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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ALEXANDRIA NEWPORT NEWS NORFOLK RICHMOND CHUCK ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY |
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Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Carnal Knowledge
( Richmond , VA ) - Teresa Mendoza, a former Senior Correctional Officer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, pled guilty today to bribery of a public official, and to carnal knowledge with an inmate. The bribery charge carries a maximum penalty of up to fifteen years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three year term of supervised release. The carnal knowledge charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. The case is set for sentencing before Senior United States District Judge Richard L. Williams on October 1, 2008. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced the plea.
In support of her plea, Mendoza acknowledged that from June 2006 through May 2007, while assigned to the Federal Correctional Center (FCC) Petersburg, she accepted U.S. currency and gifts from an inmate at the federal prison in exchange for providing him with contraband, to include cellular telephones, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages, some of which he subsequently sold to other inmates detained at the facility. Mendoza accepted money orders, jewelry, and mail ordered gifts as payment for introducing these prohibited items to the prison.
Mendoza also acknowledged that from June 2006 through March 2007, she engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with an inmate at FCC Petersburg.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth C. Wu prosecuted the case for the United States.