Police: Guard, 2 strippers smuggled booze, drugs into prison

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) — It was a Florida prison inmate's escape that led investigators down a rabbit hole of sin involving a corrections officer and two strippers the sheriff says brokered deals for malt liquor, cigarettes and "conjugal visits in the woods."

It all unfolded in September, when inmate Jason Adams escaped from a work crew in suburban Pasco County, about 30 miles north of downtown Tampa. The corrections officer overseeing the crew, Henry Blackwelder, didn't tell his superiors of the escape until three hours later. When investigators arrived, they found empty cans of Straw-Ber-Rita and Four Loko malt liquor, empty packets of synthetic marijuana known as "spice," and a blanket in the woods used for hook-ups.

"Prison is supposed to be tough. ... It was basically a party out there," Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a recent news conference.

Adams, who was serving a six-year sentence for burglary and grand theft when he escaped, was caught a day later riding a bicycle. He snuck away after asking to relieve himself in the woods and never coming back.

Nocco says his arrest unraveled the 45-year-old Blackwelder's scheme.

who is watching the prison guard. the prisoner?