pMALONE — A corrections officer at Franklin Correctional Facility and his mother have been indicted on federal allegations that they conspired to distribute marijuana in Franklin County./ppBradley W. Rushford, 33, Ellenburg Depot, and Freda Rushford, 62, Saratoga Springs, are each charged in U.S. District Court, Plattsburgh, with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Mrs. Rushford is also charged with making a false statement to federal officers./ppA spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said Friday that Mr. Rushford has been suspended without pay from his $59,821 annual salary job at the prison on Bare Hill Road./ppAccording to the indictment filed in federal court, the pair, along with unidentified others, knowingly conspired to possess and distribute marijuana in Franklin County from about October 2010 until about July 2011./ppIt is also alleged that Mrs. Rushford made a false statement to federal investigators by stating to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations special agents on March 11, 2011, that she was not previously informed of a March 2, 2011, seizure of marijuana from a vehicle registered in her name when she had been informed of the seizure and “discussed the seizure at length.”/ppThe pair were arraigned Friday in federal court in Plattsburgh and entered not guilty pleas. Both were released on $25,000 secured bond. A trial has been scheduled for April 18 in federal court in Utica./ppAccording to a prepared statement from U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, the pair, if convicted, face a minimum five-year prison sentence and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $5 million. The false statement count against Mrs. Rushford carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine./p
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