MIAMI AIRPORT INSPECTOR SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS

MIAMI - A former customs inspector was sentenced to nearly five years in
prison Tuesday for pocketing a $15,000 bribe in exchange for helping
smuggle cocaine through the Miami airport in a reverse sting.

Edward McCandlish got a plea bargain after he was caught in an internal
investigation when he agreed to clear 33 pounds of sham cocaine through an
airport checkpoint for an undercover agent last September.

"I would just like to apologize to the court and my government and most
importantly to my family," he told U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.

In addition to receiving a reduced sentence under his plea agreement,
McCandlish got one-third off his prison term for cooperating in an
investigation of Mexican border drug smuggling at his previous post in Arizona.

McCandlish, 37, pleaded guilty to taking a bribe and attempted cocaine
smuggling in exchange for the dismissal of five other charges in an
indictment carrying a possible life prison term.