MADISON, WIS. -- Jeffrey M. Anderson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Anthony Blevins, 43, Windsor, Wis., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge James Peterson to two years of probation for bribery of a public official. Blevins, formerly a correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Institution at Oxford, Wis., pleaded guilty to this charge on June 14, 2017.
During an interview with federal investigators, Blevins admitted that he began receiving bribes from inmates in 2014 in return for bringing contraband into the prison. Blevins admitted that he brought a large amount of tobacco into the prison for an inmate in October 2014 in exchange for $1,000. Blevins also admitted that he brought pornographic magazines into the prison for an inmate on several occasions in early 2015. Blevins received $1,800 from the inmate in return for the magazines.
Judge Peterson said Blevins engaged in a “destabilizing and dangerous activity" and concluded that the crime was an “insult to the integrity of the justice system." In sentencing Blevins, Judge Peterson also considered the fact that Blevins had no prior criminal history, and at the time of the offense, had been dealing with a family member with a serious illness.
The charges against Blevins was a result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
