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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; A former county prison counselor will plead guilty to federal charges he doctored court orders in a bid to extort money from inmates.</p><p>Louis Elmy, 52, of Nicholson Street, Wilkes-Barre, was charged with extortion and possession of a firearm in furtherance of selling crack cocaine, according to a criminal information filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.</p><p>The criminal information was filed pursuant to a plea agreement Elmy reached with prosecutors. No date has been set for Elmy&#8217;s guilty plea.</p><p>Prosecutors say Elmy, while acting in his official role as a work-release counselor at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre, extorted &#8220;money and other items of value from work release inmates in exchange for giving them special privileges and unauthorized furloughs.&#8221;</p><p>Elmy, prosecutors say, created phony court orders that had judges&#8217; signatures physically pasted on them from older orders, then photocopied the fraudulent order for the file so the paperwork appeared legitimate. The scheme was allegedly carried out for nearly three years, beginning in November 2013 and concluding <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/514121/luzerne-county-prison-worker-in-federal-court-on-unknown-charges" target="_blank">following Elmy&#8217;s arrest</a> on drug and weapons charges in February.</p><p>A call placed to Elmy&#8217;s cell phone Thursday immediately went to a voice mail box that was not set up.</p><p>According to the court documents, Elmy extorted cash, alcohol and drugs from one inmate who was granted work release at a Nanticoke real estate business.</p><p>Elmy, prosecutors say, preyed on the inmate&#8217;s financial distress in an attempt to solve his own cash-flow issues.</p><p>&#8220;Elmy wielded significant influence as the liaison between the court and (the inmate) in terms of keeping the court apprised of the behavior/progress of (the inmate) while participating in the work release program,&#8221; court documents say.</p><p>The inmate paid Elmy between $50 and $200 over the course of several weeks in exchange for unauthorized time outside work release hours as well as other privileges, according to court documents.</p><p>Court documents say the inmate also helped Elmy obtain crack cocaine.</p><p>The former Wilkes-Barre Area School Board President and one-time Wilkes-Barre city council candidate had been <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/516385/louis-elmy-may-take-a-plea-deal-on-drug-charges-preliminary-hearing-continued" target="_blank">engaged in plea talks</a> with federal prosecutors after being charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possessing a firearm while being a habitual drug user.</p><p>He was released under supervision following his arrest.</p><p>It was unclear Thursday whether the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office would withdraw the original drug trafficking charge.</p><p>Elmy, who was employed by the county for nearly 20 years, was suspended from his job at the prison after the charges surfaced and has since resigned, said James Larson, interim county correctional services division head. Elmy previously worked as a corrections officer at the prison before becoming a work release counselor.</p><p>Larson said county officials have been fully cooperating with law enforcement and honoring all requests for documents and information.</p><p>Prison officials, Larson said, will &#8220;certainly look at all our practices and procedures and make appropriate adjustments.&#8221;</p><p>During a failed bid for a city council seat last year, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/492822/da-to-investigate-wilkes-barre-school-board-president-louis-elmy-over-alleged-campaign-finance-fraud" target="_blank">Elmy was investigated</a> by the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office on allegations he committed campaign finance fraud. When reached for comment, District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said Elmy&#8217;s campaign finance forms have been turned over to the FBI.</p><p>The latest charges came as the result of an FBI investigation, prosecutors say.</p><p>Elmy faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the extortion charge and a maximum of life behind bars for the firearms charge, prosecutors say. Each charge carries fines up to $250,000.</p><p><em>Staff writer Jennifer Learn-Andes contributed to this report.</em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Elmy </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_elmy-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Elmy </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ex-counselor at county jail expected to plead guilty to charges</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Feds: Louis Elmy doctored court orders, extorted county prison inmates