RALEIGH – In a shocking case of corruption, former North Carolina Correctional Officer GREGORY DUSTIN GOULDMAN, 33, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for extorting funds from inmates in exchange for delivery of various contraband items.
The scheme, which took place between 2012 and 2014, involved GOULDMAN smuggling tobacco, marijuana, cellular telephones, and packages of AA batteries into the High Security Maximum Control Unit (HCON) at Polk Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. The HCON unit was designed to house the state’s most violent and assaultive offenders.
As a Sergeant and supervisor in the HCON unit, GOULDMAN used his position of trust to enter arrangements with inmates, who would transfer funds or pay cash for the contraband items. The cellular telephones were used by the inmates to communicate with people outside of prison and to transfer funds through internet accounts like green dot.
The FBI investigation into Polk was prompted by a kidnapping conspiracy orchestrated by defendant Kelvin Melton through the use of a cellular telephone in his cell in HCON.
GOULDMAN’s supervisory position in HCON provided him with the ability to meet with inmates without other correctional officers present, allowing him to negotiate prices and deliver the contraband items without witnesses.
Despite being transferred out of HCON in September 2014, GOULDMAN continued to smuggle contraband into Polk for additional inmates.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Duffy and Leslie Cooley.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Public Corruption|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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