Georgia prison warden charged with bribery, other counts

Caption

Georgia State Prison, located in unincorporated Tattnall County outside of Reidsville, is the main maximum security facility in Georgia.

Credit: Tattnall County Georgia webpage

A Georgia prison warden has been jailed on charges stemming from a state investigation of corruption inside the penitentiary he supervised.

Brian Dennis Adams was arrested Wednesday and charged with bribery, conspiracy to violate Georgia's anti-racketeering law, making false statements and violating his oath of office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

The state Department of Corrections fired 48-year-old Adams of Waycross from his job as warden of Smith State Prison southeast Georgia.

"While we are disheartened to learn of the actions of former Warden Adams, our commitment to maintaining a zero-tolerance policy for individuals who choose to ignore their oath and jeopardize our non-negotiable mission of public safety applies to every level in the GDC," the department's commissioner, Tyrone Oliver, said in a statement.

Adams' arrest comes months after GBI agents began investigating allegations of corruption inside the prison in Glennville, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Savannah, the bureau said in a news release. That investigation began in May after an inmate was charged with smuggling contraband and conspiring in a 2021 murder outside the prison.

The GBI gave no further details about what led to Adams' arrest.

Jail records showed Adams remained behind bars Thursday at the Tattnall County jail on a $40,000 bond. It was not immediately known if Adams has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.