gonzalez admitted he received about $1,600 in “bribe” payments for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. When he went to work in February 2021, authorities searched his bag and found 16 packets of cigarettes, the news release said.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales will sentence Gonzalez on Nov. 20. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Gonzalez was allowed to stay out on bond until the sentencing hearing.
The Department of Justice – Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Collins and Carolyn Ferko are prosecuting.
“Public service is a public trust, especially for those in positions in corrections and law enforcement,” Hamdani said. “The vast majority of these officers serve with honesty and integrity. However, we must still root out any and all forms of corruption or abuse in our federal prisons and hold accountable those who choose to break the law themselves.”
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