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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A former State Law Enforcement Division agent has been sentenced to 18 months in prison without parole for taking bribes.

Federal prosecutors say 44-year-old William Renard Gourdine took two bribes worth about $3,200 from someone who wanted information about SLED investigations into video poker operations, which are illegal in South Carolina.

Gourdine pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and faced up to 20 years in prison. He was a SLED agent for about 2 1/2 years, but was fired after he took the bribes.

Gourdine's co-defendant, Anna Margaret Chappelle, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty earlier this year.

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