PHOENIX -- A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes to allow illegal immigrants to enter the country.
Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Jose Carmelo Magana admitted to having a deal with four people who have since pleaded guilty to conspiring to bring illegal immigrants across the border.
They say Magana also admitted to accepting bribes to allow the illegal immigrants to pass through a lane he staffed at the port of entry in San Luis, Ariz.
Magana, of Yuma, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 19.
Prosecutors say the maximum sentence for attempting to bring illegal immigrants into the U.S. is 10 years in federal prison and 15 years for acceptance of a bribe by a public official. However, a federal judge is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
