Former state senator to plead guilty in prison bribery case
JACKSON – Former state senator Irb Benjamin of Madison is expected to become the sixth person to plead guilty in Mississippi’s prison contract bribery scandal, court records show.
Benjamin’s lawyer, Joe Hollomon, filed notice Friday that Benjamin plans to plead guilty on Oct. 18 before U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate in Jackson.
Indicted in August 2015, Benjamin is charged with paying bribes to former Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps. Benjamin faces one count of honest services wire fraud and two counts of bribery. Friday’s filing doesn’t make clear to which charges Benjamin would plead guilty, but if he pleads guilty to all three, he could face up to 40 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines. He is free on $10,000 bail.
The charges say Benjamin gave Epps bribes and kickbacks in exchange for the state selecting his company, Mississippi Correctional Management, to provide drug and alcohol treatment services to inmates at state work centers in Alcorn and Simpson counties. The company collected about $774,000, according to court documents.
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