Epps Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Former Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps has pleaded not guilty today to a 49-count federal indictment that alleges he accepted more than $700,000 in bribes from a Rankin County businessman.

The indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Jackson also charges E. Cecil McCrory of Brandon and says he paid Epps to obtain contracts for himself and other companies. McCrory also pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Jackson.

The indictment says McCrory was a paid consultant for companies that received contracts from the Corrections Department to run private prisons, including Cornell Group, GEO Group and current contractor Management and Training Corp. The companies were named in the indictment but not charged.

The indictment charges Epps used the bribe money to pay mortgages on a house in Flowood and a condominium in Pass Christian.

Epps resigned Wednesday. The indictment was filed under seal in August.