Comanche County businesswoman to report to federal prison March 25

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Comanche County businesswoman convicted of a count of bribery will report to prison later this month to serve her 18-month sentence in a federal prison.

Following a forfeiture/restitution hearing Friday, Candy Hanza, 51, Lawton, was ordered to report to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, by noon March 25, according to court records. The prison is a minimum-security federal prison for women.

After just under an hour-and-a-half of evidence and testimony, the court is taking the forfeiture/restitution into consideration before a final ruling.

Hanza was sentenced on Jan. 19 to serve 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a count of bribery of a public official. She also will have two years of supervised release upon completion of her sentence.

With her plea, Hanza had 11 other charges of federal public corruption allegations dismissed on July 28, 2023. As part of her plea deal, the other charges of wire fraud and money laundering were dismissed at sentencing.

Hanza has told The Constitution her plea was in an effort to shield her employees as well as to expose the pressure to hold onto contracts. She said her convicted co-conspirator, Alfred Palma pressured her to do “favors” during the pandemic.

When the pandemic hit, training soldiers were the majority of business for the hotel. This is where, Hanza said, Palma knew the desperation of hotels for business.

Palma, 65, of Duncan, pleaded guilty in July 2023 to receiving bribes totaling $103,200 from Hanza in return for favoring the hotel at which Hanza worked as general manager. Palma further admitted that he used the cash bribes to purchase money orders from Walmart, which he later deposited into his personal checking account, along with the checks that Hanza gave him.

A federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment on May 3, 2023, against Palma and Hanza.

According to the indictment, Palma, a United States Army employee and public official, was the manager of the Institutional Training Directed Lodging and Meals (ITDLM) program at Fort Sill, through which he booked hotel rooms for soldiers who attended off-post trainings.

Hanza worked as the general manager of a local hotel in Lawton. The indictment alleged that Hanza paid Palma bribes to direct soldiers to Hanza’s hotel, according to the indictment.

Palma pleaded guilty to receiving bribes totaling $103,200 from Hanza in return for favoring the hotel Hanza managed. Palma further admitted that he used the cash bribes to purchase money orders from Walmart, which he later deposited into his personal checking account, along with the checks that Hanza gave him.

On Jan. 25, Palma was sentenced to serve 29 days in federal prison, followed by 11 months in home confinement. Palma entered his plea to a public corruption charge in mid-June 2023, records indicate. He also had been charged with accepting a bribe as a public official.