Court documents say Colorado prison supervisor accused of being bribed by inmate
A 40-year-old Cañon City resident and U.S. Bureau of Prisons employee was recently indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on accusations that he accepted bribes to sneak cigarettes, vape pens and alcohol into a southern Colorado federal penitentiary.
According to court documents obtained by CBS Colorado, the supervisor in the Federal Correctional Institution in Florence (FCI-Florence) conspired to smuggle 123 cellular telephones, 415 electronic nicotine vaporizers, and 274 bottles of alcohol into the prison over the course of three months in late 2024.
The grand jury issued its indictment on June 2. Michael Pope was arrested two days later, according to court documents.
Pope was a lieutenant in the Special Investigative Service (SIS) unit at the prison at the time of the offenses. That unit was responsible for security oversight and administration at the facility.
According to the indictment, Pope in particular was tasked with supervising "SIS staff members and overseeing the investigation, mitigation, and elimination of illicit BOP inmate activities."
The alleged crimes began Sept. 12, 2024, when an inmate received a delivery of contraband from a family member "with logistical assistance from Popma," as stated in the indictment. Later that day, that same family member then allegedly placed $2,000 at a drop location near the prison for Popma to pick up.
Similar exchanges occurred five more times, according to the indictment, with Popma receiving $15,500 in total and six bottles of alcohol in payment.
Other prison staff intercepted some of the contraband inside the prison, the indictment states. It also alleges that Popma returned part or all of the seized contraband to the family member during the last exchange on Dec. 13, 2024.
Popma also reportedly assisted in that inmate's early release from the prison, according to the indictment. The inmate was not identified in the document, nor was the date of the inmate's release provided.
CBS Colorado's request to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for comment or statement about Popma's employment status and criminal prosecution has not yet been answered.
Popma is now out of jail on bond. He faces four charges: conspiracy, bribery, providing contraband in prison, and a fourth count related to the unlawful interception of a verbal communication.
Court records indicate Popma has been assigned a federal public defender. The judge in his case ordered him to appear at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in downtown Denver on Aug. 10 for a five-day jury trial.
