Three Bail Agents Arrested in Collier County Investigation

A year long investigation by the Collier County Sheriff's office into the business practices of a local bail bond company resulted in the arrest of three bail agents.

Joseph Houston, the bail bond company's owner, had been arrested on similar charges in the past. He and the other two agents are being accused of soliciting business from inside the jail.

Investigators found that at least four inmates who are unlicensed were referring business to Houston's bail bond companies. In return, Houston would allow long-distance telephone calls, three-way telephone calls, and placed money in the commissary account for the inmates.

Joseph Houston's family is claiming that he is a target of racial discrimination because the businesses our owned by a black man.Emma Houston, the defendant's mother, said that she can't believe we are living in a society today with so much prejudice in Collier County.