The Department of Justice said a federal corrections officer from Clermont has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty in September to accepting a bribe by a public official.
Robert Lawrence Brown, 32, used his position as a correctional officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County to smuggle contraband to inmates in exchange for money beginning in January, according to court documents.
The Department of Justice said federal agents monitored a June 18 meeting between Brown and a cooperating witness. During that meeting, Brown accepted $2,600 for items that he already smuggled into the prison.
Investigators met with Brown, and he admitted he illegally negotiated $7,100 in cash payments in return for smuggling cellphones, prescription pills, tobacco, and other items to federal inmates.