A former prison guard on Thursday became the last of 46 one-time correctional officers to be sentenced to federal prison for using their uniforms as a shield while they transported drugs.
Tramaine Tucker, who was an officer at the privately-run Riverbend Correctional Facility, will spend the next five years in a prison for accepting a bribe to protect drug transactions and attempted drug trafficking.
His sentence came as state and federal authorities shut down of the worst cases of corruption in the Georgia Department of Corrections. Forty-six Georgia prison guards were charged with wearing their uniforms so they would not be stopped while they transported what they believed was cocaine and methamphetamine. They were paid $1,500 in cash each time they took a backpack containing with packages they believed to be drugs.
While two former officers were sentenced probation, the rest were given prison sentences ranging from 18 months to 9 ½ years.
