Final Defendant Sentenced To 48 Months For Smuggling Contraband Into Lexington Federal Prison

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keith A. Griffith, 35, a federal inmate, was sentenced today to four years in prison by United States Chief District Court Judge Karen K. Caldwell, for bribing a corrections officer at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky (“FMC Lexington”), a federal correctional facility, to smuggle prohibited items into the prison. This sentence is to be added to the term of imprisonment Griffith was already serving for narcotics related offenses.        

Griffith previously admitted that he conspired with a federal corrections officer, James Carrington, Stephanie Dukes, and inmate Amai Rawls, to introduce prohibited objects into FMC Lexington, including mp3 players, tobacco, cell phones, weight supplements, and synthetic marijuana.  Dukes, at the direction of Griffith, would purchase the contraband and deliver the items to Carrington, along with a payment for Carrington’s services. Carrington would then distribute the contraband to Griffith within the prison, for Griffith’s personal use and for distribution to other inmates.  Carrington was considered a public official under the law.

James Carrington of Winchester, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official, and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.  Stephanie Dukes of Louisville, Kentucky, also pleaded guilty to bribing a public official and received a sentence of 18 months’ incarceration for her role in the scheme.  Finally, federal inmate Amai Rawls pleaded guilty to conspiracy to introduce tobacco and cell phones into a federal correctional facility, a misdemeanor, for which he received a 5-month term of imprisonment.  He will serve this sentence consecutive to the sentence he was already serving for narcotics related offenses.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, John F. Oleskowicz, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, and Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge of the Louisville Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement today after the sentencing.