Ex-Corrections Officer Sentenced For Taking Bribes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A former corrections officer has been sentenced after pleading guilty to accepting $5,000 in bribes from relatives of two inmates at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester.

Fifty-three-year-old Cheryl Wheeler of Wabasha was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in prison plus four months of home confinement. She also must perform 120 hours of community service.

Wheeler pleaded guilty last September to one count of bribery of a public official.

In her plea agreement, Wheeler admitted she demanded and received money from relatives of the inmates in exchange for giving the inmates tobacco. It happened from July 2009 through February 2010.

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