BUFFALO — A former corrections officer a the Collins Correctional Facility has pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree bribe receiving.
Twenty-eight-year-old Chad Lindner of Silver Creek agreed to smuggle a cell phone into the correctional facility for an inmate in November. In exchange, the inmate agreed to pay Lindner $200. A cell phone is considered dangerous contraband in a prison. Inmates are not allowed to possess cell phones
According to police, on Nov. 19, Lindner met the inmate’s girlfriend at a location in North Collins. There, she gave him a bag containing the cell phone and the money.
Investigators for the New York State Department of Corrections became aware of the agreement between Lindner and the inmate. With the assistance of the New York State Police, the investigators from the Department of Corrections set up surveillance at the location in North Collins and observed the inmate’s girlfriend handing Lindner the bag containing the cell phone and money. Lindner and the inmate’s girlfriend were arrested and afterward, made statements admitting the scheme.
Lindner, who resigned from his position as a Correction Officer with the New York State Department of Corrections, faces up to 7 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 9.
