AG: Parole officer took cash and countertops to overlook drug tests

A Philadelphia parole officer may find himself on parole one day soon, after he was arrested today for allegedly taking bribes from parolees to look the other way on drug tests, or just not administer them at all.

The state Attorney General's Office said Kenneth Dupree, 46, was arrested today on charges of public corruption, bribery and extortion, following an investigation by a state grand jury.

Dupree allegedly accepted cash bribes from parolees under his supervision, and in one case, tried to get three slabs of Corian countertops valued at about $30,000 from a parolee who worked at a countertop store, according to a news release.

The Attorney General's Office said Dupree took and solicited the bribes from parolees in exchange for ignoring, or just not giving, required drug tests. He also allegedley allowed parolees to remain free when they should have been locked up for violations.

"Dupree used his position and power as a parole agent to engage in a systematic pattern of grossly inappropriate and illegal conduct with state parolees," the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.