Former Mississippi prisons chief pleads not guilty to bribery

By Emily Le Coz JACKSON Miss. (Reuters) - Mississippi's former prisons chief pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges that he accepted cash and mortgage payments in exchange for awarding prison contracts to companies tied to a local businessman. Christopher Epps, 53, who resigned as commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on Wednesday, and co-defendant Cecil McCrory, 62, were charged in a kickback scheme that started in 2007 and continued for seven years, according to a 49-count indictment unsealed on Thursday. McCrory, a businessman and former state legislator, also pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Both men were freed on $25,000 bond with a trial date set for January. "What happened today is a major blow to the systemic and invasive corruption in our state government," said Harold Brittain, acting U.S. attorney in Jackson, addressing reporters outside the courthouse. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant on Thursday said the state will rebid contracts with all companies mentioned in the indictment, according to his spokesman Knox Graham. Two contracts were canceled based on an initial review, an MDOC press release said. Records showed that MDOC paid nearly $674 million combined to at least seven companies that McCrory either owned or from which he earned money as a consultant, The Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported. Both defendants are charged with bribery, money laundering and wire fraud. Epps is also accused of filing false tax returns and of making multiple, small bank deposits to avoid federal scrutiny. According to the indictment, McCrory paid off the mortgage on Epps' home, totaling more than $350,000, made monthly payments of cash to Epps that the latter stored in a safe in his home, and made mortgage payments on Epps' condominium. In exchange, Epps steered contracts to companies owned by McCrory and others for which the businessman served as a consultant, the indictment said. Epps, who had served as commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections since 2002, was a national figure in prison administration circles, serving as president of both the American Correctional Association and the Association of State Correctional Administrators. His name had been removed from both groups' websites as of Wednesday evening. Prosecutors have also moved to seize Epps' home, a condominium and two Mercedes-Benz sedans. McCrory, a former judge who had served as president of the Rankin County School Board, resigned that post on Wednesday. Epps and his attorney, John Colette, declined to comment to reporters. McCrory and his attorney were not immediately available for comment. (Writing by Jonathan Kaminsky and David Adams; Editing by Andrew Hay, Eric Walsh and Leslie Adler)