Two former corrections officers in North Carolina have been indicted on charges of Extortion Under Color of Official Right. One of the officers, a 29-year-old man, is also charged with lying to a federal grand jury and making a False Statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both defendants are facing decades in federal prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
One of the men, 31, allegedly smuggled marijuana, tobacco, cellphones and AA batteries into the Polk Correctional Institution in the high security maximum control unit. He is also alleged to have smuggled in contraband into the prison to another inmate after he was transferred out of the high security unit. The other man is said to have allegedly lied to FBI agents during an interview and committed perjury when he was testifying before a federal grand jury.
The investigation turned to the prison after a Wake County assistant district attorney’s father was kidnapped in 2014. That crime was allegedly planned out by an inmate in the prison by using a cellphone smuggled into the unit.
According to one U.S. attorney, “Corruption by correction officers undermines the criminal justice system and puts the general public at risk. We will always prosecute these kinds of cases to maintain the integrity of our system.”
Facing federal charges can be intimidating and frightening. An attorney who has significant experience in defending clients in federal court can provide valuable advice and guidance on how to proceed in such cases. Because federal charges can result in long prison sentences, defendants should begin building their defense strategies as soon as possible.
Source: wncn.com, “2 ex-NC correction officers indicted after Wake asst. DA’s dad is kidnapped,” Rod Overton, Aug. 24, 2015