ASHLAND, KY - A former corrections officer at the Federal Corrections Institute (FCI) in Ashland, Ky., has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring with an inmate and others to smuggle prohibited items into the prison.
U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sentenced 46-year-old James Lewis on Monday to 15 months in federal prison. Under federal law, Lewis will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
According to court records, from December 2010 until February 2012, Lewis conspired with inmate Gary Musick, of Newport, Tenn., and Musick’s girlfriend, Cindy Gates, to introduce tobacco, marijuana, and nude photographs into the prison. Gates frequently visited the prison and gave the items to Lewis. Lewis subsequently provided the items to Musick, in exchange for payment from Gates and others.
Evidence at Musick’s trial, in March, established that he sold some of the prohibited items to other inmates. Musick was convicted of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a correctional facility and possession of contraband. Gates pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conspiracy charge, prior to trial, and she was also sentenced on Monday; she received probation.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and John F. Oleskowicz, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edwin J. Walbourn, III and Wade T. Napier prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
