State corrections officer arrested, accused of accepting money for contraband

Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Matthew Cross
Matthew Cross, 34. (Credit: Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office)

The Office of Inspector General for the Florida Department of Corrections says a Florida corrections officer accepted money from an inmate in exchange for contraband.

According to a probable cause affidavit from the Office of Inspector General, Matthew Cross, 34, a corrections officer at Charlotte Correctional Institution, was involved in a conspiracy to bring contraband into the corrections center in exchange for money.

The Office of Inspector General said an inmate testified that Cross would bring food and cigarettes into Charlotte Correctional Institute and that inmate said he would pay Cross for the items via VENMO.

The probable cause affidavit says investigators found seven payments from the inmate to Cross totaling $835. The affidavit says the payments had notes that said they were for food, hygiene products, and fantasy football.

Cross was arrested and has since been released on a $25,000 bond. He faces seven charges of unlawful compensation for official behavior and a charge for introducing food or clothing into a state correctional institution.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.