A woman who worked as an officer at the federal prison in Talladega is herself going to prison. U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler sentenced 31-year-old Stacie Marie Gardner to one month in prison. Federal prosecutors say the woman pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe to provide an inmate with a cellphone. A statement from U.S Attorney Joy Vance of Birmingham says Gardner admitted taking nearly $1,500 in January 2015 in exchange for smuggling the phone to an inmate. The judge ordered Gardner to forfeit that same amount of money to the government. She will spend three years on probation following the one-month term.
Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.