2003-05-13 -- Colon, Cecilo -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Fort Dix Federal Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Taking Bribes from Inmates

CAMDEN - A former Fort Dix federal prison guard today admitted taking bribes from inmates in return for smuggling contraband into the prison, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Cecilio Colon, 35, of the Bronx, New York, entered his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Camden before Judge Robert B. Kugler.

Colon admitted that between April and June of 2001, he received a total of $350 from three separate bribes he received from inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix in Burlington County. Colon stated that in exchange for the bribes he smuggled the dietary supplement "Creatine" into the prison for inmates.

According to a Criminal Complaint, Colon was charged as the result of an undercover investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. The Complaint states that an undercover agent recorded a conversation with Colon in which he was attempting to obtain additional quantities of the contraband on behalf of a Fort Dix inmate.

Colon pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with accepting bribes as a public official in order to influence him in the performance of his official duties as a correctional officer, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T. Smith.

Colon faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines when sentenced by Judge Kugler on August 20, 2003, at 9:30am.

Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Judge Kugler will determine the actual sentence based upon a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense and the defendant's criminal history, if any.

Parole, however, has been abolished in the federal system. Under Sentencing Guidelines, defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

In the filing of an Information, a defendant waives the right to have his or her case presented to a federal Grand Jury and, instead, pleads guilty to charges presented by the Government.

Christie credited the Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William Cella, New York Field Office, for bringing the case against Colon.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Smith of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division in Camden.

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Defense Attorney: Lisa Van Hoeck, Esq. Trenton