Former Federal Corrections Officer Robb Phillips Faces Prison Term for Smuggling Contraband into the Prison

Robb Phillips, 33, of Cumberland, Maryland, a former corrections officer, has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from prisoners to smuggle cigarettes as well as other items into the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland (FCI-C) and selling them for a large profit.

He was hired as a corrections office in July 20, 2000. In November of the next year, he started working as a teacher in the Education Department at FCI-C. Ever since April 15, 2006, cigarettes have been banned in federal prisons and were classified as contraband. Not too long after the ban had been put in place, one of the inmates asked Phillips to smuggle in cigarettes and he said he would pay Phillips $50 for each pack or $1000 for a carton. He also told Phillips that he would make arrangements so that Phillips could be paid outside of the prison. On or about July 2006, Phillips did bring five or six packs of cigarettes to the prison, gave them to the inmate, and was paid his $50 a pack.

Phillips had a female friend of his open a post office box in her name so that he could receive money orders for the payment of the contraband that would also be in her name. He promised to pay her for her help. In order to get the payments outside of the prison, the inmate gave Phillips the contact information of friends and associates of the prisoner.

At Phillips' direction, the money orders were made out in the name of the female who had opened the post office box. They were either sent to the box or Western Union money orders were sent to Western Union locations, again in the name of his female friend. The friend cashed the money orders and gave the money to Phillips.

After he received the money, Phillips bought the cigarettes and then told the prisoner when he would deliver them. ON the pre arranged date, he would being them into the prison, hidden inside a large potato chip bag in his lunch box. Once he arrived at the Education Department, he would put them into a computer box in a storage room. He would then keep watch while the inmate put the cigarettes inside his clothes.