FORMER CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SENTENCED TO THIRTY MONTHS IMPRISONMENT ON BRIBERY CHARGE

 

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that former State of Florida Correctional Sergeant Ramiro Torrico was sentenced today on a charge of illegally demanding and accepting bribes from an inmate at Dade Correctional Institute (“DCI”), a maximum security state prison in Florida City, Florida. Torrico had previously pled guilty to this charge, which arose from an undercover investigation jointly conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan sentenced Torrico to 30 months imprisonment, to be followed be two years of supervised release. In addition, Judge Jordan ordered Torrico to repay the remaining $5000 he had received from the FBI during the investigation.

According to the Information and statements made in court during the guilty plea and sentencing proceedings, between March and September 2006, Torrico demanded $5000 a month from an inmate in exchange for guaranteeing the inmate’s safety while he was incarcerated at DCI. After the inmate reported this demand to the FBI, an undercover operation was initiated. During the course of this investigation, Torrico solicited and accepted a total of approximately $20,000 in cash payments made on behalf of that DCI inmate in exchange for the promised protection and other special privilege, including the delivery of unscreened mail and a quantity of what was represented to be oxycontin.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who have been working on this matter. The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Edward N. Stamm.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.