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Coast Guardsman charged with taking bribes

A Michigan Coast Guardsman has been charged with one count of bribery and one count of extortion after Coast Guard investigators said he took payments from the family of an illegal immigrant who was trying to avoid being deported.

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday in Detroit, Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Benjamin Bostic, 35, stationed at Coast Guard Station Belle Isle, Mich., accepted more than $35,000 in bribes from the family since September of 2006.

“These charges allege a serious breach by a member of our armed forces,” said an announcement from Stephen Murphy, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan. “Protecting our waterways and enforcing immigrations laws is an essential duty of the U.S. Coast Guard. This betrayal of the public’s trust will not be tolerated. I commend the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service for their outstanding work on this investigation.”

Bostic, who was a law enforcement small-boat operator at his station, has been reassigned to non-law enforcement duties until his trial begins, said Coast Guard 9th District spokesman Chief Public Affairs Specialist Robert Lanier.

Bostic faces as much as 18 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 if he is found guilty of both charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.