Former prison guard in Arizona sentenced to prison for taking bribe

PHOENIX - A Missouri woman who once worked at a federal prison in Safford, Ariz. has been sentenced to prison for accepting a bribe.

In a brief statement, a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona identified the former prison guard as 38-year-old Heather Alissa Neff.

"From 2016 through June 2019, Neff worked as a corrections officer in the Bureau of Prisons facility at FCI Safford where she regularly interacted with inmates," read a portion of the statement.

FCC Safford is described on the BOP's website as a low security federal correctional institution located south of Safford, near Swift Tail Junction.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Barron)

Investigators said Neff had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an inmate at FCI Safforrd in early 2019. The identity of the inmate who was having a sexual relationship with Neff was not released.

"Neff received cash in exchange for a stream of benefits to the inmate, including sexual contact with the inmate; introducing contraband into the prison, which included nutritional supplements, loose tobacco, hygiene items, and rum; and assisting the inmate in circumventing a security feature of the prison by taking mail from the inmate out of the prison and inserting it into the U.S. mail on his behalf," read a portion of the statement. "Neff also accessed the BOP SENTRY system on behalf of the inmate and provided him with non-public information regarding other inmates."

According to a document published in 2012, SENTRY is a real-time information system that consists of various applications. It has a role in processing sensitive but unclassified inmate information.

"As a part of the plea, Neff acknowledged that one of the inmates she provided information about was later assaulted," read a portion of the statement.

Neff, according to officials, pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe by a public official on Aug. 31, 2023. She has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, along with 36 months of supervised release.