Another north Florida Correctional officer is facing felony charges related to contraband.
Sergeant Regina Belluz is accused with introducing contraband into two prison facilities: Madison and Cross City Correctional Institutions over the course of seven months.
According to Inspector General’s investigation, she confessed to having an improper relationship with an inmate and depositing money into the inmate’s trust fund account. Before her arrest, Belluz resigned.
“Well, contraband control is a constant battle between our officers and the inmate population,” said Florida Department of Corrections Spokesman McKinley Lewis.
A recently completed audit of several of the state’s correctional facilities states contraband control is weak among the institutions. And, Lewis says the agency is looking to do better.
“So, we will continue our efforts to ensure that our facilities are safe and contraband free,” he added. “And, we will explore ways in which we can improve our contraband prevention and detection efforts.”
Before Belluz, the most recent correctional officer arrested came from Okaloosa for also allegedly smuggling contraband.
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