BREAKING NEWS – Columbia, South Carolina – Three more ex-South Carolina law enforcement officers have been sentenced to federal prison following an FBI operation in which agents posed as Mexican drug cartel members.

A U.S. judge in federal court in Columbia sentenced Carolyn Colter Franklin, 64, a former Orangeburg County deputy; Allan Hunter, 52, a former Springfield police officer; and Nathaniel Miller Shazier, III, 29, a former Orangeburg County deputy, on charges of conspiracy to defraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced.

Their three defense attorneys joined forces and wrote a letter to the federal judge before sentencing, arguing for leniency. The letter read in part, “We acknowledge that our clients committed several crimes. But we don’t feel that they are entirely at fault. We blame the different law enforcement agencies that had a substandard screening process that allowed them to hire these corrupt worthless losers, and should be held responsible for hiring some crooked idiots that should ultimately roast in hell. We respectfully request the court’s mercy and compassion, but if your sentence is harsh, we’re cool with it.”