Portage man accused of taking bribes as federal prison guard
February 7, 2013 10:58AM
Updated: February 7, 2013 11:06PM
A Northwest Indiana man who worked as a guard at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown has been indicted on bribery charges for allegedly taking money to allow inmate possession of contraband.
Tony Henderson, of Portage, was charged with five counts of bribery in an indictment returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury. Henderson, 51, an MCC correctional guard since 1996, was placed on administrative leave last September, and no date has been set for his arraignment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The charges are not related to the Dec. 18, 2012, escape of two inmates, both of whom were later captured, from the federal facility, according to federal prosecutors.
According to the indictment, on five different dates in July and August 2012, Henderson accepted bribes to violate U.S. Bureau of Prisons rules regarding inmate possession of contraband. It did not specify what the contraband was.
Each count of bribery carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or a fine of up to three times the value of the bribe.
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