US Penitentiary Guard in Leavenworth Charged With Bribery

A federal prison guard at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth has been indicted on charges accusing him of accepting bribes from inmates in exchange for tobacco.

The office of the U.S. Attorney for Kansas said Thursday that Michael Harston, of Kansas City, Missouri, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and four counts of accepting bribes.

The Topeka Capital Journal reports Harston’s accused of taking bribes from inmates from October 2013 to August 2014 in exchange for tobacco, which is contraband at the a medium-security prison.

Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Harston