Former Kentucky prison employee, inmate guilty in $80,000 bribery scheme
A former employee at a federal prison in Kentucky who took more than $80,000 in bribes and an inmate who paid him to sneak in contraband have pleaded guilty.
Hank Williams, who was a cook supervisor at USP Big Sandy in Martin County, pleaded guilty to taking bribes, conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and using the mail to facilitate the commission of a felony.
The inmate, Librado Navarette, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Lexington to giving bribes to Williams and to possession of contraband.
The scheme lasted more than three years beginning in the spring of 2016, according to a court document.
It unraveled after prison officials searched Navarette’s cell in May 2019 and found items that inmates are not allowed to have, including marijuana, a synthetic marijuana called K2, tobacco and cell phones.
Navarette had been convicted of selling meth in Central California. Police said he had ties to the Mexican Mafia.
The investigation of the contraband in Navarette’s cell led to Williams, who admitted he agreed to provide drugs and other items to inmates in return for cash.
Williams said he used fake names to have marijuana, meth, heroin, cell phones and other contraband, as well as cash payments, mailed to his son’s home in Georgetown for Williams to pick up.
Williams said he received between $82,500 and $89,600 in bribes, according to his plea agreement.
After Williams resigned, prison officials found marijuana, cell phones and other contraband in other inmates’ cells and in the kitchen area, where Williams had been a supervisor. The contraband was believed to be part of Williams’ smuggling operation.
Federal authorities seized $77,009 from Williams’ bank accounts; $6,700 from his house in Perry County; and $6,340 from his son’s house, according to a court record.
That was forfeited to the government.
Williams pleaded guilty in June and is to be sentenced in August. Prosecutors agreed not to seek a sentence of more than 17 years and six months.
The top sentence on the most serious charge against Navarette would be 20 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
