TEXARKANA, Texas — An East Texas correctional officer and an inmate have pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy.
Federal correctional officer James Thompson, 55, of Titus County, pleaded guilty on August 5, to conspiring to commit bribery. In his plea agreement, Thompson agreed to forfeit $17,200 and cash proceeds from his scheme.
Inmate Gilbert Gomez, 54, pleaded guilty on Monday to the same crime. In his plea agreement, Gomez agreed to forfeit $15,000 and cash proceeds from his scheme.
According to information presented in court, beginning before August 2019 and continuing through January 2020, Thompson, a federal correctional officer, and Gomez, a federal inmate, engaged in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Federal Correctional Institution located in Texarkana.
During the scheme, Thompson received cash bribe payments and prison contraband at a post office box under the alias of “Bobby Brown.” Thompson then smuggled the contraband into FCI Texarkana when he entered the facility to go to work. Gomez coordinated the scheme from inside the institution, where he arraigned cash bribe payments and delivered the smuggled contraband to other inmates. Thompson and Gomez received more than $30,000 total for smuggling contraband into FCI Texarkana.
Under federal statutes, Thompson and Gomez face up to five years in federal prison at sentencing.
