NEW YORK - Former New York City Department of Education inspector Milton Smith, a resident of Tobyhanna, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Smith, 56, was found guilty following a one-week jury trial in United States District Court on February 27, 2009, of conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit bribery, and bribery.

From approximately 2000 to 2004, Smith solicited and accepted tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments from various private bus company owners who held transportation contracts with DOE. In exchange, Smith funneled field trip bus routes -- worth hundreds of thousands of dollars -- to certain bus companies. At times, Smith fabricated certain bus routes that were neither needed by DOE nor performed by the bus companies, and assigned those trips to the bus companies who paid him. Smith also took payments in exchange for overlooking certain safety and mechanical violations in connection with routine DOE bus inspections.

Smith was found guilty of all charges against him: one count of conspiring to use his official position at DOE to extort bus company owners; one count of using his official position at DOE to extort bus company owners; one count of conspiring to receive bribes to influence his actions as an employee of an agency, the DOE, that received federal program funding; and one count of receiving bribes to influence his actions as an employee of the DOE that receives federal program funding.

In addition to the prison term, Smith was given three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $21,500.