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Corrections Officers Sentenced In Bribery Scheme

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Two former corrections officers who smuggled a cellphone to an inmate at a New Jersey prison for sex offenders have been sentenced to prison terms.

State prosecutors say 44-year-old Latasha Walker of Rahway and 55-year-old Ardones Livingston of Browns Mills will both be barred from public employment in New Jersey under the sentence imposed Friday. Both were convicted last month on conspiracy charges, while Livingston was also found guilty of bribery.

Both former guards received five-year sentences, while Livingston received a concurrent three-year term for the bribery conviction. Livingston also had to forfeit his entire state pension.

Prosecutors say the 52-year-old inmate paid $500 to Walker and Livingston to have them smuggle in the phone at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel in January 2009.

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(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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