William S. Tidwell, Corruption, Massachusetts 2023

A federal prison employee has been sentenced for accepting payments from an inmate under his care in a shocking case of corruption.

William S. Tidwell, 50, of Keene, N.H., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Tidwell was also ordered to forfeit $90,058 and pay a $10,000 fine for his crimes, which include receiving payments as a public official in violation of his official duties, making false statements to a bank, and committing identity theft to support the false statements.

The defendant pleaded guilty in September 2023 to the charges against him.

Tidwell had been employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) since 2000 and had been working at Federal Medical Center Devens (FMC Devens) in Massachusetts since 2008.

The BOP has numerous rules and regulations that govern the duties and conduct of its employees, including a ban on receiving payments or gifts from inmates.

Tidwell’s corruption began in approximately 2014 when he started working as a Correctional Counselor at FMC Devens, a position that gave him significant levels of contact with and authority over inmates.

One of the inmates under his care was an ultra-high net worth individual who had been convicted on federal charges in another jurisdiction.

Tidwell was responsible for monitoring inmate work assignments, assigning inmate housing assignments, arranging inmate legal calls, and coordinating prison visits for inmates.

In November 2018, while supervising the inmate, Tidwell accepted a $25,000 payment from the inmate’s business associate, who wired the money to Tidwell’s close family member.

The payments continued in 2019, with Tidwell receiving thousands of dollars as part of a property management agreement.

Tidwell’s crimes were uncovered during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Northeast Region.

Tidwell was removed from federal service in October 2023 after pleading guilty to the charges against him.

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