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Report: Inmate Got Chinese Takeout For Giving Guards Financial Advice

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ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS Local) — A Florida jail inmate was allowed special privileges in exchange for helping guards with financial and legal matters, according to a five-month internal investigation.

The Orange County Corrections Department investigation found that Robert Potchen, 61, gave guards advice on their taxes, student loans and mortgages. In return, he was allowed to sit in the guards' station after hours, use the internet, eat Chinese take-out and use an electronic cigarette.

"Potchen stated that he was able to find something in common with each officer to discuss and used the county's poor working conditions and inadequate pay to his advantage," investigators wrote.

(Photo: Orange County Sheriff's Office)

The Orlando Sentinel reports Potchen also struck up a romantic relationship with a female guard, offering to wire her $300,000 after she offered to help him with his case.

The five guards involved were found to have violated OCCD policy and have resigned or retired from their posts.

Potchen had been serving a 15-year prison sentence for pulling a gun on his wife. He was in the Orange County Jail in Orlando awaiting a hearing on a probation violation.

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