MIAMI – Instead of enforcing the law, federal prosecutors say a Miami-Dade correctional officer was breaking it to make money off drugs and contraband.
Vernell Lawson, who no longer works as a correctional officer, appeared in court on Wednesday accused of abusing his position to engage in drug trafficking and contraband dealing.
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Lawson appeared in federal court on Wednesday in Miami accused of working for Terrance Carter, who detectives described as a local gangster, and Gabrielle Bess-Mills, an accomplice.
Lawson, 33, and Bess-Mills, 35, are facing charges of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, participating in a conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, and racketeering promotion through bribery and drug trafficking.
County personnel records show Lawson was a “new hire” for the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitations Department on Nov. 14, 2012.
Lawson is also facing a charge of Hobbs Act extortion under the color of official rights conspiracy and Carter, 31, is facing a charge of operating the continuing criminal enterprise and use of interstate facilities to commit violence in furtherance of racketeering.
Federal agents with the FBI and DEA, investigators with the Florida Department of Corrections, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office worked on the cases.