Former TSA officer sentenced for bribery

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A former Transportation Security Administration officer in Florida has been sentenced to 68 months in prison for accepting cash to allow illegal prescription painkillers destined for Connecticut to pass through airport security.

Federal prosecutors said Christopher Allen of Palm Beach Gardens, was sentenced Friday in New Haven. He pleaded guilty in April to extortion and receipt of a bribe.

Prosecutors said Allen accepted cash from a drug trafficker to ensure he could carry oxycodone pills destined for illegal sale in Connecticut through Palm Beach airport security.

Allen's attorney has said his conduct was a deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life. He says someone cooperating with the government induced Allen to participate in the scheme and that the drugs were actually baby aspirin or other placebos.

Four other law enforcement officers have been convicted in the case.