TALLADEGA - AL -
A former training officer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and introducing contraband into the federal prison. The U.S. Department of Justice reports 41-year-old Belinda Keith, of Talladega, appeared before a federal grand jury in September for the bribery and contraband charges. So far, no sentencing date has been set.
Keith admitted that, between October 2010 and October 2011, she accepted bribes from an inmate at FCI, Talladega, to bring tobacco products into the prison, and that she brought those products into the facility in violation of prison rules. According to her plea agreement with the government, Keith brought 31 bags of tobacco to a certain inmate during that time in exchange for between $2,500 and $4,000 total. Keith communicated by cell phone and text message with relatives of the inmate to coordinate the payments sent to her, according to the plea agreement.
The bribery charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Introducing contraband into a prison is a misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
