Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has again delayed sentencing in a bribery case for the former head of the Mississippi prison system.

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate on Monday set May 24 as Christopher Epps' new sentencing date.

It is the latest of several delays in an extensive investigation centered on Epps. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to charges of money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Prosecutors say Epps took $1.47 million in bribes. He faces up to 23 years in prison and is forfeiting $1.7 million in assets.

Epps was Mississippi's longest-serving corrections commissioner, holding the job a dozen years and retiring in November 2014, a day before indictments against him were made public. Several people tied to prison contracts have been indicted, and some have pleaded guilty.