Keene corrections worker gets 2 years for money, loan from wealthy inmate

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
Updated ·4 min read

May 9—A federal corrections worker from Keene has been sentenced to two years in prison for taking money from a wealthy inmate, prosecutors said.

William Tidwell, 50, also received a three-year supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $95,058 and pay a $10,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Massachusetts announced in a release.

Tidwell worked as a correctional counselor for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, assigned to Federal Medical Center Devens (FMC-Devens) in Massachusetts

In September 2023, Tidwell pleaded guilty to receiving payments as a public official in violation of his official duties, making false statements to a bank, and committing identity theft to support the false statements.

"William Tidwell ignored federal ethics and conflicts of interest laws, and his greed led him to abuse his position of authority," Massachusetts Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. "His corruption goes against BOP's core mission of assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens. Tidwell's repeated violations showed his complete disregard for his profession, the dedicated professionals at BOP, and those he was entrusted to protect and guide."

"William Tidwell is a longtime public servant, who fully embraced and handsomely benefitted from this illicit agreement with an inmate under his care," Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said in a statement. "Mr. Tidwell abused his authority and abandoned his duty, and in the end, this corruption cost him, landing him a stay in federal prison."

Tidwell had been employed by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) since 2000 and had been working at FMC Devens since 2008. He was removed from federal service in October 2023 after pleading guilty.

"Tidwell developed a personal relationship with an inmate, accepted payments from the inmate, and lied to a bank about a loan he received from the inmate's business associate," said Ryan T. Geach, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Northeast Region, in a statement. "Tidwell's conduct was a far cry from the integrity that we expect from federal correctional officers. Today's sentencing sends a clear message that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated."

BOP prohibits employees from receiving any payments, gifts, or personal favors from inmates, giving preferential treatment to any inmate in the performance of their duties, or engaging in outside employment that conflicts with their duties, federal officials said.

Around 2014, court documents allege Tidwell began working as a correctional counselor at FMC Devens, responsible for monitoring inmate work assignments, assigning inmate housing assignments, arranging inmate legal calls, and coordinating prison visits for inmates.

Court documents show one of the inmates for whom Tidwell served as a correctional counselor at FMC Devens was "an ultra-high net worth individual" convicted on federal charges in another jurisdiction.

Beginning in approximately 2018, this individual "caused a stream of benefits to be paid to Tidwell," officials said in a release.

In November 2018, the inmate directed a close friend and business associate to wire $25,000 to Tidwell's close family member, court documents show. Starting in 2019, Tidwell and the inmate reached an agreement in which Tidwell received thousands of dollars as part of a property management arrangement, with the inmate's associate making the payments to Tidwell.

In total, prosecutors claim that between 2019 and 2020 Tidwell received over $65,000 in benefits as part of the property management arrangement. Tidwell's receipt of payments and his employment relationship with an inmate or a close associate of an inmate violated multiple official duties as a BOP employee.

In 2020, prosecutors say Tidwell was looking to buy a house and received a $50,000 loan from the inmate's associate.

"Tidwell made multiple false statements to the bank in connection with his loan application, falsely telling the bank that the $50,000 was a gift from his employer," federal prosecutors said in a release. "When the bank asked for written proof of this purported gift, Tidwell forged documents to support his earlier claim, including by unlawfully using the (inmate's associate's) name and address, and forging (the individual's) signature."