TAMPA, Fla. — Accepting a bribe and smuggling a cell phone at a detention facility in Florida has a 50-year-old Inverness man facing a maximum of 15 years in federal prison.
Justin Harvey, a former corrections officer at Citrus County Detention Facility (CCDF), has pleaded guilty to acceptance of a bribe by a public official.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced on July 21 that Harvey agreed to bring a cellular phone into CCDF to an inmate. According to court documents, the inmate would pay Harvey $4,000 in cash in exchange.
Harvey connected with a colleague of the inmate – who was an undercover law enforcement agent – and received the $4,000 in cash, as well as a cell phone to smuggle into CCDF, per court documents.
The cell phone was wrapped in saran wrap by Harvey, who smuggled it into CCDF and gave it to the inmate. The inmate later surrendered the phone to law enforcement.
Officials identified Harvey’s fingerprints on the tape that sealed the phone.
Harvey agreed to forfeit the $4,000 in cash he received as a bribe.
'It's either eat or pay bills': Florida families desperate for answers after losing SNAP benefits to fraud
Florida families are losing hundreds of dollars in SNAP benefits to fraud, with multiple victims in the Tampa Bay area saying unauthorized charges on their accounts are being traced to the same California address — and the state is offering no way to get that money back.
