By C1 Staff
ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — A group of former correctional employees have been arrested and charged with taking bribes to sneak contraband to inmates.
According to the Chron, twelve correctional officers and a cook from the Ector County Correctional Center were involved in the bribery ring. They stand accused of smuggling cell phones, tobacco and marijuana among other things in 2011.
The prison’s warden, Linvel Mosby, stated that the workers have all been fired. He released the following statement through email:
The company treats matters such as this with the utmost importance and has fully cooperated with all agencies at each step of their investigation. Early on in the investigation, the facility was notified of the potential issue and the company worked closely with investigating agencies throughout, in order to identify suspect staff members.
At the first appropriate opportunity, those at issue were immediately terminated from employment with the Company. The ongoing challenge of contraband prevention is a daily reality for every correctional facility and one that the company takes very seriously. Public safety, as well as the safety of our staff, inmates, and residents is always a primary concern at every one of our facilities therefore we work hard to ensure that goal is met.
The overwhelming majority of staff at the Ector County Correctional Center are “hardworking individuals who take pride in their work providing quality detention management services,” according to the Chron.