A former guard at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta pleaded guilty on Tuesday to bribery, making thousands of dollars through tobacco sales to prisoners.
According to Byung J. “BJay” Pak, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Melvin Thomas made as much as $3,500 between July 2009 and April 2017 by selling tobacco, which is banned in prison, to inmates.
The tobacco was smuggled into the facility.
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“Corruption in prisons undermines the public’s faith in the criminal justice system and puts the safety of prison staff and inmates at risk,” Pak said in a written statement. “Thomas took bribes instead of honoring his oath. He compromised his commitment to his fellow officers and the citizens who expect prison guards to have the utmost integrity.”
Thomas, 40, was charged on Feb. 14 with bribery of a public official. He will be sentenced on July 10.
This guilty plea is the latest scandal involving the federal facility in southeast Atlanta.
Last year, at least three inmates were charged on separate occasions with leaving the adjacent prison camp to fetch booze, cigarettes, drugs and takeout to bring back to the camp. And earlier this year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that inmates were still leaving the low-security camp to retrieve banned items, including booze, for a New Year's Eve party that was recorded on video and provided to The AJC.
Last fall, a new warden was assigned to oversee the prison and the camp. In the months since, hundreds of inmates from the camp have been moved to other prisons.
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