Thomas Leimbach, Racketeering Conspiracy, Maryland 2017

Baltimore, MD – In a shocking case of corruption behind bars, Correctional Officer Thomas Leimbach, 32, of Pocomoke City, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy operating at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover, Maryland.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, along with other law enforcement officials.

According to his plea agreement and court documents, Leimbach was a Correctional Officer at ECI, the largest state prison in Maryland, where he accepted bribes from inmates to smuggle contraband, including narcotics, cell phones, and tobacco, into the prison. He worked with other COs to smuggle contraband into the prison.

On June 5, 2014, law enforcement intercepted a call from an inmate to his sister, in which they discuss whether their mother “took care of that today.” That same day, Leimbach was arrested after the inmate’s mother delivered contraband to Leimbach. Leimbach was searched and had in his possession 75 Suboxone strips and $375 in cash.

Leimbach faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the racketeering conspiracy. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for Leimbach on June 29, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.

The U.S. Attorney expressed appreciation to Secretary Moyer, whose staff initiated the ECI investigation, and to the Maryland Prison Task Force, which has brought together federal, state, and local agencies in meetings to generate reforms in prison procedures and facilitate joint investigations of prison corruption and prison gangs.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Baltimore Police Department, and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise, Robert R. Harding, and Daniel C. Gardner, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

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