Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Attempted Extortion

DAYTON – Michael Rose, 29, of New Carlisle, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to attempted extortion under the color of law.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to the Statement of Facts in this case, Rose began working as a corrections officer at the Montgomery County Jail in spring 2016. In September of that year, Rose agreed to bring contraband – namely, a cell phone – into the jail in exchange for cash from an inmate. Likewise, in November 2016, Rose smuggled in a second cell phone and met with an associate of an inmate near a Dayton retail store to receive $1,500 as payment. Rose provided the phone knowing that the inmate intended to use it to direct drug trafficking activities from jail.

“Corruption by a corrections officer harms not only the jail where he or she works, but it also undermines confidence in law enforcement and our system of justice generally,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “That’s why it’s so important for us to investigate and prosecute instances of public corruption like this one.”

Rose pleaded guilty to attempted extortion under color of official right, which is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office RANGE Task Force and the FBI, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Brent Tabacchi, who is representing the United States in this case.