A former Drug Enforcement Administration special agent on Wednesday agreed to spend at least 15 months in prison for failing to report more than $200,000 in cash he obtained while working as an Atlanta agent in 2004.

Gregory Campion, 46, of Orlando, was a long-time DEA agent, serving from 2003 to 2005 as backup supervisor at an Atlanta task force office where he had access to millions of dollars in cash seized from drug traffickers. In 2006, Campion was indicted for embezzling seized drug money, but prosecutors agreed to drop those charges in exchange for the guilty plea to the tax charge.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jack Camp appeared hesitant to accept the plea deal. Camp pointedly asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Anand why the embezzlement counts were being dismissed. The judge also asked Campion's lawyers if they had anything to say "about the plea agreement except that it's a good deal?"

Anand told Camp that the federal sentencing guidelines for the tax count do not call for a substantially lower sentence than for an embezzlement count. But Camp quickly noted there were 17 embezzlement counts being dismissed.

Anand also said that the quality of the evidence for the embezzlement case was not as good as it was for the tax charge. Ed Garland, one of Campion's lawyers, agreed with that assessment.

In the end, Camp accepted Campion's guilty plea which he entered before a number of federal agents seated in the courtroom gallery.

The maximum sentence for the tax charge is three years in prison, Camp reminded Campion, adding he was not bound by the plea agreement's recommendation for a 15-month prison term.

Campion, who is to be sentenced May 15, obtained the extra money in 2004 "from the access he had to cash that had been seized by drug traffickers," Jeannine Hammett, acting special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations, said after the plea hearing. "If one of our own commits a crime, they will be prosecuted," she added.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said, "This defendant blatantly violated the oath he took to uphold the law and thereby marred the reputation for honesty and integrity that federal law enforcement officers deserve. His guilty plea and his agreement to accept a sentence of at least 15 years in prison is a fitting response to his acts of corruption."