HAMMOND | A 51-year-old Portage man is accused of taking bribes in his position as a guard at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
A federal grand jury Thursday returned five counts of bribery against Tony Henderson, according to a news release from Gary Shapiro, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and John Oleskowicz, special agent-in-charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Each count of bribery carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or a fine of up to three times the value of the bribe.
On five different dates in July and August, Henderson accepted a cash bribe regarding inmate possession of contraband, in violation of Bureau of Prisons rules, according to the indictment.
The indictment does not specify the nature of the suspected contraband. A U.S. Department of Justice news release said the charges are not related to the escape and subsequent capture of two inmates from the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Dec. 18.
Henderson, a guard at the federal lockup since 1996, has been on administrative leave from his job since September, federal authorities stated. No date has been set for his arraignment.
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