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| Fla. jail nurse accused of smuggling drugs for inmate |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/22/2004 |
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A nurse at Charlotte County (Fla.) Jail has been charged with smuggling drugs for an inmate who was also her fiancee, officials said. Ruth E. Brodis was arrested Thursday and charged with introducing contraband into a correctional facility, a felony. Brodis was working for Prison Health Services, a contractor which provides medical services to the county. Reached at home Saturday, Brodis referred questions to her attorney, Henry Lee of Sarasota. The phone rang unanswered Saturday at Lee's office. Detectives listened to phone calls between the Brodis and inmate Tyler Schwartzkopf and learned the nurse might have been giving the inmate drugs, a police report said. Schwartzkopf is currently in jail on a second-degree felony charge of grand theft. When Brodis arrived at work Thursday, detectives found numerous painkillers and other drugs in her possession, police said. Brodis, 43, said she had been helping Schwartzkopf, 34, through suicide issues and an injured back, the police report said. "During this time, she fell in love with him and he in love with her," the report states. "She became engaged to inmate Schwartzkopf and planned to marry him once he was released from jail." Prison Health Services released a statement Friday about Brodis' arrest, saying "it does not appear Brodis obtained the drugs from the jail infirmary." Brodis posted a $5,000 bond and was released Thursday. She faces five years in prison if convicted. Earlier this year, Bradenton police charged Schwartzkopf with attempted murder for allegedly choking a woman with his hands. He only let her breathe after she allowed Schwartzkopf to bite off several of her fingernails, police said. Schwartzkopf took a plea deal in October and was sentenced to a year in the county jail for misdemeanor battery. He also served nearly 10 years in an Illinois prison for armed robbery and drug possession. |
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