Press Release
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY
May 17, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced that defendant Ramiro Torrico pled guilty today to illegally demanding and accepting bribes from an inmate at Dade Correctional Institute ("DCI"), a maximum security state prison in Florida City, Florida. During the time at issue, Torrico was a State of Florida Correctional Officer with the rank of Sergeant.
According to the one-count felony Information and the facts discussed in court during the guilty plea, 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 put in place, and 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 privileges. These unauthorized privileges included the delivery of unscreened mail and a quantity of what was represented to be oxycontin.
United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan, in Miami, Florida, set sentencing for August 1, 2007. Torrico faces a possible maximum sentence of ten (10) years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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 is being 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 http://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.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.