Federal Inmate In Ashland Sentenced To 60 Months For Conspiring With Prison Guard To Smuggle Prohibited Items Into Prison

ASHLAND, KY -An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Ashland, Ky., has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiring with a correctional officer and others to smuggle prohibited items into the prison.

On Monday, June 9, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sentenced 33-year-old Gary Musick, of Newport, Tenn., for conspiracy to introduce contraband into a correctional facility and possession of contraband. The sentence will run consecutivly to the 235 month sentence that Musick is currently serving for other criminal convictions.

Musick was convicted of the contraband charges, by a jury, in March 2014. According to testimony at trial, Musick’s co-defendant and former girlfriend, Cindy Gates, and other female associates of Musick, routinely visited the FCI and delivered prohibited items, such as tobacco, marijuana, and nude photographs, to correctional officer James Lewis. Lewis subsequently provided the items to Musick, in exchange for payment from Gates and others.

The evidence at trial established that Musick also sold the prohibited items to other inmates. In some instances, he directed inmates to have money sent to an address outside of the institution as payment. The conspiracy lasted from December 2010 until February 2012.

Lewis and Gates have previously been convicted and sentenced for their roles. Lewis was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Gates received probation.

Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and John F. Oleskowicz, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edwin J. Walbourn, III and Wade T. Napier prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.