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Abraxas I Youth and
Family Services Center
Marienville, Pennsylvania
Cornell
February 22, 2008 The Derrick
Two Philadelphia men were charged for their actions during separate riots that
broke out this week at Cornell Abraxas I in Marienville. State police said
Joseph Clark, 18, and Lenny Scott Cabrera, 18, were involved in both riots that
occurred at the facility Monday and Tuesday. Clark was charged with one count of
aggravated assault and two counts of riot, police said. They said Cabrera was
charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of riot. Both men
were arraigned before District Judge George F. Gregory in Tionesta. They were
placed in the Warren County jail on $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was
scheduled for Tuesday. Police said three juveniles involved in both riots and
five other involved in the Monday riot will face similar charges.
January 11, 2007 The Courier Express
In a last-ditch effort to forestall a strike, representatives of Abraxas I
and members of PSSU Local 668 have agreed to meet Friday, according to a press
release issued by Abraxas Wednesday. Abraxas I is planning to operate through
any strike with qualified employees from other facilities and all employees who
want to continue to work, according to the press release. "Any employee who
wishes to work may do so at the current wages, benefits and other terms or
conditions of employment," the release said. "Abraxas I will not implement its
final offer until an agreement is reached." Abraxas I has informed its
client-referring agencies about the strike and the company's plans to operate in
the interim. It has also decided to stop admitting new residents and plans to
accelerate the discharge of residents who are approved for discharge by the
courts, said the press release. On Jan. 3, Abraxas Youth and Family Services
received notification that the members of SEIU Local 668 rejected the company's
offer of Dec. 21. Local 668 also issued a 10-day strike notice, which indicates
it plans to strike at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. James Newsome, program director at
Abraxas I, said, "We are very disappointed that the union and its members
rejected this offer. It was a very fair offer given the economic realities of
the Youth and Family Services business. "Our most recent offer includes wage
increases ranging from 8.5 percent to 12.25 percent over the proposed three-year
agreement," he said. "While we propose increases in employee contributions for
medical benefits, our wage proposal also ensures that all employees would
receive a real wage increase to offset the increased employee medical
contribution. Our request for increased employee medical contributions is
consistent with what many unions and employers have agreed to in the face of
rising costs of health care." Abraxas I proposes maintaining an HMO medical plan
for current employees, but employees hired after ratification would only be able
to participate in a PPO plan. Newsome said the HMO plan is a very expensive
benefit. "The only way we can continue to afford to provide the HMO is to make
it available for current employees only," he said. "The union recognized the
fairness of our economic proposals, because they told us that if we were willing
to agree to a union shop or fair share - union security - they would recommend
ratification. We refused to agree to a union shop or fair share because we
believe employees should have a right to decide for themselves whether they wish
to belong to the union and pay union dues, not be forced to do so," Newsome
said. Abraxas I houses approximately 274 adolescents and provides drug and
alcohol counseling, as well as operating a private school, for its residents.
Abraxas
Center
Forest, Pennsylvania
Cornell
July 8, 2004
A Tamaqua 16-year-old, who was committed to a juvenile center after being
charged with shooting a friend in the face with a gun he stole from a borough
pawn shop, escaped after attending a funeral Wednesday, police said. Duane
R. Allen II was court-ordered to attend the funeral and told two workers taking
him back to the Cornell Abraxas center in Marienville, Forest County, that he
was sick, state police at Hazleton said. The workers stopped about 2:30
p.m. at Pilot Truck Stop in Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, where Allen fled
from the worker accompanying him to the restroom, police said. (The
Morning Call)
Adams County Jail
Adams County, Pennsylvania
Aramark
March 26, 2009 The Evening Sun
Adams County will soon get into the culinary business - in jail. Starting in
June, the county will be providing its own food service at Adams County Prison.
The current contractor, Aramark Food Services, chose to cancel its contract with
the county effective June 18. County Solicitor John Hartzell said the contract
allowed for Aramark to choose not to renew with 90 days notice. The contractor
planned on raising its rates by 25 cents per meal per prisoner, about a 5
percent increase. The county did not agree with the rate hike, believing they
could do the job cheaper, or at least at the same cost as the contractor prior
to the hike, Commissioner George Weikert said. Commissioners also said prison
officials were not happy with the quality of the food served by Aramark. Weikert
said several factors have been taken into account in starting a county service,
including cost, food quality and nutritional value. Commissioner Glenn Snyder
said some of the cost will be curtailed with the county in control because the
county can use vegetables grown in the prison's new garden. Vegetables from the
garden were used last year, but there was no reduction in the contractor's cost.
Allegheny Academy
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
The Academy System
September 14, 2003
Drastic disciplinary action has been taken at The Academy in the wake of the car
crash death of a 17-year-old boy from York County who died after he escaped from
the juvenile center Sept. 14. Attempts also are being made to prevent
future escapes from the facility, which has experienced a rash of runaways since
April, said Joe Daugerdas, executive director of The Academy, formerly known as
Allegheny Academy. But he declined to specify actions because the state
Department of Welfare is investigating the Sept. 14 incident in which Troy Lake
of Dallastown, York County, escaped and was killed when he crashed a stolen car
on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset. Lake was pronounced dead at the
scene at 3:40 a.m., but his absence from The Academy wasn't reported to police
until 6:30 a.m., when staffers found his bed was empty. Daugerdas said he
could not say how many employees were disciplined for the oversight, but on the
night Lake and two other teens escaped, only one staff member was in charge of
making required bed checks every 15 minutes. That policy has been changed
to rotate responsibility for bed checks to everyone working at night, Daugerdas
said. Besides interviewing all eight staff members on duty that night,
investigators also talked with the other two escapees, who were picked up on the
morning of Sept. 14 in McKees Rocks, he said. The pair spent the night of their
escape in the woods behind The Academy and left the area on foot when the sun
came up. Although they shared with investigators details of how the three
got away, Daugerdas said he could not make that information public.
Welfare Department spokeswoman Carey Miller said the department's investigation
could take up to one month and result in requiring a plan of corrective action
or action against its license. Besides the internal changes, Daugerdas has
signed an agreement brokered by James Rieland, Allegheny County juvenile court
administrator, that calls for The Academy to call Baldwin Borough police within
10 minutes after a juvenile is discovered missing from the center.
Although that facility is in the Hays section of Pittsburgh, its property abuts
a residential Baldwin Borough neighborhood. The agreement requires The
Academy to provide police with the name, age, race, physical description and
home address of the escapee, as well as a photo if one is available, and
staffers will notify police if and when escapees are found. The agreement
also calls for quarterly meetings between Academy officials and Baldwin police
to discuss issues of concern. Baldwin Borough Police Chief Chris Kelly
said he has been trying since April to get Academy officials to discuss what
they planned to do about the number of escapes from the facility since that
time. Kelly, who vented some of his frustrations at a Baldwin council
meeting the day after Lake's death, claimed that 12 Academy juveniles have
escaped in seven incidents since April, including the July 24 escape of two
girls from a van driving them to the center. Daugerdas said eight
juveniles have escaped in five incidents and that all except Lake were found and
returned. Kelly has expressed his concerns in recent months in letters to
Daugerdas and officials of the county's juvenile court system, which orders
delinquent nonviolent offenders to The Academy's day and evening program for
rehabilitation. About 170 nonviolent juvenile offenders are in the program
now. Anne Edwards, an Agnew Road neighbor of The Academy, also has
complained. She said she predicted to Daugerdas that nothing would be done about
her concerns until someone got hurt. She was not happy last week when that
prediction came true. "I am saddened that it was a child's death that
will bring attention to The Academy's lack of supervision and control," she
said. Also at last week's council meeting, a resident of Edward Drive,
whose car was stolen by Lake, asked council for some relief from escapees from
the Academy. Kelly said it was the second time the family had had a car stolen
by a youth from The Academy. Council approved a motion authorizing Kelly
to "take whatever action is necessary to curb the runaways," and to
hold The Academy to the promises it originally made to the borough to contact
Baldwin police as soon as a juvenile escapes from the center. Notification
didn't always happen with the escapes this spring and summer, he said.
Some were reported to him by Academy officials long after the juveniles escaped
and others were reported by residents who spotted the runaways in their bushes
and sheds. Most of the juveniles who have escaped from the facility have
been out-of-county youths held temporarily at The Academy in preparation for
entering Summit Academy, a residential juvenile facility in Butler County.
Housing the juveniles destined for Summit is an expansion of the original
program presented when the facility opened amid much protest in September 1989.
Academy officials stressed at that time that they planned to operate an
after-school, day and evening program for nonviolent offenders. The
juveniles would be brought to the center in vans after school and stay through
the evening, when they would be returned via vans to their homes. But
about five years ago, The Academy started to house juveniles overnight. Now
roughly 50 juveniles are at the center each night. Half of them are like Lake,
awaiting a transfer to Summit Academy. The other half of the overnight
population are male juveniles who have broken the rules of the day and evening
program and are required as punishment to stay overnight for a period of time.
Those juveniles used to be housed at Shuman Detention Center until Shuman became
overcrowded, said Rieland, the county's juvenile court administrator. He
called the day and evening program "a good service provided at a relatively
inexpensive cost" and said he still believes it's a safe program for
nonviolent juvenile offenders from Allegheny County. Rieland said The
Academy has a good track record, since it has operated for about 20 years -- 14
at the present site -- without a major problem until the recent incident.
If the state takes any action at The Academy, it is likely to be only against
the overnight program and not the day and evening program, he said.
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)
September 18, 2003
Joyce Lake had just returned home Sunday evening when she got a call from
officials at the Allegheny Academy juvenile detention center asking if she knew
where her 17-year-old son Troy was. "I said, 'Yes, I know where he
is. He's at the morgue,' " said Lake, who learned of her son's death from
state troopers, who visited her home in Dallastown, York County, at 10 a.m.
Sunday. Lake was killed at around 3:40 a.m. Sunday when he lost control of
the stolen car he was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset. He was
thrown from the car when it hit an embankment and was pronounced dead at the
scene. At the time of his death, Lake was supposed to be sleeping at
Allegheny Academy in Pittsburgh's Hays section, where he was sent after
violating his parole. Lake had been found guilty of stealing an all-terrain
vehicle, and then violated his parole by getting caught for underage drinking,
his mother said. But staff members at Allegheny Academy didn't notice his
absence until almost three hours after his death and apparently didn't know that
he had been killed in a car crash until they talked to his mother at around 7
p.m. Sunday. It was at 6:30 a.m. Sunday when an employee of Allegheny
Academy called Baldwin Borough police to report that three teens had escaped.
Though it is located in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Academy abuts a Baldwin
residential neighborhood and academy staff are supposed to alert Baldwin police
whenever program participants escape, said Baldwin Police Chief Chris Kelly.
About 15 minutes before academy staff reported the escape, Baldwin police were
notified by state police that a car registered to a Baldwin resident was
involved in a fatal traffic accident on the turnpike. It turned out to be the
car that Lake was driving. The car was stolen from a resident of Edward Drive,
located a short distance from the academy, Kelly said. Kelly said it
appears the escapees left the center Saturday night but that their absence
wasn't discovered until Sunday morning when it was time for residents to wake
up. The other two escapees were picked up in McKees Rocks Sunday morning.
Allegheny Academy Director Joseph Daugerdaus said he is trying to find out why
the center's policy of performing bed checks every 15 minutes was not followed
Saturday night. "It's not just open the door and check. Our policy
states that you go in and you check to see their skin, to make sure they are
really in the bed," Daugerdaus said. "We have to figure out why
the procedure was not followed and why it was not discovered that they were
gone. Whoever did not do what they were supposed to do will be terminated,"
he said. Daugerdaus said he expects an investigation from the state
Department of Welfare as well. All escapes from the center are reported to the
department. He said eight employees were on duty at the time -- a number that
exceeds the welfare department's requirement of one staff per 16 residents.
Daugerdaus said it was the first time that any program participant who escaped
was not caught and returned safely. "What happened is certainly a tragedy
and it's definitely an exception and we hope it never happens again,"
Daugerdaus said. Daugerdaus said Lake was sent to Allegheny Academy in
preparation for being assigned to a residential facility. He was to be
transferred to another center within days. Joyce Lake plans to bury her
son today. But after the funeral service she will start her search for answers
in her son's death. "I know he wasn't a perfect kid and he did have
some problems. But I don't think he deserved to die. I have a court order that
says my son was supposed to be under supervision at all times. That's what they
were supposed to be doing for him." (Post-Gazette.com)
Allegheny County
Jail
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Correctional Medical Services
January 24, 2003
On Oct. 21, 1996,
33-year-old Charles Fine, a heroin addict From Monongahela, became the first
inmate to kill himself in what was then the new Allegheny County Jail.
He rigged a makeshift noose out of his shoelaces and hung himself from a
bunk in his cell. Now, seven years
later, the medical company that used to screen inmates for suicide risk at the
jail is on trial in U.S. District Court, defending itself against a negligence
claim. Fine's stepmother, Barbara
Mayfield, represented by local attorney Vincent Coppola, says employees of
Correctional Medical Services Inc. of Missouri should have known Fine was going
to kill himself. Correctional
Medical, the country's largest health-care provider for jails, pulled out of the
Allegheny County Jail in 2000, but the move had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
Fine, who worked for a time as a welder, was jailed on Oct. 20, 1996,
pending trial for retail theft and simple assault. Earlier that year he had also
been jailed on drug possession charges and later released.
In both instances, according to the complaint, a nurse filled out a
10-question form used to determine if an inmate might be a suicide risk. Coppola
said his answers to questions should have shown the medical staff fine was
suffering from heroin withdrawal and that he was depressed and in
"emotional distress." Coppola
has argued that the staff should have realized Fine might kill himself and
placed him in the Mental Health Unit rather than in the general jail population.
He said the staff should also have removed his shoelaces. (Post-Gazette.com)
Aramark
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 7, 2010 Evanston-Review
An on-site food services worker is charging that her employers, Evanston
Hospital and Aramark Services, allowed co-workers to repeatedly harass and
discriminate her despite her pleas to management for help. In a lawsuit filed
Tuesday, Yaffa Washington, a member of a Hebrew Israelite sect who was born in
Israel, said she was hired by Evanston Hospital in 2004 and soon thereafter
began working for Aramark Services, on location at the hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave.
Washington, an African-American, charges in her lawsuit that she was subjected
to offensive racist and and anti-Semitic slurs, including references to her as
the “Jew Girl,” soon after after she began working for Aramark. The lawsuit
alleges that soon after informing Aramark officials that she was contemplating
filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge if the harassment
didn't stop – in what her lawsuit describes as “unlawful retaliation against her
for engaging in legally protected activity” – Washington was fired. Aramark
could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. A spokeswoman for the
hospital said Wednesday that the hospital had not been served notice of such a
lawsuit and so could not comment.
March 6, 2010 Philadelphia Enquirer
Saying it is owed $7.3 million, Aramark Corp., the Philadelphia food-services
provider, has sued a New Jersey operator of correctional facilities. In the
suit, Aramark contends Community Education Centers Inc., of West Caldwell, N.J.,
has been in default on bills since at least June 2008. Locally, Aramark services
Community Education Centers facilities in Philadelphia, Delaware County,
Reading, and Trenton. Aramark's lawsuit, filed Feb. 18 in U.S. District Court in
Philadelphia, said Community Education Centers was overdue on $5.2 million of
the total, and it requested that a judgment, including interest, costs, and
attorney's fees, be entered in its favor. In an e-mailed statement yesterday,
Community Education Centers said it "does not comment on pending litigation
except to say that the two companies are in negotiations regarding the matter."
Community Education Centers is one of a number of companies considered likely to
bid on a prison privatization contract in Camden County. Last year, a unit of
the company bought options on land in Camden as a potential site for a new
prison, but the site has been ruled out by county freeholders because of
neighborhood protests. The privately held company, which operates in 19 states,
employs 4,500 and services nearly 30,000 individuals, did not comment
specifically on the proposed privatization of Camden County's prison system.
Among Community Education Centers' investors is Philadelphia private-equity firm
LLR Partners. The firm's investment fund, LLR Equity Partners II L.P., in 2007
bought $53 million worth of preferred stock, according to a regulatory filing.
LLR cofounder Seth Lehr, who is on Community Education Centers' board of
directors, said the firm does not comment on companies in its portfolio.
January 29, 2010 Herald-Leader
State Auditor Crit Luallen said Thursday she would do an audit of the
private company that has a nearly $12 million annual contract to serve food at
the state's 13 prisons. The announcement came a day after a House committee
voted to cancel a contract with Aramark Correctional Services, which served food
at Northpoint Training Center at the time of a costly riot there. Also
Wednesday, the state released its full investigative report on the Aug. 21 riot,
which went into more detail about problems with food at the Mercer County
prison. House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Rep. John Tilley, chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that they thought Luallen should look into
Aramark's performance under the contract. "I do think it's appropriate to ask
the state auditor in some fashion to audit the situation," Tilley said Thursday.
Said Luallen: "While there has not been a formal request yet, there have been
enough questions raised by legislators that we will begin to make plans to do an
audit of the contract." Members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday
voted 6-4 to cancel Aramark's contract because of concerns about the food. Many
on the committee questioned whether Aramark was skimping on ingredients to serve
more people cheaply. "Aramark stands behind the quality of service we provide,
which has won the accolades of our clients and the national accreditation
agencies who monitor the quality of food service," an Aramark spokeswoman said
Wednesday. An audit conducted of Aramark's performance for the Florida prison
system in 2007 showed the number of inmates eating meals declined after Aramark
took over the food service. But the company was paid based on the number of
inmates, not on the number of meals served. Aramark also substituted less costly
products such as ground turkey for beef, the audit said. The audit recommended
that Florida rebid the food service or take it over. But Aramark terminated the
contract near the end of 2008, according to published reports. Gov. Steve
Beshear praised prison officials' handling of the riot. He said he was
"confounded" with the legislature's "continued fixation with the menus for
convicted criminals when we're desperately trying to avoid cutting teachers and
state troopers. ... We have more than 10 percent unemployment and Kentucky
families are struggling to put food on the table, and I am loath to consider
millions more dollars for criminals who wish they could go to Wendy's instead."
But Tilley and Stumbo — both Democrats — defended the House's investigation into
the riot, which damaged six buildings and caused a fiery melee. "The truth is,
we had a riot on our hands that is probably going to cost the taxpayers $10
million," Stumbo said, referring to money Beshear has requested to rebuild the
prison outside of Danville. "And we need to find out why the hell we had it."
Meanwhile, there are still questions about why key parts of the original report
on the riot were not immediately released in November. It was only after the
House Judiciary Committee repeatedly asked to see the report that the Department
of Corrections agreed to release a redacted version of the full report at
Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee meeting. The report released Wednesday
showed that Northpoint Warden Steve Haney did not want to implement restrictions
that were a primary cause of the riot, but he was overruled by Deputy
Commissioner of Adult Institutions Al Parke and Director of Operations James
Erwin. The report said the handling of restrictions was "haphazard and poorly
planned." The report also revealed other problems before, during and after the
riot, including non-existent radio communications among agencies, a lack of
documentation, failed video cameras and a considerable delay in the formal
investigation. The report said there was confusion over whether Kentucky State
Police or Justice Cabinet investigators should handle the post-riot
investigation. Those details were not released in a summary Nov. 20. Beshear
defended his administration Thursday, saying he was confident the riot was
handled correctly. "I have full confidence in the Secretary of the Justice
Cabinet J. Michael Brown and his staff and how they handled the Northpoint riot
and its subsequent investigation," Beshear said. Kerri Richardson, a spokeswoman
for Beshear, said Beshear's office never saw the original report, but had seen
the report summary. Beshear's staff asked for more explanation in the summary
report but did not ask for anything to be taken out, she said. Jennifer Brislin,
a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, said there was no attempt on the
part of the Justice Cabinet or the Department of Corrections to hide or minimize
some of the problems on the day of the riot. Department of Corrections
Commissioner LaDonna Thompson left out some of those problems in her Nov. 20
summary because she thought some of those details would compromise security at
the prison, Brislin said. "During her review, she exempted information that she
felt would be a security risk to staff and inmates, and that included
information regarding how command decisions were made," Brislin said. House Bill
33 — the bill that would cancel the Aramark contract — now heads to the House
Appropriations and Revenue Committee. If the state cancels the contract, it
could add as much as $5.4 million a year to the state's cost of feeding inmates,
according to the Department of Corrections.
January 28, 2010 Herald-Leader
The warden at Northpoint Training Center did not want to implement the prison
yard restrictions that contributed to an August riot that heavily damaged much
of the facility, but he was overruled by Department of Corrections officials,
according to an investigative report released Wednesday. The investigation also
revealed numerous other problems at Northpoint that occurred before, during and
after the riot, including inmate anger about food on the day of the riot and a
crucial delay in the formal investigation of how the fiery melee occurred. After
reviewing the report, the House Judiciary Committee voted 9-4 to approve a bill
that would cancel the state's $12 million annual contract with Aramark
Correctional Services to provide meals at 13 prisons. The investigative report
showed that anger over food contributed to the Aug. 21 riot at the Mercer County
prison. The report, which was withheld from the public by state officials until
Wednesday, puts more emphasis on food as a contributing cause of the riot than
the state Corrections Department's "review" of the investigative report, which
was released Nov. 20. The review concluded that the main cause of the riot was
inmate anger about a lockdown and other restrictions imposed after a fight at
the prison. However, the latest report shows that virtually every inmate and
employee interviewed by investigators said that Aramark food and its prices at
the canteen were among the reasons for the riot. The report lists those issues
as the third and fourth factors, respectively, that contributed to the riot.
"Apparently, there had been complaints for years about the quality of the food,
the portion sizes and the continual shortage and substitutions for scheduled
menu items," the report states. "Sanitation of the kitchen was also a source of
complaints," says the report. Inmates set fires that destroyed six buildings,
including those containing the kitchen, canteen, visitation center, medical
services, sanitation department and a multipurpose area. Several dorms were
heavily damaged, and eight guards and eight inmates were injured. 'Haphazard'
action -- According to the report, the riot began 15 minutes after details were
posted about new movement restrictions for prisoners in the yard. The
restrictions came after an Aug. 18 fight over canteen items that caused prison
officials to institute a lockdown. The investigation found that Northpoint
Warden Steve Haney wanted to return the prison yard to normal operations as he
typically did after a lockdown, but he was overruled by Al Parke, deputy
commissioner of adult institutions and James Erwin, director of operations. "The
implementation of the controlled movement policy at NTC was haphazard and poorly
planned at best," says the report. The report also says the warden never got
word that inmates had dumped food from their trays on the floor at breakfast and
at lunch on the day of the riot. Aramark officials e-mailed details of the
incident to a deputy warden at Northpoint, but the information apparently was
not passed along, the report said. During the riot, "radio communications
between all agencies involved was virtually non-existent, causing chaos and a
general feeling of disconnect with the various agencies involved," according to
the report. After the riot, there was a "gross lack of coordination of
submitting reports," evidence was compromised because most video cameras failed
the evening of the riot, and there was a considerable delay in the formal
investigation, the report said. Kentucky State Police immediately tried to begin
an investigation to see which inmates were involved in the riot but was advised
by the corrections department's operations director that the investigation would
be conducted internally. Several days later, the report said, two staff members
from the Justice Cabinet determined that state police should conduct the
investigation. "The criminal investigations should have started immediately to
preserve evidence, testimony and critical information," the report says. "After
a few days, staff thoughts and observations became diluted."
February 24, 2008 Naperville Sun
A company hoping to win another contract at the DuPage County Jail has donated
thousands of dollars to elected county officials. Aramark, a Philadelphia-based
company that has provided the jail's food service for 21 years, has poured
$14,770 into campaign coffers of State's Attorney Joe Birkett, Sheriff John
Zaruba, County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and others since 1999, according
to the Illinois State Board of Elections. County Board members Brien Sheahan,
Debra Olson and Mike McMahon have received several hundred dollars each. In a
bidding process fraught with ambiguity and conflict, Aramark has been fighting
for more than a year to continue serving food to jail inmates. When the bid was
redone for the third time in December, the company submitted a $949,616 bid that
was $6,000 lower than that of its competitor, Minnesota-based A'viands. But
after the state's attorney's office said Aramark submitted a menu that didn't
meet requirements, officials recommended the bid be awarded to A'viands.
Aramark's menu diverged slightly by offering breaded fish patties rather than
the specified fish fillets and 12-ounce instead of 8-ounce oatmeal servings,
Assistant State's Attorney Tom Downing said. Potential savings -- However,
County Board members are giving Aramark another shot at the contract, opting for
a fourth bid instead of awarding the contract to A'viands. They say the county
can save thousands of dollars by changing bidding requirements. Instead of
stipulating a specific menu, board members want to mandate only certain
nutritional requirements, as was done during the second round of bidding.
Allowing bidders to submit their own menu resulted in a bid from Aramark that
was $120,000 less than when it followed a menu mandated by the county. That cost
difference is enough to justify yet another bid, said Sheahan, calling the whole
process "ridiculous." "We're basically having a $120,000 argument over whether
milk and oatmeal will fit on a tray, and I think we owe it to taxpayers to make
sure we are getting the best value for their money," he said. "We're not
interested in spending extra every year so people at the County Jail can eat
fish fillets instead of fish sticks." Nothing to hide -- Sheahan said a $500
contribution from Aramark to his primary campaign had nothing to do with his
support for a fourth bid. "I really don't care whether Aramark gets it or not,"
he said. "I want the lowest bid to get it. I think the interest of the committee
is just to get the best value for taxpayers." Saying she believes Aramark has
submitted responsible bids, Olson, of Wheaton, said she supports a fourth bid to
potentially save the $120,000. "This is about saving taxpayers money," said
Olson, who noted that she has supported extending the temporary contracts to
A'viands. "Any implications that my motivations are other than in the best
interests of taxpayers is insulting." Birkett, who has received $3,600 from
Aramark, said the campaign contributions played no role in the opinion rendered
by his office, which ruled Aramark's bid noncompliant. "If I'm asked for opinion
or legal guidance, I give it, free from any political support I've received,"
Birkett said. The recipient of $4,500 from Aramark, Schillerstrom sided with the
state's attorney, saying Aramark failed to meet the menu requirements. "I
believe A'viands is the lowest responsible bidder," he said. "I think it's clear
that Aramark did not comply with the bid." Zaruba did not return a phone call
seeking comment. Nutrition requirements -- Disputes about nutrition requirements
have plagued the bidding process, which began last March. After the county
declared A'viands the winner of the first bid, Aramark filed a lawsuit claiming
its submitted menus were deficient. Schillerstrom upheld the protest, finding
that both companies failed to meet requirements and declared a second round of
bidding. For the second bid, the county outlined more specific nutrition
standards. But both companies fell short, saying it was impossible to meet
sodium requirements. In the third bid, the county hired a nutritionist to create
a specific menu. While A'viands said the menu gave clear and specific
requirements, Aramark disagreed. "It was crystal clear to us that we were to
submit a menu that exactly met those requirements, and that's what we did," said
Perry Rynders, CEO of A'viands. Rynders expressed "significant disappointment"
at the county's decision to hold another bid, saying no one had disputed that
A'viands did meet requirements. Temporary contract -- To keep prison inmates
fed, the county has issued a string of temporary contracts to A'viands since
July. But it's difficult to attract and hire good workers at the jail while the
contract remains in limbo, Rynders said. "It's very difficult for us to find
staff to work on a temporary basis," he said. "Each time this comes up, they're
wondering if their job is on the line. I don't think the County Board
understands how difficult this is on us." Aramark spokesman Tim Elliot said the
county should return to a nutrition-based bid instead of one based on a menu.
That is standard procedure for most of the 700 correctional facilities the
company services worldwide, he said. Aramark is a private company that is the
19th-largest employer on the Fortune 500, employing 240,000 workers in 19
countries. Hospitals, eldercare centers, schools, corporations and sports
stadiums are among the company's clients. Board member Jim Healy of Naperville
agreed with Aramark that the county's "ambiguous" menu should be thrown out in
favor of nutritional requirements. "We don't care what you serve as long as you
meet the nutritional standards," he said. The county should have stuck with very
basic nutritional requirements as it had done until last year, said board member
Jim Zay. "This is insane ... the more people we get involved, the worse it
gets," Zay said. "This has been costing us hundreds of thousands more because
we've been screwing around with it."
December 3, 2008 Star-Ledger
The family of a young girl paralyzed in a
drunk-driving accident nine years ago received a $25 million settlement from
Aramark Corp., the Giants Stadium beer vendor whose employees continued to serve
the intoxicated fan who caused the crash. The settlement with the family of
Antonia Verni, who is now 11, took place last year but was not disclosed until
today, when a state appeals court ruled that sealed documents in the case must
be made public. Antonia, a quadriplegic who requires a ventilator to breathe,
received $23.5 million in the settlement, said the family's lawyer, David A.
Mazie of Roseland. Her mother, Fazila Verni, received $1.5 million for injuries
she suffered in the crash. November 7, 2007 Financial Times
Madison Dearborn is preparing a sale of Valitas, a company that provides medical
care to prison populations, three sources told mergermarket. An auction for the
company will probably kick off early next year, and the company is working on
putting together a staple financing package at the moment, according to one of
the sources. UBS has been mandated to run the process, the second source said.
Valitas’ EBITDA is around USD 50m, according to an industry banker. The
company’s main subsidiary, Correctional Medical Services, reached USD 750m in
revenues in 2007, according to its website. The company is likely to draw
interest from private equity buyers only, as there are no natural strategic
buyers for the asset, the banker added. Valitas could draw interest from Maximus,
a listed provider of healthcare services to the US government, a second industry
banker said. Madison Dearborn backed a management buyout of the Missouri-based
company in 1997 from Aramark, the company that provides food service and
uniforms to institutions, according to news reports. Under Aramark the division
was called Spectrum Healthcare, and included a business that provided contract
healthcare services to the US military. That business, however, was sold to Team
Health, another Madison Dearborn portfolio holding, in 2002. Team Health itself
was sold to the Blackstone Group, in 2005. The company is one of the oldest
healthcare investments in Madison Dearborn’s portfolio, the industry banker
said. A company spokesperson declined comment, and a Madison Dearborn official
did not return calls.
March 18, 2007 The Oregonian
Federal court statistics show that plaintiffs filed nearly 4,200 cases under
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs pay practices, in fiscal
2006, which ended Sept. 30. That's up from 4,040 cases in fiscal 2005 and 2,751
in 2003. In Portland this month, Richard Bird filed a class-action lawsuit
against his ex-employer, Aramark Correctional Services Inc. He alleges the
nationwide prison-service provider broke Oregon laws by failing to properly pay
him and co-workers when they worked overtime, took rest periods and put in for
their final paychecks. An Aramark spokeswoman said Friday that the company does
not comment on pending litigation. Those claims surfaced in a state court --
Multnomah County Circuit Court, specifically. And although Oregon doesn't track
civil cases by cause, attorneys say wage-and-hour claims are numerous in state
venues. Why the flood of cases? It's easy for employers to make a mistake and
relatively easy for employees to make them pay for it, said Nancy Cooper, an
attorney with Bullivant Houser Bailey in Portland. Wage-and-hour rules are
complicated and vary across state lines, making national firms such as
Philadelphia-based Aramark vulnerable. Oregon, for instance, requires employers
to provide paid 10-minute breaks, Cooper said. Arizona does not.
February 3, 2007 AP
The first time Joseph Neubauer took Aramark Corp. private in 1984, the deal was
worth $889 million. When he and other managers led a leveraged buyout of the
nation's largest food services company a second time, the price tag zoomed to
$6.24 billion. And the biggest winner among shareholders at Aramark, which
Friday completed its first week as a newly private company? Neubauer and his
family, whose holdings soared in value to almost $1 billion. That puts Neubauer,
65, who came to the United States from Israel alone at the age of 14 and said he
learned English from John Wayne movies, near the top of the list of
beneficiaries from a wave of leveraged buyouts that has swept corporate America
in the past year.
August 14, 2006 In These Times
While New Mexico’s landscape may make the state the Land of Enchantment, its
rapidly growing rates of incarceration have been utterly disenchanting. What’s
worse, New Mexico is at the top of the nation’s list for privatizing prisons;
nearly one-half of the state’s prisons and jails are run by corporations.
Supposedly, states turn to private companies to cope better with chronic
overcrowding and for low-cost management. However, a closer look suggests a
different rationale. A recent report from the Montana-based Institute on Money
in State Politics reveals that during the 2002 and 2004 election cycles, private
prison companies, directors, executives and lobbyists gave $3.3 million to
candidates and state political parties across 44 states. According to Edwin
Bender, executive director of the Institute on Money in State Politics, private
prison companies strongly favor giving to states with the toughest sentencing
laws—in essence, the ones that are more likely to come up with the bodies to
fill prison beds. Those states, adds Bender, are also the ones most likely to
have passed “three-strikes” laws. Those laws, first passed by Washington state
voters in 1993 and then California voters in 1994, quickly swept the nation.
They were largely based on “cookie-cutter legislation” pushed by the American
Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), some of whose members come from the ranks
of private prison companies. Florida leads the pack in terms of private prison
dollars, with its candidates and political parties receiving almost 20 percent
of their total contributions from private prison companies and their affiliates.
Florida already has five privately owned and operated prisons, with a sixth on
the way. It’s also privatized the bulk of its juvenile detention system. Texas
and New Jersey are close behind. But in Florida, some of the influence peddling
finally seems to be backfiring. Florida State Corrections Secretary James
McDonough alarmed private prison companies with a comment during an Aug. 2
morning call-in radio show. “I actually think the state is better at running the
prisons,” McDonough told an interviewer. His comments followed an internal audit
last year by the state’s Department of Management Services, which demonstrated
that Florida overpaid private prison operators by $1.3 million. Things may no
longer be quite as sunny as they once were in Florida for the likes of
Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the former
Wackenhut, now known as the GEO Group of Boca Raton, Fla. But with a little bit
of spiel-tinkering—and a shift of attention to other states—the prison
privatizers are likely to keep going. The key shift, Bender explains, is that
“the prison industry has gone from a we-can-save-you-money pitch to an
economic-development model pitch.” In other words, says Bender, “you need
[their] prisons for jobs.” If political donations are any measure, economically
challenged and poverty-stricken states like New Mexico are a great target. In
this campaign cycle, Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson has already received more
contributions from a private prison company than any other politician
campaigning for state office in the United States. The Institute of Money in
State Politics, which traced the donations, reported that GEO has contributed
$42,750 to Richardson since 2005—and another $8,000 to his running mate, Lt.
Gov. Diane Denish. Another $30,000 went from GEO to the Richardson-headed
Democratic Governors Association this past March. Richardson’s PAC, Moving
America Forward, was another prominent recipient of GEO donations. Now, its
former head, prominent state capitol lobbyist Joe Velasquez, is a registered
lobbyist for GEO Care Inc., a healthcare subsidiary that runs a hospital in New
Mexico. But don’t get the idea that GEO has any particular love for Democrats:
$95,000 from the corporation went to the Republican Governors Association last
year alone. What companies like GEO do love are the millions of dollars rolling
in from lucrative New Mexico contracts to run the Lea County Correctional
Facility (operating budget: $25 million/year), and the Guadalupe County
Correctional Facility ($13 million/year), among others. CCA also owns and
operates the state’s only women’s facility in Grants ($11 million per year). To
make sure that those dollars keep flowing, GEO and CCA have perfected the art of
the “very tight revolving door,” says Bender, which involves snapping up former
corrections administrators, PAC lobbyists and state officials to serve as
consultants to private prison companies. In fact, the current New Mexico
Corrections Department Secretary Joe Williams was once on GEO’s payroll as their
warden of the Lea County Correctional Facility. Earlier this year, Williams was
placed on unpaid administrative leave after accusations surfaced that he spent
state travel and phone funds to pursue a very close relationship with Ann Casey.
Casey is a registered lobbyist in New Mexico for Wexford Health Sources, which
provides health care for prisoners at Grants, and Aramark, which provides most
of the state’s inmate meals. In her non-lobbying hours, it turns out that Casey
is also an assistant warden at a state prison in Centralia, Ill. It appears that
even for a prison industry enchanted by public-private partnership, Williams and
Casey may have gone too far.
May 1, 2006 Bloomberg
Aramark Corp., the food-service company that sells hot dogs and beer at
Boston's Fenway Park and Shea Stadium in New York, received a $5.8 billion
takeover offer from a group led by its chairman and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The
group, which also includes JPMorgan Chase & Co., Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and
Warburg Pincus LLC, bid $32 a share, Philadelphia-based Aramark said today in a
statement. That's 14 percent more than its April 28 close. Aramark's shares
surged as high as $34.95 as investors bet the company, which also runs college
and corporate cafeterias, would eventually fetch more from the buyout group or
another acquirer. The company's board formed a committee of independent
directors to review the proposal, Aramark said. ``There exists for insiders an
opportunity to sell the company to a rival bidder or compete in a bidding war
for the company,'' JPMorgan Chase analyst Michael Fox wrote in a report. Fox has
a ``neutral'' rating on Aramark. Private-equity firms have announced more than
$120 billion of takeovers this year, up from $83 billion in the same period of
2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Pressure to meet quarterly
earnings targets and abide by new accounting and governance laws have pushed
some companies to go private. Leveraged buyout specialists usually borrow about
two- thirds of the purchase price to finance acquisitions. Their goal is to
improve the operating performance of the companies they purchase, often by
cutting costs, and then sell the companies in two to three years to make a
profit.
Beaver
County Jail
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
CiviGenics
May 24, 2007 Beaver Times
The Beaver County Commissioners' approval Thursday of a $72,000 payment to
settle claims from the Massachusetts company that almost took over the county
jail last year brings the total spent on trying to outsource the jail to nearly
$1 million. CiviGenics was poised to assume control of the jail in October, but
a ruling by President Judge Robert Kunselman ordering the county to obey an
arbitrator's decision halted the deal. Instead, the county signed a new contract
with jail guards. Commissioners had estimated that the county could have saved
as much as $1.9 million annually by outsourcing the jail to CiviGenics. During
the last week of December, the county paid CiviGenics $125,000 under the terms
of its contract. Thursday's payment will cover additional expenses such as
training and travel costs. "It's fair compensation," said Commissioners Chairman
Joe Spanik after the board approved the payment. "They showed receipts for what
(expenses) were there." In addition to the payments made to CiviGenics, the
county's legal fees have reached nearly $793,000, said county financial
administrator Rob Cyphert. That figure covers this year, 2006 and 2005, and
includes not only work on privatization, but on contract negotiations with the
union and settlement talks with CiviGenics. Commissioner Charlie Camp said he
didn't regret trying to outsource the jail because "it was well within our
rights to do that." Camp said the savings over the life of the guards' contract,
estimated at $680,000 annually, will surpass the amount spent on CiviGenics and
legal fees so the county won't really lose any money. "I regret we got two bad
judgment calls from the arbitrator and the county judge," Camp said. Asked if he
regretted pursuing privatization in light of the taxpayer money spent on the
wasted effort, Spanik said outsourcing appeared to be a "good deal" for the
county, and hindsight is always 20/20. "If I was a prognosticator," he said,
"I'd hit the lottery." Initially, CiviGenics asked for $329,000 to cover its
costs in preparing to manage the Hopewell Township jail, Cyphert said. Spanik
said the county balked at that figure, though, and officials found some expenses
they didn't think the county should pay. "We scrutinized the bills they
submitted to us," Spanik said. When the $125,000 payment was made, county
Solicitor Myron Sainovich said the county might consider reimbursing CiviGenics
for additional costs, such as training and travel costs, because the county was
unable to give the company any notice before nixing the contract. "Quite
frankly, we would've been liable for those (expenses) because we were in
breach," Sainovich said Thursday. Sainovich said the $72,000 doesn't compensate
CiviGenics for "pain and suffering," but only for verifiable expenses.
January 10, 2007 Beaver Times
Beaver County has met its contractual obligation and paid $125,000 to the
company that would have taken over the county jail if a court ruling had not
nixed the deal, county solicitor Myron Sainovich said Wednesday. CiviGenics, a
Massachusetts-based company, was paid in the last week of December, said Rob
Cyphert, the county's financial administrator. Under terms of its contract with
CiviGenics, the county was obligated to pay the company no more than $125,000
"for all reasonable and documented start-up expenses" if the county decided
against outsourcing the Hopewell Township jail. That's exactly what happened
after Beaver County President Judge Robert Kunselman ruled that the county was
required to abide by an arbitration decision that prohibited privatization over
the life of an arbitration-imposed three-year contract. County commissioners
chose not to appeal Kunselman's decision. Instead of handing over management
duties to CiviGenics on Oct. 31 as they had planned, commissioners agreed to a
new four-year contract that was estimated to save the county about $600,000 a
year. Commissioners had spent more than two years studying privatization and at
least $500,000 over several months litigating their right to outsource the jail.
They claimed the county would've saved $1.9 million a year by contracting with
CiviGenics. Last month, commissioners raised county property taxes by 1 mill and
laid the blame squarely at Kunselman's feet. The county's tax rate is now 18.7
mills. Sainovich said he hasn't heard of CiviGenics requesting additional money,
but the county might consider paying for other verifiable training and travel
costs. "The county will try and reimburse them for those (expenses) because we
did kind of go up until the last hour," he said.
November 29, 2006 Beaver Times
A county judge believes that even if operations at the Beaver County Jail
had been privatized, county residents would still have to pay higher taxes. In a
written opinion released Tuesday, President Judge Robert E. Kunselman disputed
county commissioners main argument: that turning over operations at the Hopewell
Township facility to the CiviGenics company would save enough money that a tax
increase could be avoided next year. Kunselman made his ruling in late October;
Tuesdays opinion explained his reasoning. For months, commissioners pushed a
plan that said that if the Massachusetts-based private correctional services
company took over operations at the jail, the county could save $1.9 million
annually. The changeover from county to private oversight was halted by
Kunselman just a couple of days before the Oct. 30 switch was to take place.
Beaver County Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said Tuesday afternoon that
Kunselmans ruling was filled with errors, omissions and presumptions about the
county's budget. He promised a written response to Kunselmans opinion within the
next day or two. I am flabbergasted, Donatella said, adding that he thinks
Kunselman purposely waited until the day after an appeal period had expired so
that his written opinion wouldn't be questioned by a higher court. Earlier,
however, commissioners said Kunselmans order barring privatization wouldn't be
appealed because it was unlikely that a higher court would overturn the
decision. Kunselman declined to comment on Donatellas remarks. Kunselman became
involved in the jail issue when Service Employees International Union Local 668
sued the county earlier this year, saying it had to abide by a contract
arbitration award. That arbitration included the prohibition of privatization
for three years and requiring jail employees to make concessions. The
arbitration was rendered moot when the county and jail employees came to an
agreement in October on a new four-year contract. In his October opinion,
Kunselman ruled there was no legal reason for the county to ignore the
arbitration and privatize the jail. Also, Kunselman said in the opinion that
during hearings on the arbitration award, county employees said the county would
have a $140,000 deficit at the end of November and would be in the red by $3
million at the end of the year, if the arbitration was awarded. Kunselman said
there was no direct proof that the arbitration was the reason for the deficit.
He said that while the county projected a savings of $1.5 million in the first
year of privatization, it also projected a $3 million budget deficit. Thus, we
concluded that the county would have to increase taxes to pay for the CiviGenics
contract anyway, Kunselman said.
November 9, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The legal fight over privatizing the Beaver County Jail has cost the county
about $500,000, and that's just the beginning. The county commissioners will sit
down soon with representatives of CiviGenics Inc., the company they had hired to
run the jail, to work out a fair compensation for the company's troubles. "We
have calculated the cost of preparing to take over the jail," company Chief
Operating Officer Peter Argeropulos said, adding that CiviGenics had put more
than 50 people through guard training and had assembled complete plans for the
takeover and management. He declined to say what the calculated number was.
CiviGenics responded to a county inquiry in the summer of last year, offering a
deal that would have saved the county about $1.9 million a year. When the union
representing the county-employed jail guards couldn't match the savings, the
commissioners announced the switch, dropping the union and hiring CiviGenics
starting Oct. 31. But four days before the takeover, Common Pleas Judge Robert
E. Kunselman ruled that the county had to abide by an arbitration award that
gave the union a new contract. The commissioners announced Oct. 31 that they had
accepted a deal with the union and would not appeal the judge's ruling. Under
the county's contract with CiviGenics, it owes the company $125,000 if the deal
gets scratched "through no fault of the county." Asked if the company's costs
exceeded $125,000, Mr. Argeropulos replied, "Oh, certainly." But he expressed
confidence that a settlement could be worked out.
October 28, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Beaver County Jail will continue to be run by public employees, after a
court ruling yesterday that derailed the county's privatization move. Beaver
County President Judge Robert E. Kunselman upheld a June arbitration award that
gave the county's jail guards a new three-year contract. The county had set
Monday as the date for a Massachusetts firm, CiviGenics Inc., to take over jail
operations, a move that would have left the unionized guards out of work. "It
still hasn't hit home," union steward and jail guard Tom Trkulja said. "From the
beginning we believed the law says what the law says and everybody has to follow
it." The dispute has its roots in a series of cost-cutting moves made by the
county commissioners over the last three years. Looking to pare the $6
million-plus jail budget, they decided to take proposals for private management.
CiviGenics in the summer of 2005 made a proposal that would save the county $1.9
million a year, and with the union contract expiring in December, the
commissioners demanded that the union meet that savings. When the union would
not, the commissioners declared union negotiations at an impasse and signed a
contract with CiviGenics in January. The union contract went to arbitration, but
in June, before the arbitration panel finalized its ruling, the county enacted
its contract with the private firm. CiviGenics has been hiring and training
replacements for the 53 full-time and 17 part-time guards, who are members of
Local 668 of the Service Employees International Union. The union, however,
asked the court to enforce an arbitration award issued in June, which it
regarded as binding. The commissioners argued that since the award would force
them to take legislative action to raise money to pay the guards, state law
rendered it advisory only. In a hearing before Judge Kunselman on Tuesday,
county Financial Administrator Rob Cyphert testified that the county would run
out of cash in about a month under the union contract, and would likely have to
increase its debt load to stay afloat. The union, however, argued that the
county created its own budget crunch by basing its budget on the CiviGenics
deal. The county "engaged in bad faith bargaining by establishing a budget which
could only be accomplished by the privatization of the prison without the legal
authority to make such an assumption," the union's legal brief said.
October 27, 2006 The Beaver Times
Beaver County Courthouse workers voted on a contract
proposal Thursday that union officials said was essential to keeping the county
jail from being privatized, but results were unavailable late Thursday. Whether
their new contract and the one approved this past Monday by jail guards actually
save enough money to persuade the county commissioners not to privatize the jail
this coming Monday remains to be seen. Service Employees International Union
Local 668 members were called to a 4:30 p.m. meeting at the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall in Vanport Township to vote on the
proposal that SEIU state officials unveiled in a tense meeting Tuesday.
Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella and Commissioner Charlie Camp said late
Thursday they had yet to be informed of the result of the union's vote.
Commissioner Joe Spanik could not be reached for comment. The union is under
pressure to resolve the situation because Beaver County President Judge Robert
Kunselman is expected to issue his ruling today on whether the county must abide
by an arbitration decision released earlier this year. If Kunselman would rule
that the decision is not binding, the county would be free to pursue
privatization. At the Tuesday meeting, SEIU leaders told courthouse workers that
their new contract was being tied to the jail guards' contract. The savings from
those two contracts would be combined to try to meet the financial demands of
county commissioners, who want to privatize the jail to save approximately $1.9
million annually.
October 26, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Management of the Beaver County Jail is up for determination tomorrow,
though whether it is by court order or through last-minute labor talks remains
to be seen. County President Judge Robert E. Kunselman plans to issue a ruling
tomorrow on whether the county can turn jail management over to a private firm
Monday morning. Judge Kunselman held a hearing Tuesday and demanded briefs from
union and county attorneys by this morning. The county commissioners are calling
for a decision by tomorrow on an across-the-board contract offer that would keep
the unionized, publicly employed jail guards in place but would include new
contracts with five other unions representing county workers. The last-ditch
deal was ratified by the jail guards Sunday, but faces an uphill battle with the
other unions, which have been working without contracts for almost two years
while rejecting similar offers. The unions held a tumultuous membership meeting
Wednesday, with no agreement forthcoming. If the unions decline the contract
offer and Judge Kunselman rules in the county's favor, CiviGenics Inc. will take
over jail management Monday. The takeover would culminate a two-year effort by
the commissioners to cut costs at the Hopewell facility.
October 25, 2006 Beaver Times
As the deadline for privatizing the Beaver County Jail looms closer, it
appears the only way for jail guards to avoid losing their jobs is for
courthouse union members to accept concessions, too. But, if an emergency
meeting Tuesday of Service Employees International Union Local 668 members who
work at the courthouse is any indication, those jail guard jobs are as good as
gone. Courthouse workers were summoned to a meeting with state SEIU officials at
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall in Vanport Township to
hear a last-minute proposal to save the jobs of their SEIU brethren at the jail.
Once there, according to one employee who attended the meeting but asked not to
be identified, union officials told courthouse workers to accept the contract
terms presented or Massachusetts-based CiviGenics would take over the jail. Some
guards have applied to and been hired by CiviGenics, but most would be laid off
if the company took over. The employee said the proposal would have workers pay
1 percent toward health-care insurance costs in 2007 and 2008 and 1.5 percent
starting in 2009. Employees would receive raises of 2.5 percent on Jan. 1; 3
percent in 2008 and 3.5 percent in 2009. Courthouse workers have been without a
contract since Jan. 1, 2004, and negotiations have snagged on wages and the
county's demand that employees start contributing to health insurance costs.
Other terms, according to the employee, include a one-week reduction in the
maximum amount of vacation earned (from five to four weeks) and the loss of
three holidays (Flag Day, Dec. 26 and an employee's birthday). The employee said
the raucous meeting ended with frustrated courthouse workers leaving without
taking a vote. Tuesday's meeting followed a vote by jail guards Monday to accept
a contract proposal. Union officials would not publicly discuss the contract,
but one said it was similar to an arbitration decision released earlier this
year. That decision reduced the number of full-time guards, froze wages for jail
guards for three years and implemented a 1 percent contribution toward health
insurance. But it also prohibited the county from privatizing the jail for three
years. County commissioners, though, rejected the arbitration decision, saying
that the purported $450,000 in savings fell short of the estimated $1.9 million
the county could save by having CiviGenics manage the jail in Hopewell Township.
CiviGenics is scheduled to take over the jail Monday, so pressure is mounting on
jail guards to do something or face layoffs. Whatever the guards agreed to
apparently still didn't meet the commissioners' financial demands, so courthouse
employees were asked to take concessions in order to package a cost-saving deal
to the county. One flier being circulated around the courthouse Tuesday
perfectly illustrated the feelings over the proposal. "We are not happy about
this and hope that everyone will not be blackmailed by the commissioners," the
flier read. In a related matter Tuesday, attorneys for the SEIU and the county
debated the merits of the arbitration decision before Beaver County President
Judge Robert E. Kunselman. Both sides said they expect Kunselman to issue a
decision by Friday. The union wants Kunselman to order the county to abide by
the arbitration decision, while county commissioners argue that the ruling would
force them to raise property taxes to pay for the jail. Before that hearing
began, Claudia Lukert, the SEIU's attorney, withdrew the union's request for an
injunction, but she refused to explain why.
October 17, 2006 Beaver Times
A hearing that could decide the fate of the Beaver County Jail is expected
to be moved up a week, as a final deadline looms. Civigenics is scheduled to
take over management of the jail on Oct. 30, in a move that county commissioners
have billed as one that will save taxpayers money. Within the past few weeks,
representatives of Service Employees International Union Local 668 filed suit
against Beaver County, asking a judge for an injunction that would stop the
switchover from county to private supervision. Under the changeover, dozens of
current jail guards would lose their jobs.
October 12, 2006 Beaver Times
Beaver County President Judge Robert Kunselman apparently doesn't believe in
the old idiom "A day late and a dollar short." Even though CiviGenics is poised
to take over management of the county jail Oct. 30, Kunselman has scheduled a
hearing on a request for an injunction from the jail guards' union for Oct. 31.
Beaver County Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said the head-scratching
decision by Kunselman would not stop CiviGenics from taking over the jail as
scheduled. "We can't sit around and speculate on what is going to happen,"
Donatella said. The judge's decision is bewildering because county officials
have made it clear over the last few weeks in newspaper articles and letters to
jail employees that CiviGenics would assume control Oct. 30. Kunselman did not
respond to a telephone message left at his courthouse office Wednesday seeking
an explanation for his decision. Dave Ramsey, the jail guards' union
representative with Service Employees International Union Local 668, also did
not return a message left at his office. To win an injunction, county solicitor
Myron Sainovich said the union must prove to Kunselman that it is likely that it
would prevail in litigation and that irreparable harm would occur if the jail
were privatized. "I don't believe they can show that," Sainovich said. The
Pittsburgh law firm of Thorp, Reed & Armstrong is representing the county in
litigation about the jail. In a one-page order, Kunselman gave both sides until
Oct. 27 to submit briefs "on the question of whether or not injunctive relief
can or should be granted." This is the second recent court decision on the jail
takeover that has raised the eyebrows of county officials. Six of the seven
judges rejected a county request to recuse themselves from litigation involving
the jail to avoid conflicts of interest. Judge Deborah Kunselman removed herself
from any hearings citing her former position as county solicitor.
October 5, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Beaver County labor leaders might soon face a touchy, difficult choice. They
hate seeing the county bringing in a private firm to run the county jail, and
they feel betrayed by Democratic Commissioners Dan Donatella, a longtime friend
of labor, and Joe Spanik, a labor official elected in 2003. But would they go as
far as to shut down all political activities? Would they punish Mike Veon, of
Beaver, and Vince Biancucci, of Center, incumbent Democratic state legislators
counting on union support for re-election? Such a request is implied in a Sept.
26 letter from Kathy Jellison, president of Local 668 of the Service Employees
International Union, to its members who are county employees working at the
jail. "It is no longer acceptable for local party leaders and other elected
officials to remain silent while asking us to help them," the letter says. "They
must stand with us." The letter says Local 668 plans "to demand an immediate
suspension of all electoral activity in Beaver County by organized labor. ... We
are requesting that labor organizations shut down phone banks, labor walks and
all other in-kind contributions. ... We are requesting that you and/or your
family members not take part in any candidate on the ballot in the county. Cash
contributions should be suspended as well." In a county that is still heavily
Democratic and where organized labor is still a huge political force, the idea
has people nervous, waiting to see if the request is actually made.
October 3, 2006 Beaver Times
In an order signed Monday, only Judge Deborah Kunselman recused herself from
hearing any arguments, citing the fact that she was county solicitor when the
move to privatize the jail began. The county had asked the judges to remove
themselves from any cases concerning litigation with Service Employees
International Union Local 668, which represents the jail guards. SEIU opposed
the county's request, insisting that any arguments should be heard by a Beaver
County judge. The union has asked for an injunction to halt the county from
handing the reins of the jail to CiviGenics on Oct. 30 and it has asked the
court to order the county to abide by an arbitrator's contract decision that
prohibited the county from privatizing the jail. County commissioners have said
the decision was not binding and that they don't have to obey it because doing
so would force them to pass a tax increase to pay for jail operations. "This is
a Beaver County problem," said Dave Ramsey, the jail guards' SEIU
representative. "We're satisfied that this is going to stay before Beaver County
judges." Ramsey said he found it insulting that Beaver County tried to get the
jail litigation "shipped off to another county."
September 28, 2006 Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Barring further legal action, private enterprise will manage the Beaver
County Jail beginning Oct. 30. The county issued a letter Tuesday informing jail
workers -- who are all Beaver County employees -- that Civigenics Inc. would be
taking over jail operations. The Marlborough, Mass., company operates prisons
nationwide, including the jail in Columbiana County, Ohio, which borders Beaver.
The announcement was not unexpected, since the county activated its contract
with Civigenics June 22, and the contract gave the company 120 days to take over
operations. The move has been opposed in court, however, by the local unit of
the Service Employees International Union, representing corrections officers at
the jail.
August 3, 2006 Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Lawyers representing Beaver County do not think county judges would be
biased in the case pitting the county against its jail guards' union. But they
do think there is an appearance of the possibility of bias, and are thus asking
that the county's seven judges be recused from the case -- meaning it would be
handled by a retired judge or one from another county. The county's attorneys --
Joseph Friedman, Kurt Miller and Amy Herne, of Thorp Reed and Armstrong,
Pittsburgh -- made the recusal motion yesterday. "Because the county has set
aside 10 percent of the general fund budget for the jail, any deviation from
that budget will have a direct and material impact on the other operations
funded through the general fund, including the courthouse and the court of
Common Pleas," the argument for recusal reads. The judge, whoever it eventually
is, will play at least a minor role in deciding the fate of the county jail,
whether it will continue as a county-run, union-worked facility or whether it
will be privately run. The county has signed a contract with a private firm,
CiviGenics Texas Inc., to take over jail operations, looking for a savings of
about $1.9 million a year. Meanwhile, the county went through arbitration with
the guards' union over a contract that expired at the end of 2005, and the
arbitration panel signed off on a deal that would keep the union guards in place
but would cost the county more. The union regards the arbitration award as
binding. The county regards it as advisory, arguing that holding to it would
force county commissioners to take legislative action in the form of a tax hike,
and that arbitration can't force a county to take legislative action. That's an
argument the commissioners set in stone last Thursday, passing a three-page
resolution stating the position that the arbitration award is advisory only and
empowering the county's attorneys to fight it. The resolution states that county
funds are already earmarked for other departments and programs, many of which
are mandated by the state or federal government. Reserves need to be protected
in case of cash-flow problems, meaning the only way to pay for the arbitration
award would be to borrow money, paying it back through higher taxes later. "The
commissioners hereby reject the award as an unconstitutional infringement on the
legislative powers of the commissioners, and deem the award to be advisory only
in nature ..." the resolution reads. The resolution brought a long pause from
Commissioner Joe Spanik, a labor leader before his 2003 election. "That's a
tough one," he said quietly, before eventually seconding Commissioner Charlie
Camp's motion and voting for the resolution. After the meeting, Mr. Spanik said
he felt the advisory nature of the award to be up to the courts to determine,
though he backed the county's stance. The union, Local 668 of the Service
Employees International Union, has filed a petition asking the court to enforce
the arbitration award, and has also filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania
Labor Relations Board.
July 20, 2006 Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
Beaver County Commissioners are going full-steam ahead
with plans to privatize the county jail while the union representing the guards
is chugging right back with legal action to stop the move. "We feel we have to
go forward with it," commissioners' chairman Dan Donatella said. "There is too
huge a savings for the taxpayers for us not to." Meanwhile, the county's
contractor, CiviGenics Inc., is interviewing potential guards. In response, the
union: On July 10 filed a petition asking the county Common Pleas Court to
uphold a favorable arbitration award. On July 12 filed a complaint with the
state Labor Relations Board. On Monday filed a motion for an injunction to keep
the county from continuing its move to CiviGenics. "The county commissioners
want to be above the law, to ignore the arbitration award and do what they want
anyway," union steward Tom Trkulja said. The issue has roots going back to late
2004, when the commissioners hired a private firm to manage the county-owned
nursing home and started considering the jail as another candidate for
privatization. The county put out a request for proposals early in 2005, and
CiviGenics, based in Marlborough, Mass., offered a plan in June 2005 that
included $1.8 million in annual savings. The county asked the guards' union to
offer similar savings in a new contract -- the old labor agreement expired Dec.
31 -- but the contract went to arbitration when the union declined to match the
private offer. On June 7, after seeing a preliminary proposal from the
arbitrator, the county told the union it would go ahead with the CiviGenics
deal. It sent an official letter to that effect June 22, the same day the
arbitration award was announced. The union ratified the arbitrator's proposal,
which offered about $400,000 in savings. The union -- Local 1168 of the Service
Employees International Union -- contends that the arbitration award is legal
and binding. "They can't just ignore it," business agent Dave Ramsey said. The
county contends that while arbitration can determine what a contract will
include, it can't stop the county from simply walking away and going in a
different direction. "If an arbiter has that kind of power" -- to force a county
into a union contract if it has other options -- "then the contract will run
forever, and just keep getting renewed," Mr. Donatella said. In fact, Mr.
Donatella said, the dispute could end up touching on some important uncharted
territory. Depending what happens, the courts could end up determining whether
counties have an automatic right to subcontract work, or if they only have that
right when it is specifically allowed in their union contracts. "Many, many,
many counties are watching this case," he said. If counties have a general right
to employ subcontractors, it would make privatization a lot easier. Beaver
County's old union contract said nothing about subcontracting work to a private
business. The county contends that since it is not specifically forbidden, it is
an option the county has. "That's a management decision," Mr. Donatella said. "I
can't believe we don't have the right to manage." The union contends that since
the arbitration award does include language on subcontracting -- the award says
the county cannot subcontract work during the length of the new, arbitrated
union contract -- then the county's hands are tied. "My understanding of the law
is that if it isn't in the contract then you have to bargain for it," Mr. Ramsey
said, "and that's what we did." He said top SEIU officials, like county
officials, are watching the case closely. "They have to decide how they want to
use their resources," he said. "I don't know if we're going to have purple
shirts" -- the union's trademark color -- "marching in Beaver or not."
Meanwhile, CiviGenics has until early September to take over jail operations,
barring an injunction, and already is interviewing potential jail guards,
including some union members. "Nobody really wants to work for this company,"
Mr. Trkulja said, "but some of the guys, because of the way their lives are, are
going to have to." He said generally people are keeping quiet on the issue.
There have been some hard feelings and a little name-calling, but nothing more
serious than that, and union leaders are not asking members whether they are
doing interviews. "There are mixed emotions down there," he said. "A lot of
people are at somewhat of a low point."
July 18, 2006 Beaver Times
The union representing the Beaver County Jail guards filed for an injunction
on Monday to stop the county from contracting with CiviGenics to manage the
Hopewell Township jail. Service Employees International Union Local 668's motion
for an injunction filed in Beaver County Court said allowing the county to
contract with the Massachusetts-based CiviGenics would "cause immediate and
irreparable harm to the employees," who would "suffer a loss of employment,
medical coverage and other benefits ....." SEIU asked the court to grant an
injunction "until (the union) has fully exhausted the administrative and
judicial remedies." One of those remedies, presumably, is the union's request -
filed July 10 - to have the county court force the county commissioners to honor
an arbitration decision released by a panel last month. A neutral arbitrator and
a union representative on the panel approved the decision, while county
Solicitor Myron Sainovich, the panel's third member, rejected it. The union
insists the arbitration decision is binding, but the county disagrees. Under the
three-year decision, wages would be frozen and the number of full-time jail
guards would be reduced, but the county would also be prohibited from
privatizing the operation of the facility. The county's attorneys have said the
arbitration decision would save the county $450,000 annually for three years,
compared to the more than $4 million that would be saved by contracting with
CiviGenics through 2008. Asked if the request for an injunction would affect the
ongoing privatization process, Sainovich replied, "Not at this point in time."
Claudia Lukert, SEIU's Harrisburg attorney, didn't return a message left at her
office. County financial administrator Rob Cyphert said the county's contract
with CiviGenics calls for the company to be reimbursed up to $125,000 for
recruiting expenses "if they don't ultimately end up running the operation at
the jail." A temporary halt to the process would not trigger that clause,
Cyphert said. CiviGenics asked current guards to submit applications by July 14,
and it was scheduled to hold a job fair at Penn State-Beaver today.
June 29, 2006 Beaver Times
How frayed has the relationship between Beaver County and the union
representing its jail guards become amid contract arbitration and a move to
privatize the jail? So tattered that when Service Employees International Union
Local 668 business agent Dave Ramsey was told Wednesday that the county
commissioners were disappointed in an arbitration decision that saved the county
"only" $450,000 annually, this was his reaction: "Tell them to go (expletive)
themselves, and you can tell them I said that." Well, then. The relationship
won't improve now that an arbitration panel has issued a decision that would
prohibit privatization from happening through 2008 and reduce the number of
full-time guards, but would also freeze wages for three years and implement a 1
percent employee contribution toward health insurance. That's because county
commissioners probably won't accept the deal, which they say falls far short of
the estimated $1.9 million the county would save if the jail was outsourced to
the Massachusetts company CiviGenics. "It is unlikely that this board is going
to accept that," Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said of the decision by
arbitrator Marc Winters that was agreed to by SEIU representative Rick Adams.
The decision was issued Thursday, only hours after commissioners declared
negotiations at an impasse and voted to authorize CiviGenics to start the
takeover process. "We dislike just about everything (in the decision), but we're
pleased they're not going to have any (privatization) for the life of the
contract," Ramsey said. County Solicitor Myron Sainovich - who along with
Winters and Adams made up the arbitration panel - rejected the decision. The
arbitration decision would not keep the county from privatization, he said.
June 23, 2006 Beaver Times
A Massachusetts company could take over operation of the Beaver County Jail
by October after county commissioners on Thursday declared negotiations with the
guards at an impasse and unanimously approved privatizing the facility. "This,"
said Commissioner Joe Spanik, "is the next step forward." County Solicitor Myron
Sainovich said officials hope to have CiviGenics in place no later than Oct. 15.
Sainovich, who represented the county on the three-member arbitration panel in
April, said Butler County arbitrator Marc Winters, the agreed-to neutral party,
gave his proposal in May, but the county rejected it. Sainovich said the union
rejected the proposal as well, although no union representative would confirm
that on Thursday. Rick Adams, a representative for Service Employees
International Union Local 668, argued for the jail guards in arbitration; he
could not be reached at his Erie office. Sainovich would not release Winters'
proposal because it was not a final decision. Winters did not return a telephone
message left on Thursday. But Sainovich said late Thursday afternoon that
Winters was preparing a revised proposal that would be given to both sides for
consideration. Tom Trkulja, the guards' chief union steward, said he was unaware
of the commissioners' vote.
June 23, 2006 Tribune-Review
A private company will take over management and operations of the Beaver
County Jail by Oct. 15, county commissioners said Thursday. Putting CiviGenics
Inc. in charge of the 360-bed jail in Hopewell will save the county $1.9 million
in the first year of the deal, commissioners said in a news release. The county
will pay CiviGenics $14.6 million over three years to run the jail. The union
representing 72 county jail guards fought the move, fearing pay cuts and the
loss of benefits, and they questioned private prisons' safety record and
officials' rosy savings projections. "You shouldn't be imprisoning people for
profit," Service Employees International Union Local 668 business agent Dave
Ramsey said.
April 20, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The fate of Beaver County's push to privatize the county jail now rests in
the hands of Marc Winters, an arbiter from Butler County. Beaver County
officials and jail guards testified before a three-member arbitration panel
April 12 and last Thursday, making their cases for alternative versions of how
the Beaver County Jail should be run. With one of the three panel members
selected by the county and one by the guards, however, it is essentially up to
the one neutral arbiter, Mr. Winters, to say what should happen. The county has
signed a contract with a Massachusetts firm, CiviGenics Inc., to take over
management of the jail. The county says it can save up to $1.6 million a year by
moving the jail into the private sector. The corrections officers union, working
without a contract since Jan. 1, made a counterproposal, but it could not match
the savings promised by CiviGenics. The union filed for arbitration after the
county signed the CiviGenics contract. Neither guard nor county representatives
would talk in detail about the proceedings, which were closed to the public.
County financial administrator Rob Cyphert and jail Warden Bill Schouppe were
the county's primary witnesses; three corrections officers testified for the
union.
March 27, 2006 Beaver Times
The bitter contract negotiations between Beaver County Jail guards and the
county will go before an arbitration panel next month at the county courthouse.
County solicitor Myron Sainovich said last week that the county and the jail
guards' union will square off April 12 and 13 in closed sessions. A three-member
panel will hear arguments, but the decision essentially boils down to which side
can win over the one neutral arbitrator. Sainovich will sit on the panel as the
county's representative, and Rick Adams, a Service Employees International Union
Local 668 business agent, will represent the guards. Butler County lawyer Marc
Winters was picked as the neutral member by the county and the union. Sainovich
said the two-day hearing will resemble a trial, with county officials involved
in negotiations being called to testify. Although the county is poised to
privatize the jail and allow CiviGenics to take over operations, county
commissioners have said they would keep the jail under county control if they
could get the financial concessions they're looking for. County officials have
said the Massachusetts-based CiviGenics could save Beaver County $5 million over
the next three years, but jail guards have questioned the validity of those
estimates. The county has said the guards have not offered savings anywhere
close to what CiviGenics is promising. As the arbitration process winds to a
conclusion, the county continues to operate the jail, and guards continue to
work under the terms of the contract that expired at the end of 2005.
February 16, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Beaver County commissioners yesterday unanimously passed a 2006 budget with
no tax increase. The county's millage rate will hold at 17.7 mills, the same as
it was in 2005. The projected total budget is roughly $257.5 million for the
county's 29 separate funds and includes no major cuts or additions in funding or
programs. The budget likely will be amended in the near future depending on the
outcome of an arbitrator's decision on a contract between the county and the
Local 668 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents the
county jail's roughly 80 guards. The guards' contract expired on Dec. 31, and
the two sides are at an impasse after the county decided to contract with a
private firm, Civigenics, to run the jail. The county hopes to save upward of
$1.5 million a year by switching to a private firm; guards are concerned that
they might have to face sizable pay and benefit cuts to retain their jobs with a
private company.
January 24, 2006 Beaver Times
Beaver County will pay CiviGenics $14.6 million over the next three years to
manage the county jail, and it retains the right to cancel the contract at any
time without giving a reason. Peter Argeropulos, CiviGenics' chief operating
officer, said the deal is pretty typical of the company's other contracts.
Current jail guards have said that private guards make considerably less than
the $17.33 per hour the county now pays. Argeropulos said the wage scale would
range from $10 per hour for entry-level guards to $14 per hour for guards with
seniority. The benefits package would be a dramatic change for guards, who now
pay nothing for health insurance. Argeropulos said company employees generally
pay about 30 percent of health-insurance costs.
January 19, 2006 Beaver Times
Before the Beaver County Prison Board approved privatizing the Beaver County
Jail, guards offered a plan that would have saved the county $1.6 million this
year, the same as a private company has promised, a union official said
Wednesday. "We tried to save (the county) as much money as we could," said Tom
Trkulja, the chief union steward for the jail guards. Commissioners Chairman Dan
Donatella said the contract with Massachusetts-based CiviGenics was executed
Wednesday. "It's signed, sealed and delivered," he said. Trkulja charged that
the county is demanding outrageous concessions from the guards that no other
county unions have been offered. He said the guards have been asked to accept a
25 percent cut in hourly wages and pay a 25 percent health insurance premium
while other county employees pay 1 percent. The county also wants to slash the
number of full-time guards from 55 to 49 and part-time guards from 22 to 15,
Trkulja said. Although it doesn't want to hurt other county workers, the union
is exploring what bumping rights guards might have so they could move into other
county jobs if they get displaced by CiviGenics, Trkulja said.
January 18, 2006 Beaver Times
Nearly two years after the Beaver County Commissioners first talked about
privatizing the Beaver County Jail, the county prison board on Tuesday
authorized them to contract with a Massachusetts company to run the Hopewell
Township facility. "It's a contract that is good for the county," said Rick
Towcimak, prison board member and county controller. Under the proposed contract
with CiviGenics, the county would save a projected $5 million over the next
three years. Most of the savings would come from the county no longer employing
jail guards and having to pay their salaries and benefits. Tom Trkulja, the
chief union steward for the county's jail guards, said the vote was a surprise
to him and he again insisted that privatization would only create problems for
the county and its residents. "Taxpayers are going to lose on this," Trkulja
said. "We're all going to lose." Towcimak said he was initially skeptical about
the savings expected from CiviGenics, but he is now convinced the figures are
realistic. Also, he said the public would not be endangered by having a private
company operate the jail, something the current jail guards have repeatedly
warned about. "We've seen things happen down at the jail now, and it's not
private," said Towcimak. Last month, a jail sergeant was fired for mistakenly
releasing an accused child molester, the third time the sergeant had wrongly
released an inmate in 2005. Towcimak said he had also received assurances from
CiviGenics that the "vast majority" of jail guards would be offered jobs at
comparable wages. Trkulja bristled at those comments, saying the union has been
told that each full-time guard would have to accept an $18,000 pay cut.
January
1, 2006 AP
Beaver County says it is prepared to hire a private management firm to run the
county jail, which officials say would save the county $5 million over three
years. But the union representing the guards, whose contract expired Saturday,
says it hopes a new proposal will save the county enough money to fend off
privatization and ultimately save most of their jobs. "We're making every
attempt we can to come up with ways to save them money, said Tom Trkulja, the
union steward for the jail's 70 full-time and part-time guards. CiviGenics of
Massachusetts has said it could save the county about $1.6 million a year over
what it pays its guards currently - a projection disputed by the union. If
CiviGenics is hired, the company would have the option of keeping the existing
staff, but Trkulja said about 80 percent of the guards would probably not take
the jobs because of the lower pay. Although negotiators for two sides are
scheduled to meet Jan. 9, the county approved a budget last week that includes
the $1.6 million annual savings expected if CiviGenics is hired.
December 27, 2005 Beaver Times
Under Beaver County's preliminary 2006 budget that commissioners should approve
on Thursday, there won't be a county property tax increase for a second
consecutive year. Commissioners are prepared to outsource the management of the
jail to the Massachusetts company CiviGenics for a projected savings of nearly
$5 million over the next three years, including at least $1.6 million in 2006.
Savings achieved through no longer having to pay benefits could push those
figures higher. Health coverage accounts for nearly $760,000, according to the
county's 2005 budget, with dental and vision costing an additional $55,000.
Taking all costs into account, the total savings from outsourcing could easily
exceed $2 million annually. Service Employees International Union Local 668, the
union representing county jail guards, has disputed the numbers contained in
CiviGenics' proposal. And union officials have also been reviewing the contract
proposal in an effort to submit their own proposal. The union's contract expires
Dec. 31, and both sides have been negotiating. Donatella said commissioners
expect significant savings from the jail whether they're provided by the union
or CiviGenics. "We'll be more than happy to keep (the jail) in-house as
long as the savings are there," Donatella said.
December
15, 2005 Pittsburgh Post Gazette
It is, essentially, a tale of 2 mills. If the Beaver County commissioners get a
Massachusetts firm to run the county jail, or if they strike an equivalent deal
with the union representing jail workers, they expect to pass a budget with no
tax increase. If they keep running the jail under the terms of the existing
union contract, they expect to pass a budget with a tax increase of about 2
mills. They plan to approve a preliminary budget Dec. 29, including the
projected savings under the contract with CiviGenics, Inc., and then hunker down
to see what happens next. If the union makes an offer with equivalent savings,
they'll pass the preliminary budget essentially unchanged. If the commissioners
sign with CiviGenics, they expect the union to go to court, seeking an
injunction delaying the contract. If the court grants an injunction, the
commissioners would be forced to continue operating the jail under the terms of
the existing union contract, and would then pass a budget with a tax increase to
pay for it. Dave Ramsey, business agent for Local 668 SEIU of the Pennsylvania
Social Services Union, said the union would be coming up with a counter-offer,
but that it would not match the one from CiviGenics. "We are going to make
a proposal to them that includes enough people to actually man all the duty
stations," he said, labeling the private proposal a "ghost offer"
based on hiring and staffing assumptions that fly in the face of reality. Mr.
Ramsey said the county was having trouble hiring corrections officers now,
leading him to doubt whether CiviGenics can do so at lower wages. "The
prospects of this proposal from CiviGenics being viable are not very high,"
he said.
November
6, 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Beaver County is an unlikely place for a conservative revolution. Democrats hold
a two-to-one registration advantage, have dominated county government for
decades, own the state legislative seats. The steel mills are gone, but a blue
collar is still a badge of honor and unions remain a political force. Inside the
offices of the county commissioners, though, the flag of private enterprise is
flying high -- high enough to draw repeated protests from local union officials.
Over the last year, the commissioners have brought in new management for the
county nursing home, outsourced services like printing, nursing home laundry and
lawn care, and named a private restaurant to run the courthouse lunchroom as a
for-profit entity, not to mention two rounds of layoffs, the first two in county
history. And they're in the process of making two larger moves toward
privatization: They solicited private companies to build and manage a regional
juvenile detention center in the county and they have negotiated a tentative
agreement for a private company to take over the county jail. The moves have
local unions howling. "Our number one concern is for safety," said Ed
Rowan, a correctional officer at the county jail and safety officer for Local
668 of the Service Employees International Union. "That's a big issue when
it comes to private prisons. They have less training and lower wages."
There is an even larger issue, though, that has the union's state headquarters
on high alert as well. To put it simply, if this can happen here, it can happen
anywhere. Beaver's move toward private management at the jail would be even more
revolutionary, though it's not a done deal -- the union's contract runs through
Dec. 31, and the county cannot make a change until then. The county does,
however, have a basic agreement in place with CiviGenics Inc., of Marlborough,
Mass. The bottom line is $1.8 million in promised savings annually, with perhaps
another $600,000 in annual pension and benefit savings on top of it. If that
happens, Beaver will be only the second county in Pennsylvania with a privately
run jail -- the other is Delaware County, just south of Philadelphia. The
protests of unions has been backed by a vociferous anti-private-jail lobby,
which has Web sites and publications offering thousands of pages of horror
stories and studies disputing the industry's claims of safety and savings. And
in fact, Delaware has run into some recent problems, with five deaths in five
months, sparking an internal investigation and one by the county district
attorney's office. The county and jail operator The Geo Group Inc. are named in
a $500,000 lawsuit by the family of a man who died in the jail of a drug
overdose in April.
October 14, 2005 Beaver County Times
Beaver County Jail guards picketed the courthouse again on Thursday to protest
the privatization of the jail, and a union official gave the county
commissioners a petition bearing more than 1,400 names opposing the move. County
residents are "beginning to become aware of what's happening, and they
don't like it," said Dave Ramsey, the business agent for Service Employees
International Union Local 668. Ramsey told the commissioners at their regular
meeting that he noticed several resolutions on last month's agenda that
addressed increases in contracts. He warned the commissioners that they'd be
doing the same with CiviGenics if they outsource the jail to the Massachusetts
company. Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella didn't appeared swayed by the
petition or the 1,472 signatures.
September 29, 2005 Beaver County
Times
Beaver County Commissioner Joe Spanik is between the proverbial rock and a hard
place as county officials inch closer and closer to privatizing the Beaver
County Jail. "Absolutely, there's pressure," said Spanik, a longtime
labor official who was elected in 2003 with the support of unions. As the move
to privatize the jail in Hopewell Township picks up steam, Spanik has become the
sounding board for not only jail guards, but local and state union officials who
oppose outsourcing the jail's management to Massachusetts-based CiviGenics.
Spanik found himself in an awkward position recently when the Beaver County
Central Labor Council, on which Spanik sits, approved a resolution opposing
privatization. Spanik abstained from the vote approving the resolution.
September 23, 2005 Beaver County
Times
The debate over privatizing the Beaver County Jail intensified Thursday with
jail guards picketing at the county courthouse and commissioners saying they
might hire a public relations firm to counter union criticism. Prior to the
commissioners' meeting at 10 a.m., about 30 people - mostly guards, their
families and other union colleagues - carried signs and passed out fliers
protesting the possible hiring of CiviGenics, based in Marlborough, Mass., to
manage and staff the jail. Standing with other protesters along Market Street,
Tom Trkulja, the guards' union steward, reiterated his stance that a purported
$5 million in savings over three years is being exaggerated. Not
only would hidden costs ultimately cost taxpayers more in the long run, but
private jail guards are not as dedicated as public ones, he argues, which would
compromise the safety of guards, inmates and residents. During the
commissioners' meeting, Ramsey presented Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella
with a resolution from the Beaver County Labor Council opposing privatization
and asking that the county disclose CiviGenics' record, including its operation
of the Penn Pavilion minimum-security jail in New Brighton. Donatella said the
board is considering hiring a public relations firm that would direct the
county's response to the union's attacks on privatization. "We need to show
the taxpayer where we're coming from," he said. Donatella said a
public-relations campaign might include pamphlets, radio spots and newspaper
ads. "We're going to present the facts," he said, "and we'll let
the public decide."
September 22, 2005 Pittsburgh Post
Gazette
For nearly a year, the Beaver County commissioners have been talking about
hiring a private firm to run the county jail. In that same time, the union
representing corrections officers at the jail has been making dire predictions
about the impact of such a move. And last night, the Beaver County Central Labor
Council told the commissioners at their meeting that they too object to the
county prison board negotiating a contract with CiviGenics Inc., the
Marlborough, Mass. company that submitted the sole proposal to manage the jail.
All three commissioners serve on the prison board. The labor council said it
opposes "any scheme that risks the health and safety of all [county]
residents by contraction with out-of-state contractors who don't care about
Beaver County and whose sole concern is taking precious taxpayer dollars out of
the community." The council claims CiviGenics' projected savings of $1.8
million per year in operating costs is vastly overstated, partly because it's
based on a jail budget larded with overtime. The council also said CiviGenics'
numbers do not account for increased costs from a higher number of escapes and
assaults they expect from a lower-paid corrections staff. But the "No. 1
concern is safety," said Ed Rowan, a corrections officer and safety officer
for Local 668 of the Service Employees International Union. "That's the big
issue when it comes to a private prison," he said. "You have people
with less training making lower wages.
Bedford County Jail
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
PrimeCare
January 6, 2009 AP
A prison health care provider and the family of a western Pennsylvania man who
died in a prison have settled a lawsuit. John Margo claimed his son, 23-year-old
James Margo, started to go through heroin withdrawal at the Bedford County
Prison when he was jailed in June 2002. The suit claimed medical personnel did
nothing to help him. He died July 5, 2002. A lawyer for PrimeCare Medical Inc.
says terms of the settlement can't be released. PrimeCare has denied
responsibility throughout the case. Margo had been in prison for a parole
violation in a drug case.
Children's Advocacy Center
Erie, Pennsylvania
Cornell
June 12, 2009 Erie Times-News
A Cornell Abraxas mental-health aide was charged with sexually assaulting a
14-year-old resident at the center. Police said the girl, now 15, told a
counselor at the Children's Advocacy Center that Kito Dixon, 29, made
inappropriate comments to her and touched her breast April 11 as she was getting
ready for bed at the residential rehabilitation center for troubled juveniles,
at 429 W. Sixth St. Police said a security video from the hallway outside the
girl's room showed Dixon standing at her doorway for several minutes. It also
showed him entering the room but does not show what happened inside, according
to a criminal complaint. The video was at the same time as when the girl said
the incident occurred. Dixon was charged Tuesday with institutional sexual
assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors. He has been released from
the Erie County Prison on $7,500 bond. Messages left at Cornell Abraxas were not
returned Thursday.
Cornell-Abraxas Erie
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Cornell
April 21, 2010 Erie Times-News
A former Cornell-Abraxas mental-health aide was sentenced this morning in Erie
County Court to serve six to 20 months in the Erie County Prison for having
indecent contact with a 14-year-old resident at the center. Kito Dixon, 30, must
also serve also serve six years probation and pay court costs, Judge Ernest J.
DiSantis Jr. said. The sentence in Erie County Court came after Dixon pleaded no
contest in March to charges that he had indecent contact with a female resident
at the center in April 2009, and, in a separate case, pleaded no contest to
charges that he drove his car into a yard toward three people on June 12.
March 6, 2010 Erie Times-News
A former Cornell Abraxas mental-health aide pleaded no contest Friday in Erie
County Court to charges that he had indecent contact with a 14-year-old resident
at the center. Kito Dixon, 30, did not contest counts of indecent assault and
corruption of minors. In exchange for his plea, the prosecution dropped a
third-degree felony charge of institutional sexual assault. Cornell Abraxas is a
licensed residential facility for children and youth located at 429 W. Sixth St.
As a part of the plea, Dixon agreed to undergo an assessment by the Erie County
Adult Probation sexual offender group. In a separate case, he also pleaded no
contest to three counts of simple assault. He admitted he drove his car into a
yard toward three people on June 12. The charges together carry a maximum
possible penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Erie County
Judge John Garhart set sentencing for April 21. Police said a girl, now 15, told
a counselor at the Children's Advocacy Center that Dixon made inappropriate
comments to her and touched her breast April 11 as she was getting ready for bed
at the residential rehabilitation center for troubled juveniles. Police said a
security video from the hallway outside the girl's room showed Dixon standing at
her doorway for several minutes. It also showed him entering the room but does
not show what happened inside, according to a criminal complaint. The video was
at the same time as when the girl said the incident occurred.
Cornell-Abraxas Howe
Howe Township, Pennsylvania
Cornell
July 7, 2008 Erie Times-News
Four 18-year-olds were jailed over the weekend, charged with causing a riot
at a juvenile detention facility in Forest County. State police at Tionesta,
along with units from Ridgway, Kane and Clarion, were called to the Cornell
Abraxas facility in Howe Township on Saturday at about 10:30 p.m. Police said
one juvenile and three staff members were assaulted, although none was seriously
hurt. Three buildings were damaged and windows, desks, chairs and other
furniture were vandalized, with damage totaling about $5,000, according to
police. Derek Barnes, Richard Gale, Rasheed M. Seward, all of Philadelphia, and
Vernon L. High, of Chester, were each charged with riot, institutional
vandalism, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and corruption of minors,
according to police. Police said the four 18-year-olds incited additional
juveniles to participate in the riot. The four were arraigned and placed in
Warren County Jail with bail set at $25,000 each.
June 11, 2006 The Derrick
A boy escaped from the Cornell Abraxas facility Sunday morning but was
captured several hours later, said state police in Tionesta. The 17-year-old
youth fled into nearby woods after leaving the juvenile drug and alcohol
treatment facility in Howe Township, Forest County, police said. He was found
Sunday morning by staff members not far from the facility at 59 Blue Jay Road,
police said.
Cornell-Abraxas Quincy
Quincy Township, Pennsylvania
November 1, 2004 Public Opinion
A 17-year-old boy allegedly assaulted three Cornell Abraxas staff members at 9
p.m. Thursday at the treatment center in Quincy Township. The boy allegedly
punched, kicked and head-butted Leslie Fitch, 27, Chambersburg, David Black, 46,
Chambersburg, and Robert Reed, 31, Gettysburg, after they attempted to restrain
him, according to police. All three staff members suffered minor injuries,
police said.
Correctional
Physicians Services
October 14, 2002
State Sen.
Stewart Greenleaf, the Republican
candidate for the 12th
District, has accused his Democratic opponent, Howard
Rovner, of lying and misstating
facts during Rovner's press conference last week.
Greenleaf
was referring to assertions made both during the
debate, hosted by program
director Darryl Berger, and in a written statement issued to
the media at the press
conference Wednesday in Norristown. Greenleaf, a lawyer, did legal work
for Correctional
Physicians Services Inc., which was
awarded a $49 million contract in 1995 to provide medical
services to inmates at the
state's prisons. The firm paid Greenleaf, who was chair of
the Senate Judiciary
Committee, $2,000 every other week for more than two years
as compensation for legal
work.
In
his press release, Rovner said Greenleaf approved the
contract and later accepted a
$20,000 campaign contribution from the company's president.
"That's
a lie and you know it," Greenleaf said. "The state
legislature approves no
contracts. That's the governor's office."
Plus,
Greenleaf added, he had no connection with the company
when the original
agreement was drafted in 1990, and the only legal services
he provided Corrections dealt
with the firm's out-of-state clients.
Rovner
has called for an immediate investigation into
Greenleaf's actions.
He
said he would like to know exactly how much the senator
received as part of his
involvement with Corrections and as a member of the firm's
oversight committee during
the company's sale in 2000. (The Intelligencer)
Curran-Fromhold
Prison
Pennsylvania
Prison Health Services
May 10, 2006 Philadelphia Weekly
A new federal civil rights lawsuit alleges mistreatment of a Curran-Fromhold
prison inmate that culminated in a brutal rape. Attorney Rich Ostriak of the law
firm Ostriak Birley filed the suit last week in U.S. District Court, demanding
unspecified damages on behalf of inmate Thomas Moore, who entered the
Philadelphia prison system in January 2005, awaiting trial on robbery charges,
and fought with a pair of inmates over use of the phone on his first day there.
Moore was transferred to restrictive confinement, otherwise known as "the hole,"
where his complaints about severe pain and difficulty breathing were ignored for
almost three days before he was taken to the infirmary. On June 20 he was
transferred to Frankford Hospital to receive coronary angioplasty and an
arterial stent. The suit alleges Prison Health Services failed to deliver his
required heart medications for five days after he returned to jail.
August 16, 2001
Three suicides in a month, mentally ill patients being drugged senseless, filthy
treatment rooms, staffing shortages, management systems unable to cope.
Those are just some of the medical problems two consultants have found within
the city's prison health-care system, according to secret reports obtained by
the Daily News. It is a system operated by a Tennessee conglomerate that
the city pays $25 million a year. The city's contractor, Prison Health
Services, a subsidiary of American Service Group Inc., freely admits it's losing
money in Philadelphia, but insists the quality of care has not dipped.
Though the Street administration professes to be happy with its contractor,
ignorance can be bliss. On critical issues, administration officials don't
appear to be carefully supervising the private company, in part because they
have a minuscule oversight unit. The city's contract with PHS lacks the
precision tools for tight oversight. Dr. William Patterson, a Washington
psychiatrist, noted that the average mental-health caseload has been running at
1,600 inmates, far above the contract estimate of 1,000 inmates and far beyond
the staffing level PHS set up. Patterson also found that about 1,500 of
1,600 inmates were getting prescribed drugs. But PHS's Newkirk conceded:
"We are treating more people than what we were staffed for. You see that in
Dr. Patterson's report. What was in the contract is what we have. That's
the fact. As a result, we probably are giving more medications than we would if
we had more staff." Among the other issues raised by the city
consultants: * Hygiene - Greifinger found the medical units at Curran-Fromhold
and the Detention Center were dirty. He found infirmary cells with food
scattered around with bloody bandages. Refrigerators contained both food and
medicine. Biohazardous waste was left uncovered. * Medication - For all
the problems with drugging mental-health patients, Greifinger found that the
half of the doses given to patients at the Detention Center were undocumented.
* Records - One reason the city was so pleased with the expanded PHS contract
was that inmates would be cared for by only one medical unit rather than the
dual system that existed when Hahnemann University Hospital provided
mental-health care. But an integrated system still doesn't exist more than
a year after PHS gained control of the entire contract. * Testing - Only
22 percent of female inmates were tested for sexually transmitted diseases,
though prison policy and the contract require all women to be tested.
Consultant Patterson closed with a warning that the next round of class-action
lawsuits will be over improper mental-health care for inmates. (Daily
News)
August 16, 2001
When Kyle York, 20, showed up at the Philadelphia prisons, his life was in utter
shambles. After ingesting PCP on New Year's Eve last year, he'd gone into
a hallucinatory rage, shooting his mother, shooting at his father and inflicting
a grazing wound to himself. Less than three months later he was dead.
And Blake Berenbaum, the attorney hired by York's parents, is trying to learn
what happened to the troubled young man. Was he beaten to death by prison
guards? Given too many injections of sedatives by prison physicians? Was it a
combination of the two? Or did he meet his fate by some unknown means?
Prison spokesman Bob Eskind said York had been under "four-point
restraint," meaning that four guards each took a limb. Both Eskind
and Berenbaum said a PHS doctor had given York a dose of Ativan, a sedative.
Berenbaum identified the physician as Benjamin Caoile. Put into an infirmary
bed, York was still combative, Berenbaum said. At that point Caoile left York
and the guards in the room. Berenbaum said records show that the doctor
ordered the nurse to give York "another" injection of Haldol and
Benadryl, both sedatives. To Berenbaum, that suggests there were earlier and
unrecorded doses of those drugs. When Caoile returned about 15 minutes
later, York was in an unresponsive state and emergency measures were started.
York never regained consciousness and died on March 14. (Daily News)
September 15, 2000
Jose Santiago was arrested on drug charges Sept. 13. While in police custody,
the 28-year old diabetic received three insulin shots. But after he was
transferred to prison custody on Sept. 15, his condition deteriorated and he
died Sept. 16. The medical examiner stated that the death was diabetes related.
City Councilman Angel Ortiz wants an
investigation to take place. He said, "Mr. Santiago was totally neglected
by health services at Curran-Fromhold. He didn't commit suicide. He was just not
given medical assistance."
Pending in U.S. district Court is a
suit filed by seven diabetics and the American Diabetes Association against the
city. They contend that the police denied them proper care while in police
custody.
Dauphin County
Prison
Dauphin, Pennsylvania
Aramark
September 20, 2005 Patriot News
While Dauphin County Prison's food service vendor has agreed to reimburse the
county $65,000, there was no criminal intent behind the overbilling, authorities
say. The agreement reached between Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp. and the
county district attorney ends a several-month grand jury investigation started
last year into allegations of watered-down food and overcharging. Aramark did
provide adequate food as called for in its contract with the Swatara Twp.
prison, but the investigation showed the county was billed for meals that were
not made, said District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. The $65,000 is for
overbilling that occurred in 2002 and 2003, Marsico said. The investigation was
spurred by repeated inmate complaints. While there were menu changes under the
current contract, Marsico said the investigation found Aramark was providing the
required meal content. Aramark officials refused to discuss what went wrong on
their end or what steps they've taken to make sure the problem does not reoccur
September 20, 2005 AP
Dauphin County Prison's food service vendor agreed to reimburse the county
$65,000 for overbilling during 2002 and 2003, authorities said. Officials said
there was no criminal intent behind the overbilling, and Philadelphia-based
Aramark Corp. did provide adequate food as called for in its contract with the
prison. "I'm very pleased with the amount of money we received,"
District Attorney Edward M. Marsico said. "I believe it more than covers
any loss the county may have had." Masrisco said much of the overbilling
occurred because the company had charged a flat amount for meals instead of
tracking the actual ups and downs of the jail population, and he said both
prison officials and the company would keeping a more careful eye on how many
meals actually are provided. Aramark
officials declined to discuss what went wrong what steps they were taking to
prevent a recurrence. "We fully cooperated with the inquiry and consider
the situation to be resolved," company spokeswoman Sarah Jarvis said.
March 19, 2004
A 16-year old Harrisburg boy escaped from a Dauphin County juvenile detetnion
center, using a stock to disable a locked door and a walkie-talkie to create
confusion. The teenager, who then outran two guards,
remains at large following the escape at about 1 a.m. Tuesday from the Schaffner
Youth Center in Steelton. No one was injured,
according to county spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher. The
teen, who was admitted Saturday on unspecified misdemeanor charges, is not
considered dangerous. His name and the nature of the charge was not released
because of his age. Two guards have been
suspended without pay pending a review of the facility, which is managed by
Cornell Abraxas and holds about 65 youths, Kocher said. "We
did have several unfortunate breakdowns in security," she said. (AP)
February 1, 2004
Officials are looking into whether a food service
company is cutting back on the amount of food served to prisoners. Reporter Chris
Schaffer has the exclusive story. When
inmates come to the Dauphin County Prison food service giant Aramark provides
the food they eat. A few months ago county officials began looking into the
company's books, as part of a contract renewal process. They saw documents
including years of menus, instructions, and budgets. Dauphin
County Commissioner Jeff Haste: "The numbers didn't quite match up - it
appeared in our minds that we had been over-billed" The
county renewed its contract with Aramark. In early November, the prison went
into a partial lock-down because of what the warden called "heightened
tension levels" among inmates. At that time a corrections officer told
WHP-CBS-21 that one factor leading to the increase in tension was that food
portions appeared to be smaller. Another
source now says documents suggest that for years, inmate portions have been
reduced or watered down to save money. Soon the investigation will go before a
grand jury in Dauphin County. A
representative from Aramark would only say quote, "we did receive a request
for information from the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office, and we are
cooperating fully. Commissioner Haste says
the discrepancies he noticed could be accounting errors, but; "If in
fact there's criminal intent I'm going to recommend we prosecute to the extent
we can prosecute" Aramark is a
world-wide company, headquartered in Philadelphia. It provides food for sports
stadiums, hospitals and universities in addition to more than 300 correctional
facilities. (WHPTV.com)
DuPont Laboratories
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wackenhut (Group 4)
April 30, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
A former postal employee serving a year's probation for stealing bars of
gold from an express-mail package was jailed yesterday for three months for
violating his probation. Edward Henderson, 22, of Dover Street near W. York
Street, ran afoul of the feds after he told his probation officer he had been
fired from his job as a security guard for Wackenhut Security. Todd Schaffer,
the probation officer, testified at a hearing yesterday that Henderson found a
SIM card for a cell phone in a storage locker at DuPont Laboratories and used it
for several months in his own cell phone. A SIM card is a tiny data card that
stores account information. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joan Burnes said Henderson
used the SIM card between May and August 2007, ringing up charges of almost
$1,750 to call his girlfriend and family members. Henderson was charged in
Common Pleas Court last August with theft by unlawful taking and with receiving
stolen property. Those charges are still pending. A condition of Henderson's
probation was that he not commit any federal or state crimes. U.S. Magistrate
Judge Timothy Rice was not pleased. Last May, Rice sentenced Henderson to a
year's probation for stealing 15 bars of .9999 fine gold from an express-mail
package, valued by authorities at about $11,850. Burnes said Rice had given
Henderson an opportunity last year to set himself straight but he blew it.
Burnes asked that the judge jail Henderson for three months. Henderson admitted
he had "done a foolish thing" but said he hadn't deliberately violated his
probation. Defense attorney Maranna Meehan said she thought three months in jail
was a "bit excessive." "I'm asking for a second opportunity for [him]," she
said, adding that Henderson was supporting his mother and his 3-year-old son.
But this time, Rice was not so understanding. "I had confidence in you, I gave
you a chance," he told Henderson. "You made a promise to me and you broke it."
The judge was just getting warmed up. "You just don't get it. I think you just
thought you could get away with it because you're wearing a uniform," Rice said,
his voice rising a few decibels. Rice also ordered Henderson to make restitution
of $1,750 to DuPont Labs. Rice ordered Henderson to be taken into custody
immediately.
Elizabeth Township
June 22, 2007 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
A former Elizabeth Township district judge is about to embark on a new
venture -- as a blogging federal prisoner. Ernest Marraccini, 62, was sentenced
Thursday to 16 months in a yet-to-be-determined federal prison and ordered to
pay a $15,000 fine. Marraccini pleaded guilty in March to one count of
obstructing justice for coaching a witness to lie to a grand jury. As he left
the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Alan N. Bloch, Marraccini thanked his
supporters and promised to post a diary online from prison -- even if he has to
mail the daily entry to a friend. Federal prisoners are not typically given
access to the Internet. "I've already found someone who's agreed to do it," said
Marraccini, who will remain free on bond until he is told where to report.
Marraccini obstructed the investigation of former Allegheny County Chief Deputy
Sheriff Dennis Skosnik. Skosnik was sentenced last year to five years in prison
on a variety of charges, including taking bribes to promote the construction of
a private jail facility at Swiss Alpine Village -- the Route 48 shopping center
where Marraccini's office was located. In 2001, Gary McDermott, of Stowe, paid
for a trip to the Bahamas for Marraccini and a friend. In exchange, Marraccini
spoke favorably about the jail facility at public meetings, prosecutors said.
Marraccini later tried to get McDermott -- an FBI informant -- to tell the grand
jury that he was repaid for the trip.
February 1, 2007 Tribune-Review
A former district judge said Wednesday he reluctantly agreed to plead guilty to
obstructing a federal corruption investigation of the Allegheny County Sheriff's
Office. "People who are innocent frequently believe that they must take the
'percentage play' because they have a lot to lose if the jury finds them
guilty," said Ernest L. Marraccini, an Elizabeth Township district judge from
1992 until he resigned in December. Marraccini, 62, was charged Tuesday with
obstruction of justice in connection with an investigation into former Chief
Deputy Sheriff Dennis Skosnik, who pleaded guilty last year to taking bribes to
promote the construction of a private jail in the shopping center where
Marraccini's office was located. Prosecutors allege Marraccini got an
all-expense-paid trip for two to the Bahamas in 2001 from the person trying to
build the private jail. Investigators said Marraccini tried to get a witness to
lie in 2005 to a federal grand jury looking into the trip. Marraccini's
attorney, Victor H. Pribanic, said that Marraccini was given the trip by former
sheriff's deputy Gary McDermott, of Stowe, and that it was McDermott his client
later tried to influence. McDermott was identified in 2005 as an informant in
the federal probe of the planned facility at Swiss Alpine Village, a shopping
center on Route 48. Skosnik, 55, a friend of McDermott's, pleaded guilty in June
to related bribery, witness tampering and other charges. He is serving a
five-year sentence in a federal prison in West Virginia. Pribanic said the
Bahamas trip "was not a quid-pro-quo thing. I think it was more like a gift in
gratitude for things (Marraccini) had already done." Marraccini, who said he was
a grocery bagger at his cousin's store in Elizabeth Borough before successfully
running for district judge in 1992, spoke in favor of the alternative inmate
facility at public meetings and elsewhere, Pribanic said. Pribanic claimed
McDermott repeatedly approached Marraccini to get him to fix cases and accept
bribes, but Marraccini rebuffed him. The attorney said he hoped U.S. District
Judge Alan N. Bloch would consider that at the plea hearing, scheduled for March
15. McDermott did not return calls for comment. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan
declined to comment on the case. Reached at home yesterday, Marraccini said he
and a longtime male friend who lives with him went on the trip together. He
suggested that the fact that he is gay might have played a role in triggering
the investigation. "There are some people who have a very difficult time simply
accepting gay people no matter what they do," Marraccini said. The state Court
of Judicial Discipline reprimanded Marraccini in October after he was accused of
calling some defendants "morons" when they hesitated to leave the court after he
summarily dismissed their traffic cases. He resigned two months later.
Marraccini said he was "sad" to no longer work as a district judge. He joked
that he is thinking of writing his memoirs. "With any luck, I'll get to go on
'Oprah' and cry, I'll get to be on 'The View' and insult somebody famous, then
maybe Jay Leno will call me a name. And with any luck I'll get rich and become a
celebrity ... and turn this lemon into lemonade," he said.
Erie
County Jail
Erie, PA
Prison Health Services
July 19, 2005 Red Nova
Erie County must soon come up with another $311,877 to pay 2004 medical expenses
at the Erie County Prison. Warden James Veshecco said medical costs have
been rising partly because the number of inmates has been increasing. The
average population was 705 in 2004, compared with 676 in 2003. The
$311,877 will be on top of the regular premium of $1.3 million already paid in
2004, he said. Veshecco said the prison is receiving more inmates who need
mental health treatment and related prescriptions. There are also more women,
some of whom are pregnant. The county has contracted with Prison Health
Services of Brentwood, Tenn., since 1999 to provide all medical care and
pharmaceutical costs at the prison. Because of the rising costs, the
county in recent years agreed to a contract that set limits on the amount that
the insurance company would pay for inmates who go to hospitals and other
facilities and for pharmaceutical products. The prison must pay any amount above
that. In 2003, the premium was $1.2 million and the county had to pay an
additional $60,000 for exceeding the cap.
In 2004, the prison once again exceeded the caps and had to pay $207,365 more
for off-site visits and $104,512 more for pharmaceutical products, totaling
$311,877. The premium to PHS has been increased to nearly $1.5 million for
2005, exclusive of the money owed if the caps are exceeded.
Franklin County Jail
Pennsylvania
EMSA/Prison Health Services
EMSA was warned that it -- not taxpayers-- must pay any legal damages that might
be awarded in connection with the death of an inmate last month. (Columbus
Dispatch, Oct.5, 2000)
Inmate, Rocky Eickstadt, dies of
complications from diabetes. Jail records show he requested medical help not
knowing he was diabetic, complaining of problems and did not see a jail nurse
for eighteen days. Family is suing. Three lawsuits are pending against EMSA and
one against CMS in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on other issues. (Columbus
Dispatch, Oct.5, 2000)
EMSA replaces correctional medical
services after CMS was repeatedly faulted by Franklin County officials for being
short staffed. Commissioners warned EMSA that poor service would not be
tolerated after national media reports linking the company to suits and improper
care. (Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 5, 2000)
George
W. Hill Correctional Facility
Thornton, Pennsylvania
Community Education Centers (formerly run by
GEO Group, formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections)
September 1, 2010 Delco Times
Delaware County Council Tuesday called for a complete investigation into the
unauthorized release of three prisoners from the county prison since June 14.
Two of the inmates are back in custody and federal marshals are looking for the
third. Significant changes in prison-release procedures are in place at the
George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornbury, and additional safeguards are
being formulated as part of an investigation into the inmate-release process.
“Public safety is county council’s top priority and we won’t tolerate mistakes
when it comes to our criminal justice system and the safety of our residents,”
said council Chairman Jack Whelan. “We have asked for a full investigation of
the inmate-release procedure. A stricter, more fail-safe policy is already in
place with more changes to come as the investigation continues.” Whelan said
several county employees were involved in the incidents. One was fired and the
others were disciplined. “And quite frankly, they should have been,” Whelan
said. “I can expect that you are not going to see anything like this in the
future.” The prison, which is the fifth-largest county prison in the state, is
operated by Community Education Centers Inc., a New Jersey-based company that
has run the facility since January 2009. Prison Superintendent John A. Reilly
Jr. detailed three procedural changes that have been instituted since June 15
and said he has also launched a review of the clerical-records process to
streamline and strengthen the paperwork procedures at all levels.
August 31, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer
Kelly DeLuca was talking on the cell-block pay phone after 8 p.m. at the
Delaware County prison when she got unexpected news: She could go home. "I'm not
supposed to go home," DeLuca said she told the guard. It was May 6, and she had
nine days of an 18-day sentence left to serve for violating probation on a
criminal-trespass charge. "Not my . . . problem," came the response, said the
43-year-old Havertown mother, who says she was told to hang up, pack up, and get
ready to be discharged in time to catch the 9:40 p.m. SEPTA bus to Chester. She
said she was not allowed to make any calls and was given two bus tokens. An hour
later, DeLuca, a well-educated woman whose life spiraled downward because of
alcohol, found herself standing on a Chester street corner, dressed in
sweatpants and blue fuzzy slippers, with no cash and one token left. DeLuca is
at least the fourth prisoner in recent months to be mistakenly released from the
state's only privately run county prison - the George W. Hill Correctional
Facility. "It is obviously very embarrassing and completely unacceptable,"
County Councilman Andy Lewis said Monday. Until hearing from a reporter about
the DeLuca case, he had been aware only of three others, including a murder
suspect who turned himself in. Two are still at large, one convicted of firearms
violations, the other charged with robbery. "We have to make sure it does not
happen again," Lewis said. Community Education Centers Inc. of West Caldwell,
N.J., which has operated the county prison since January 2009, has attributed
the three previous mistaken releases, all since June, to paperwork errors. "The
company is working very closely with the county to review its policies and
procedures," Christopher Greeder, a spokesman for CEC, said Monday. He said he
was not aware of DeLuca's mistaken release. County Executive Marianne Grace said
Friday that the County Council would conduct an investigation and review all
policies and procedures surrounding prison releases. The Thornbury Township
facility has a budget of $44 million from the county and houses about 1,800
inmates. The District Attorney's Office said Friday that its criminal
investigation division also would investigate mistaken releases. DeLuca's
attorney, Robert C. Keller of Havertown, confirmed his client was mistakenly
released early.
August 28, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer
The Delaware County executive vowed Friday to have a "serious discussion" of
ways to improve security at the county prison, from which three inmates were
mistakenly released this summer. Marianne Grace said the county was calling for
a complete investigation and review of all policies and procedures surrounding
prison releases. "Public safety is our number-one priority," Grace said. She
said that on Monday, she would set up a meeting between prison and county
officials to address the issue, but added that no written report was likely to
be made public. Grace called inmate-release procedures a "multilayer process
that is complex" and involves a number of departments, including the county's
Office of Judicial Support and the company that operates the prison. "The human
errors which are occurring are unacceptable," Grace said. Grace said she knew of
three prisoners' being mistakenly released this year and added that she was
surprised to learn that media reports had documented as many as five. Grace also
said she did not know that, according to a report on the state Department of
Corrections website, two prisoners walked away last year. The District
Attorney's Office said Thursday bench warrants had been issued for Ateia Polk,
32, of the 4500 block of North 11th Street, and David Jeffrey Wilson, 19, of
West 22d Street in Chester. Both were freed because of paperwork errors. On June
14, murder suspect Taaqi "Fame" Brown of Germantown was released after he was
confused with another inmate with a similar name. He turned himself in a day
later. Community Education Centers Inc. (CEC) of West Caldwell, N.J., has
operated the country prison since January 2009. Officially known as the George
W. Hill Correctional Facility, the Thornbury Township prison operates on a
budget of $44 million from the county and houses about 1,800 inmates. It is the
only privately run county prison in the state. Calls Friday to John J. Clancy,
chief executive officer of CEC, for comment were not returned. Prison
Superintendent John A. Reilly and Warden Frank Green also did not return calls;
nor did John Hosier, chairman of the board of the Delaware County Board of
Prison Inspectors, and County Solicitor Robert DiOrio. The District Attorney's
Office said Friday that its criminal investigation division would also
investigate the mistaken releases. Susan Bensinger, a spokeswoman for the
Department of Corrections, said county prisons "set and follow their own
policies and procedures." The state inspects prisons regularly. Delaware County
passed its most recent inspection, in 2008. It is scheduled for another by the
end of the year.
August 27, 2010 Philadelphia Daily News
The privately run George W. Hill Correctional Facility has been struggling this
summer with what you might call a prisoner-retention problem. Delaware County
authorities discovered this month that two inmates had been mistakenly released
from the prison due to clerical errors. Neither has been heard from since. It's
the fifth time that this has happened in recent months, according to a county
official. The prison, operated by New Jersey-based Community Education Centers
for $43 million a year, made headlines in June when accused killer Taaqi Brown
walked out because of a records snafu. Brown, 22, of Germantown, turned himself
in the next day, and the CEC clerk who let him out was fired. Now, the U.S.
Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force is searching for David Wilson, 19, of
Chester, who was convicted in July of a firearms offense, but was released from
the prison Aug. 4, two weeks before he was to be sentenced. Federal authorities
also are looking for Ateia Polk, 32, of Philadelphia, who is on the lam after
the prison released her last month prior to her trial on robbery, assault and
related offenses. Polk is accused of stealing jewelry from an Upper Darby beauty
parlor and threatening to stab the owner with a hairpin. "We're not pointing the
finger at anybody," said prison Superintendent John Reilly Jr., who oversees
CEC's performance on the county's behalf. "This is an in-house problem that
needs to be resolved here." Reilly said that Polk was released because a prison
employee misinterpreted a judge's order. The clerk apparently thought that "no
bail" meant that Polk could leave without posting bail. "She just made a
colossal mistake," Reilly said. In Wilson's case, the prison never received a
fax from the county's Office of Judicial Support stating that his bail had been
revoked. But Reilly said that a prison employee should have double-checked that
he was cleared for discharge. "You need to do a more thorough search," he said.
"The bottom line is, you are responsible when you open the back door." Reilly
said that the prison's records department has been having trouble handling the
thousands of documents it receives every week. He described it as a systemic
problem that CEC is working to correct. "They don't have a process in place to
accurately accept all these documents," Reilly said. "They just come flying in.
There's a real breakdown in their process at that point." In some cases, such as
Polk's, overwhelmed employees are simply misreading the paperwork. "It's a
longstanding problem with the records department being able to process the
volume," Reilly said. CEC took over the operation of the county prison last year
after the GEO Group abandoned its contract due to "financial underperformance
and frequent litigation." Located in Thornton, it is the only privately run
county prison in the state. CEC spokesman Christopher Greeder declined to
elaborate on the discharged inmates, other than to say that "the matter is under
review and the company is working closely with the county." "This is the first
crisis of the CEC era, and we're going to see how good they are," Reilly said.
"They'll have to get through it."
August 2, 2010 AP
A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia says prison officials can ban employees
from wearing Muslim headscarves out of safety concerns. The judges say the case
is a close call. But they say prison officials have legitimate concerns the
headscarves can hide contraband or be used by an inmate to choke someone. The
2-1 decision is a defeat for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The commission believes the three Muslim women employed at the Delaware County
Prison in Thornton had to compromise their religious beliefs to keep their jobs.
Monday's ruling upholds a district judge who dismissed the EEOC lawsuit. The
suit was filed against the Geo Group, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based contractor that
operated the prison.
July 31, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer
Three former prison guards have sued the Delaware County prison, alleging
religious, sexual, and racial discrimination after they were fired for not
cutting their hair, which they say their religion forbids. Nigel LeBlanc, Eugene
Briggs and Zayid Bolds, all of Philadelphia, are followers of the Rastafarian
movement, which prohibits cutting hair on the head, including facial hair,
according to their lawsuit. They were asked to choose between their jobs and
their religion, said Jennifer L. Zegel, attorney for the men. The prison is run
by the New Jersey-based Community Education Centers (CEC), which took over from
GEO Group on Jan. 1, 2009. The men were fired seven days later for failure to
comply with the company's grooming policy.
June 17, 2010 Delco Times
Taaqi Brown’s taste of freedom lasted a little more than 12 hours. It likely
will take a lot longer than that for Delaware County prison officials to get the
bad taste out of their mouth from Brown’s sojourn. The county was jolted early
Tuesday morning with news of an “escape” from the George W. Hill Correctional
Facility. Uh, not exactly. As we learned a few hours later, Brown did not
escape. He walked out the front door. After he was given his walking papers by
prison employees. That’s how a man who police believe is responsible for opening
fire on a crowded playground, in the process killing an unintended victim, was
returned to society. Make no mistake, Taaqi Brown was not incarcerated for a
minor offense. He is an accused killer. He was confined to 22-hour-a-day lockup
in the Delco jail. He wore the distinctive red jumpsuit that identifies him as a
high-risk inmate. And yet he was still given his walking papers and allowed to
stroll – or perhaps walk as quickly as his legs would carry him – to his
girlfriend’s black SUV, which was waiting for him outside. That’s because Brown
had learned earlier in the day that he was going to be cut loose. He contacted
family members, who made sure Brown had a ride when he became a free man. Prison
officials are now referring to the mistaken release as a paperwork snafu. A
simple human error. You can say that again. For his part, District Attorney G.
Michael Green didn’t sound as if he was totally convinced. While announcing that
Brown’s brief respite had earned him a felony escape charge, Green insisted, “I
want to know everything that happened here.” He’s not the only one. Here’s what
apparently went down. An inmate named Brown was in fact supposed to be released.
But it appears that it was Tarriq Smith-Brown, Taaqi’s brother, who had done
time on a minor drug charges, who was supposed to be cut loose. If that sounds a
little hard to believe, you’re not the only one who feels that way. Neither
Green nor Prison Superintendent John Reilly, while indicating that it appeared
to be a simple clerical error, were willing to rule out something else.
Something more sinister. And they vowed to get to the bottom of it, including
any possibility that Brown got an assist from inside the prison. Reilly
indicated that the records clerk involved in Brown’s release apparently failed
to double-check the name while preparing the paperwork that was supposed to free
Tarriq Brown but instead opened the door for Taaqi. It strains credulity that no
one at the prison realized that a suspected killer who was isolated in the
prison as a high-risk inmate was simply going to be allowed to walk out the
front door. At worst it points to a serious security breach at the facility. But
even if it was a simple clerical error, it fuels public distrust in the
operation of the prison, which continues to be run by a private firm, Community
Education Centers. The county has had mixed results at the prison since
privatizing the operation when it built the new jail several years ago. The
prison was first run by Wackenhut, which then was transformed into GEO, and for
the past few years by CEC. Lawsuits, staffing and other problems have been
persistent issues. Reilly, who noted the facility has had more than 3,000
discharges this year without incident and 9,500 last year, knows all too well
that when the prison does things right, it doesn’t get attention. The mistaken
release of a suspected killer does. It does things like spark a countywide
manhunt. It puts citizens on edge. It fosters distrust in the county’s ability
to keep its citizens safe from criminals. “We need to solve the problem,” Reilly
said. He’ll get no argument here. This can’t happen again. County and prison
officials need to make sure it doesn’t.
June 16, 2010 Philadelphia Daily News
It wasn't "Prison Break" but, rather, prison breakdown in Delaware County Monday
night, when a murder suspect was accidentally set free from the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility. In an equally astonishing move, the prisoner, Taaqi
Brown, who could face life in jail if convicted of first-degree murder, turned
himself in yesterday and willfully went back to prison less than 24 hours after
he was released. Now detectives are investigating if Brown's release was the
result of human error or, perhaps, the result of careful, human calculation.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, whose department arrested
Brown, 21, last year in the murder of 19-year-old Aaron Kearney, said he got the
call about Brown's release about 10 Monday night. "My first reaction was 'What
the f---!' It's not like he's in for DUI," Chitwood said. "My second was to ask
'How did this happen?' " Chitwood said he was later informed that Brown's
brother, Taariq Brown, 23, who also was at the prison, was supposed to be the
inmate released yesterday. When he was released instead, Taaqi Brown, of
Germantown, called his girlfriend, who picked him up, Chitwood said. Brown's
taste of freedom sent officers from numerous agencies on an all-out manhunt
yesterday. But about 11 a.m., Brown's father contacted an inspector he knew in
Philadelphia's Northwest Detectives and said his son wanted to surrender,
according to police. Chitwood said Brown and his father were worried that he'd
be shot to death by cops. "It was the best thing for me to do," Brown told NBC
10, which rode with him as he surrendered. "I would hate for police to run up on
me and feel as though I'm armed or I got a weapon on me." Brown maintains his
innocence in the video and in a surreal, media-saturated moment, was recorded
listening to a KYW Newsradio broadcast about his "escape." Brown is charged with
shooting Kearney to death in broad daylight on a crowded Upper Darby playground
on May 2, 2009. Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said Brown
would face an additional charge of escape because he knew that he should not
have been released and did not speak up. He acknowledged that someone should
have noticed that Taaqi Brown was in jail without bail, that he was in 22-hour
lockup and that he wore a different-colored jumpsuit - red - to denote his
alleged violent crime. "There were an obvious number of indicators that should
have set off bells and whistles," Green said. Prison Superintendent John Reilly
Jr. said it was too early to determine whether Brown's release had been an
accident or perhaps an inside job. "We can't rule out that these two didn't try
to orchestrate it," Reilly said. "I can't rule out that they didn't get the
records girl to submit Taaqi Brown's data as a discharge." County detectives
were planning to interview the 23-year-old records clerk who was hired three
months ago, as well as corrections officers and "anyone in the prison that could
have facilitated the discharge process," Reilly said. Even though the brothers'
names are similar, the records clerk should have noticed that they had a
different inmate number, birth date and court-identification number, he said.
"This could have been a colossal mis-hire," Reilly said. "If that's what it is,
we'll address it." The George W. Hill Correctional Facility is the only
privately run county prison in the state. Last year, New Jersey-based Community
Education Centers (CEC) replaced the GEO Group as prison operator. The records
clerk is an employee of CEC. From 2002 through 2004, three inmates were
mistakenly released from the county prison. In one instance, a 6-foot-4,
250-pound black man named Markish Thomas was released instead of a Mike Thomas,
a 5-foot-10, 165-pound white man with blond hair and blue eyes.
May 20, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer
A company that formerly operated the Delaware County Prison has settled a
federal class-action lawsuit involving strip-searches of incoming inmates
charged with minor crimes. The $2.9 million settlement awards up to $400 each to
about 10,000 inmates at six GEO Group facilities. Prisoners at the Delaware
County facility, now operated by Community Education Centers of West Caldwell,
N.J., who were strip-searched between Jan. 30, 2006, and Jan. 30, 2008, may be
eligible for settlement awards. The lawsuit named five other GEO Group prisons,
in Texas, New Mexico, and Illinois. "As a direct result of this litigation, GEO
has changed its strip-search policies in those prisons which it still operates,"
an attorney for the plaintiffs, Joseph G. Sauder of Haverford, said in an
e-mail. A call seeking comment from the Florida-based GEO Group, which operated
the prison until December 2008, was not returned. John A. Reilly, superintendent
of the prison, when asked about the current strip-search policy, said, "I have
no idea. See you." He then hung up. "In our view, there is simply no
justification for this kind of invasive body search for those individuals coming
to the institution who pose no security risk to the institution," said David
Rudovsky, a Philadelphia lawyer who also represented a plaintiff in the case.
Those eligible to apply for settlement include prisoners who were not accused of
drug, weapons, or violent crimes; those involving probation or parole
violations; and those who did not behave in a manner that would give guards
cause to conduct strip searches. According to court documents, one of the main
plaintiffs, Penny Allison of Media, was arrested in November 2005 for driving
under the influence and was placed in a first-time offenders program. Allison
failed to appear for a hearing and a bench warrant was issued. She was stopped
by Springfield police for an expired registration in July 2006, arrested, and
then transferred to the prison. While being searched, a female corrections
officer looked at Allison's bra and remarked, "Nice bra," according to court
documents. The bra was not returned upon her release eight days later, the
documents said. Allison was arrested in December 2007 and pleaded guilty to a
second DUI, records said. She was sentenced to 15 weekends and strip-searched
upon entering the prison. "During these strip searches, the corrections officer
brings all of the weekend females into a classroom-size room and strip-searches
them one by one in front of all the other females," court documents said of the
Delaware County facility.
March 6, 2010 Philadelphia Enquirer
Saying it is owed $7.3 million, Aramark Corp., the Philadelphia food-services
provider, has sued a New Jersey operator of correctional facilities. In the
suit, Aramark contends Community Education Centers Inc., of West Caldwell, N.J.,
has been in default on bills since at least June 2008. Locally, Aramark services
Community Education Centers facilities in Philadelphia, Delaware County,
Reading, and Trenton. Aramark's lawsuit, filed Feb. 18 in U.S. District Court in
Philadelphia, said Community Education Centers was overdue on $5.2 million of
the total, and it requested that a judgment, including interest, costs, and
attorney's fees, be entered in its favor. In an e-mailed statement yesterday,
Community Education Centers said it "does not comment on pending litigation
except to say that the two companies are in negotiations regarding the matter."
Community Education Centers is one of a number of companies considered likely to
bid on a prison privatization contract in Camden County. Last year, a unit of
the company bought options on land in Camden as a potential site for a new
prison, but the site has been ruled out by county freeholders because of
neighborhood protests. The privately held company, which operates in 19 states,
employs 4,500 and services nearly 30,000 individuals, did not comment
specifically on the proposed privatization of Camden County's prison system.
Among Community Education Centers' investors is Philadelphia private-equity firm
LLR Partners. The firm's investment fund, LLR Equity Partners II L.P., in 2007
bought $53 million worth of preferred stock, according to a regulatory filing.
LLR cofounder Seth Lehr, who is on Community Education Centers' board of
directors, said the firm does not comment on companies in its portfolio.
November 19, 2009 Delco Times
A union representing approximately 300 employees at the county-owned George
W. Hill Correctional Facility in Concord recently reached a three-year contract
agreement with the private company the county has hired to run day-to-day
operations at the prison. Members of the Delaware County Prison Employees
Independent Union voted 155-14 Monday to accept the contract, which offers a 12
percent wage increase over three years, retroactive to June 1. The contract
expires June 2012. Union President Michael Pelleriti said his members were not
happy with the fact that they now have to pay $36 per month for single-coverage
health care, but the contract does allow members to opt out of hospitalization
insurance. Overtime and vacation time will now count as hours worked under the
contract, said Pelleriti, and there is now a disciplinary arbitration procedure
in place. “This gives the members protection against unjust terminations,” he
said. “The negotiations were very difficult and tedious, but we did come away
with something we feel we can live with for the next three years.”
July 18, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer
Back on the street after a record-setting 14-year jail sentence for contempt, H.
Beatty Chadwick is learning that he needs a quick update on the 21st century.
Like, what's with those cell phones everyone has plugged to their ears? What's
with the Internet? And does he get a PC or a Mac? As Chadwick, 73, rejoins the
"land of the living," he's discovering all the things that must be done in what
has become a "complicated society." In an interview, he also launched into an
unprompted critique of the 1,800-inmate Delaware County jail. The former Main
Line corporate lawyer was jailed by a Delaware County Court judge in April 1995
for failing to turn over $2.5 million in alimony to his ex-wife, Barbara
"Bobbie" Applegate. The couple were married for 15 years. Chadwick contended
that he lost the money in a bad overseas investment. The judge believed Chadwick
had hidden the money from his ex-wife and ordered him jailed until he produced
the millions. Court-ordered investigations conducted since he went to jail have
turned up no money. Petitions for release over the years were denied by numerous
judges, who believed he had the money. Last week, President Judge Joseph P.
Cronin Jr. ruled that keeping Chadwick in jail had lost "coercive effect," even
though he thought Chadwick "had the ability to comply." Standing outside a
Lancaster Avenue cafe in Wayne this week, Chadwick looked at a street he no
longer recognized. The traffic, he said, is worse. He wondered what had happened
to a small grocer he once frequented. Chadwick has e-mail and Internet service
to set up - neither was in wide use when he went to jail - and is busy with
mundane tasks: retrieving belongings from storage, getting the electricity
turned on in his Wilmington apartment . . . and changing all his subscriptions
to a new address. Chadwick was an avid reader in jail, devouring the Wall Street
Journal and the Economist, among others. He was one of about 150 inmates who
held a job at the prison. His first position, assigned a few years after he
arrived, was as the assistant to the official who classified prisoners upon
entry as minimum, medium, or maximum security. For the last six years, Chadwick
worked in the prison library, where he helped inmates with letter-writing and
tutored for GED exams. He also volunteered legal advice. Chadwick said he was
"shocked" how poorly educated some inmates were. "Writing was one of the hardest
things," said Chadwick. "The idea of writing really flummoxes a lot of people."
Some inmates he encountered dropped out of school in the sixth grade and could
only read on a second-grade level. Others did not know their multiplication
tables. "One thing I missed in jail was not being able to cook," said Chadwick,
who read Bon Appetit while imprisoned. His first meal on the outside was a
veggie taco from Ruby Tuesday. Next up was a roasted chicken at home. Cable TV?
"I haven't tried [getting] that yet," said Chadwick, who in jail got by with
rabbit ears and a handful of channels. Back in 1995, a good system had about 50
channels. Pay-per-view was not commonly used. Chadwick says he was lucky that
his son, William, who lives in King of Prussia, is helping with the transition
and providing transportation. "If I didn't have him, I'd be in great
difficulty," he said. The two grew closer while he was in prison. Chadwick says
he has seen other inmates who have had a difficult transition to post-prison
life. When first released, prisoners without support from family or friends are
dumped on a Chester street corner with "nary a penny" and must fend for
themselves, inmates told him. "They do nothing about trying to get people jobs,
housing, or even their next meal," Chadwick said. At one point, Chadwick said,
the prison dropped former inmates at a mall, but this was halted after mall
managers complained that the former inmates were stealing from stores, he said.
For most of Chadwick's tenure, the county's George W. Hill Correctional Facility
was run by the GEO Group. Community Education Centers of New Jersey took over
the contract in January. Bill Palatucci, a spokesman for Community Education
Centers, said policies, including release procedures and the maximum jail
population, are set by the county. "We are simply acting as their agent,"
Palatucci said. Superintendent John A. Reilly Jr. did not return a call for
comment. Linda Cartisano, County Council chair, did not return calls. Over the
years, Chadwick had a number of cellmates. He said one man, unable to raise $500
bail, spent six months waiting to plead guilty to drug possession. He said the
prison was often overcrowded, with three prisoners sometimes housed in cells
meant for two. He never had more than one cellmate, he said.
June 11, 2009 Delco Times
The daughter of a opiate-addicted man who hanged himself while incarcerated
has filed a lawsuit against the private, for-profit company that was running the
George W. Hill Correctional Facility at the time of his death. Thomas Bryant,
38, of Lower Chichester, underwent a mental-health screening and health-services
physical examination about 3:15 a.m. Nov. 14, 2007, the day after he was
committed to the facility under the management of Geo Group Inc. It was at that
time that Bryant’s “opiate dependency and narcotics dependence was made known
... but no psychiatric consultation or drug-abuse treatment was prescribed,”
according to the lawsuit, filed June 3 on behalf of Jessica Bryant at the Media
Courthouse and alleging wrongful death. During his four-day confinement, the
lawsuit states, Bryant began to show signs and symptoms of drug withdrawal —
ranging from inability to sleep or eat for three days, nausea, cold sweats and
unbearable pain — but his complaints were ignored. Alone in his cell on Nov. 16,
Bryant hanged himself with linens provided by the defendants, the suit states.
“Had defendants provided Thomas Bryant with the appropriate medical care for his
opiate withdrawal, drug detoxification, and/or appropriate suicide screening and
precautions for known risks ... Thomas Bryant would have been unable to commit
suicide,” the lawsuit alleges. The GEO Group Inc. is named as a defendant, along
with former Warden Ronald Nardolillo, Classification Counselor Michael Moore,
correctional officers T. Hammett and Connie Danley, Dr. William Purner, and all
others responsible for medical care of Bryant during his confinement from Nov.
13-16. The Geo Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corp., was responsible for
day-to-day operations at the 1,900-bed prison in Concord until January of this
year. Nardolillo, Danley and Purner are no longer with the county facility,
prison Superintendent John Reilly said Wednesday. Though Moore remains an
employee at the prison, the status of the others named in the suit was not
immediately known. Reilly said Wednesday he was unaware of the lawsuit and had
no comment, but was familiar with Bryant. Reilly said Wednesday he remembered
meeting with family and returning belongings the day after Bryant’s death, which
he described as “sad.” Procedure dictates all lawsuits be forwarded to prison
Solicitor Robert D’Orio on receipt, Reilly said. Neither D’Orio nor anyone at
Geo Group Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., could be reached for comment after business
hours Wednesday. According to Daily Times archives, Bryant was remanded to the
prison following an arrest in Chester on a probation violation for drug
paraphernalia.
May 14, 2009 Delco Times
Two corrections officers at the county-owned George W. Hill Correctional
Facility in Concord have been suspended pending an investigation into a fracas
May 3, prison officials have confirmed. Details were still vague Wednesday with
an in-house investigation ongoing, but facility Superintendent John Reilly said
there was an allegation that Sgt. Matthew Talley had beaten an inmate. The
district attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division is also investigating, said
spokesman Michael Mattson. A letter to the Daily Times from another inmate who
claimed to have witnessed the event described Talley savagely beating a
handcuffed man until he could no longer stand on his own. Talley’s attorney, Joe
McIntosh, said the man had attacked another officer and his client’s actions
“were defensive as a result of a combative inmate.” “We cooperated and did an
interview with CID and it is our position that any actions on the part of Mr.
Talley were justified by the inmate’s actions,” said McIntosh. No charges had
been filed as of Wednesday. Talley and Corrections Officer Mark Lombardo have
been suspended without pay pending the investigation. There was no telephone
number listed for Lombardo. Bill Palatucci, spokesman for New Jersey-based
Community Education Centers Inc., the for-profit company that took over prison
operations in January, said the company is aware of the investigation and will
“actively pursue it,” but could not comment further.
April 1, 2009 Delco Times
A 2008 lawsuit alleging the private, for-profit company that formerly ran the
Delaware County prison routinely violated strip-search prohibitions for minor
offenders will move forward, following a ruling in federal court last week. The
GEO Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corp., was responsible for day-to-day
operations at the 1,900-bed George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton
until January of this year. It is responsible for dozens of jails and similar
facilities nationwide, according to the company’s Web site. Plaintiffs Penny
Allison of Media and Zoran Hocevar of Upper Darby allege GEO and up to 100 of
its employees routinely strip-searched nonviolent, non-drug offenders entering
or transferring into its facilities, in violation of their Fourth Amendment
rights. They are seeking class-action status and demanding a jury trial. Allison
had served 15 weekends at the facility on a DUI charge, according to the
complaint. Each time she entered the facility, Allison alleges she was
strip-searched in front of other female weekend inmates. Hocevar was arrested
for drug possession in 2005, according to the complaint. This later led to a
bench warrant being issued for Hocevar’s arrest after he allegedly mistakenly
failed to appear for a court date. Hocevar was arrested on that warrant and
transported to county prison, where he was allegedly strip-searched in front of
other detainees. Last year, GEO successfully petitioned the court to throw out
three counts of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and
negligent infliction of emotional distress. GEO had asked the court to further
dismiss three counts seeking monetary damages for the alleged Fourth Amendment
violations, a demand for declaratory relief regarding those alleged violations,
and a demand for preliminary and permanent injunction for those alleged
violations. In his 49-page order, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District
Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jan E. DuBois went over several
standards set forth by U.S. Supreme Court rulings relative to what privacy, if
any, detainees in a custodial facility could reasonably expect. Chief among them
was a 1984 Supreme Court case relating to the search of prison cells. GEO had
argued that case undermined a 1979 decision that assumed inmates — both
convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees — retained some Fourth Amendment
rights. GEO also argued DuBois should view this suit using a more general
standard of privacy the Supreme Court established in a 1987 ruling, which would
paint the strip-search policy as constitutional, granted it was “reasonably
related to general penological interests.” DuBois rejected both arguments,
however, due to lack of any credible examples the later cases undermined or
overruled the 1979 case. “This court will not disregard controlling Supreme
Court precedent that has not been specifically overruled by subsequent Supreme
Court cases,” wrote DuBois in the order. DuBois also noted all courts faced with
the issue have ruled blanket strip searches of detainees unreasonable and,
therefore, unconstitutional. He noted last week’s ruling would not prejudice
GEO’s ability to argue the constitutionality of its alleged actions at the
summary judgment stage or at trial.
December 22, 2008 Philadelphia Enquirer
AT ONE END of Delaware County's rekindled debate over prison privatization,
you'll find Wally Nunn, a tough-talking fiscal hawk and former county
councilman. At the other, Fay Kallenbach, a bereaved mother. The George W. Hill
Correctional Facility is ground zero. Nunn led the 1995 effort to privatize the
county jail, outsourcing its operation to the GEO Group, a multinational
corrections corporation. He stands by his decision today, saying the move cut
government waste and saved taxpayers millions of dollars – including the more
than $30 million the county saved by hiring GEO, then called Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., to build the current prison in 1998. "It's a success right
there, by definition," Nunn said. Fay Kallenbach has a different perspective.
She says privatizing the prison has put inmates in the care of a money-hungry
"machine" that cuts corners anywhere it can. Her son, comedian Kenneth Keith
Kallenbach, died in April of complications from cystic fibrosis while in prison
custody. She says he didn't receive the crucial treatment that had kept him
alive for 39 years. "They definitely killed my son," she said of Florida-based
GEO. The deep philosophical divide between Kallenbach and Nunn is typical when
it comes to prison privatization, a love-it-or-hate-it concept that pits labor
unions against politicians and corporate leaders against inmate-advocacy groups.
Regardless, if Nunn is considered Delaware County's "father of privatization,"
his first born remains an only child in Pennsylvania – and there have been some
growing pains lately. In the 12 years since the county handed the jailhouse keys
to GEO, no other county in the state has followed its lead. Now, the company is
terminating its $40-million-a-year contract there, ridden out of town by an
onslaught of lawsuits and inadequate profits. A new firm takes over on New
Year's Day. All about the $$$ -- Prison Superintendent John Reilly Jr. oversees
GEO's performance at the 1,883-bed lockup in Thornton, and he doesn't shy away
from discussing the good, the bad and the ugly. There has been plenty of each,
from huge cost savings and indemnification from civil-rights lawsuits, to filthy
showers and dead inmates. The cost of operating the prison - nearly $45 million
when you factor in the superintendent and his staff – is the single largest
expenditure of county tax dollars in the budget. It is expected to eat up 15
percent of the $303 million budget next year. But GEO has run the prison cheaper
than the county ever could, Reilly said. And outsourcing still saves the
government an estimated $3.2 million a year, according to Delaware County
Executive Director Marianne Grace. By having Reilly and his staff on the
premises, the county's version of privatization is ideal because the government
is able to keep an eye on GEO and implement hefty fines - more than $700,000
this year - when the jail is understaffed. "Our security, maintenance and food
service is similar to, and in some instances maybe better, than when the county
ran it," Reilly said. Proponents of privatization say profit-driven companies
can eliminate patronage jobs, play hardball with the labor unions and find new
efficiencies without a substantial drop-off in services. Government officials
"tend to hire people that have worked on their campaigns or political-patronage
people," Nunn said. "Corporations tend to hire people that are competent and
capable. They can manage more effectively than a public entity can." Critics say
the profit incentive is a double-edged sword, and that the industry makes its
money on the backs of inmates and guards by reducing personnel costs and cutting
back on inmate care. "I don't trust them as far as I can throw them," said Ken
Kopczynski, executive director of the Private Corrections Institute and a
lobbyist for the Florida Police Benevolent Association, a union that represents
police and correctional officers. "All those millions of dollars they are making
that are going into corporate executives' pockets should have been put into
inmates services," he said. Delaware County officials say they are generally
satisfied with GEO's performance here since 1996, with one large caveat: The
medical services in the prison have, at times, fallen woefully short. Employee
turnover in that department has been extremely high in recent years, Reilly
said, and the company has gone through eight health-services administrators
since 2004. As a result, the daily "pill call" for inmates, for example, is
sometimes run by nurses who are incompetent or overworked, he said, and the
backlog of prisoners waiting for medical attention can exceed 400 cases. "The
medical department has underperformed here," Reilly concedes. GEO has spent an
inordinate amount of time and money fending off federal lawsuits, including
wrongful-death cases. The frequent litigation is one of the main reasons the
company is bailing out on its contract next week. In 2006, the company agreed to
pay $100,000 to the family of Rosalyn Atkinson, a 25-year-old mother of two who
died from a toxic dose of a blood-pressure drug while in prison custody. In
October, GEO agreed to an undisclosed settlement in the case of Cassandra
Morgan, 38, who died in 2006 of complications from an untreated thyroid
condition while jailed on a shoplifting charge. GEO also paid $125,000 in 2005
to the family of a prisoner who hung himself with his bootlaces and agreed to a
$300,000 settlement in 2000 involving another suicide. Fay Kallenbach and her
attorney are awaiting more medical information before deciding whether to move
forward with a lawsuit on behalf of her son, a longtime member of Howard Stern's
"Wack Pack." Prison officials say they are not at fault in his death. While the
Delaware County prison was far from a utopia when it was run by the county -
seven guards were convicted of federal charges stemming from inmate beatings in
1994 - GEO's correctional officers have compiled a lengthy rap sheet since the
jail was privatized. This year a K-9 officer pleaded guilty to having sex with
an inmate in his pickup truck, and a guard admitted to sending a forged letter
to the state parole board so her boyfriend - a convicted murderer - could move
in with her. In 2006 the jail's former work-release supervisor, who is now
registered under Megan's Law as a sex offender, pleaded guilty to sexually
assaulting an inmate, and a guard pleaded guilty in federal court last year to
conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Two other guards were convicted of
participating in a 2002 attack on an inmate who claimed that he was handcuffed
and pummeled with a basketball and that his pants were pulled down. That
inmate's attorney, Jon Auritt, has said the incident reminded him of "Abu Ghraib,
except without the dogs." GEO later paid an undisclosed settlement in that case,
though. Prison staff incorrectly released three inmates between 2002 and 2004,
and in 2006, GEO agreed to pay a settlement to an innocent man who sued the
company because he was imprisoned for more than 40 days. It was a case of
mistaken identity. GEO officials declined to be interviewed for this story, as
did state Rep. John Perzel, R-Phila., a paid member of its board of directors.
The company did not admit any wrongdoing in the lawsuits it settled. Pa.
counties unreceptive -- In 1998, the state Supreme Court approved the
privatization of the Delaware County prison, ruling against the prison guards'
union, which had filed suit to block the outsourcing. At the time, labor leaders
fretted that the ruling would pave the way for other counties to hire firms to
run their own jails. That never happened. While privatization has taken off in
other states, particularly Texas, the George W. Hill Correctional Facility
remains the only privately-run county prison in Pennsylvania, largely due to
strong union resistance, according to Richard Culp, a prison privatization
expert and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York
City. "It's a matter of labor costs, pure and simple," said Culp, who has worked
as a consultant for the Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors. Beaver
County tried to privatize its prison in 2006, but was bombarded by union
opposition. The county lost a ruling by an arbitrator, which was upheld in
Common Pleas Court, according to county Commissioner Charles Camp. Beaver County
officials decided not to appeal the case because the legal bills were getting so
high, he said. "We had everyone coming at us," Camp said of the unions that
fought the privatization proposal. "It would have saved us a million bucks a
year," he said, adding that the county is now facing a $2 million budget deficit
and is planning layoffs. Large corrections companies increasingly are looking to
the federal government for their profits, and U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement and other federal agencies have been expanding their use of private
companies in recent years, Culp said. While Culp recommended that counties and
other government agencies keep a short leash on those firms – as Delaware County
does – he said the industry has become more "professional" since the mid-1990s.
"I think the market has shaken out a lot of the underperformers and poor
performers and people that got into it to make a fast buck," Culp said. The
future is CEC -- Community Education Centers (CEC), a smaller, privately-held
company that specializes in inmate re-entry services, will replace the GEO Group
on Jan. 1 at the Delaware County prison. Based in West Caldwell, N.J., CEC
operates county prisons in Texas, Arizona and Ohio, as well as treatment centers
within publicly-run prisons. In Philadelphia, it runs Hoffman Hall, a
residential re-entry center for city inmates that opened in July, and Coleman
Hall, which runs a work-release program for state inmates. William Palatucci, a
CEC senior vice president, said the Delaware County prison will become the
largest county jail in the company's network. Most of the existing GEO guards
will keep their jobs, and county officials say that guards that once worked for
GEO are interested in coming back now that the company is leaving. CEC made
headlines in 2004 when a Coleman Hall resident was shot to death in his room,
and the company is being sued by the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project on
behalf of several inmates who said they were denied adequate medical care there.
Palatucci declined to comment on the litigation, but said the company planned to
bring to the Delaware County prison a "renewed commitment to quality
operations." "I think competition is good for everybody. It keeps the public
sector and private sector on their toes," he said. "At the end of the day,
that's good for the taxpayer." Robert Eskind, spokesman for the Philadelphia
Prison System, said the city is "pleased so far" with CEC's performance at
Hoffman Hall. County officials say CEC could be a better fit than GEO at their
jail, particularly because the company has experience in reducing recidivism.
Overcrowding has long been a problem there. John Hosier, chairman of the county
Board of Prison Inspectors, is optimistic about the changing of the guard, but
warned against unrealistic expectations. "We can hope for the best," Hosier
said, "but it is a jail."
November 14, 2008 Delco Times
The victim remained shackled Thursday and the defendant was free, but that
will change after an ex-Delaware County prison correctional officer was
sentenced to three to 23 months in jail for having sex with a 25-year-old female
inmate earlier this year. Michael Waters, 38, of 200 block of South Church
Street, Clifton Heights, will report Monday to his former work site — the
Delaware County prison, after Judge William R. Toal Jr. imposed the sentence.
“Frankly, I am appalled at this type of conduct,” said the judge. “He (Waters)
certainly abused his position.” The judge allowed Waters to remain free until
Monday to allow time for him to handle personal matters, as well as to alert the
prison to security concerns and possibly make arrangements for him to be moved
to another facility. Waters, who was employed with the GEO Group that was
running the county prison at the time, had sexual trysts with the woman while
she was on work release off the prison grounds. As Waters was being sentenced,
the dark-haired victim, who was transported from the prison, sat on one side of
the courtroom staring straight ahead. The defendant’s wife, who is confined to a
wheelchair, was on the other side sobbing. Neither gave a statement in court.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino recommended the jail stint, calling
the sentence “appropriate” considering the charges against Waters. The defendant
pleaded guilty in July to a charge of institutional sexual abuse. “When somebody
is in charge of supervising inmates and takes advantage of one as he did, it
disrupts the entire system,” Galantino said outside the courtroom. Defense
attorney Ronald Smith said that Waters is the father of two sons, one of whom
suffers from epilepsy. He asked the court for leniency, citing the needs of his
family, as well as Waters’ cooperation from the beginning. Waters appeared
remorseful as he looked back at his wife and mother, who were in court together.
“I apologize to everybody I affected — my family and the people at work,” he
said. He lamented he lost his job, is losing his home and said his family is
dependent on him. Outside the courtroom, Galantino said he sympathized with the
family, but maintained that Waters should have thought about them before he
committed the crime. “It’s always amazing when someone doesn’t consider the
family while committing the crime, and then at the sentencing presents their
family’s needs as a reason for leniency,” said Galantino. “It is clear he has
hurt more than one victim.” Galantino said the sentence took into consideration
Waters’ cooperation. “The (state’s recommended) guidelines could have gone
higher,” he said. Smith called the crime an “aberration” on the part of his
client, stating he had a “spotless record.” The defense attorney sought a
probationary term. At the time of the plea, Galantino said there was no
allegation of force. The law provides that a person employed at a correctional
institution commits a crime if there is sexual intercourse with an inmate or
detainee. Prison Superintendent John Reilly Jr. said that Waters had been
employed since Nov. 16, 1998, with the GEO Group. He was earning $16 an hour at
the time he was terminated last March, after the charges surfaced. Waters was
arrested after the female inmate told authorities that while she was on work
release, she and Waters would hook up off of the prison grounds. She told
investigators she first met Waters while he was patrolling at the prison and she
told him where she would be working that day. He replied, “Maybe I’ll stop by,”
according to a court document. She said Waters picked her up on at least four
occasions for sex between Feb. 25 and March 20, according to the court document.
October 28, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
A 44-year-old East Lansdowne man hanged himself Saturday inside his cell at
the Delaware County prison, authorities said. The privatized jail is run by the
GEO Group, which has settled several wrongful-death lawsuits there in recent
years, including one suicide. Citing frequent litigation and other reasons, the
company announced in August that it is ending its agreement to operate the
prison in early January, a year before its contract expires.
October 24, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
The Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors didn't have much of a choice
yesterday in deciding which company would run the George W. Hill Correctional
Facility next year. Only one firm in the country was willing to assume the $40
million annual contract left behind by the Florida-based GEO Group, which is
skipping town amid a flurry of costly lawsuits and an inability to turn a
substantial profit at the 1,883-bed county lockup. The five-member board awarded
the contract to Community Education Centers (CEC), a smaller company that
specializes in inmate re-entry programs and, according to its Web site,
"believes in the opportunity for redemption" and providing "second chances" to
ex-offenders. John Reilly, the jail's acting superintendent, who oversees GEO's
performance on the county's behalf, said that CEC will begin managing the prison
on Jan. 5 and is expected to retain most of the 500 GEO employees. The prison,
located in Thornbury, has been operated by GEO, formerly Wackenhut Corrections
Corp., since 1996 and is the state's only privatized county jail. The cost of
running the prison - about $43.8 million this year - is the single largest
expenditure of county tax dollars in Delaware County's $316 million annual
budget. But officials say that the public-private partnership has saved
taxpayers millions. After getting word in August that GEO was bailing out on its
contract, which ran through 2009, the prison board asked 11 companies if they
wanted to give it a shot.
October 23, 2008 Delco Times
An out-of-court settlement was ironed out Wednesday in the federal civil
suit over the death of Cassandra Morgan, whose family maintained she was
improperly treated for a debilitating mental illness and a hypothyroid condition
while an inmate at Delaware County’s prison leading to her 2006 death. The terms
of the settlement reached over the noon recess included a confidentiality
clause, according to attorney James Mundy, who represented the victim’s family.
“We are barred from discussing the outcome,” said Mundy. All he would say is
that the parties were “satisfied.” U.S. District Court Judge Berle M. Schiller
told the jury about 2 p.m., following four days of testimony, their services
were no longer needed and “the case has been resolved.” At the start of the
proceedings Wednesday, before the jury was brought in, Schiller indicated the
trial could go into next week because of the unavailability of a witness for the
defendant’s side. He said such an extension would pose a “hardship” on the
jurors who were told the trial would end by Friday. “I don’t think anyone wants
to retry this case,” said Schiller. The judge said that problem could be
remedied by alternatives, including converting the proceedings to a bench trial
and allowing him to make the final ruling. He then advised both sides that
talking to each other could “eliminate” the need for a bench trial. Earlier,
Schiller reportedly dismissed parties originally named in the lawsuit except for
Dr. Grato Paneque, a psychiatrist employed at the prison, as well as the
Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors and the GEO group, a Florida company
that operated the prison while Morgan, 38, was an inmate there on a shoplifting
offense. Morgan, who was in jail for six weeks, died at Riddle Memorial Hospital
after suffering a seizure at the prison and lapsing into a coma in her jail
cell. Carolyn Short, the attorney representing the prison board, presented one
witness Wednesday — Dr. Peter Crino, a neurologist who heads the Epilepsy Center
for the University of Pennsylvania. Crino, testifying as an expert, discounted
claims the prison was at fault for failing to properly treat Morgan before her
March 29, 2006, death. However, on cross-examination by Mundy, the attorney cast
doubt on some of the records that Crino used in arriving at his conclusion.
Mundy said one of the reports indicated the patient “walked in” and was
“pregnant.” He said Riddle’s computer had mixed the medical report on Morgan,
who was not pregnant and came to the hospital by ambulance on a stretcher with
the record of another patient. Crino was to be re-examined by Short following
the luncheon recess. However, it wasn’t necessary once the settlement was
reached.
October 22, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
A nurse who cared for Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan at the Delaware County jail
told jurors in a federal courtroom yesterday that she wanted to do more for her
but was limited by the law. "I just wanted her so badly to go to psychiatric
hospital," Maureen Hoffman, a nurse at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility,
testified at the civil trial. But each time Hoffman spoke with the jail staff
psychologist, she said, he reminded her: "We can't. Nobody is going to take
her." Morgan, 38, of Aston, died after she suffered a seizure at the jail on
March 25, 2006. Morgan suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and did not tell
jail staff that she had a thyroid condition and needed medication. She died
after five weeks of incarceration without her medication. Her family has sued
the county Board of Prison Inspectors and the company that operates the jail,
arguing that Morgan should have been sent for outside psychiatric help.
Yesterday, Hoffman and forensic psychiatrist Kenneth Weiss testified that the
jail did everything possible for Morgan within state law.
October 21, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
The Delaware County medical examiner yesterday defended his conclusion that
an easily treatable thyroid condition caused the death of a 38-year-old Aston
woman at the county jail. Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan died in March 2006 after
being held for five weeks at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility on a
shoplifting charge. Morgan had schizophrenia and did not tell jail staff that
she needed a thyroid-replacement hormone. Her family has sued the jail in U.S.
District Court, arguing that its staff should not have depended on Morgan as the
sole historian of her medical past and should have called 911 more quickly when
she suffered a seizure. Lawyers for the Morgan family wrapped up their
presentation of testimony yesterday with Morgan's younger sister, Erika, and the
medical examiner, Frederic Hellman. Hellman, who performed an autopsy on Morgan,
said she suffered a slow decline during her incarceration because she did not
receive the hormone. Without the medication, her metabolism slowed and her blood
pressure and heart rate dropped, along with her temperature, eventually causing
a seizure, he testified. Soon after jail medical staff transferred Morgan to
Riddle Memorial Hospital, she was severely hypothermic, with a temperature of
82.8 degrees, according to hospital records. But John Gonzales, who represents
jail staffers named in the suit, argued that Morgan did not show the classic
symptoms of hypothroidism: cold, dry skin, loss of hair, weight, gain and low
body temperature. Nurses who checked Morgan's vital signs during her
incarceration found her temperature within normal range and her skin warm and
pink, according to nursing logs.
October 18, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan, who was arrested for stealing from a Wal-Mart that
she believed she owned, should have been taken to a hospital, not a jail, a
psychiatrist testified in federal court yesterday. Morgan, 38, of Aston,
suffered from schizophrenia, and her condition had grown worse when the police
caught her trying to take toys in February 2006. "I think she was a medical
psychiatric emergency from the minute she was taken into that prison," said Eric
Fine, a clinical psychiatrist and associate professor at Jefferson Medical
College. The psychiatric care she received during her five-week incarceration at
the Delaware County jail was "an incompetent level," Fine testified yesterday.
Morgan died of complications from a thyroid condition for which she did not
receive medication while in jail. Her family has sued the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility and the GEO Group, a Florida-based company that operates
the jail. Fine testified as an expert for the plaintiff. Lawyers for the jail
argue that Morgan was appropriately cared for at the jail: She was visited four
times by contracting psychiatrists who prescribed antipsychotic medication. She
was housed in the infirmary, where nurses monitored her and correctional
officers looked in on her every 15 minutes. Morgan did not tell jail staff that
she had a thyroid condition, and although several of her siblings said they
talked to a jail counselor about the medications Morgan needed, the jail
contends that it never knew. Defense lawyers also argue that Morgan did not pose
a clear and immediate danger to herself or others, and therefore could not have
been committed to a hospital because she did not meet the legal standard. Fine
disagrees. He faulted the two psychiatrists who saw her, Grato Paneque and Hani
Zaki, for trusting Morgan to give them an accurate medical and mental health
history. Had they investigated her past, they would have found that she had been
hospitalized 14 times in the three years before her arrest and had been released
from Crozer-Chester Medical Center nine days before her arrest, Fine testified.
With her medical history in hand, Fine added, doctors might have seen that
Morgan's case required more proactive measures than simply prescribing
medication and observing her. "If you don't have the history in a psychiatric
patient, you know virtually nothing," Fine testified. "Cassandra Morgan was not
capable of presenting her history." Morgan refused to take her psychiatric
medication during her incarceration and became more withdrawn, a sign that she
was in acute mental distress, Fine said. "We're always sensitive when patients
change from agitated to withdrawn," Fine said, adding it's a signal that
"thoughts are going on that are not being shared." The plaintiff's attorneys are
expected to wrap up their case Monday. The defense will present its case next
week.
October 16, 2008 Delco Times
A psychiatrist employed at Delaware County prison testified in federal court
Wednesday that Cassandra Lynn Morgan was “obviously delusional,” but stated he
could not force her to take her medications. Dr. Grato Paneque testified during
day two of the trial in the lawsuit over Cassandra Lynn “Sandy” Morgan’s death
on March 29, 2006. Morgan, who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, died
after lapsing into a coma on the floor of her jail cell at the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility about six weeks after being arrested for shoplifting.
Morgan, 38, who was imprisoned for six weeks without a preliminary hearing, died
at Riddle Memorial Hospital. Delaware County Medical Examiner Fredric N. Hellman
ruled Morgan’s death was caused by complications from a hypothyroid condition,
which was not treated during her incarceration. Morgan’s family filed the civil
suit in 2007 against the GEO Group that operates the county prison, Delaware
County Board of Prison Inspectors and several physicians, among others. The suit
alleges her death was the result of the prison’s failure to treat her thyroid
condition. Morgan’s family is seeking unspecified damages. Paneque testified
that Morgan, who was housed in the prison’s infirmary, told him of her
psychiatric history, but did not say anything about her medical condition. He
said Morgan refused to take her psychiatric medication, not uncommon for
paranoid schizophrenics. “I cannot force medication against their will unless
there is imminent danger to her self or others,” said Paneque, who was hired by
the GEO Group to provide psychiatric services to inmates. Morgan, he said, did
not appear to be a danger to anyone. Testimony by Paneque and Dr. John Fraunces,
a retired prison psychologist, painted a very sad picture of a mentally ill
woman behind prison bars. Both said that since most mental hospitals were
shuttered years ago, prisons have become the mental hospital of last resort.
“It’s a lot cheaper to house a person in a prison than a state mental hospital,”
said Fraunces. Dr. William Purner, the current medical director of the prison,
said he was the acting medical director working part time in March 2006 when
Morgan was incarcerated. Purner testified he never saw Morgan as a patient at
the prison. It was only after she was brought to Riddle, where he was on staff,
that he treated her as a patient. It was then, Purner said, he got Morgan’s
medical history from her family. Purner testified that as a prison physician, he
is not permitted to solicit information about a prisoner’s medical history.
James F. Mundy, attorney for the plaintiffs, questioned Purner about a two-week
period during which Morgan’s vital signs were not taken. “Was that routine
procedure?” he asked. “That’s not a standard of care of any individual under any
condition,” Purner replied. “No medical doctor ever examined Cassandra Morgan
during the entire six weeks Cassandra Morgan was at the prison?” Mundy asked. “I
found no notes to that effect,” Purner stated. Mundy also reviewed documents
that indicated the prison nursing staff believed Morgan’s condition was
deteriorating. On March 21, eight days before Morgan died, a nurse wrote in the
infirmary log that her body temperature was 92.7 degrees. Purner testified that
if he had seen that temperature, he’d have asked a nurse to take it again. He
added that it is possible the notation was an error. After that entry, there is
a 12-hour gap in the log as the records are missing, something Purner
acknowledged.
October 15, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
A lawyer for the family of Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan, a mentally ill woman who
died two years ago after having been held for five weeks in the Delaware County
prison, asked a jury yesterday to give Morgan the "justice she never received
from" prison officials and doctors who worked for the prison. Morgan, 38, died
in Riddle Memorial Hospital on March 29, 2006, four days after she lapsed into a
coma at the prison. She died as a result of complications caused by
hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of
certain important hormones. Morgan's family filed suit in federal district court
in July 2007, alleging that her death resulted from the prison's failure to give
her medication for the thyroid problem and to follow its own rules. The family
is seeking unspecified damages. The trial is expected to last two weeks.
October 7, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
Sandy Morgan didn't have a receipt when she walked out of the Boothwyn
Wal-Mart with more than $500 worth of dolls, toys and girls' clothes. In her
mind, she didn't need one. She owned Wal-Mart, she told a manager who tried to
stop her. Sandy knew things others didn't. She knew she owned many stores and
she knew the television transmitted demons. She took care to protect her family:
She threatened the demons with knives and a broken mop handle; she threw away
food she was sure was poisoned. It was a strain, fighting things no one else
saw. Once her sisters watched as Sandy wandered into the street and looked up at
the sky. She asked God to take her. But that February afternoon in 2006, it was
the police who took Sandy. Arrested for shoplifting, the 38-year-old college
graduate from Aston was ordered held on $10,000 bail and taken to the Delaware
County jail. Within the first hours of Sandy's incarceration, a physician's
assistant guessed she might be mentally retarded. Within a day, a doctor
diagnosed her as schizophrenic. Within eight days, a psychiatrist declared her
incompetent to stand trial. While the court waited for a competency report,
Sandy waited in jail. For five weeks, she saw no visitors. She never went
outside. She hid under covers and stared at the walls. She went two weeks
without a shower because the nurses were afraid to go near her. "Time to get
out!" Sandy told a nurse after a week in jail. After two weeks, "Are you here
for Jesus?" After a month, "Is [that] a horse over there?" If a local hospital
hadn't released Sandy from its psychiatric ward weeks earlier, she might not
have been arrested. If she had threatened to kill the Wal-Mart employees, or
herself, the police could have taken her to a hospital. If jail officials had
called Sandy's family, they might have known what was wrong when she collapsed
in her cell, her arms and legs flailing, her body cold. But Sandy wasn't lucky
like that. A grim diagnosis -- Later, Sandy's story would come out slowly, in
dozens of depositions, after her family sued the jail, the company that runs it,
and the hospital that released her weeks before her arrest. There would be many
sides to the tale, a tangle that a jury is scheduled to work out next week. But
it started in 1985, when Sandy was 17 and heading off to York College. That's
when her family noticed something was wrong. The sixth of seven children,
Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan had been a bright, fearless child with a vivid
imagination. She excelled in school, played field hockey, ran track, and loved
writing and singing contests. She wanted to be a nurse. But the summer after she
graduated from Chester High School, she became afraid. She told her younger
sister, Erika, that someone was trying to break into their house. In her dorm
room, she saw spiders crawling on the walls. Sandy's brother James, seven years
her senior, was a rookie in the York Police Department in 1986 when he received
a call from campus that Sandy had been raped. He rushed to the hospital. But
doctors found no evidence of assault. After prolonged questioning and numerous
tests, they diagnosed Sandy, then 18, with paranoid schizophrenia. They
prescribed Haldol, a psychotropic drug. Sandy tried to go back to school, but
the hallucinations drove her home to her mother and sisters Erika and Jamie. She
wrote poetry about her struggle to hold on to her dreams that was published in
an anthology in 1988. At home, Sandy found purpose in caring for her diabetic
mother, who was bedridden. Willie Mae Morgan needed insulin shots, which all
three sisters helped to administer. Sandy often bathed her mother and helped
prepare her meals. The regular schedule helped Sandy remember when to take her
medications. She stayed active. She played piano and attended church. She tried
to teach herself how to speak Chinese. Sandy eventually returned to school,
attending class part time until graduating from Neumann College in 1999 with a
bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Her whole family went to her commencement.
Erika, three years her junior, watched Sandy smile for the cameras, "chest
pumped out and posing." A mind unravels -- In March 2003, Sandy's mother died of
pancreatic cancer. Sandy was devastated. She stopped eating. She slept fitfully.
She refused her medications - not just the Haldol, but the Synthroid doctors had
prescribed two years earlier for hypothyroidism. The condition was easily
manageable with drugs, but if untreated, it could lead to coma, even death.
Without her mother to care for, the hours and days fell out of a recognizable
pattern. Without her medication, her hallucinations and delusions flourished.
"God is talking to me," she told Erika and Jamie, who also still lived in their
mother's house on Jennifer Lane. "Come with me to see God and the angels." She
thought the family dog was the devil. Her sisters caught her choking it. She
worried that Satan had taken over her family and would harm her nephews and
nieces. Once she chased Erika down a hallway with an 8-inch butcher knife,
screaming, "Who are you?" Her family sent her to Crozer-Chester Medical Center
13 times in three years, committing her against her will to the psychiatric
ward. They wanted the old Sandy back, and they hoped the doctors could persuade
her to take her medicine. But five, 20, even 90 days in the hospital never
seemed to be enough. Each time she returned home, Sandy's interactions with the
world in her mind became more frightening. On Jan. 19, 2006, Sandy's sisters
heard a loud crash. They ran to the kitchen and saw Sandy break a mop handle
across her hip. She swung the broken sections ather sisters, saying, "Demons get
out, demons get out!" Jamie and Erika called the police, who took Sandy to
Crozer-Chester, where orderlies stood by ready to restrain her. A social worker
noted that Sandy was "psychotic, paranoid, refusing antipsychotic medication,
and a danger to herself and others." Crozer-Chester asked permission to hold
Sandy for up to 90 days for treatment, which the Delaware County court granted.
In his reports, Rommel Rivera, Sandy's attending psychiatrist, said she should
be forced to take her psychotropic medication. On her first day there, she was
given an injection of Geodon. She later agreed to take Risperdal, Klonopin and
injections of Haldol. But that wouldn't last. Rivera suggested that Sandy's
frequent hospitalizations showed she might need more help. He suggested sending
her to Norristown State Hospital. She could be held at the psychiatric hospital
for more than 90 days - long enough, her family hoped, to get her back on her
meds. A social worker met with Sandy and her sisters on Jan. 26 to discuss
Norristown. Sandy, who had become less agitated after the injections, agreed to
go if she could take her keyboard and her Bible. The three sisters hugged one
another tightly. Sandy smiled, something Jamie and Erika hadn't seen her do in a
while. "You are finally going to get the help that you need," Jamie told her.
But four days after the family meeting, another psychiatrist, Usha Kotihal,
inexplicably took over Sandy's care – a change neither doctor was later able to
explain. Kotihal determined that Sandy's mental state had improved and that she
no longer posed a threat to herself or others, she later testified in a
deposition. She gave Sandy a 100-milligram injection of Haldol decanoate - a
long-acting drug with a half-life of three weeks - and sent her home on Feb. 7,
2006. Erin King, Sandy's case manager, later testified that she couldn't believe
it. During the car ride home, Sandy was laughing and talking to the voices in
her head. "What's so funny?" King remembered asking her. "Wanna let me in on the
joke?" "No," Sandy said. Nine days later, Sandy, convinced she owned Wal-Mart,
was arrested. Hospital or jail? More than 70 percent of the patients in state
psychiatric hospitals suffer from schizophrenia. Mental-health officials often
struggle to get patients adequate treatment, given the national trend away from
institutions and toward residential care. Without medication, schizophrenics
relapse within six weeks, on average, said Amy Brodkey, a psychiatrist who
directed the mental-health court at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute
for six years. "It affects people's thinking, it affects their emotion, their
cognition," Brodkey said. "The prognosis is still not good." Under state law, a
person must pose a "clear and present danger" of bodily harm to himself, herself
or others within the last 30 days to be committed to a hospital. Many wind up in
jail, as police officers decide what to do with someone who broke the law but is
not necessarily dangerous. A conundrum -- At the police station, Detective Tom
McNichol and another officer asked Sandy to empty her pockets and sit on a bench
outside the station's three cells. As McNichol called her house, Sandy asked for
her Bible back. Later, McNichol testified that he called Jamie, who told him
that Sandy was supposed to be going to the hospital. She gave him a number to
contact Erin King. According to McNichol, Jamie told him Sandy was no longer
welcome at home. "What are we supposed to do with her?" McNichol said he asked.
"I don't care what you do with her," Jamie said, according to McNichol. Jamie
denies that. In her testimony, she said she didn't know of Sandy's arrest until
she heard a message the police left on her answering machine later that night.
She testified that she did not go to the station to see her sister because it
was late. McNichol called King. Could she pick Sandy up and have her committed
to the hospital? King told him it wasn't possible. Sandy wasn't a threat to
herself or others, so she could not be committed against her will. "We can't
release her to the streets," McNichol recalled thinking. The police charged
Sandy with retail theft, defiant trespass (she'd been warned previously not to
bother employees at the Wal-Mart), and disorderly conduct. During her video
arraignment, Sandy told Judge Stephanie Klein, "I'm the boss. I'll put you in
jail," McNichol said in an interview. The prosecutor wrote "crazy" on her copy
of the charges. Klein ordered a competency evaluation and set bail at $10,000.
Sandy was then taken to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton,
southwest of Media, the state's only privately operated jail. Ten thousand
dollars is a high bail for a retail theft charge for someone with no arrest
record, Montgomery County chief public defender Stephen Heckman said. "If she
had no mental-health issues, she would not have gone to jail. Not for retail
theft," Heckman said. "It's almost doing them a favor . . . it may be the
quickest route to treatment." A question of competence -- The Delaware County
jail, a 1,883-bed facility, is required by contract to adhere to basic national
medical guidelines. Upon arrival, inmates are typically given a physical and
mental-health evaluation and tested for communicable diseases such as
tuberculosis and HIV. When Sandy arrived, she told the corrections officers she
was innocent. When she struggled, two officers wrestled her to the ground and
handcuffed her, according to jail logs. The officers took Sandy to a physician's
assistant, Lisa Black, who asked Sandy about her medical history. Sandy appeared
confused and was combative, she noted. Black asked Sandy whether she was taking
medication or under the care of a doctor. No, was the answer. Had she ever had
high blood pressure, diabetes or a psychiatric disorder? No. Had she been
hospitalized for an emotional or nervous problem? "None of your business," Sandy
said, according to Black's intake form and testimony. Black decided Sandy was
mentally retarded or mentally ill; she later said she believed Sandy was unable
to tell her what her diagnosis was. Jail medical officials depend almost
exclusively on inmates to tell them about their health. At the Delaware County
jail, the medical staff is not required to check out inmates' medical histories.
Inmates can decline medical care. Whether an inmate is mentally capable to help
manage his or her medical care is for jail staff to decide. According to the
policies of the GEO Group Inc., which ran the jail, mentally unstable inmates
should be transported immediately to a hospital. But finding beds can be
difficult. Not dangerous enough -- Black assigned Sandy to a room in the
infirmary on suicide watch, figuring she was mentally ill, she later testified.
Officers looked in on Sandy every 15 minutes to make sure she wasn't hurting
herself and had not fallen ill. The next day, Sandy admitted to psychiatrist
Grato Paneque that she had been on medication. When Paneque visited again four
days later, Sandy said she had been hospitalized, according to Paneque's
records. Sandy did not say she had schizophrenia, but the psychiatrists who
visited her during her first days in jail gathered as much and prescribed
Risperdal. Sandy did not mention her hypothyroidism. The last time she is known
to have taken her Synthroid prescription was on Feb. 2 at Crozer-Chester. Even
in the last five days of her hospital stay, she refused it. None of the
psychiatrists or medical staff who met with Sandy at the jail called her family
to determine what medications she was taking. No one contacted the doctors who
had treated her at Crozer-Chester, where she had been hospitalized more than a
dozen times. The county employs two mental-health liaisons at the jail to help
inmates, yet jail officials say they had no contact with Sandy's caretakers in
the infirmary. Sandy's brother James and three of her sisters said they called
the jail to find out what was happening. Lisa and Jamie Morgan testified that
they told a jail social worker about Sandy's thyroid condition. They hoped that
once Sandy was declared incompetent to stand trial, she would be transferred to
Norristown State Hospital. Sandy's caseworker, Erin King, indicated in her phone
log that on Feb. 23 she spoke with Kirk Benson, a mental-health liaison at the
prison. King said she told him that Sandy had schizophrenia and suffered from
hypothyroidism. Benson testified that he didn't remember speaking to King. A
counselor arranged for James Morgan to talk to his sister. "I don't belong
here," Sandy told him. "I know," James remembers telling her. "I'm working on
it." James continued to call Sandy's public defender for updates. None of her
family members posted the $1,000 it would have cost to bail Sandy out of jail.
James said he thought he needed the full $10,000. His sisters said they didn't
ask about bail because they did not understand the process. They did not try to
see Sandy, either, because they thought inmates in the infirmary could not have
visitors. A psychiatrist the county hired evaluated Sandy on Feb. 24 and
determined that she was not competent to stand trial. It took several weeks for
the report to be transcribed and sent to her public defender, a delay that is
not uncommon. Meanwhile, Sandy became more withdrawn and hostile. She hid under
blankets in her cell. She fought nurses who tried to take her vital signs. They
wrote "caution" next to her name in infirmary logs. One nurse said that Sandy
was sometimes "wild-looking." During 59 nursing shifts, Sandy's vitals were
recorded only 17 times. Nursing notes say she would ask for showers and was
"malodorous," but was denied because she was too hostile. Records show she
showered just four times in five weeks. On Feb. 26, a nurse wrote in the
infirmary log, "needs 302," referring to the state mental-health law that allows
for a person to be hospitalized against his or her will. The next day, and again
on March 2, nurses noted "302?" On March 21, a nurse wrote that Sandy was
getting worse and refusing medication. On March 22, a nurse scribbled, "Wrote in
toothpaste, delusional," and "psychotic, poor impulse control." Two days later,
Michael Harper, another public defender, petitioned the court to have Sandy
transferred to Norristown State Hospital. All things considered, Sandy's case
was moving along quickly, Harper said. "A two-month turnaround is about the best
we can do," he later testified. But for Sandy, it wasn't fast enough.
Unexplained collapse -- The next day, March 25, Officer Rasheeda Hackett walked
past Sandy's cell about 3:15 a.m. and saw her gripping the sink, her legs
shaking. Then she fell. By the time a nurse reached her, Sandy was convulsing.
She bit her tongue. Her eyes were open, looking to the right. She was
incontinent. Sandy had no history of seizures. When she stopped flailing, she
was put on a stretcher and taken to another room in the medical wing. Black, the
physician's assistant who had placed Sandy in the medical wing five weeks
earlier, administered Dilantin, an antiseizure drug. No one contacted the doctor
on call that night or dialed 911. Instead, medical staff took Sandy's blood
pressure, pulse and heart and respiration rate. Ammonia revived her somewhat,
but she did not respond to pain or to her name. Seizures in an adult not known
to have a history of them should be treated as an emergency, said Christopher
Rees, an attending physician in the emergency department at Pennsylvania
Hospital. The patient should be immediately taken to a hospital to determine
what caused the seizure and whether it stopped, he said. About 4:15 a.m., a
nurse noticed that Sandy's pupils were not responding to light, indicating
possible brain death. "It means you're dying or dead," Rees said. "That's the
end." But the jail medical staff didn't call 911 until 4:42 a.m., an hour and a
half after Sandy collapsed. In the ambulance, Sandy had another seizure. When
she arrived at Riddle Memorial Hospital, her body temperature had dropped to
82.8 degrees. Machines kept her alive for four days while her family gathered to
say goodbye. Before the hospital disconnected Sandy, before her organs were
harvested for transplant, James sat next to his sister and wept. He hugged her,
stroking her hand and her face. "I'm so sorry," he told her. A long
deterioration -- The autopsy revealed that Sandy died from profound
hypothyroidism with probable myxedema coma, an end stage of hypothyroidism that
causes a firm swelling in body tissues. About half of the people who develop
myxedema coma die, said David Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Thyroid
Clinic. Hypothyroidism means the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormone
to maintain body functions at a normal pace. It is one of the most common
conditions in internal medicine, said Stephen Rosen, chief of endocrinology at
Pennsylvania Hospital. The condition usually results when the immune system
mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland. In the days leading to Sandy's death, her
heart rate must have slowed and her blood pressure may have dropped, Cooper
said. She likely started breathing more slowly. Her voice may have lowered or
become hoarse as her larynx became engorged from the swelling. Her extremities
were probably cold to the touch as her body shifted blood flow to preserve her
vital organs, Rosen said. Four days before Sandy collapsed, a nurse recorded her
temperature at 92.7 degrees, according to jail records. The nurse, Maureen
Hoffman, testified that it was a transcription error. But Cooper, who is not
involved in Sandy's case, said hypothyroidism takes a long time to kill,
probably longer even than the five weeks Sandy was in jail. A check of Sandy's
vital signs should have indicated to nurses that something was wrong. "I can
guarantee you her temperature was not normal the day before," he said. "I can
guarantee you it was not normal a week before." Body temperature that drops to
95 degrees or lower is a red flag, Rosen said. Suicide-watch logs kept by jail
officers who looked in on Sandy every 15 minutes are missing for the final three
days she was at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Records listing the
drugs Sandy was offered are missing for March, legal documents show.
Wide-reaching suit -- In July 2007, Sandy Morgan's family filed a lawsuit in
federal court against several jail staff, Delaware County, Crozer-Chester
Medical Center, Usha Kotihal, and GEO. In August, GEO announced that, in part
due to the high cost of litigation, it would end its involvement at the jail at
the end of the year. The lawsuit is set to go to trial next week. Harold
Goodman, the lead attorney representing the Morgan family, accuses Kotihal of
"abandoning" Sandy, discharging her without proper prescriptions, a
post-treatment plan, or a call to the family explaining why she was not being
sent to the state hospital. Morgan's family argues that the jail was
ill-prepared to care for their sister and should have sent her to a
mental-health facility. Amalia Romanowicz, a lawyer representing Kotihal and
Crozer-Chester, declined to comment. In her court motions she argued that
Kotihal and the hospital did what was required of them by law: They treated
Sandy until she was no longer a threat to herself and others. Kotihal, in her
deposition, said that although Sandy was still showing signs of psychosis upon
discharge, she had returned to her "base line." In their court motions, lawyers
for the GEO Group and jail staff dispute the cause of death, saying that Sandy
showed no signs of medical distress until she collapsed. They said it was her
and her family's responsibility to inform them of her thyroid condition. Suicide
watch -- Throughout Sandy's 38-day incarceration, corrections officers looked
into her cell every 15 minutes and noted her activities using codes. On the
morning of Feb. 25, Sandy was Code 2, "yelling or screaming." On March 5, she
walked around for much of the afternoon, singing, cursing, and talking to
herself. But most times, officers looked in to see that Sandy, who had only a
toothbrush and a Bible in her cell, wasn't doing anything. During entire
eight-hour shifts, officers noted Sandy was Code 8, standing still, or Code 10
and 11, sitting or lying quietly in bed. Sandy Morgan, who was dangerous enough
to be locked up in jail on suicide watch but not dangerous enough to be sent to
a hospital, died in front of officers who checked her every 15 minutes of each
day.
September 19, 2008 AP
A wrongful-death lawsuit can proceed against doctors and a private prison
where a schizophrenic woman collapsed and later died after weeks in the
infirmary, a federal judge ruled. Meanwhile, the company that runs the nearly
1,900-bed Delaware County Prison near Philadelphia is ending its 12-year
management of the site, citing frequent litigation and higher-than-expected
costs. At least six of the prison's inmates have died of unnatural causes or
questionable circumstances since 2001, according to news accounts. They include
the April death of comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a Howard Stern sidekick
who died of complications from cystic fibrosis at age 39. The prison is run by
the Geo Group Inc., formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp., which runs
about 50 corrections and immigration sites in the United States. In the latest
wrongful-death case, U.S. District Judge Berle M. Shiller ruled this month that
a jury could find the prison's contract doctors, along with a hospital doctor
and others, negligent in the care of Cassandra Morgan. Morgan, 38, had a long
history of schizophrenia and also suffered from a serious thyroid condition. She
was hospitalized at Chester-Crozer Medical Center in early 2006 and was
scheduled to be transferred to a state psychiatric hospital, but was instead
discharged by Dr. Usha Kotihal despite evidence she would not voluntarily take
her medication, the ruling said. In discharge papers, Kotihal noted that Morgan
was uncooperative, angry and delusional, according to the suit. Days later,
Morgan was arrested for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart. "Cassandra was under a
delusion that she owned the Wal-Mart," the suit states. Morgan was brought to
the prison on about Feb. 16 and housed in the infirmary because of her apparent
mental illness. Although she did not acknowledge her medical history or take the
anti-psychotic medication prescribed, prison medical staff failed to adequately
evaluate and treat her, the suit charges. One prison doctor upped her dosage in
the hope that "she would come around," even though she wasn't taking the lower
dose, the suit alleges. The suit also alleges that family members called
repeatedly to try to inform prison officials of her medical conditions, but were
not able to get the information to the medical staff. On March 25, she collapsed
and started seizing. More than 90 minutes later, she was taken to a hospital,
where her body temperature was recorded as 82.8 degrees, the judge found. With
thyroid hormones 14 times normal levels, she was judged to be in a
hypothyroid-related coma. She never regained consciousness and was taken off
life support four days later, the ruling said. "Obviously, we're pleased that
after months of discovery, the judge has cleared the way for us to begin trial,"
said lawyer Harold Goodman, who represents the family. The case is set for trial
on Oct. 14. Lawyer Carolyn Short, who represents the Geo Group Inc., declined
comment. Lawyer Amalia V. Romanowicz, who represents Kotihal and the hospital,
did not immediately return a message Thursday. Goodman also represents
Kallenbach's mother, who has blamed her son's death on inadequate prison medical
care. Kallenbach had been arrested on a child-luring charge. A separate pending
lawsuit accuses the Geo Group of routinely strip-searching minor offenders at
the Delaware County Prison, in violation of court rulings that ban the practice
unless there is reason to suspect they are hiding contraband. The Geo Group had
2006 revenues of $860 million.
September 3, 2008 Delco Times
The Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors spent 90 minutes in a
"lively" executive session Tuesday morning "identifying, assessing and
reviewing" options in the wake of the GEO Group Inc.'s decision to pull up
stakes by year's end, said Acting Prison Superintendent John Reilly. The GEO
Group, formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., is the private, for-profit company
that has been running the county-owned George W. Hill Correctional Facility in
one form or another since 1995. The company announced in a release Friday it
would cease operations there on Dec. 31. With the holiday weekend, Tuesday was
the first opportunity the board had to go over its options - essentially whether
to engage another private provider, revert to operating the jail on its own or
form some hybrid of the two. "That is going to be the best-kept secret in
Delaware County for awhile," said Reilly. "The board has a direction and we're
going to proceed - at least in the short term - in this direction, and I don't
believe we should be discussing it publicly because it might impact negotiating
strategies." Which at least suggests there is someone the board could
potentially negotiate with, but Reilly was sticking with the "identified,
assessed and reviewed" line. Executive sessions are not open to the public and
little was initially revealed on Tuesday's extensive discussions. Reilly did say
the board hoped the short-term phase would near completion by its next public
meeting Sept. 17, but isn't setting any rigid timelines. Tuesday's meeting also
reportedly culminated in a conference call with GEO Group Inc. President and
Chief Operating Officer Wayne Calabrese. According to GEO's release Friday, the
Concord facility is the only local county jail the company manages. Though it
generates about $38 million in annual operating revenues, GEO Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer George C. Zoley said his company would cease management of the
1,883-bed jail "due to financial underperformance and frequent litigation."
Reilly said in its letter to the county, GEO also cited "higher-than-average
workers' compensation claims" as a reason for pulling out of the local prison
market. Reilly estimated the facility constituted about 70 percent of GEO's
corporate litigation expenses, so it was unexpected it would pull out, but not
entirely surprising. GEO and the prison board signed an $80 million, two-year
contract extension last year that was set to expire Dec. 31, 2009. Prison board
Solicitor Bob Diorio said GEO was able to leave before that date without penalty
because of an escape clause that allows either party to give 120 days notice.
August 30, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
Running the George W. Hill Correctional Facility is a tough job. So tough,
in fact, that the GEO Group is walking away from a $40-million-a-year contract
to operate Delaware County's 1,883- bed prison. Buried under a mountain of
lawsuits - with another high-profile wrongful-death suit imminent - the
Florida-based company announced yesterday that it's leaving the county lockup a
year before its contract expires at the end of 2009. "I just think they're
losing money here," said the prison's acting superintendent, John Reilly Jr.,
who oversees GEO's performance on the county's behalf. The company's chief
executive, George C. Zoley, said in a statement yesterday that "financial
underperformance and frequent litigation" drove the decision. Formerly Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., GEO has been running the prison in Thornbury Township since
1996. State Rep. John Perzel, R-Phila., is on GEO's board of directors. Reilly
said GEO has done a "better than adequate job," while saving Delaware County
taxpayers millions of dollars. But the company also has been a near-constant
source of negative headlines. A former K-9 officer at the jail pleaded guilty
last month to having sex with an inmate in his pickup truck at a nearby grist
mill, and a corrections officer admitted in court that same week to sending a
fraudulent letter to the state parole board so her boyfriend - a convicted
murderer - could move in with her. Another GEO guard pleaded guilty last year to
conspiracy to commit bank robbery; the prison's former work-release supervisor
is a registered Megan's Law sex offender, and the warden was fired last winter.
The family of comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, 39, the longtime member of
Howard Stern's "Wack Pack" who died in April while in prison custody, is
planning to sue GEO, alleging that prison medical staff failed to treat his
cystic fibrosis. The county prison board will hold an emergency closed-door
session Tuesday to assess its options, which include returning management of the
prison to the county government.
July 30, 2008 Delco Times
A former guard at Delaware County prison pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge that
he had sex with a 25-year-old female inmate while he was employed at the
facility. Michael Waters, 37, of the 200 block of South Church Street, Clifton
Heights, stood beside defense attorney Ronald Smith as he admitted to a charge
of institutional sexual assault. Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino said
the offense carries a maximum of seven years in jail, but under the state's
recommended guidelines, Waters could receive a probationary sentence up to nine
months in prison. "I will be seeking a sentence of three to 23 months in jail,"
said Galantino. Waters will remain free on $2,500 bail pending sentencing set
for Oct. 21. Acting Prison Superintendent John Reilly Jr. said Waters was
employed with the GEO group that has managed the prison since Nov. 16, 1998. He
was earning $16 an hour at the time he was terminated in March, after the
charges surfaced, said Reilly. Reilly termed the crime "a horrific lapse in
judgment." Waters is the second employee of the GEO group to enter a plea this
week. Nytara Hall, 30, who also was employed by GEO, pleaded guilty to a forgery
charge Tuesday and lost her prison post. Galantino said the inmate, who told
investigators about her sexual trysts with Waters, is now out of jail. The
prosecutor said she was aware of the terms of the plea when the defendant waived
his preliminary hearing in April and nothing has changed since then. "There was
no allegation of force," said Galantino. The law provides that a person employed
at a correctional institution commits a crime if there is sexual intercourse
with an inmate or detainee. Senior Judge William R. Toal Jr. delayed sentencing
to allow time for Waters to undergo a state-mandated evaluation to determine if
he fits the criteria to be classified as sexually violent offender. Waters was
arrested after the female, who was an inmate at the time, told authorities she
was on work release and she and Waters would hook up off prison grounds. She
told investigators she first met Waters while he was patrolling at the prison
and she told him where she would be working that day. He replied, "Maybe I'll
stop by," according to a court document. She said Waters picked her up on at
least four occasions for sexual trysts between Feb. 25 and March 20, according
to the court document. She said she and Waters had sex at least four times
inside Waters' pickup truck. Waters told authorities that afterward, he would
take her to the SEPTA bus stop at Cheyney Road and Route 1, where she would take
the bus back to the prison.
July 19, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
The comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach died of complications from cystic
fibrosis, according to an autopsy report released yesterday by the Delaware
County medical examiner. Kallenbach, 39, was best known as a member of the "Wack
Pack" on Howard Stern's radio show. He suffered from the inherited disease and
died April 24 at Riddle Memorial Hospital after being transferred from the
George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornbury, where he had been held since
mid-March. After an autopsy in April, the medical examiner said further
investigation was needed to determine the cause of death. Yesterday's report
indicated the manner of death to be "natural," brought on by cystic fibrosis
with pneumonia and sepsis. Kallenbach's family has alleged that he did not
receive the proper medical treatment for his condition while in the county
prison and that his health deteriorated dramatically. Kallenbach was arrested on
a charge of attempted child abduction. He denied any wrongdoing. A call to his
mother, Fay Kallenbach, yesterday was not returned. The family's attorney,
Harold I. Goodman of Philadelphia, said that the report confirmed what family
members suspected as the cause of death and that they are reviewing all records
before deciding whether to proceed with litigation. "Reading this report along
with prison records certainly suggests he did not get the degree of care and
treatment" needed, said Goodman. He said the prison was aware of Kallenbach's
condition and "wasn't properly treating him for it." Kallenbach called home a
week before his death asking his mother to intervene and saying he didn't think
he would "make it" in jail. A message left for John C. Reilly Jr., acting
superintendent at the prison, was not returned. Since 2005, at least eight
people have died at the Delaware County facility, the state's only privately run
jail. Several of those deaths resulted in lawsuits by family members who said
the facility did not provide adequate medical care or proper supervision for
inmates. GEO Group, which runs the jail, operates prisons around the country.
Its operations in Texas have been criticized over poor conditions and the
treatment of some of its prisoners.
July 2, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
A WEEK BEFORE Kenneth Keith Kallenbach died, the Delaware County comedian's
health had deteriorated so badly that prison officials tried to send him home on
"compassionate release." Kallenbach, 39, a longtime member of Howard Stern's "Wack
Pack" who suffered from cystic fibrosis, was rapidly shedding weight while
jailed on a parole violation. Even the Upper Chichester cop who arrested him in
March for allegedly trying to lure a teenage girl into a car was shocked by his
gaunt appearance at his preliminary hearing April 15. "He looked bad," Officer
Michael Smalarz recalled last week. "I said, 'Kenny, man, you're really losing
weight.' " He was dying. But despite the mid-April request that Kallenbach be
released - a practice reserved for seriously ill, nonviolent inmates - the
county probation office insisted that he stay in jail until he could undergo a
psychosexual evaluation, according to John Reilly Jr., acting superintendent at
the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Delaware County Adult Probation and
Parole Services refused to send Kallenbach home, Reilly said, even though he was
being held on a parole violation from a prior DUI arrest - not on the attempted-
kidnapping charge involving a minor. Kallenbach's mother, Fay, already had
posted bail on that charge. It wasn't until the morning of April 24 that a
county judge agreed to rescind the warrant on the parole violation. Kallenbach
had died a few hours earlier at Riddle Memorial Hospital. "It was just too
late," said Fay Kallenbach, who intends to sue the prison for failing to treat
her son's cystic fibrosis, a chronic condition in which abnormally thick mucus
builds up in the lungs and digestive system. A painful memory -- He died more
than two months ago, but his mother still has trouble holding back the tears
when she recalls her final moments with her son in the hospital's intensive-care
unit. "He tried to open his eyes, and his eyes rolled back in his head and he
never regained consciousness," she said. "All I saw was skin and bones. He had
lost so much weight, he just looked emaciated. I held his hand for a while and
talked to him. Evidently, his brain was working but his body had shut down."
Reilly declined comment yesterday because of the pending litigation, but in an
interview shortly after the death he defended Kallenbach's treatment. He said
that Kallenbach was seen twice a day by a nurse and had access to "all of his
prescribed" medication and an oxygen machine, but that he had been refusing
treatment. An April 30 autopsy performed by Delaware County Medical Examiner
Frederic Hellman did not immediately reveal a cause of death, and the
tissue-analysis results have not come back. Hellman initially had declined to
conduct an autopsy, accepting the determination by hospital clinicians that
Kallenbach had died from pneumonia and septic shock due to complications from
cystic fibrosis. But he decided to perform the examination after the family
raised concerns about his medical treatment. At that point, Kallenbach's body
already had been embalmed "We're in America," Fay Kallenbach said. "He shouldn't
be dying in jail from pneumonia when they knew he had cystic fibrosis."
Kallenbach posted $5,000 bail shortly after her son's March 17 arrest on charges
of harassment and attempted luring of a child. He was returned to prison custody
a week later, however, because the arrest, and the fact that he had been driving
a car without a breath- alcohol ignition interlock device, violated his parole
on an old DUI charge, Reilly said. "He called me, and he was so weak I could
hardly understand him," Fay Kallenbach said. "He said, 'Mom, do whatever you
can, please, to get me out of here because I don't think I'm going to make it.'
" She blames the prison for her son's death, claiming that the medical staff
failed to treat his cystic fibrosis, but says that the probation officials who
kept him there are "equally responsible." She said he had managed the chronic
ailment by taking enzymes to help digest his meals and by using a salt-water
breathing machine at their Boothwyn home. Awaiting information -- The family's
attorney, Harold I. Goodman, said that he is awaiting additional records before
deciding whether to sue the county and the GEO Group, a Florida-based firm that
runs the prison. Goodman said that he has notified both entities that his firm
is investigating the matter. GEO spokesman Pablo Paez declined to comment on the
case. Reilly said a deputy warden called the county probation department around
April 17 and asked if Kallenbach could be released due to medical reasons while
he awaited a hearing on the parole violation. The prison occasionally contacts
judges, prosecutors or probation officers to request "alternative incarceration"
for nonviolent inmates who are "gravely or seriously ill," Reilly said in April.
The practice - which also saves money because the publicly funded prison is no
longer responsible for expensive medical care - typically is used for inmates
such as Kallenbach jailed on a probation or parole violation, rather than
convicts serving time, Reilly said. The request was denied, according to Reilly.
Fay Kallenbach still can't understand that. If a judge had set bail at 10
percent of $50,000 on the more-serious criminal charges and determined that
Kallenbach was not a danger to the community, why wouldn't the probation
department let him out on house arrest when he became sick? "The whole system
just went against him," she said. Mark Murray, the deputy director of Delaware
County Adult Probation and Parole Services, who Reilly said had blocked
Kallenbach's release, declined to comment on the case. Kallenbach - known for
his cheesy rock songs, goofball antics on "The Howard Stern Show" and the
occasional movie cameo - was a notoriously heavy drinker, but didn't have a
history of violent crimes or sex crimes, Upper Chichester Police Detective John
Montgomery said. "He was picked up a couple times for intoxication and stuff
like that, but he wasn't viewed as a dangerous criminal or anything - not until
this latest incident, which raised eyebrows," Montgomery said. Police say
Kallenbach tried to pull a teenage girl into his car on March 17. At his
preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge David Griffin held him for trial
on all charges, including attempted kidnapping. The case never made it to trial.
Fay Kallenbach said that her son was driving to the post office that afternoon
and yelled to a 16-year-old girl, " 'Hi, I'm Kenneth Keith,' because everyone
knew him in Boothwyn from TV commercials and appearances. He was just friendly
that way and would hand out his little business card he had." She says that
county officials treated her son as if he were guilty of a sex crime by
insisting on a psychosexual evaluation while he was dying in jail. "He was
accused of it, but he didn't have his day in court," she said. "He was never
convicted."
June 30, 2008 Delco Times
A former Delaware County prison guard has been charged with forging a
supervisor's signature in an attempt to convince state parole officials to allow
a convicted murderer to move in with her. Nytara Hall, 29, who was a sergeant at
the county prison, has been suspended without pay pending termination, according
to Prison Superintendent John Reilly. Hall, of the 700 block of South Juniper
Street, Philadelphia, asked three prison officials on May 9 to send a letter on
her behalf to the Pennsylvania Probation and Parole Board, according to the
affidavit of probable cause written by county Detective Thomas Worrilow. Hall
allegedly told the prison officials that George Kidd, her "Muslim husband," was
being released from federal prison. A letter from her employer, Delaware County
prison, was needed if Kidd was to reside with her, according to the affidavit.
The letter was to state that it was not a conflict and that she does not possess
a firearm. The same day she made her request, however, Hall sent the letter
herself, and forged the signature of a prison official, the affidavit states.
Three days later, Deputy Warden Mario Colucci received a call from a parole
agent questioning the authenticity of the faxed letter. The person whose
signature was on the fax denied writing or signing the letter, the affidavit
states. Prison officials questioned Hall about the letter as well as about her
"husband," since she was not married. Hall allegedly explained that she was not
legally married, but considered Kidd, who had been sentenced to 10-20 years for
third-degree murder, her husband in a religious marriage. On June 24, Worrilow
interviewed Hall, who allegedly admitted she produced the letter and faxed it to
the parole board. She also admitted that the purpose in doing so was to obtain
parole for Kidd. Hall was arraigned on charges of forgery and tampering with
public records. She was released on $35,000 unsecured bail.
April 29, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
An autopsy will be performed tomorrow on Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a
39-year-old comedian who died Thursday after contracting pneumonia at the
Delaware County jail, where he was awaiting trial. Since 2005, at least eight
people have died at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, the state's only
privately run jail. Several of those deaths resulted in lawsuits by family
members who say the facility did not provide adequate medical care or proper
supervision for inmates. Kallenbach suffered from cystic fibrosis, an inherited
chronic disease. He had been housed at the jail since mid-March, when he was
arrested on a charge of attempted child abduction. He was taken to Riddle
Memorial Hospital April 21, where he died. Kallenbach's mother, Fay, said her
son called her a week before his death, asking her to intervene and help him
receive better treatment. He said he didn't think he would "make it" in the
jail, she said. "He managed [his condition] perfectly well at home," she said.
"He was only in there for about a month." The prison had no comment on
Kallenbach's death. GEO Group operates prisons around the country, and its
operations in Texas have been sharply criticized over poor conditions and the
treatment of some of its prisoners. At the Delaware County facility last year, a
woman who suffered from a thyroid condition died at the jail where she had been
held for six weeks. Family members said she did not receive her medication
during her incarceration. "There is an awful lot of deliberate indifference to
the medical needs" in the prison, said Harold I. Goodman, a lawyer currently
suing the company that operates the jail on behalf of the woman's family. GEO
did not comment on this case. In 2005, five inmates died within a five-month
span, drawing scrutiny from Delaware County District Attorney Michael Green. Two
men apparently committed suicide, one died after a fist fight, another died of a
heroin overdose, and another man was found dead in his bed. No criminal charges
were filed, but GEO Group has settled lawsuits with several families who sued on
behalf of their relatives. In 2006, GEO paid $100,000 to the family of Rosalyn
Atkinson, 25, who died in 2002 because of a fatal overdose of a high-blood
pressure drug administered by jail medical staff. Atkinson had been at the jail
for only 18 days. GEO also agreed in 2005 to pay $125,000 to the family of John
Focht, 43, who used his boot strings to hang himself in 2002. Jon Auritt, a
Media lawyer who handled both cases, is reviewing another case of inmate death
that occurred in October. David Dewees, who was in his 40s, died from what
appeared to be a seizure from hypoglycemic shock, Auritt said. Dewees suffered
from diabetes and had been at the jail only a few months at the time of his
death, he said. "They tried to save him once he went into this coma," Auritt
said yesterday. "I don't know whether or not there was anything they did or
could have done that could have changed things." A private forensic pathologist
is reviewing an autopsy of Dewees, and Auritt expects to determine by the end of
the summer whether to pursue the matter in court. Angus Love, executive director
of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, said the number of deaths in
three years was exceptionally high. "I'm suing Bucks County, and I don't think
they've had any deaths in custody in five years," he said. Love is suing the GEO
Group on behalf of an AIDS-infected inmate who allegedly did not receive his
medications for more than five months. He said a Delaware judge released the man
from prison early, citing the prison's failure to provide needed medicine. GEO,
based in Florida, also has been under fire in Texas, where it operates more than
a dozen correctional facilities. Last fall, the Texas Youth Commission abruptly
canceled its $8 million contract with GEO after investigators found unsanitary
living conditions at its juvenile facility. Several of the teens said they were
sexually assaulted by a guard who was a convicted sex offender, according to
lawsuits. GEO lost its contract at an adult facility in west Texas last year
after an inspector reportedly characterized the prison as "the worst
correctional facility I have ever visited." The inspection was sparked by an
inmate's suicide. Texas legislators have called for a review of all of GEO's
contracts with state and local agencies. GEO spokesman Pablo Paez did not
respond to requests for comment yesterday. The Delaware County Board of Prison
Inspectors, a group of five people who oversee the contract with the jail and
appoint the superintendent, agreed in May 2006 to renew GEO's contract for
another 19 months. The board members are satisfied with GEO's performance, said
Robert M. DiOrio, a Media lawyer who acts as spokesman for the board. "The
prison board is always concerned about inmate deaths and very much regrets any
death in the prison," DiOrio said. "Just because a family member in a distraught
state expresses culpability for a death doesn't necessarily mean at the end of
the day that the prison board or GEO is found to be liable." Fredric Hellman,
Delaware County medical examiner, said Kallenbach's death initially did not
raise any suspicions.. "The initial information I was provided with on Thursday
indicated that his death was due to natural disease," he said. But he decided to
perform an autopsy on Kallenbach, who often appeared on Howard Stern's radio
show, when Kallenbach's mother raised questions about her son's treatment in
jail.
April 25, 2008 AP
Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, an actor, comedian and
long-running member of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack," has died in custody. He was
39. Kallenbach, who was arrested in March for allegedly trying to lure an
underage girl into his car, contracted pneumonia at a prison outside
Philadelphia and died Thursday morning at a suburban hospital, his mother, Fay
Kallenbach, said Friday. Stern first reported the news on his Sirius Satellite
Radio show Thursday. The long-haired Kallenbach, whose goofball antics included
attempting to blow smoke from his eyes, made dozens of appearances on Stern's
show beginning in 1990. Stern once likened him to MTV's Beavis and Butt-head and
wrote in his 1993 book "Private Parts" that Kallenbach was the "ultimate
airhead." More recently, Kallenbach, of Boothwyn, Pa., starred in commercials
for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and Stride chewing gum. He also appeared on
Jay Leno's "Tonight" show on NBC and had uncredited parts in HBO's "Sex and the
City" and the Tom Cruise film "Jerry Maguire." Kallenbach was arrested in Upper
Chichester Township, Pa., in mid-March on a charge of attempted child abduction.
He had denied any wrongdoing. His mother accused the Delaware County Prison of
failing to provide adequate medical care, saying her son, who had cystic
fibrosis, called her a few days before his death and begged her to intervene.
"They weren't treating him properly for his disease and this is how he
contracted pneumonia," Fay Kallenbach said. Pneumonia is a complication of
cystic fibrosis. Pablo Paez, spokesman for GEO Group Inc., the Florida-based
company that runs the prison, declined to respond to Fay Kallenbach's
allegation, citing privacy laws. He said Kallenbach had been housed at the
prison since March 27, and was taken to Riddle Memorial Hospital near Media,
Pa., on Monday. "We provide appropriate care for all the inmates at the
facility," Paez said.
March 26, 2008 Philadelphia Daily News
A K-9 officer at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility was charged yesterday
with multiple counts of institutional sexual assault for allegedly taking an
inmate to a nearby grist mill for sex in his pickup truck, Delaware County
authorities said. Michael Waters, 37, an employee of the GEO Group, the
Florida-based company that runs the county prison, admitted to having oral and
vaginal sex with the female work-release inmate, according to the criminal
complaint. The 25-year-old woman told detectives on Friday that Waters, who
became a K-9 officer last year, would pick her up from her job at McDonald's and
take her to the historic Newlin Grist Mill near the prison or to the parking lot
of the Springfield Mall for sex. Such relationships between guards and inmates
are prohibited by law - even if the sex is consensual. "That is a felony of the
third degree," said John Reilly, the prison's acting superintendent. "It could
be wholly consensual, it could be a product of deep and abiding love, and it is
still the crime of institutional sexual assault." Waters, of Clifton Heights,
was hit with four counts of that crime yesterday and is expected to be arraigned
today in Concord District Court. His wife answered the door yesterday at their
Church Street home but declined comment. "It's a tragic lapse of judgment,"
Reilly said of Waters' actions. Other GEO employees at the Delaware County
prison have experienced similar lapses in recent years. The jail's former
work-release supervisor, for instance, is registered as a Megan's Law sex
offender. Joseph Henderson, of the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia, is
currently on probation after pleading guilty in 2006 to sexually assaulting a
female inmate while transporting her back to prison. Former guard Henry Myers
pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Myers, also of
Philadelphia, was indicted in 2005 for casing banks in three armed heists and
was sentenced to three years in prison. In 2004, a GEO lieutenant at the county
prison was fired for beating an inmate "to a pulp," as the then-warden put it,
and two other guards received probationary sentences after an inmate claimed in
2002 that they handcuffed him, pummeled him with a basketball and pulled his
pants down. Reilly acknowledged that some GEO employees have previously had
trouble staying out of jail themselves, but said that he could not recall any
new incidents over the past couple of years - aside from Waters'.
January 31, 2008 AP
Court rulings prohibit routine strip searches of minor offenders, but a
privately run prison conducts them on all new inmates, a lawsuit charged. The
potential class-action suit, filed in federal court this week against The Geo
Group, involves a drunk-driving suspect who was strip-searched at a county
prison the firm manages near Philadelphia. "It's humiliating," lead plaintiff
Stephen D. Bussy, 53, said Thursday. Bussy, a home-health worker and college
graduate from Media, said he was strip searched during intake last summer at the
Delaware County Prison. A second full-body search occurred during his four-month
stay — he was unable to post bail — in a shower littered with feces, the lawsuit
states. The Geo Group, previously known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp., does not
comment on pending litigation, spokesman Pablo Paez said Thursday. The company,
with 2006 revenues of $860 million, manages 49 corrections and immigration
facilities in the United States, many of them in Texas and California. The firm,
based in Boca Raton, Fla., also operates a half-dozen sites overseas. Bussy's
lawyers are seeking to have his lawsuit apply to possibly thousands of minor
offenders who were stripped-searched at a Geo Group-run prisons nationwide, but
a judge must first grant class-action status. More than a decade ago, a group of
women protesting a pigeon shoot were arrested and strip-searched in the
Schuylkill County jail. The case led to a precedential ruling in 1993 in which
U.S. District Judge Franklin Van Antwerpen wrote: "The feelings of humiliation
and degradation associated with being forced to expose one's nude body to
strangers for visual inspection is beyond dispute." Other federal courts,
including the Supreme Court, have issued similar guidelines. Authorities must
have reason to think a minor offender is hiding drugs or other contraband to
search them, civil rights lawyer say. This week's complaint mirrors similar
class-action suits filed around the country against government agencies.
Authorities in Camden County, N.J., last year agreed to pay $7.5 million to
settle suit over prison strip searches conducted between 2003 and 2005, while
other suits are pending in Philadelphia and Lancaster. "The rule appears to be
at this point, you can't have a blanket policy," said David Rudovsky, a
University of Pennsylvania law professor who represents Bussy. "You would think
that prison officials would be aware of it and would be careful."
January 31, 2008 Philadelphia Inquirer
A team of lawyers with a record of winning class-action cases across the country
today hit the Delaware County prison and others across the country, alleging
that thousands of people were illegally strip- searched for minor offenses. The
federal lawsuit was filed against the Geo Group Inc., a Florida company that
runs the jail in Delaware County and numerous other states. The suit listed a
single plaintiff: Stephen Dimitri Bussy, 53, a home health-care worker in Media
who was strip-searched after a drunken driving arrest last year. Bussy
represents a class of people nationwide who were allegedly victimized by
strip-searches for minor offenses in Geo Group jails, the suit says. The suit
lists damages at $5 million, but lawyers say that is considered to be a baseline
figure for that type of class-action suit. The Inquirer reported last month that
three guards from Delaware County's George W. Hill Correctional Facility said
all prisoners entering the facility were strip-searched - including people held
for minor violations, such as failing to make child support payments or those
held because they could not pay outstanding traffic tickets. The suit cited that
Inquirer series and mentioned the three guards' statements. Other jails and
police lockups across the state also followed the same strip-search practices,
The Inquirer reported. Since the series, legislators have called for improved
police training and some cities have already changed their policies. Federal
judges across the nation have ruled that blanket strip-search policies for
people arrested for minor crimes violate the U.S. Constitution's protection from
"unreasonable" search and seizure. Bussy, a University of Massachusetts
graduate, was arrested by Media police on July 31, 2001, on charges of drunken
driving, public drunkenness and criminal trespass. The suit says Bussy could not
post the required $500 bail and was taken to the county jail, in Thornton, where
he was strip-searched, the suit said. "In connection with the strip search,
plaintiff was required to completely disrobe and lift his testicles. Plaintiff's
anal cavity was also visually inspected by a correction officer," it said. Only
Geo Group, which operates dozens of prisons across the nation, was named in the
lawsuit, although the suit listed "John Does 1-100" as possible other people to
be include in the future. Officials from Geo Group could not immediately be
reached for comment. In past interviews, Geo spokesman Pablo Paez has declined
to discuss the corporation's policy on strip-searches. Some of the lawyers
filing the suit have been working with a group of attorneys that won a $7.5
million settlement from Camden County for allegedly strip-searching thousands of
people illegally in its prison. Two of the lawyers, Christopher G. Hayes and
Daniel C. Levin, also sued the Philadelphia Corrections Department, seeking $15
million for allegedly conducting more than 20,000 illegal searches. That suit is
pending. Two other lawyers involved in the new suit, Philadelphia's David
Rudovsky and Joseph G. Sauder, of Haverford, currently are involved in a
class-action suit against the Lancaster County prison for allegedly conducting
thousands of illegal searches there. "What's interesting against this one, we
are suing Geo Corporation," Rudovsky said in an interview after the suit was
filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. "We've defined the class of
inmates who are in county or municipal jails. So it's a national class-action
suit that we're seeking." The lawyers are seeking class-action status for the
suit.
December 1, 2007 Philadelphia Daily News
The warden at Delaware County's prison was fired yesterday, but the
multinational corrections company that runs the tax-funded facility won't say
why. Warden Ronald Nardolillo was "reassigned" from the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility and left the prison grounds at about 11 a.m., according to
John Reilly, who, as acting superintendent, oversees the GEO Group's performance
there on behalf of the county. "My hope is they are doing all that is necessary
to determine what happened and how it can be prevented from happening again,"
Reilly said of Nardolillo's dismissal. "He didn't go gracefully," one prison
guard, who asked not to be identified, said of the outgoing warden. The Daily
News reported Wednesday that Nardolillo, who earned about $130,000 a year, had
been in the county's crosshairs for about 18 months amid frequent complaints
from employees about his harsh management style. The relationship between
Nardolillo and the county was further strained in recent weeks with the
discovery of a racially charged photograph aimed at the prison guards' union
chief. A photo of Angelina Blocker, who is black, with a noose around her head
was found in a union mailbox, setting off a GEO investigation. County officials
called in detectives following what Reilly described as Nardolillo's "clumsy"
handling of the situation. "Instead of facing the issue head-on, there's all
kinds of games and machinations and denials," Reilly said Tuesday. The source of
the photograph has not been determined, he said. GEO spokesman Pablo Paez,
citing corporate policy, declined to discuss the photograph or answer questions
about why Nardolillo was reassigned or where he is going. The Florida-based
company has run the prison since 1995, when county officials decided to
privatize the operation as a cost-saving measure. Its board members include
state Rep. John Perzel, R-Phila. The arrangement with GEO, which is unique among
county prisons in Pennsylvania, has saved the county millions in construction
and operating costs and protects the county from most lawsuits filed by inmates
and their families. But anti-privatization advocates condemn the practice,
saying that companies like GEO are ultimately accountable to their stockholders,
not the taxpayers. GEO has had its fair share of mishaps over the years in
Delaware County - including settling wrongful-death lawsuits, letting inmates
walk out because of mis-identification and firing several guards who committed
serious crimes of their own. County officials, however, say they are largely
satisfied with the company's performance and recently awarded it an $80 million
contract extension that runs through 2009.
November 28, 2007 Philadelphia Daily News
The GEO Group, a multinational corrections company, will continue operating
Delaware County's prison through 2009 under the terms of an $80 million contract
extension announced yesterday. But the warden GEO hired in 2004 to run the
tax-funded facility might not make it through the end of the year, according to
prison sources. Warden Ronald Nardolillo's $130,000-a-year job is in jeopardy
amid a spate of complaints from his staff and county officials who say his
dictatorial style is causing frequent problems, the sources said. The George W.
Hill Correctional Facility has been run by the Florida-based company since 1995,
but Delaware County officials hold the purse strings and have the final say on
how it is run. And they want Nardolillo out. "The issue here is a poor
management climate, and it stems directly from his deficiencies as a warden,"
said John Reilly, the acting superintendent and top county official at the
prison. "We don't believe we're getting our money's worth from that position,"
he said. "We're not getting $130,000 worth of effort. He doesn't have $130,000
worth of ability." Formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., GEO beat out two rival
corrections companies last year to maintain control of the lockup, one of the
largest in its international network. County officials who oversee the prison
have been dissatisfied with Nardolillo for the past 18 months and recently have
been "keeping him off to the side," dealing mostly with his staff, Reilly said.
"Not one day goes by that a GEO employee doesn't complain to us about something
that was said or done to him or her, or a friend of his or hers, by the warden.
It's constant," Reilly said. GEO spokesman Pablo Paez declined to comment
yesterday and Nardolillo did not return phone calls yesterday or Monday. As
Nardolillo, a former New York City police officer, struggles to hold on to his
job, GEO is trying to determine the source of a racially charged photograph
aimed at the the prison guards' union chief. The picture, placed in a union
mailbox several weeks ago, shows a noose drawn around the head of Angela
Blocker, who is black. Reilly said the incident is evidence of continued
mismanagement on Nardolillo's watch. "It's par for the course. Instead of facing
the issue head on, there's all kinds of games and machinations and denials,"
Reilly said.
September 28, 2007 AP
Prison officials in Delaware County violated workplace discrimination laws when
they fired a Muslim nurse who insisted on wearing a head scarf on the job, the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged yesterday. The agency charged in
a lawsuit that the Geo Group Inc., a private company that operates the county
prison in Thornton, refused to make religious accommodations for Carmen
Sharpe-Allen and other female Muslim employees. Sharpe-Allen, who had a good
performance record, was fired in December 2005 after a meeting with warden
Ronald Nardolillo, the suit said. The prison "has forced its Muslim female
employees to compromise their religious beliefs by removing their khimars while
on duty or risk termination," according to the federal suit. The prison
instituted the ban on head scarves in early 2005, the suit said. Calls to the
Florida-based Geo Group and to Nardolillo were not immediately returned.
September 5, 2007 Daily Times
A nurse at George W. Hill Correctional Facility was recently put on
administrative leave for allegedly violating a prison policy forbidding
association or relationships with prisoners that would be “contrary to the best
interest of GEO (the private firm that runs the prison) or the safety or
security of the facility,” the Daily Times has learned. According to internal
documents, a licensed practical nurse was in contact with at least two inmates
via contraband mobile phones found in their cells. The nurse did not return
calls for comment; the Times is not identifying her because she has not been
charged with any crime. A DVR recording showed the nurse, whose cell phone
number was identified on both phones’ number storage systems as “Baby Girl,”
calling one of the prisoner’s phones from a fax machine with working voice line
located in the prison medical unit, according to the documents. No one else was
observed using the line, and the call time matched that recorded by the
prisoner’s phone, according to the report. The report also notes the nurse’s
personal cell phone number was listed among the stored numbers in the contraband
phones of two inmates. Neither inmate cooperated with the investigation,
according to the report. During the Aug. 10 search of one cell on a tip, which
turned up the first phone, officials also found contraband allegedly including
suspected marijuana, several cigarettes, a phone charger, lighters and three
pictures, two of which were a female later identified as the nurse. A search of
the other cell turned up a phone and charger, plus three additional pictures
“immediately identified as” the nurse. The searches led Warden Ron Nardolito to
authorize the investigation that day into the possibility of an inappropriate
relationship between the nurse and an inmate, according to prison documents. The
nurse was allegedly contacted by telephone several times by prison officials,
but ended the call before any conversation took place. She was scheduled to work
shortly thereafter, but did not appear and was subsequently sent a letter
informing her she was on administrative leave and not permitted to report to
work without prior authorization from the human relations office. Prison
Solicitor Robert DiOrio confirmed the nurse had been suspended without pay
pending the conclusion of an investigation being conducted by GEO and the prison
supervisor’s office. Another internal document from the prison indicates U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Trish Pepe notified the prison Aug. 1
that Correctional Officer Saye Gartie had been arrested for immigration law
violations and is currently being held in York County Prison, pending
deportation. Neither Pepe nor GEO prison officials returned calls seeking
details on the arrest or background investigation techniques for potential
prison employees.
August 3, 2007 Delco Times
A guard at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility (Run by Geo Private Prison)
was arrested early Thursday, charged with attempting to lure two teenage girls
into his car, Chief John Finnegan confirmed Thursday night. Samuel Willis, 32,
of Glassboro, N.J., was arraigned on charges of stalking, luring a child into a
motor vehicle, harassment, disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering another
person. Magisterial District Judge Spencer B. Seaton Jr. set bail at $100,000
cash at a preliminary arraignment. According to Finnegan, Willis was arrested in
the 2400 block of West Ninth Street by officers Donald Jackson and Victor Heness,
members of the city's newly established curfew unit. Shortly before 1 a.m.
Thursday, the officers observed two young females as they were standing near a
yellow Toyota Matrix with New Jersey tags, according to the arrest affidavit. As
the officers approached the car, the driver flashed a badge and identified
himself as a correction officer. "Due to the age of the girls he was talking to,
the two officers decided to investigate further," police said. The girls, ages
15 and 16, appeared to be close to tears, officials said. The girls were
unharmed. According to the affidavit, the girls told police the driver had
followed them for about four or five blocks, driving behind them and asking them
to come over to his car. He told the girls he was a "nice guy." Willis, who was
wearing a prison guard uniform, allegedly told the girls he was a guard and that
he was looking for an escaped convict and he wanted their help. When they
continued to walk away his demeanor changed, authorities said. "When the girls
attempted to leave fearing for their safety, he ordered them to stay and to
listen to him," according to authorities. One of the girls had a cell phone in
her hand and was about to dial 911 when the two officers arrived. According to
officials, Willis had been a guard at the county prison for 10 days. He had
finished his shift 40 minutes before approaching the girls, police said. He
allegedly told police that he was on his way home from work and decided to pull
over to the side of the road to take a nap. Inside of Willis' car, police found
a pair of children's toy handcuffs, an emergency light, several badges, coloring
books, sticker books and stuffed animals.
July 25, 2007 Philadelphia Enquirer
A mentally ill woman died last year after being held for six weeks in
Delaware County Prison without receiving medication for a thyroid condition,
according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. The suit says the family of
38-year-old Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan of Aston repeatedly "attempted to contact"
the privately operated county prison to express concern over her mental
condition and hypothyroid problem. The family's lawyer, Harold I. Goodman, said
the family had been "virtually ignored." Morgan died in Riddle Memorial Hospital
on March 29, 2006, four days after lapsing into a coma at the prison. Her death
resulted from complications caused by hypothyroidism. She had been imprisoned
after being charged with shoplifting at the Wal-Mart in Upper Chichester on Feb.
16, 2006. James Morgan, her brother, said that the Public Defender's Office had
not returned his repeated calls for help, and that the prison had made no
attempt to contact them about his sister's medical condition. "At any point in
the system where she could have been saved and treated humanely, there were
lapses," said Goodman, of Philadelphia. The lawyer called the case an
"institutional failure" and a convenient way to get Morgan off the streets.
Michael Joseph Harper, the assistant public defender who represented Morgan,
said he had not heard from her family until she had been hospitalized in a coma.
"I returned those calls." Among defendants in the lawsuit are the county, the
prison, Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, and the Geo Group Inc., the
Florida company that manages the prison. A call to John Reilly, deputy
superintendent of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility - the county prison -
was not returned yesterday. Robert DiOrio, the lawyer for the prison, said he
was not familiar with the case and would not comment.
December 12, 2006 Delco Times
Delaware County officials say they are closing in on a small group of
crooked prison guards as they implement sweeping policy changes aimed at ending
the contraband trade at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. The goal,
according to Deputy Superintendent John Reilly, is not just to slow the influx
of drugs, cigarettes and cellular phones, but "eradicate" the prison’s black
market altogether. Last month, the county Board of Prison Inspectors unanimously
voted to ban all tobacco products from the premises -- even within parked cars.
While the measure was passed partly to clean up the prison grounds and prevent
employees from leaving their posts for frequent smoke breaks, it is also
designed to counteract what Reilly called a relatively small group of "corrupt
corrections officers" running a lucrative contraband ring inside the Concord
lockup. "We now know who the players are," Reilly said, citing "phenomenal
intelligence" from inmates, their families and former guards. "It’s just a
question of following them every day, pursuing them every day and getting rid of
them," he said. Employees are currently permitted to drive off the prison
grounds to smoke a cigarette, but starting next month they will be barred from
leaving the facility’s secure perimeter once they begin their shift -- whether
it be a standard eight hours or a 16-hour double. Exceptions will likely be made
for medical conditions. County officials hope the no-tobacco policy, combined
with an increased K-9 presence in the parking lots and daily shakedowns, will
staunch the smuggling of cell phones, cigarettes and drugs into the prison.
Several guards walking to their cars have turned around upon seeing
drug-sniffing dogs, Reilly said. Michael Pelleriti, president of the Delaware
County Prison Employees Independent Union, which represents the guards, said
some members have complained about the smoking policy. But he said the union had
little say because the county owns the property. Reilly said certain corrections
officers are using their female colleagues as "mules" to smuggle contraband into
the jail, usually by hiding it in a body cavity. Without probable cause, a body
cavity search is illegal. He said the GEO Group Inc., the Florida-based firm
that has managed the publicly funded prison since 1996, is planning to implement
a cell phone scanner to prevent such activity. The company is also considering
purchasing a body scanner -- which presents an image similar to an X-ray -- to
detect contraband hidden in body cavities. "It’s a for-profit business," Reilly
said of the prison’s black market. A pack of cigarettes, for instance, can be
sold for between $40 to $50, according to word of mouth. The going rate for a
cell phone is considerably higher. Cell phones are particularly problematic in
jails because they can be used to intimidate witnesses or order drugs, among
other criminal activities. Some prisoners, including accused killer Lamar Haymes,
have attempted to coordinate an escape using an illegal phone. Prison officials
have had trouble stemming the drug trade in recent years, as evidenced by the
case of Brian Sullivan, the 25-year-old Marple resident who overdosed twice
while in prison custody. The second one killed him in April 2005. "They use
these inmates that are given preferential treatment to run the drugs for them
inside the prison," said Richard Golomb, the Philadelphia attorney who sued GEO
in October 2005 on behalf of the Sullivan family. The inmates that move the
drugs for the guards are known as "trustees," he said. GEO settled the Sullivan
suit about three months ago for a "substantial" amount, Golomb said Monday. The
settlement included a confidentiality clause, which he said prevented him from
disclosing the amount. GEO admitted no wrongdoing, as is standard with such
cases. "They have problems in that facility," Golomb said of the drug activity.
December 5, 2006 Philadelphia Enquirer
Higher costs at the state's only privately managed prison are the major
contributor to an $11.3 million, or 3.8 percent, increase in Delaware County's
proposed 2007 general budget. The George W. Hill Correctional Facility is
expected to cost $41.1 million to run in 2007, up $4 million from this year's
$37.1 million. Even so, the county would hold the line on taxes by using a $8.8
million surplus from the 2006 budget. Revenue this year will be $7.3 million
higher than the $293.4 million budgeted. The jump in prison expenses results
from higher management fees paid to the Geo Group Inc., the private manager, and
an increase in the number of local inmates incarcerated. That occurred after the
prison returned 350 inmates to Philadelphia this year to relieve overcrowding,
thereby giving up rental income that had offset the prison's costs since it
opened in 1998. The prison has a capacity of 1,851 inmates, according to the Geo
Group. "Corrections is the budget item that is straining every budget," said
Marianne Grace, the county's executive director.
June 29, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer
Guards at the Delaware County jail have extended their labor contract from
June 30 to July 17 as their employer, Geo Group Inc., studies their latest
demands. The county's George W. Hill Correctional Facility is the only privately
operated prison in Pennsylvania. Members of the Delaware County Prison Employees
Independent Union have rejected two earlier company offers by lopsided margins.
In the latest vote, on June 20, the margin was 101 members against ratification
to 58 for it. "We expect a positive response from the company," union president
Mike Pelleriti said. A Geo spokesman declined to comment.
June 21, 2006 Delco Times
Delaware County prison guards voted down a second contract proposal on
Monday and authorized a strike by a nearly 2-1 margin. The new contract garnered
more support than one that was rejected last month, 183-11, but union members
remain dissatisfied with wages, overtime restrictions and perhaps other issues,
said Michael Pelleriti, president of the Delaware County Prison Employees
Independent Union. "There are some people that feel the wages are not sufficient
at this point," Pelleriti said. The union, which represents about 300 guards at
the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Concord, voted against the contract
101-58, despite the fact that GEO Group Inc. had dropped vacation restrictions
and reinstated "shift splitting," in which guards divvy up their mandated
overtime. Pelleriti said wages also had been improved over the first proposal,
but declined to specify by how much. The current starting hourly wage is $11.24,
with an increase to $13.40 after 90 days. "Right now, the wages are still a
little low," compared to what other corrections officers are making nationally
and across the tri-state area, Pelleriti said. "Some of the members see that and
they want to catch up to everyone else." In addition to increased wages, the
guards want time-and-a-half for working more than eight hours, instead of only
receiving overtime pay when they work a double shift or more than 40 hours a
week. Pelleriti said there could be other areas of discontent that have not yet
been relayed to the union leadership. "We still have our feelers out and are
trying to pinpoint exactly where the problems are," he said. A vote against the
contract was a vote to authorize a strike -- something the union could not
legally do prior to 1996 when the county ran the prison and the guards were
government employees. As GEO employees, the guards have the right to walk out.
Last month, GEO secured a new $58 million county contract to operate the prison
through 2007. The contract will boost GEO’s revenue by at least 10 percent in
the first year. Some union members feel their pay should increase accordingly,
according to one guard who voted against the contract. "They got $58 million,"
said the guard, who declined to be identified. "The personnel that are part of
the union want some of that money." While a strike has been authorized,
Pelleriti said the union intended to continue talking with the Florida-based
company and considers a strike to be the "last resort." "We’re more than willing
to go back to the table and try to iron out the differences," he said. A GEO
spokesman did not respond Monday to a request for comment and has previously
said the company would have no public comment until an agreement is reached. The
guards are currently working under an extension to the labor contract that was
ratified in 2003 after three votes by the union membership. The new three-year
contract would be retroactive to June 1 and run through May 2009. The county
Board of Prison Inspectors, which contracts with GEO and monitors its
performance at the prison, has remained neutral during the labor negotiations.
If a strike were to occur, however, the prison board "certainly would support
GEO," said board Solicitor Robert DiOrio. "Because they’re employees of a
private company, they would have the right to strike, but then there are public
safety issues that would have to be addressed," DiOrio said. "The personal
rights of the employees would not be able to trump the public safety, in my
opinion."
May 31, 2006 Delco Times
With a staggering vote of 183-11, prison guards at the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility overwhelmingly rejected a labor contract proposed by GEO
Group Inc. Michael Pelleriti, president of the Delaware County Prison Employees
Independent Union, said he wants to return to the bargaining table to
renegotiate wages, vacation restrictions, sick time and other provisions in the
contract. While the union, which represents nearly 300 guards at the county
prison, has not authorized a strike, Pelleriti said he would not rule it out if
GEO refuses to budge. "A strike down the road - if talks break down - is always
an option," Pelleriti said late Tuesday afternoon after the votes had been
tallied. No date has been set for further negotiations. The vote came after GEO
granted concessions on a health-care provision that union officials say would
have increased premiums for all guards. Under the revised proposal, the current
health-care plan remains in place - single guards receive full coverage and
married guards pay $200 a month for their spouses and children. The contract
would run from June 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2010 and raise wages between 3.5 percent
to 8 percent in the first year, 4 percent in the second and third year and 2
percent in the last seven months. Pelleriti said many guards were satisfied with
the proposed health-care coverage, but the union may push for increased wages or
work rule changes in response to the "excessive mandated overtime" at the
prison. Some guards, he said, are required to work 16-hour shifts every other
day. "If we're going to continue that, they need to be compensated," he said. A
GEO spokesman could not be reached Tuesday and Warden Ronald Nardolillo declined
to comment. Robert DiOrio, solicitor for the county Board of Prison Inspectors,
said the board does not interfere in labor negotiations. In 1996, the county
outsourced the management of the prison to GEO, formerly Wackenhut Corrections
Corp. "We have never gotten involved in any employment affairs of Wackenhut or
GEO," DiOrio said. "It's just none of our business." Last week, GEO secured a
$58 million contract to run the prison through 2007. The 19-month contract will
boost the company's revenue there by at least 10 percent in the first year and
another 4 percent in the last seven months of the contract, plus additional
compensation when the prison population exceeds 1,883 inmates. GEO will not
reveal its profit margin at the publicly funded prison. Based in Boca Raton,
Fla., the company operates 61 facilities in four countries that generate more
than $600 million in annual revenue.
May 27, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer
GEO Group Inc. will continue to manage Delaware County's George W. Hill
Correctional Facility through 2007, despite a rash of incidents there, including
inmate deaths. The Board of Prison Inspectors this week voted to renew the
firm's contract, raising its monthly fee by 10 percent to $3 million when the
new 19-month pact begins June 1. The county has increased its 2006 jail budget
by 30 percent to cover higher costs, due to the new contract and a growing
number of local prisoners. "We have never wanted for customers," said Robert
D'Orio, the board's solicitor. The board has been "generally pleased" with GEO,
which has managed the jail in Thornton since its opening in 1996. "The other
providers out there also have problems," he said. "It is not an easy operation
when you run a jail." A spokesman for GEO, formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp.,
didn't return phone calls. The Delaware county facility is the only privately
run adult jail in Pennsylvania. House Speaker John M. Perzel (R., Phila.) is on
the GEO board of directors. But D'Orio said, "I'd bet that most or all of the
board had no idea" of Perzel's ties before recent news articles. GEO recently
paid a $100,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the jail failed to diagnose or
treat a grave illness that caused inmate Rosalyn Atkinson's death in 2002. Six
inmates have died of unnatural causes since 2001. C. Scott Shields, a lawyer in
Media who has represented inmates and their families, said GEO has "serious
personnel issues" at the jail. Shields won a undisclosed settlement for James
Johnson, who was held 44 days at the jail by mistake by GEO employees "who were
completely indifferent" to his plight, Shields said.
May 15, 2006 News of Delaware County
Prison board officials hope to make a decision by the May 17 meeting on who
will run the Delaware County Prison. "We'll continue to talk to bidders of the
next few days," said board president Wallace Nunn. "Hopefully we'll be able to
make a decision." The prison has been under contract with GEO Group Inc. since
August 1995. In June 2003, they renewed the contract for a three-year base with
subsequent terms of three years until 2009. The contract allows the county to
receive bids from other companies every three years. With the deadline on May
31, Nunn insisted the board hoped to reach a decision by the May 17 board
meeting. The board, "would have to get an extension at the point," Nunn said if
they did not have a decision by the May meeting. He added that the board would
like to avoid that process. The prison board originally formed a four-member
committee to review the proposals. The members were prison board solicitor
Robert DiOrio, board member George Hill, prison CPA Chris Reynolds and Richard
Culp, the assistant professor at the department of public management at John Jay
College of Criminal Justice. On April 19 they announced three additional
members; Blank Rome attorney Lawrence Beaser, the county finance department's
James Hayes and Delaware County Councilman Jack Whelan. "The county said, we'd
like to be at the table," Nunn said of the county members being added. The
committee has narrowed GEO's competition for running the prison to one other
company, Management and Training Corporation (MTC). GEO has run the Delaware
County Prison since it became the first privatize facility in 1993. The prison
accounts for the largest cost for the taxpayers in the county with $37 million
budgeted for 2006. With facilities all over the world, GEO has 44 correction and
detention centers in the United States. A worldwide organization, GEO has
accumulated almost $613 million in revenue for 2006 including over $72 million
in profits, according to the New York Stock Exchange. The MTC's philosophy to
prisons is "rehabilitation through education," according to communication
director Carl Stuart. "We believe inmates can only succeed when given the
opportunity to better themselves while imprisoned," Stuart wrote in an email.
Created in 1981, MTC operates 12 correctional facilities in the United States
and 25 federal Job Corps centers, according to Stuart. The company earned about
$468 million in revenue for 2005. Nunn removed himself from the selection
process last month because of his employment with CitiGroup. "One of those (CitiGroup)
divisions or another may or may not have at some point in time dealt with one or
more of the people that are making the proposals," Nunn said. "I don't know that
we've done any business," Nunn said. "But just to be sure since we're so large."
March 14, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer
Disoriented and scared, Rosalyn Atkinson awoke crying and asked the nurse at
her bedside a prophetic question: "Am I going to die?" It was Oct. 18, 2002, and
Atkinson was on the 11th day of an 18-day odyssey that would take her from the
Delaware County jail to a local hospital, back to jail, and then, as she feared,
to her death. Officially, Atkinson, 25, died because of a fatal overdose of a
single high-blood-pressure drug administered by jail infirmary staff, the
Delaware County medical examiner determined. Jail operators admitted no
wrongdoing but agreed to a $100,000 settlement. For Atkinson's two children, it
means each will receive $31,782.42 after legal fees and medical costs, according
to a court document filed early this month. The story of the final weeks of
Atkinson's life, however, encompasses far more than a single error in a prison
infirmary. A review of court filings and medical and hospital records provided
by Atkinson's family revealed: Prison staff did not consistently provide
prescribed medication, failed to monitor her vital signs, and misinterpreted
Atkinson's psychotic behavior as a sign of drug abuse. Atkinson was jailed on a
probation violation three days after she was diagnosed with a severe form of
lupus, a potentially fatal autoimmune disorder that can cause psychotic
behavior. She was locked up because of a shoving match with another woman at
Crozer-Chester Medical Center in which no one was injured. Probation officers
ignored numerous pleas from her mother to give Atkinson house arrest instead of
incarceration. When Atkinson fell seriously ill, the jail transferred her to
Riddle Memorial Hospital, which later sent her back to prison even though,
medical records show, she was still suffering from delusions. Atkinson died
about 40 hours later. Six inmates have died from unnatural causes since 2001 at
Delaware County's George W. Hill Correctional Center in Thornton. Operated by
the GEO Group, it is the only privately run adult jail in the state. In addition
to Atkinson's death, two prisoners committed suicide, another was killed by a
fellow inmate, and the fourth died of an overdose of heroin smuggled into the
jail. A fifth died in 2005 of head and neck injuries after repeatedly throwing
himself against his cell door, county officials said.
February 3, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer
A Colwyn man who was imprisoned for 44 days last year after Delaware County jail
officials refused to check his repeated, and true, claim that they had the wrong
person has netted a cash settlement, court records show. James J. Johnson, 28,
filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that correctional officers missed
opportunities to verify his identity and threatened to charge him with
additional crimes if he did not stop claiming that he was not Shawn Carter, the
name on the arrest warrant used to jail him. Shawn Carter is also the real name
of rap artist Jay-Z and a common alias in prison, a search of prison aliases on
the state Department of Corrections Web site shows. The county jail is run by
the GEO Group, formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp., of Boca Raton,
Fla., and is the only privately run prison in the state. The company, not the
county, is responsible for all settlements and court awards. The amount of the
settlement was not disclosed. Throughout the intake process, jailers at the
George W. Hill Correctional Facility missed numerous opportunities to correctly
identify him, the suit alleged. The Carter named in the arrest warrant had a
dragon tattoo. Johnson did not. Authorities never compared the two men's
fingerprints, the suit said. Also, the prison failed to compare his physical
characteristics to those of the Carter named in the warrant and ignored the
results of an iris scan that confirmed he was the wrong man, the suit stated.
December 6, 2005 Delco
Times
While several Delaware County municipalities are planning to levy a new $52 tax
on their workers and increase property taxes for their residents, county
government is eyeing the same slice of your pie. The $293.7 million 2006 budget
proposal county council will present this morning holds property taxes at 4.45
mills for the second year in a row. That translates into $572 for the average
assessed property of $128,500. The county prison, meanwhile, is expected to
absorb an additional $8.7 million in tax dollars. Operated through a contract
with GEO Group Inc., total 2006 spending at the George W. Hill Correctional
Facility is estimated at $37.4 million, an increase of 30 percent over this
year's budget. Spending there increased about 19 percent between 2004 and 2005.
The county Board of Prison Inspectors voted in October to terminate a lucrative
Philadelphia inmate housing contract. Overcrowding has become so severe at the
prison that the board was forced to begin sending 350 inmates back to the city
and give up between $1 million to $1.5 million in annual profits.
December 2, 2005 Delco Times
The former Delaware County prison supervisor charged with sexually assaulting a
female inmate waived his preliminary hearing Thursday. Joseph Franklin
Henderson, an employee of GEO Group Inc., is charged with two counts each of
institutional sexual assault, bribery and official oppression. He was in
Concordville District Court, accompanied by his attorney Robert Dixon. Henderson
was brought to court from Chester County prison, where he is being held.
Henderson is accused of sexually assaulting the female inmate twice. Both times,
Henderson allegedly picked up the woman from her work-release job and instead of
dropping her off at the prison, drove her to secluded areas, where sexual
activity occurred. The alleged victim told investigators that on three
occasions, Henderson picked her up from her job, drove to a secluded spot, then
threatened to interfere with her upcoming parole hearing if she didn't perform
oral sex, according to the affidavit of probable cause. She also claimed
Henderson used personal information about her ailing relative, saying she
wouldn't be able to visit with the relative if Henderson went to the parole
board about her, the affidavit states.
November 17, 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer
Delaware County's beleaguered jail wants to add 350 beds, even as it begins
returning that number of inmates to Philadelphia. The George W. Hill
Correctional Facility, the only privately run prison in the state, will end its
practice of leasing beds to Philadelphia by late May, said prison board chairman
Charles P. Sexton. The county is getting rid of the city prisoners because its
jail is overcrowded, and expectations are that the local inmate population will
keep growing. The decision to expand comes as the Delaware County jail has been
faced with a spate of deaths and lawsuits in recent months, including a heroin
overdose. A correctional officer was charged with raping a female inmate last
week. Officials also recently announced that they would be seeking bids on the
contract held by GEO. Sexton said that announcement was not connected to the
recent deaths and that GEO would be considered if it bid. He also said the state
would inspect the prison in 2006. The jail had been the only one in the state to
take advantage of a loophole that allowed it to opt out of annual state
inspections. Instead, it has been inspected every three years by a national
corrections association. District Attorney G. Michael Green has been
investigating how drugs that killed inmate Brian Sullivan on April 15 got into
the prison. He died of a heroin overdose. Sullivan's father, who claims he'd
warned jail officials that his son was an addict and needed help, has filed suit
against the prison seeking $500,000. The GEO Group, not the county, would be
fiscally responsible for any award or settlement. As part of that investigation,
a visitor was arrested last week after attempting to smuggle drugs into the jail
in her vagina, a jail official said. Also last week, a guard was charged with
sexually assaulting a female inmate on two separate occasions, most recently on
Nov. 7.
November 10, 2005 Delco Times
The supervisor of the work-release program at George Hill Correctional Facility
was on his way to county lockup late Wednesday, charged with sexually assaulting
a female inmate twice in a prison van. Dropping his head into his hands, Joseph
Franklin Henderson, 47, of the 2100 block of McKinley Street in Philadelphia,
made a plea for unsecured bail -- but Magisterial District Judge Richard
Cappelli was adamantly opposed. Henderson, an employee of GEO Group Inc., is
charged with two counts each of institutional sexual assault, bribery and
official oppression. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17. He's
accused of sexually assaulting a female inmate twice, first back in late
September or early October, and again on Monday. Both times, Henderson picked
the woman up from her work-release job and instead of dropping her off at the
prison, drove her to secluded areas. Allegations involve both oral and vaginal
sex. Back at county detective headquarters, Henderson admitted he had oral sex
with the woman two times, according to the affidavit. He said he was neither
threatening nor forceful, and that the woman had been coming on to him.
November 2, 2005 Delco Times
Lying on his stomach and propped up by his elbows, a middle-aged man stares
through a window with a slightly curious, but otherwise blank, expression. The
window doesn't lead outside, but to a secluded hallway where a prison guard is
staring back. It is the guard's sole responsibility to prevent that inmate from
becoming another Michael Rafferty, the accused triple-murderer who died in
August after slamming himself into a prison wall. The guard, an employee of the
private corrections firm GEO Group Inc., has been assigned to one-on-one suicide
watch, the most intense form of observation practiced at the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility. While this particular inmate is isolated in a small room,
he is one of hundreds of mentally ill inmates living at the overcrowded county
prison on Cheyney Road. Like other prisons around the country, it has become a
repository for some of society's most unstable citizens. "Prisons are
housing more and more mentally ill people because we have no other place to put
them," said Jessica Raymond, a member of the Pennsylvania Prison Society
who monitors conditions at the county prison. The society advocates for better
living conditions for inmates. Last year, the county prison expanded its medical
unit to 53 beds, more than twice the size of the previous unit. During a recent
visit, it was packed with inmates, some wearing "suicide gowns" that
will rip if used as a noose. Frank Green, an assistant superintendent employed
by the county to monitor GEO's management of the prison, said that volume is not
unusual. "It's double the workload," he said. "It makes
everything tougher." The increasing workload, combined with high turnover
and low wages, prompted 15 registered nurses, physician's assistants and nurse
practitioners to unionize in September, voting unanimously to join the
Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. In March,
about 80 other GEO employees - including all the licensed practical nurses --
unionized through Teamsters Local 312. "If you have substandard salary and
benefits, you simply cannot recruit and retain the kind of quality professionals
you need to do the job," said April Smith, director of organizing for
PASNAP. Nurses at the prison, for example, receive no paid vacation during their
first year on the job, according to Smith. Temple University Hospital, she said,
gives new nurses three weeks paid vacation. Delaware County's jail is the only
privately run county prison in the state. Reducing labor costs is one of the
ways GEO and other private corrections firms are able to run prisons more
cheaply than the government that hires them. With privatization comes a tradeoff
in the level of services, said Ken Kopczynski, executive director of the Private
Corrections Institute, a group that opposes privately run prisons. He said
private corrections companies are prone to "cut corners" - including
in the administration of medical services - in order to maintain their
profitability. "Why is it better for the county to do it? Public officials
are accountable to the public. The board of directors for GEO is accountable to
whom, the public? Hell, no. They're accountable to the shareholders,"
Kopczynski said. "And what are the shareholders interested in? The profit.
They have to turn a profit." "Guess what, that's bad criminal justice
policy," he said.
October 29, 2005 Delco Times
A Delaware County prison guard has been indicted on a federal conspiracy charge
for his role in three armed bank robberies in 2004. Henry Myers, an employee of
GEO Group Inc., is one of five defendants named in the indictment filed by U.S.
Attorney Patrick L. Meehan on Oct. 20. Although Myers is not charged with
robbing the banks, he allegedly played a pivotal role in the conspiracy.
"He cased the banks," said Vickie Humphreys, an FBI spokeswoman. Myers
and four other men allegedly conspired with Burnie Tindale -- who was charged
earlier this year -- to rob the Artisans Bank in Wilmington, Del., on April 14,
the Citizens Bank in Brookhaven on June 15 and the M & T Bank in Bristol,
Bucks County, on Sept. 27. Myers allegedly "cased" a PNC Bank on
Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia and provided bank layout information
for the robbery. That robbery, however, was ultimately not committed, the
indictment states. Myers was also advised of the location of "switch"
cars to be used in the Citizens Bank robbery, in the event the cars had to be
retrieved if the robberies were unsuccessful, according to the indictment.
Switch cars are usually parked about a mile from the robberies and used by the
robbers after they abandon stolen get-away cars.
October 20, 2005 Delco Times
Concerned that overcrowding at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility could
expose Delaware County to future lawsuits, the county is pulling out of a
contract to house hundreds of Philadelphia inmates. The Delaware County Board of
Prison Inspectors voted Wednesday to terminate the contract effective Jan. 15,
more than four months before it was scheduled to expire. The move will free up
about 350 beds at the prison but cost the county approximately $1 million a year
in profits.
October 20, 2005 Philadelphia
Enquirer
The parents of an inmate who died in jail of a heroin overdose are suing the
facility, claiming the drug was easily accessible to prisoners and, in some
cases, smuggled in by guards. Paul and Maureen Sullivan of the Philadelphia
suburb of Broomall filed a federal lawsuit last week seeking more than $500,000
in damages. Their 26-year-old son, Brian Sullivan, died in Delaware County's
George W. Hill Correctional Facility on April 15 from a heroin overdose, a
medical examiner's report shows. He was in jail for failing to attend a
court-ordered drug treatment program after a DUI arrest. It was the second time
in six months that Sullivan had overdosed on heroin while in the county prison,
despite his parents' pleas with corrections officials to help their son fight
his addiction. The lawsuit accuses the county, Geo Group and the prison board of
allowing Sullivan "to remain in a general prison population into which
heroin was smuggled and easily accessible by prisoners," even though he had
a history of abusing drugs while in custody. The lawsuit also alleges that some
corrections officers were smuggling drugs into the jail. The suit adds to a
growing list of problems at the state's only privately run county jail, which
announced Wednesday that it would ease overcrowding by returning about 350
Philadelphia inmates to the city.
September 24, 2005 Delco Times
A convicted murderer who died last month while in custody at the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility gave no indications in the weeks leading up to his death
that he was planning to kill himself, according to a prison report released
Friday. Kevin Parks, who killed his wife with a claw hammer in June 2003, died
Aug. 2 at Riddle Memorial Hospital after he was found unresponsive in his cell.
The original prison incident report implied that he might have committed suicide
by overdosing on prescription medication he could have been hoarding. But a new
report by The GEO Group, which manages the publicly funded prison, suggests
otherwise. The prison lieutenant who listened to several of Parks’ telephone
conversations beginning July 1 said the inmate "sounded upbeat and gave no
indications of his contemplating or planning suicide ..the general topic of
these conversations consisted of baseball, food and letters he had received from
various individuals," the report states. At Wednesday’s prison board
meeting, Chairman Charles Sexton Jr. questioned John Hurley, GEO’s senior vice
president of North American Operations, about the possibility that Parks may
have intentionally overdosed. "How can they hoard medication? Because my
understanding is the way it’s supposed to be done is when medication is given
to an inmate, they are supposed to take the medication in front of the
individual that’s giving it" to ensure that it is swallowed, Sexton said.
September 22, 2005 Delco Times
The multinational corrections corporation that manages the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility was informed Wednesday that it will be forced to compete
with other companies to maintain its $28 million-a-year county contract that
expires May 31. At its monthly meeting Wednesday, the five-member Delaware
County Board of Prison Inspectors took the first steps toward opening the
contract to companies other than The GEO Group Inc., voting unanimously to
compile bidding specifications by Dec. 15. The board's actions come amid a spate
of high-profile deaths at the prison, including those of accused triple murderer
Michael Rafferty, 29, who died Aug. 18 after jumping from his bed into a wall,
and convicted wife-killer Kevin Parks, who died Aug. 2. A prison incident report
suggests that Parks may have committed suicide by hoarding prescription
medication. "Competition is healthy," Sexton said, adding that he had
personally decided six months ago to put the contract out to bid and had since
discussed it with other board members who "had no problem with it."
Nonetheless, two other recent deaths and a near suicide are not helping GEO's
image. Clyde Tyler, 49, a convicted rapist, died March 27 during a fistfight
with another inmate. Brian Sullivan, 25, of Broomall, Marple Township died April
15 of an overdose.
September 19, 2005 Philadelphia
Inquirer
James Johnson can trace his troubles back to rapper Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life. He
spent more than a month and a half in jail in Delaware County charged with a
crime he didn't commit, accused of being a man he wasn't. And prison officials
had to ignore a lot of facts to keep him there. Five years later, Johnson, now
head custodian at the World Cafe Live on Walnut Street in West Philadelphia,
learned that the past has a way of catching up with a man. Johnson spent 44 days
in the George W. Hill Correctional Facility beginning April 6 for crimes
committed by a man known as Shawn Carter. During that time, he told guards, a
counselor, a public defender and prosecutors that he was the wrong man. Nobody
listened. Any of these known facts could have sprung Johnson: He was in jail at
the time of Carter's arrest. Johnson's sister and sister-in-law are Hill
Correctional Facility employees. Officials ignored their pleas that Johnson was
not Carter. Carter had a dragon tattoo, which was described in the arrest
warrant. Johnson did not. Authorities never compared the two men's fingerprints.
Officials had photographs of both men. Carter is 3 inches taller than Johnson.
His case adds to pressure against the appointed county prison board and the GEO
Group, the private firm that runs the jail. A series of recent prison deaths -
five in five months - has brought the scrutiny of the county's top prosecutor
and prompted an internal investigation by the company. And earlier this year,
GEO agreed to pay $125,000 to the family of an inmate who hanged himself by his
boot strings in 2002. Now, Johnson is suing the county, the correctional
facility, and GEO, accusing them of violating his civil rights. Because of the
lawsuit, county and company officials refused to comment on the Johnson case.
While Johnson was complaining on the inside that he was wrongly jailed, his
fiancée, Shilonda Hargrove, was banging on doors on the outside. "My fiancée
kept calling and calling and saying, 'All you have to do is look at the
fingerprints,' " Johnson said last week. He said GEO also refused to hear
the pleas of his sister and sister-in-law, both correctional officers at the
jail. At the prison, Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green's office
has been investigating four deaths - a heroin overdose, two apparent suicides,
and an unexplained fatality. The fifth death stemmed from a fight, and the
killing was ruled self-defense.
September 6, 2005 Philadelphia
Inquirer
Delaware County's privately run prison has come under the scrutiny of county
investigators, and the company that runs the facility was scrambling to examine
its policies and identify any missteps after five questionable inmate deaths in
the last five months, officials said. Four deaths - a heroin overdose, two
apparent suicides and an unexplained fatality - are under review by Delaware
County District Attorney G. Michael Green. The fifth death, from a fistfight,
was investigated earlier this year, but no charges were filed. William M.
DiMascio, executive director of the Prison Society in Philadelphia, said five
questionable deaths in as many months seemed unusually high. The George W. Hill
Correctional Facility is privately run by GEO Group, formerly Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., but controlled by an appointed board. Prison and county
officials have refused to release incident reports for the deaths. Charles P.
Sexton, chairman of the county Board of Prison Inspectors, was unavailable for
comment, said the board's attorney, Robert M. Diorio. The prison has room for
1,800 prisoners sleeping two to a cell. Now, the prison averages 2,000 inmates a
day and is in some cases sleeping three to a cell. GEO agreed to pay $125,000 in
a settlement earlier this year to the family of an inmate, John Focht, 43, who
used his boot strings to hang himself in February 2002, court documents show.
"It seems awfully suspicious when somebody is willing to pay out $125,000
in a case where somebody killed themselves," said the Prison Society's
DiMascio. "It just seems pretty obvious that something has gone awry."
August 25, 2005 Delco Times
What is going on at Delaware County’s prison? Answers were few this week, even
as bodies continue to pile up at the county-owned facility in Concord Township
known as the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Two high-profile inmates have
died there in the last month, both apparent suicides. Last Thursday, it was
Michael Rafferty, the 29-year-old Drexel Hill man who was awaiting a court date
for stabbing to death his parents and a neighbor and seriously wounding the
neighbor’s wife. On Aug. 2, it was Kevin Parks, the 42-year-old Bethel
Township man beginning a life sentence for beating his wife, Teresa, to death
with a hammer. Both men had histories of mental illness. Parks may have
overdosed on medication he stashed away in his cell, according to preliminary
reports. Rafferty died from injuries he sustained when he leaped from a table
and slammed into a prison cell wall. On top of those deaths, a prisoner named
Vincent Burton was found dead in his cell on Sunday morning; his cause of death
remains undetermined. Last month, an unidentified inmate nearly killed himself
by hanging from his bunk; fortunately, he was found in time to be revived. And
last March, a convicted serial rapist named Clyde Taylor died after a fistfight
with another inmate. Some might argue that these prisoners only got what was
coming to them. But that would be wrong; whatever their crimes, or alleged
crimes, none of these men was sentenced to death. They were, however, in the
care and custody of Delaware County and its agents. But trying to get any
answers from county officials this week was almost impossible. Prison
Superintendent George W. Hill, for whom the jail is named, was unavailable, as
was prison board Chairman Charles Sexton. Members of county council and other
prison board members had little to say. The GEO Group, contracted by the county
to run the 1,800-inmate lockup, declined comment on any of the prison’s
policies. Only prison board lawyer Robert DiOrio had anything substantive to
say, and that wasn’t much. "The prison board has nothing to determine at
this time as to whether or not any of these deaths was preventable," he
said. "Sometimes procedures are followed that are good procedures and valid
and recognized procedures throughout the industry and nevertheless people still
find a way to take their lives, unfortunately, without anyone being culpable
except themselves." Here’s a translation: The board members appointed by
the county to oversee the operations of the prison don’t have any idea
what’s going on out there, or whether standard rules and regulations are in
place. That’s simply not good enough -- particularly in the cases of Rafferty
and Parks, who were more vulnerable than other inmates because of their mental
illnesses. Why was Parks moved out of the prison’s medical unit, even after
his sentencing judge ordered that he be carefully monitored? How does a prisoner
"hoard" medication in his cell? What kind of medications were being
given to Rafferty and was anyone watching him a day after he had to be
restrained while suffering demonic delusions? Without
any better explanations from county officials, it seems that oversight is,
minimally, lacking at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Taxpayers need
to know that those being remanded to county custody are being monitored and
accounted for. There’s no reason for Delaware County’s prison to become a
branch office of Delaware County’s morgue.
August 23, 2005 Delco Times
An inmate at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility died this weekend of
undetermined causes, following the deaths of two high-profile prisoners this
month, a suicide resuscitation last month and the March beating death of a
convicted serial rapist during a fistfight with another inmate. The Delaware
County District Attorney’s office is reviewing the death of Vincent Burton,
42, who was found dead in his bunk Sunday morning, according to a prison report
released Monday. Burton’s cause of death is pending an autopsy by the county
medical examiner, but the prison report stated that no signs of foul play were
observed. Also under investigation is the death of Michael Rafferty, the Upper
Darby man accused of stabbing his parents and neighbor to death during a July 23
rampage. Rafferty, who according to a family attorney had been diagnosed as
having depression with psychosis, died last Thursday after jumping from his bed
into a wall. Another inmate, convicted wife killer Kevin
Parks, died Aug. 2 at Riddle Memorial Hospital of undisclosed causes. Though the
medical examiner has not ruled in that case, either, a prison report suggests
that Parks may have overdosed by hoarding prescription anti-depressant
medication. Parks’ defense attorney, Stephen Patrizio, said Monday that Parks
was "absolutely" a known suicide threat. Convicted of killing his wife
Teresa Parks with a hammer, Parks said in court: "I look forward to the
time when we will be united in heaven." "Judge (Frank) Hazel
specifically ordered that he be monitored very closely and carefully," said
Patrizio. "My understanding is he was in the medical unit, but due to
either overcrowding or some determination made by a doctor there, he was removed
from the medical unit," Patrizio added. That statement could not be
verified Monday by anyone affiliated with the prison.
July 24, 2005 Delco Times
Seventeen health-care professionals at the Delaware County prison have
signed cards indicating they want to unionize, a union official said Saturday.
April Smith, director of organizing for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff
Nurses and Allied Professionals, said all but one of the nurses, nurse
practitioners and physician assistants at the facility signed union cards over
the last two weeks. "We’re delighted that the professionals at the
George W. Hill correctional facility have decided to join PASNAP," Bill
Cruice, the union’s executive director, said. The Thornbury prison is
managed through the GEO Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp.,
through a publicly funded contract. Its daily average population last year was
1,785 residents. Representatives from the GEO Group Inc. were also unable
to be reached Saturday.
In March, non-security employees voted to join Teamsters Local 312 by a more
than 2-1 margin. That union covers about 80 employees such as counselors,
supervisors, clerical workers and some medical personnel. The prison
guards, who number about 280, have been represented by the Delaware County
Prison Employees Independent Union since 1999.
April 16, 2005 Delco Times
A prosecutor said Friday that Sandra Denise Belt has pointed an accusatory
finger at everybody but herself in the theft of more than $26,000 while working
as a clerk for the Wackenhut Corp., which ran Delaware County’s prison. Belt,
36, of Colmesneil, Texas, who worked in a prison, will now be part of the inmate
population as she was sentenced Friday to 11½ to 23 months in jail. Assistant
District Attorney Gregory Hurchalla said that Belt, whose husband worked as an
assistant warden, has refused to accept any responsibility "despite
overwhelming evidence." A jury convicted her of theft charges following a
trial last month. "She was living a comfortable lifestyle," said
Hurchalla. "There’s no reasonable explanation as to why she stole the
money. She’s willing to point the finger at everybody but herself."
March 31, 2005 Delco Times
Sandra Denise Belt testified that when she was hired as a clerk handling
inmates’ money for the Wackenhut Corp. that ran Delaware County’s prison,
she told officials that she wasn’t good with numbers. "I told them when I
took this job I transposed numbers real bad," she said.
Belt, 36, of Colmesneil, Texas, whose honey-colored hair cascaded to her
waist as she spoke with a sugary Southern accent, was found guilty Tuesday of
charges she pocketed more than $26,000 while working at the Thornbury-based
facility. Following the verdict, as tears
rolled down her face, Belt was handcuffed and taken off to prison to await
sentencing, which Judge George Koudelis tentatively set for Tuesday. The judge
raised her bail from 10 percent of $10,000 to $10,000 cash bail.
December 30, 2004 Newsof
DelawareCounty.com
With the prisoner population at Delaware County's George W. Hill
Correctional Facility on the rise, some inmates are complaining about
conditions, including claims of overcrowding, problems accessing attorneys and
counselors, and a lack of maintenance or cleanliness.
"Intake there's three to a cell," said George W. Hill inmate
Wanell Davis. "They got you in like a dog bed. You sleep on a floor."
Davis, of Wilmington, Delaware, had served one year in the facility
awaiting sentencing at the time of the interview. He said overcrowding has
caused overfilling of cells, mostly in receiving areas, but also in other parts
of the prison. Board solicitor Robert DiOrio, however, confirmed that the
facility's population has risen by "several hundred" in recent years,
but said cell capacity is only exceeded in receiving areas, and only for very
brief periods when it is unavoidable. Currently, DiOrio said, the
population is not exceeding capacity. Davis,
however, disagrees. "They're supposed to give out this thing, it's called
care bags," he said. "We're short on something they're supposed to
give us-soap, toilet paper ... We just got the water fixed. The water was broke
for six months. There's guys that haven't cleaned their cells for six
months." "The people that come in and out, they don't clean the
blankets," Mark said. "They give you no cleaning materials."
DiOrio confirmed that occasionally water service is interrupted. Other
prisoners say they have trouble speaking with counselors or lawyers. Defense
attorney Mike Malloy, who practices in Media, said he has experienced long waits
when going to visit with clients at the prison. "They
seem to be understaffed and they also have a high (employee) turnover
rate," Malloy said. Prisoners also spoke of guards selling cigarettes for
as much as $5 a piece in the smoke-free facility. DiOrio said this was against
the rules, but said it was an employment issue for GEO, the private company that
manages the jail. The county plans to increase its funding for the prison for
2005, with most of the new money going toward that contract, Delaware County
budget director Dan Fahey said.
The cost of the contract is increasing about $1.29 million, bringing it
to $31.97 million for 2005.
December 11, 2004 Delco Times
Criminal
justice expenditures are set to increase by 10.5 percent in 2005 because of $4.6
million in new spending at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, which is
managed by The GEO Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp. The 4.45
property-tax millage requirement will remain the same in 2005 if the proposed
budget is adopted at Tuesday’s council meeting, as expected. The $28.7 million
in anticipated spending at the county prison -- an increase of 18.9 percent over
2004 -- is due to an all-time-high prison population that has recently peaked at
1,870 inmates, according to prison board Chairman Charles P. Sexton Jr.
November 19, 2004 Delco Times
Delaware
County’s 2005 budget proposal shows a spending increase of $12.4 million but
holds the property tax millage at the 2004 rate. Criminal justice expenditures
would increase 10.5 percent, fueled by $4.6 million in new spending at the
George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Total county spending at the prison, which
is managed by The GEO Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., is
expected to reach $28.7 million in 2005 -- a 19 percent increase over 2004.
June 13, 2004
The GEO Group, formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., fired the warden of the
George W. Hill correctional facility Thursday. According to Delaware County
Prison Board Chairman Charles P. Sexton, Jr. and several other high-ranking
county sources, Warden John "Doug" Caulfield was let go for both
budgetary and personal reasons. "I'll confirm that Caulfield's
out," Sexton said. "But I won't comment any further because it's not a
county personnel matter." Sources said the budgetary issues stemmed
from a failure on Caulfield's part to meet staffing levels agreed upon in the
county's contract with the corrections conglomerate. A clause, fought for
by county negotiators, was put in place to penalize GEO for a failure to meet or
maintain staffing standards on a monthly basis. (Delco Times)
February 9, 2004
A Delaware County prison guard was fired Tuesday after an
internal investigation found that he had assaulted an inmate, the prison warden
said. Lt. Victor Lay was given a letter of termination from the GEO Group Inc. -
formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp. - after he physically assaulted an inmate
last month, said Warden Douglas Caulfield. "He
used excessive force to control an inmate who was being uncooperative with
(returning to his cell)," said Caulfield. "There are acceptable
ways of handling such an insurgent. We do have a force continuum in place that
calls for light force to be taken. But for some reason, Lay just snapped on the
guy and started beating him to a pulp," he said. The identity of the
inmate was not available. Caulfield said Lay was immediately suspended
from his job pending an internal investigation. GEO corporate offices gave
Caulfield the green light earlier this week. "We have a zero
tolerance policy for this type of behavior," Caulfield said.
Caulfield, who could not confirm Lay’s residence or salary, said questions had
been raised about Lay’s performance before. "I know he’s had a
history of questionable behavior," Caulfield said. "We’ve just never
able to nail him down until now. We finally had other officers come forward and
tell us about this." Delaware County Assistant District Attorney
Joseph Brielmann said the case has not been referred to his office for review,
although Caulfield said he expected that such a referral was
"imminent." Since Delaware County privatized its jail operations
in 1996, a series of alleged misconduct and outright crimes by correctional
officers, on and off the job, have been reported. Among them:- On Aug. 11,
2001, an altercation between since convicted murderer Kareem Bahiy and Wackenhut
correctional officer Thernell Hardy Jr. resulted in criminal charges against
Hardy. Bahiy, 24, of Philadelphia, is serving a life sentence after
killing Springfield CVS manager John DiOstilio in June, 2001. Former
district attorney Patrick Meehan said Hardy, 35, of Chester, stabbed Kareem
Bahiy, 24, of Philadelphia in the neck after a conversation Meehan termed
"aggressive." Hardy was charged with aggravated and simple
assault and related offenses and was subsequently fired by Wackenhut.
Hardy, who had worked at the jail since 1999, denied stabbing Bahiy with a
knife, claiming the prisoner’s injury was caused by Hardy’s thumbnail.
- On April 18, 2001, off-duty Wackenhut correctional officer Jermaine Richardson
of Philadelphia was arrested for shooting a man in the city that night.
Richardson was charged with attempted murder and related offenses for allegedly
firing at Bruce Cox in the 1000 block of 64th Street. Cox was treated at the
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for gunshot wounds to his legs,
police said. The case was dismissed in Philadelphia because an eyewitness
refused to testify and Richardson was allowed to return to work at the prison
after a suspension. - In June 1999, Wackenhut hired as a correctional
officer Michael D. Kemp Carter of Chester. Carter had entered the county’s
Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time offenders earlier
that year after admitting to stealing computers from the Chadds Ford office of
accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, where he had worked as a security guard.
Carter was fired by Wackenhut in December 1999 and later accused of leading a
forgery ring. He told prosecutors that he supplied three co-defendants with
numerous fraudulent checks, including some stolen from Wackenhut and drawn on a
company account. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to a pair of felony theft
charges related to $12,200 in bad checks. - In March 1998, Wackenhut
suspended Assistant Warden Richard Robinson indefinitely after he was accused of
improper contact with a female inmate. A criminal probe into the matter by
Delaware County detectives found no criminal wrongdoing. Robinson no longer
works at the jail. - In two separate incidents in February 1997, officials
reported the company fired five male correctional officers accused of sexually
harassing female colleagues. (Zwire)
December 16, 2002
Unless contraband cigarettes stop flowing through George W. Hill Correctional
Facility in Philadelphia, the warden could be sent to jail, a Deleware County
official said in October. Charles Sexton, chairman of the Deleware County
Board of Prison Inspectors, which oversees the Wackenhut-operated facility, told
Warden John Caulfield he had to eliminate the black market in cigarettes and
narcotics, allegedly aided by correctional officers, or defend himself against
charges that could send him to jail. A June search of one prison building
turned up 117 packs of cigarettes and unauthorized money. Sexton told
Caulfield he would try to have the new warden arrested if the cigarette and
alcohol contraband problem continued to go unchecked. (Corrections
Professional)
November 26, 2002
A Delaware County
corrections officer with a criminal history is jailed in the prison she guarded
on charges that she delivered a death threat to a witness in a police officer's
murder. Police say Angeline
McKellar, while working Wednesday at the Delaware County prison, told a female
inmate who is a state's witness in the October 2001 shooting death of Chester
Police Cpl. Michael Beverly that she would be killed, according to the affidavit
of probable cause. A review of
Delaware County court files shows that McKellar established a
criminal
history while working as a guard at the prison.
She was sentenced to one year's probation in March 1999 for simple
assault, stemming from a 1998 Chester bar fight. In September 1999, McKellar was
sentenced to one year's probation after pleading guilty to welfare fraud. In
August 2001, she was sentenced to time served in an in-patient program and
community service for driving under the influence the year before.
A document dated May 25, 2000, says that McKellar was employed as a guard
at the prison, but it is unclear how long she had worked there. She has been
suspended without pay, Robert DiOrio, solicitor for the county Prison Board,
said yesterday.
Though the Prison Board is charged with running the county prison, Diorio
said hiring and oversight of guards are handled by the for-profit Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., a Florida company that has a contract with Delaware County to
operate the prison. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
November 5, 2002
Delaware County executive director Marianne Grace has submitted a $245.8 million
proposed county budget for 2003 that calls for a 7.9 percent tax increase.
A substantial increase is proposed in the cost of running the county prison,
which is operated by the for-profit Wackenhut Corrections Corp. in 2001,
Wackenhut said it was losing money on the prison and began taking steps to end
its contract with the county. The county subsequently renegotiated the
contract and gave the company more money. Wackenhut then decided to stay.
(Philadelphia Inquirer)
July 18, 2002
The new warden at Delaware county's prison was put on notice yesterday that if
he does not stop the flow of contraband cigarettes into the facility in the next
month, he could end up in a cell of his own. Charles P. Sexton, the
chairman of the Delaware County Board of Prison inspectors, which oversees
operations at the George W. Hill correctional Facility, told Warden John D.
Caulfield at a board meeting that some "guards are corrupt and profit off
of certain people's misfortune- the inmates who have trouble getting off
(tobacco)." Caulfield had just started his first day on the job,
replacing James Janecka, who had been assigned by Wackenhut Corrections Corp.,
the company that has a contract with Delaware County to operate the prison.
John Reilly, the prison's assistant superintendent, said after the meeting that
an investigation in January concluded that "there was a significant black
market in cigarettes and narcotics" at the prison. A search last
month of one building turned up 117 packs of cigarettes and money in excess of
the amount prisoners are allowed to have, Reilly said. Also, one guard was
fired and two others were disciplined earlier this year for allowing sexual
contact between inmates and visitors and for bringing in food, whiskey and
cigarettes. Turnover and understaffing at the prison are a longstanding
problem that contributes to contraband smuggling, Reilly said. The prison
is 22 guards short, and more than two-thirds of the staff had worked there for
less than four years. (Penna Edition)
March 7, 2002
Life behind bars at the Delaware County Prison wasn't so bad - if you had
a
little money and knew the right guard.
You could get sex, booze, food, cigarettes and other comforts, according
to
an internal prison investigation.
But the gravy train might be over. The "right guard" has been fired.
Delaware County District Attorney Patricia Holsten said she was
investigating
the money-for-sex scheme for "possible criminal activity."
Reports say the guard, who has not been identified, permitted visitors
and
inmates to have sex in exchange for cash.
Holsten said prison officials had never told her about the case. She had
to
read about it in the Delaware County Daily Times, which reported the
allegations
Monday after obtaining the results of an internal prison investigation.
Two other guards were disciplined following the probe, Prison Board
Solicitor
Robert DiOrio said. He said the investigation confirmed the officer had
permitted male inmates to have intercourse with female visitors on several
occasions.
The prison, the George W. Hill Corrections Facility in
Concord
, is run by
Wackenhut Corrections Corp., a private company. (Philadelphia Daily News)
October 9, 2001
Charles P. Sexton Jr. would like to see more prison cells - a lot more prison
cells - built at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Delaware County's
prison. It's not that Sexton, the head of the county board that oversees
the prison operation, is expecting a Delaware County crime wave. The 1,634-bed
prison, opened in 1998 and operated for the county by Wackenhut Corrections
Corp., has more than enough space for all of the county's inmates.
Instead, he wants to greatly expand the county's current practice of taking in
prisoners from other counties, because that policy brings in millions of dollars
and promises millions more - money that could help pay the substantial cost of
housing Delaware County inmates. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
August 16, 2001
A suspended Delaware County prison guard surrendered to authorities yesterday
after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the stabbing of an inmate inside
his cell. Thernell Hardy Jr., 33, of Chester, voluntarily turned himself
in to the district attorney's office in Media. Delaware County District
Judge Richard M. Cappelli arraigned Hardy on charges of aggravated assault,
simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and a weapons offense.
Hardy has worked for 22 months as a private guard at the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility in Concord Township. He posted 10 percent of $5,000
bail and was released. The inmate, Kareem Bahiy, 22, who is awaiting trial in
the June 5 slaying of John Ostilio, the night manager of a CVS pharmacy in
Springfield, received four stitches to close a three-quarters-of-an-inch cut on
the right side of his neck Saturday night at Crozer-Chester Hospital.
(Daily News)
August 14, 2001
Delaware County authorities say a prison guard stabbed the accused killer of a
CVS pharmacy night manager inside his prison cell on Saturday night. But
the suspended guard, Thernall Hardy Jr., 33, of Chester, said he had been
struggling with the inmate when his arm slipped and his right thumbnail left a
gash in the prisoner's neck. Delaware County District Attorney Patrick
Meehan said Hardy would be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault,
recklessly endangering another person, and possession of an instrument of crime.
(Daily News)
July 26, 2001
Five years ago, it
was the corrections industry equivalent of a Hollywood marriage: The Delaware
County prison contracted its
total operation - management, medical and food - to Wackenhut. It would be the
second-largest prison to be operated by Wackenhut in the world, and the first
county prison to be privatized in the Northeast.
It's all over now, a marriage of five years that was terminated in a week.
"Nothing is forever," Sexton said last week. "You've got to be
ready when things change, and we were. "
What changed is that Delaware County, borrowing a page from other governments,
found a way to make money at its prison. Wackenhut responded by saying it
wasn't getting a fair share of the proceeds. In 1998, Delaware County
began taking inmates from overflowing prisons in Chester County and the City of
Philadelphia and charged $55 and $57 a day respectively. (The fees have since
risen to $58 and $60 a day.) Meanwhile, it was paying
Wackenhut about $35 a day for each prisoner (now up to about $39), regardless
of county of origin.
Now, the prison board, which has contracts to take 100 Chester County and 300
Philadelphia inmates, is looking to increase its
import business. It is about to open a 220-bed unit for minor offenders,
including repeat drunken-driving offenders. This will
free up space in the main prison for more outsiders. Sexton says he is
interested in deals with the state, the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Meanwhile,
Wackenhut said the daily per-inmate fee of $39 wouldn't cover its increasing
costs, especially the medical and
litigation expenses posed by additional prisoners.
So it
said it would end its contract to run the 1,538-bed complex in western Delaware
County on Nov. 11, and the prison
board responded by saying it would run the prison - as it had before.
Now cut Wackenhut out of the deal and add the 220 beds created by the opening
of the minor-offender unit. At a projected
rate of about $60 a day, that is 620 inmates times $60 times 365 days. That's
$13.6 million at full capacity. Let's figure the daily
average will be only two-thirds of that. Now we're at about $9 million.
But might we also be creating a public detriment by putting all these financial
incentives on filling Delaware County beds with
inmates from elsewhere? Might decisions by the criminal justice system be based
not on what is right and fair for society and the
criminal, but rather on what is financially most beneficial?
"Absolutely
not," Sexton said.
I
want to believe that, but first I want to see how this whole new world of
prisons as money makers shakes itself out. (The Inquirer)
July 19, 2001
Delaware County authorities will take over at least some operations of the
county prison once the private firm running the facility leaves in the fall. The
prison board voted 5-0 in favor of a resolution Wednesday not to seek a
third-party contractor to replace Wackenhut Corrections Corp. of Palm Gardens,
Fla. The company invoked an escape clause in its contract with the prison board
last week and will cede operations Nov. 11. Company officials said Wackenhut was
not making enough money to justify continuing the arrangement. (AP)
July 11, 2001
Wackenhut Corrections Corporation (NYSE: WHC) today reported that it has issued
a 120-day notice to the Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors, pursuant to
the terms of its contract, to discontinue its operation of the George W. Hill
Correctional Facility, located in Thornton, PA, effective, midnight November 11,
2001. Mr. George C. Zoley, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Wackenhut Corrections, said, "We are pleased with our accomplishments in
Delaware County, including the development of a new prison facility on time and
under budget, saving the County approximately $30 million over its initial
construction cost estimates. However, we have been unsuccessful in
negotiating a proposed contract amendment with new financial terms we believe
are necessary to satisfactorily address the county's planned intake of
additional prisoners from outside the county and risks of higher medical costs
and litigation associated with such prisoners. "The Delaware County
Prison has been a financially under-performing contract for some time. The
discontinuance of this contract eliminates the negative impact that higher than
anticipated inmate medical and litigation costs have had on our earnings over
time. The Company does not expect the discontinuation of the current
management contract to have any impact on the Company's financial guidance for
the fiscal year 2001," Mr. Zoley concluded. (PR Newswire)
May 30, 2001
A Delaware County prison guard turned herself in yesterday on charges of
supplying inmates with cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, authorities said.
Lisa Clark, 27, of Philadelphia, was caught in April with 13 packs of
cigarettes, according to an incident report from the George W. Hill Correctional
Facility. She later admitted to Delaware County detectives that she had
been smuggling marijuana, cigarettes and alcohol into the prison to sell to
inmates, authorities said. (The Inquirer)
Joseph E.
Coleman Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Community Education Centers
July 12, 2005 Philadelphia Daily News
An inmate at a halfway house in Juniata Park was found shot to death in his room
yesterday morning, police said. Geary Turner, 56, was shot once in the chest and
pronounced dead at the scene at about 8 a.m., said Sgt. John Taylor of the
homicide division. Security is tight at the Joseph E. Coleman Center, named
after the late City Council president. The 300-bed community corrections center
is occupied by ex-state prisoners. Though it is called a halfway house, it looks
like a medium security prison. The facility is surrounded by high chain-link
fences and barbed wire. Inmates may leave the facility on work passes, but must
return by night. The facility, which opened in November 2001, is operated by a
Roseland, N.J., company called Community Education Centers. Last September, one
of CEC's youth facilities - the Wynona M. Lipman Education and Training Center
in Newark - came under fire when a prison worker severely beat a 17-year-old
inmate. Though CEC either fired or suspended 8 staff members, the facility had
admissions suspended by state officials due to the violence. Last month, the
Lipman center was permanently closed because of financial problems, just three
years after it had opened.
Lancaster County Prison
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Correctional Care, Inc. (formerly run by
Armor Correctional Health Services)
February 20, 2008 The Times-Tribune
County officials are mum on a report released by the regional chapter of an
international justice advocacy group that calls for a number of reforms to
medical care at Lackawanna County Prison. In a report released to The
Times-Tribune, Pax Christi of Northeastern Pennsylvania alleges existing
conditions such as heart problems and broken ribs were not addressed when
inmates arrived, distribution of medication was deficient and sporadic, requests
for medical care were answered slowly, and prenatal care for pregnant inmates
was almost nonexistent. The report, based on face-to-face surveys of 16 current
or former inmates, also suggests medical care has been rationed to boost profits
for the medical care provider. “We feel there are very, very serious criticisms
that need to be followed up on,” said Father William Pickard, who serves as
chaplain for the county’s prison ministry program on behalf of the Diocese of
Scranton. Father Pickard also is a member of the regional chapter of Pax
Christi, an international Catholic nonprofit group that advocates peace, justice
and human rights. Provider under fire -- Medical care at the prison is provided
under contract by Correctional Care Inc., of Moosic, a company co-owned by the
prison’s medical director, Dr. Edward Zaloga. The report says the relationship
is a potential conflict of interest and suggests that money not spent on medical
care results in higher profits for CCI. “It’s an inference, but it would seem to
be to his (Dr. Zaloga’s) advantage, for example, not to fill medications,” said
Joan Holmes, a member of Pax Christi and volunteer with the prison ministry
program. Attempts to reach Dr. Zaloga were unsuccessful. It is not clear exactly
how Dr. Zaloga would directly benefit from limiting or denying care. Under its
five-year contract that expires Nov. 14, 2009, Correctional Care Inc. is paid a
flat fee of $250,000 a year regardless of medical expenses and is reimbursed
separately for all costs of medical care inside and outside the prison. The
report does say that inmates have “major consternation” with Dr. Zaloga and says
the fact “that the person best positioned to provide inmates with care was the
one they most disrespected was telling.” In the report — dated Jan. 29 — Pax
Christi recommended that the Prison Board hire an independent party to evaluate
the prison’s medical services. The purpose of the study is not conflict, but
change, said Mrs. Holmes. The idea for a review was triggered by the birth of a
baby in a prison cell on July 10, Father Pickard said. Then-inmate Shakira
Staten, 22, of Chambersburg, accused Lackawanna County Prison officials of
ignoring her repeated pleas to go to the hospital before her daughter dropped
from her womb and to the floor of a cell monitored by a closed-circuit
television camera. Although the Prison Board initially denied the staff did
anything wrong in that incident, county officials later publicly apologized to
Ms. Staten for what happened. According to the report, Ms. Donate denied Pax
Christi access to current inmates. Father Pickard and Mrs. Holmes conducted
interviews during regular visits with prisoners as part of the prison ministry
program. Joseph Rogan, Ed.D., heads the regional chapter of Pax Christi. Other
members of the prison health care review team included Sister Barbara Craig of
the Sisters of Mercy and Ann Marie Crowley. Inmates give examples -- The report
details many complaints registered by the interviewed inmates. Among them were
the claims of two women who were pregnant while incarcerated. The report says
the pregnant inmates received no checkups after entering the prison, and
“received inconsistent prenatal vitamins and received no prenatal care.” Another
inmate reportedly claimed that “medicines are routinely replaced or unavailable
to save the (medical care) firm money.” Several complaints were reported about a
lack of response to inmate requests to see a doctor or to file grievances about
medical care denials. “A few did get the care they requested ... ,” the report
says. “Most, however, reported that their requests were ignored, or, if
addressed at all, only very slowly. When they did get attention, in many cases
no treatments were prescribed. One (inmate) was told that he was just getting
old.” The report said two interviewed inmates independently confirmed that when
one inmate they knew filed a grievance about medical care, the “entire unit was
locked down while a guard read the details of the inmate’s complete medical
history over the intercom for all to hear.” None of the interview subjects is
identified in the report, and it contains a disclaimer that says some responses
“may have been colored by personal motives.” However, the document also says
that there were underlying themes amid the responses that triggered the
recommendations. “We thought there was enough of a common thread there to
release the report,” Father Pickard said. “I could tell by (the inmates’)
emotions that they were sincere, that they went through a terrible ordeal. They
weren’t play-acting. It was very obvious in the interaction I had with them.”
Prisoners faced possible retribution by answering the survey questions, Father
Pickard said. The committee recorded a majority of the inmates’ names, and
Father Pickard said the committee verified what inmates told them “as best they
could.” However, Mrs. Holmes admitted they did not have a way to verify all
claims. Pax Christi received 38 responses when input was solicited, but was only
able to interview 16 people because of time and logistical constraints. Of the
16 people who responded, 14 were current inmates. The report recommends that the
Prison Board: Review the prison’s inmate intake procedures. Review the prison’s
medical response procedures. Review the possibility that inmates with mental
health issues could be better placed. Review whether inmates who have
substance-abuse problems could be served through treatment and education. Review
the prison’s policies and procedures related to pregnant inmates. Review the
prison’s food-service system to determine whether inmates receive proper
nutrition. Officials not talking -- County communications director Lynne
Shedlock said the study was referred to Prison Warden Janine Donate, who was not
immediately available for comment. “There is no further comment until the warden
has had a chance to review it,” Ms. Shedlock said. “She’ll present a report back
to the Prison Board at the appropriate time.” Majority Commissioner Mike Washo,
who chairs the board, was out of town and not available for comment. Minority
Commissioner A.J. Munchak, who served as Prison Board chair when he was majority
commissioner through last year, deferred questions to Mr. Washo. “Any official
response has to come from the chairman,” Mr. Munchak said. Commissioner Corey
O’Brien, also a member of the Prison Board, declined comment as well. In
addition to the three county commissioners, the Prison Board includes District
Attorney Andy Jarbola, Sheriff John Szymanski , Judge Vito Geroulo and County
Controller Ken McDowell. Mr. McDowell said he read the study and anticipates the
warden will review it and make a report to the Prison Board. Efforts to reach
Mr. Jarbola, Mr. Szymanski and Judge Geroulo were unsuccessful.
September 22, 2006 Intelligencer Journal
Charges will not be filed against the head of a Florida-based private
medical services company unless new information comes to light, District
Attorney Don Totaro said Thursday. Doyle Moore, CEO of Armor Correctional Health
Services, was being investigated by Totaro’s office for allegedly falsifying
information on an application for a county contract. Totaro based his decision
on an affidavit Armor submitted in February when it applied for a 5-year,
$17-million contract to provide all medical services to Lancaster County Prison.
The affidavit — one of three submitted by Armor — sought information on
“employee criminal history.” A county detective discovered Moore was convicted
in Massachusetts in 1994 of tax evasion, a felony offense. Moore was sentenced
to 2 years in prison, but he never served jail time, according to an article in
the Boston Globe, because a judge suspended the prison term. Moore also was
fined $68,650 and ordered to pay all legal costs, the paper reported. The
instructions on the “employee criminal history” affidavit required the person
completing it to place his or her initials next to one of two statements: The
first stated no one who would work on “this contract” has ever been convicted of
a misdemeanor or felony or has any criminal action pending. The second stated
some employees have been convicted of crimes and instructs the person completing
the document to list the names of those workers. An “X,” rather than someone’s
initials, was typed on the line next to the first statement. “This affidavit was
the only one of the three that did not include space for a signature or a notary
seal,” Totaro said. Although Moore signed the two other affidavits, Totaro said
there was no way to prove he completed the third one because it had no signature
and no initials on it. Had Totaro been able to prove Moore completed the
document, Moore could have been charged with falsifying an official document
because of his criminal record. “There is no way for us to prove who completed
this” affidavit of employee criminal history, Totaro said. “Our burden of proof
is beyond a reasonable doubt, and we cannot meet that burden.” ••• In June,
county prison Warden Vince Guarini told the prison board Armor was the most
qualified firm to provide medical services to the county prison. He has been
pushing for about a year to outsource those services to save money and because
the current in-house program is understaffed and cannot provide sufficient care
to the prison’s 1,200 inmates. With Guarini’s endorsement, the prison board
voted at its June meeting to recommend the county commissioners negotiate a
contract with Armor. But shortly after the commissioners were charged with that
task, Commissioner Molly Henderson has said, the board received e-mails from the
public regarding the track record of Armor and several of its executives,
including Moore. James Laughman, the county’s interim director of human
services, said the e-mails contained newspaper articles that suggested Armor and
its executives had used various forms of influence to procure contracts to
provide prison medical care, primarily in Florida, and that Moore’s former
company, Prison Health Services, had been sued several times for providing poor
service to its customers. Guarini said he received that information, too, moving
him to ask the district attorney’s office to investigate. That is when the
county detective discovered Moore’s 1994 tax evasion conviction. Guarini has
said he knew nothing about Moore’s conviction before the detective discovered
it. ••• Contracting for prison health care is new to Lancaster County, said
Totaro, who sits on the county’s prison board. Guarini, who said he’s known
Moore for more than 30 years (the two worked together in the 1970s when Guarini
was deputy warden of Delaware County’s prison and Moore was a health care
professional there), was responsible for the process of soliciting bids and
reviewing contracts. “The documents the county sent out to potential bidders
were provided by the warden,” Totaro said. “The warden obtained these documents
from Armor.” Guarini deferred all comment on the Armor situation to Laughman.
Laughman said “there were serious flaws throughout the process.” “It appears
going to Armor (for documents used in the bidding process) was a huge concern,”
he said. Laughman also said he found it “alarming” the affidavit of employee
criminal history did not require a notarized signature of the person who
completed it. Totaro concurred with Laughman’s assessment of the process. “It
most certainly was flawed,” he said. Armor’s attorney could not be reached
Thursday for comment. As the county moves forward with its search for a prison
health care provider, Laughman and county solicitor Don LeFever will oversee the
process. “We are starting over again from square one,” Totaro said. He added
that he is “confident” the process has been corrected.
Lackawanna
County Jail
Correctional Care, Inc., National Corrective Group (formerly run by PrimeCare)
January 29, 2010 Courthouse News
Now they're privatizing the justice system. It's not enough that we hire
mercenaries to fight our wars and interrogate our prisoners overseas, and let
private companies imprison our citizens at home, now we're letting private debt
collectors use district attorneys' letterhead to threaten people with jail - so
long as the collectors kick back some money to the district attorneys. I didn't
believe it either, until I read Courthouse News reporter Erin McCauley's story
this week, and read for myself the federal class action Shouse v. National
Corrective Group and Andrew Jarbola III. But there it is, in a federal court
filing. The class claims that "approximately twenty" Pennsylvania counties have
contracts with the National Corrective Group, allowing it to use the counties'
"district attorney brand." Lackawanna County District Attorney Andrew Jarbola -
the only named DA defendant - "permits NCG to use his office, his official
letterhead and his signature in communicating with individuals who have issued
checks which have been dishonored," according to the complaint. "NCG thereupon
uses the district attorney's identity in threatening prosecution and
imprisonment, stating or implying that criminal charges have been filed and that
court appearances will be required, and stating that payments are due that far
exceed the amount of the dishonored check." The debt collectors also tell
debtors - in violation of Pennsylvania law - that they may not pay their
creditors directly: they have to pay the National Corrective Group, masquerading
as the district attorney, and they have to pay extra, according to the
complaint. The class claims that Jarbola and other district attorneys have
"authorized NCG to use their name, signature and letterhead to charge
individuals numerous incidental fees over and above an administrative and
accountability class fee. These incidental fees include late payment fees,
rescheduling fees, payment/convenience fees and overpayment/handling fees.
"Pursuant to the contract with NCG, Defendant Jarbola receives 100 percent of
the administrative fees generated by NCG. NCG receives 100 percent of the class
fees and incidental fees." Let us pause for a moment, to let this sink in. I'm
not a lawyer, but I know a constitutional violation when I see one. I'm not an
expert on elephants either, but I'd know it if you dropped a dead elephant in my
living room. After these bogus, private district attorneys browbeat and
effectively extort money from debtors, with threats of jail, I wonder if they
really could send them to prison? They could send them to one of the dozens of
private prisons that incarcerate thousands of people all over the country. I've
worked in private prisons, and I know what the private contract does - it
enables both the government and the private company to duck liability for what
goes on inside the walls. We all know what our private mercenary armies have
done in Iraq. Remember the Blackwater guards who were charged with murdering 17
people, for no particular reason, in Baghdad's Nisour Square? Those charges were
dismissed because of government misconduct. That's what a private contract does,
and despite any claims you may hear to the contrary, that's what it is supposed
to do: to let both the government and the mercenaries walk. The U.S. Navy hires
private contractors to scrub and paint ships at its San Diego base, leaving the
sailors free to do - what? Our 535 water boys in Congress push privatization of
government services because it's supposed to be cheaper and more "efficient."
But how is it efficient to pay a private company to do what sailors would have
to do anyway? It's just another way to curry favor with campaign contributors.
We let bankers write our banking regulations; we let hedge fund sharks write the
no-rules for hedge funds; for eight years we let oil companies write our energy
and environmental policies; and now we've made it possible for U.S. citizens to
be threatened with jail by bogus, private "prosecutors," and sent to private
prisons. All that's left is to let private companies set up private courts to
try people - perhaps corporations could try their own employees, and punish them
in their own private jails. They could charge advertisers for naming rights to
the prisons, like we do with our sports temples ... I mean stadiums. The system
going on today in Pennsylvania resembles in many ways the system of "tax
farming" under Louis XVI. French tax farmers paid off the king and then got to
keep all the taxes they could collect from the people. Do you recall how that
worked out? King Louis ended up a head shorter.
December 15, 2009 Times-Tribune
County commissioners are expected to sign a new contract with the current
Lackawanna County Prison medical care provider today that will ensure the cost
of medical care at the prison, in the future at least, is not kept secret. But
the new contract will be signed despite Correctional Care's refusal to hand
over, or make public, detailed financial records to prove what the cost of
medical care at the prison has been during the last five years. Meanwhile, the
commissioners and county controller's office approved paying $114,083 to
Correctional Care to cover hospital bills, $75,000 of which was paid without
receipts to back up the payment. Not until last month were county officials
given access to the records, and only then under a confidentiality agreement,
which barred discussing or making copies of the records, or taking notes.
Majority Commissioner Mike Washo said the county prison board, of which the
commissioners are a part, made demands of Correctional Care, and those demands
have been met. "We may not have been fully satisfied with (Correctional Care)
not releasing records, but we have to look at the impact on the county budget.
We have to look at the whole picture. I'm confident we made the right choice,"
Mr. Washo said. Though a confidentiality agreement is in place, the county still
has a lawsuit, filed in September, to compel Correctional Care to make public
its financial records related to medical service at the county prison. Part of
the suit is to satisfy the state Office of Open Records, which ruled that
financial records related to Correctional Care's pharmacy must be turned over to
the president of the local chapter of a Catholic human rights advocacy group.
The group, Pax Christi, represented by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Cozen
O'Connor law firm, has joined the suit on the county's side. While the county
had refused to pay Correctional Care any additional expenses without first
seeing receipts for payments - the exception is a $143,660 monthly bill required
by the previous contract - the commissioners last month approved two payments to
the vendor for hospital bills. One payment, worth $39,083, was made so
Correctional Care could settle a lawsuit filed by Community Medical Center
against the prison vendor and the county for $135,000. The three parties settled
the matter out of court, said county solicitor Larry Moran, and the lawsuit was
discontinued. CMC spokeswoman Jane Gaul declined to comment on the settlement.
Efforts to reach Dr. Edward Zaloga, the prison medical director and co-owner of
Correctional Care, were unsuccessful. A second payment of $75,000 was made to
Correctional Care to pay bills at Moses Taylor Hospital. Mr. Washo said there
was concern about whether inmates would be accepted in the future because bills
hadn't been paid. Moses Taylor spokeswoman Meaghan Comerford confirmed
Correctional Care made a payment to the hospital, but declined to comment
otherwise. But that second payment to Correctional Care was not supported by
receipts for the expenses, said county Chief Financial Officer Tom Durkin. Mr.
Washo said the decision to pay $75,000 - without receipts - was made because Mr.
Durkin had reviewed the records for Correctional Care, under the confidentiality
agreement, and determined the county owed at least in excess of that. "We knew
we owed them money. This was an amount we were comfortable providing them
because we saw documentation in excess of that amount," he said. The county will
not make further payments until Correctional Care has given the county adequate
information, Mr. Washo said. Mr. Durkin said he doesn't know yet how much the
county owes Correctional Care under the previous contract - no other bills have
been submitted by the vendor in addition to the hospital bills. In a countersuit
to the county's September lawsuit, Correctional Care had indicated $471,931 was
still owed by the county. Efforts were unsuccessful to ask Controller Ken
McDowell on Monday why his office approved the payment without backup
documentation. Speaking in general terms on the Correctional Care issue last
week, Mr. McDowell said he would not authorize payment "unless I am satisfied it
is reasonable and that we were provided with satisfactory evidence of such."
December 2, 2009 The Times-Tribune
A national law firm has agreed to represent the local chapter of a Catholic
human rights advocacy group in its fight to obtain financial records from the
medical care provider for Lackawanna County Prison. Philadelphia-based Cozen
O'Connor and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a motion
Monday on behalf of Pax Christi to intervene and join with Lackawanna County in
its lawsuit against its prison health care vendor, Correctional Care Inc. The
county lawsuit asks that Correctional Care be compelled to release detailed
financial records related to pharmaceutical services, so the county can comply
with a state Office of Open Records ruling that found the records must handed
over to Pax Christi. The lawsuit also requests Correctional Care be compelled to
release all financial receipts and invoices to back up county payments it has
received for services. Since the suit was filed in September, the county and
Correctional Care signed a confidentiality agreement allowing only county Chief
Financial Officer Tom Durkin and county Deputy Controller Reggie Mariani to view
the records. Although a confidentiality agreement is in place, solicitor John
O'Brien said the county is still pursuing release of all financial records. The
motion to intervene taken Monday adds the weight of Cozen O'Connor and the ACLU
to the county's suit. "The more interests, motivations and legal rights put
forward to obtain these documents, the better chance we have of getting them,"
said ACLU staff attorney Valerie Burch. Cozen O'Connor, which recently opened a
branch office in Wilkes-Barre, is one of the largest law firms in the U.S. "Our
plan is to cooperate with the county to get those documents," Cozen O'Connor
attorney Micah Knapp said. Attempts to reach Edward Zaloga, M.D., owner of
Correctional Care, were unsuccessful. Despite the lawsuit, the county and
Correctional Care are in negotiations on a new contract. The current contract
was extended by a month, until Dec. 15, to work out details on a new contract.
Cozen O'Connor and the ACLU are also seeking a special injunction to ensure
records from Correctional Care's current contract are not destroyed.
November 11, 2009 The Times-Tribune
The Lackawanna County Prison Board unanimously approved a new contract for
its prison health care vendor based on a proposal that did not include details
other bidders were required to submit. Meanwhile, one of the rejected bidders
said his proposal could have been more cost-effective than the one submitted by
Correctional Care Inc., but county officials did not give him an opportunity to
clarify or negotiate costs in the proposal. Correctional Care provided no cost
estimates for the next three years for hospitalization, pharmaceuticals or any
indication of what staffing levels will be under the new contract, as required
by the county's October request for proposals. Instead, the company made
reference to a large packet of financial records given to prison board members
Oct. 26. Correctional Care didn't have to provide new information on staffing
levels or costs because the firm has already proven itself, said minority
Commissioner A.J. Munchak, a prison board member and longtime friend of Dr.
Edward Zaloga, prison medical director and co-owner of Correctional Care. Asked
if he knew how much it will cost the county to send inmates to hospitals for
treatment under Correctional Care's proposal, Mr. Munchak said, "I'm not going
to do your research for you." Efforts to reach Dr. Zaloga were unsuccessful. Tom
Durkin, the county's chief financial officer, estimated the county's cost to
send inmates to a hospital under the current contract with Correctional Care has
been less than $103,000 per year, based on records the vendor provided to the
prison board. However, he acknowledged he could not say for sure how much it
cost because the records were not specific. Because Correctional Care provides
no breakdown of estimated costs for services in its proposal, there is no way to
determine how much the company is budgeting for hospitalization in its $6.7
million bid, Mr. Durkin acknowledged. How much Correctional Care budgets for
hospitalization matters because the county must pay the difference if costs
exceed the vendor's estimate. Prison board members raised this concern in
rejecting the proposal of Health Professionals Limited. The Denver, Colo.-based
vendor submitted a bid with a price significantly lower than Correctional Care.
Correctional Care's new contract will cost $187,237 a month, compared to
$143,660 a month under the previous deal. Health Professionals Limited submitted
a proposal that would have cost $147,050 a month. Health Professionals Limited
left out the cost of hospitalization and underestimated staffing needs and the
cost of pharmaceuticals, Mr. Durkin and prison board members said. For instance,
Health Professionals included funding for a physician/medical director who would
work only 12 hours per week. Dr. Zaloga is at the prison 40 hours a week, Mr.
Munchak said. "They grossly misrepresented themselves," said District Attorney
and prison board member Andy Jarbola. "They basically tried to misinform us."
Dr. Larry Wolk, chief operations and medical officer of Health Professionals
Limited and a native of Lackawanna County, denied any misrepresentation and said
the company would have answered the prison board's questions if asked. "We do
this for 190 jails in 20 states," Dr. Wolk said. "To say that we don't know what
the cost is, is pretty inaccurate." The Health Professionals proposal estimated
costs for pharmaceuticals at $140,000 a year. Pharmaceuticals have cost an
average $253,000 a year since Correctional Care took over at the prison in
November 2004, Mr. Durkin said. Dr. Wolk said his company can obtain lower
prices for medications because of its size. "By our estimates, Lackawanna County
is spending a lot, lot more than they should be (for pharmaceuticals)," he said.
Majority Commissioner Corey O'Brien said the prison board had a sense of
staffing levels needed at the prison and what the cost of hospitalization was.
With that information, it decided Correctional Care offered the better deal. He
said Health Professionals Limited was not called because "we did not have
questions on their proposal." "(Correctional Care was) the lowest, most
responsible bidder," he said. The prison board on Friday approved a $6.7 million
contract with Correctional Care after the county agreed to a confidentiality
agreement that allowed county officials to view company records, but forbid them
from discussing the records, making copies or taking notes. The county had to
file a lawsuit to gain access to detailed financial records in September after
Correctional Care refused to turn them over. Dr. Wolk said he was surprised by
an arrangement in which a prison medical care provider would retain ownership
and control of receipts, invoices and other financial records related to
billing. "We may be the vendor that's providing the health care, but we consider
that information to be property of the county," Dr. Wolk said.
November 10, 2009 The Times-Tribune
A confidentiality agreement between Lackawanna County and its prison health care
vendor is "legally inappropriate" and does not supersede the state's Right to
Know Law, said attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union and
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. Lackawanna County entered into a
confidentiality agreement with Correctional Care Inc. last week, clearing the
way for county officials to inspect financial records of the vendor. The county
filed a lawsuit to gain access to the records in September, after Correctional
Care refused to turn them over. The county's suit was filed in part so it could
comply with a state Office of Open Records ruling that the records be released
to Pax Christi, a Catholic human rights advocacy group. In October, the ACLU
filed suit on behalf of Pax Christi. The county's suit remains active, despite
the confidentiality agreement, under which county officials are forbidden to
discuss, make copies or take notes related to the Correctional Care records. The
county's position remains that Correctional Care must release the records to the
public, majority Commissioner Corey O'Brien said Monday. He said the county
agreed to the confidentiality agreement because it was the only way to obtain
quick access to the records before deciding on a new prison health care
contract. Correctional Care's original contract was set to expire Sunday. The
Lackawanna County Prison Board unanimously approved a new three-year, $6.7
million contract with Correctional Care on Friday. The contract still must be
approved by county commissioners. "We believe it's public information," Mr.
O'Brien said of the financial records. "(Correctional Care) disagrees. We've not
waived any claims with respect to what is public information." The courts have
repeatedly ruled that confidentiality agreements between a public agency and a
second party are inappropriate and unenforceable, said Melissa Melewsky, media
law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. She questioned the
county awarding a new contract to a vendor that refuses to release documents
that by law are public records. "It's legally inappropriate. ... And I question
why an agency would renew a contract with someone who doesn't comply with the
law," she said. "Any vendor that doesn't want to recognize legal authority
shouldn't be a government contractor anymore." County Solicitor John O'Brien
agreed that a confidentiality agreement is not enforceable if the records are
public - but said it will take a court decision to determine whether they must
be released. In a defining case, Lackawanna County Judge Terrence R. Nealon
ruled in September that records of an agency vendor are public if the vendor is
performing a government function. He ruled that SWB Yankees, the management
group that operates Lackawanna County's minor-league baseball team and stadium,
cannot keep its contracts with concessionaires secret from taxpayers. The ACLU
is reviewing the action taken by the county and will continue to seek the
records on behalf of Pax Christi, said Valerie Burch, an ACLU staff attorney.
"The right to view these financial records belongs to the people," she said.
"The county does not have the power to contract that right away." Pax Christi's
determination to obtain the records has not diminished, said Joseph Rogan, Ed.D.,
president of the local chapter. He said he was surprised the county's one-day
review of Correctional Care's books was adequate to award a new $6.7 million
contract. "If this is the way the county conducts its financial affairs, it's no
wonder that it is in such dire straits," Dr. Rogan said.
October 3, 2009 The Times-Tribune
A proposal by Correctional Care Inc. to provide medical care to Lackawanna
County Prison will cost $1.2 million more per year than the service the company
currently provides, a review of four medical care provider proposals shows. But
even if county officials went with the lowest bidder, Correctional Telecare
Solutions, the cost of medical care would be $1.1 million more per year. The
county made public Thursday the four proposals submitted for medical care
provider at the county prison. Last week, the Lackawanna County Prison Board
voted 5-2 to exclusively negotiate a contract with Correctional Care and discard
the three other proposals. The vote came two days after a lawsuit was filed
raising concerns about the accountability of Correctional Care, which has
refused to release financial records to reconcile bills submitted to the county.
The county filed suit Sept. 28 to compel Correctional Care to release the
financial records and information about its pharmacy vendor, which the company
has refused even to name. County taxpayers pay $1.7 million annually to provide
medical care to the prison under the current contract with Correctional Care.
But without financial invoices to back up the cost from Correctional Care, it is
unclear what the actual cost is. Dr. Patrick Conaboy, who submitted a proposal
through a Scranton startup company Epidarus Medical Management, said he couldn't
be sure how accurate his bid was because the prison was unable to provide direct
financial information on its medical care. "If they were able to supply better
information, I think it would have changed the pricing totally," Dr. Conaboy
said. Dr. Conaboy, who realized he was a "dark horse" pick because he was a
startup company, said he also offered a one-year contract in his proposal that
could be renegotiated once he understood what the costs were to provide medical
care. In its proposal, Correctional Care priced the cost per year to provide
medical care at between $2,630,287 for 900 inmates and $2,919,619 for 1,000
inmates. Correctional Telecare, the low bidder, would cost on average per year
between $2,591,148 for 900 inmates and $2,879,053 for 1,000 inmates. The county
prison population fluctuates between 900 and 1,000 inmates. No matter the
outcome of the prison board meeting, majority Commissioners Corey O'Brien and
Mike Washo said there isn't an extra $1 million in the county budget available
to pay for medical care at the prison. "I've said that relentlessly now, we
can't afford these proposals," Mr. Washo said. He recommended scrapping all the
proposals and starting over. "I don't know where the money would come from, I
have no idea, but we're not raising the taxes." Epidarus Medical Management
submitted a proposal to offer services on an average of $3.1 million a year,
with no mention of an amount per inmate. Harrisburg-based Primecare Medical,
which manages medical care for 31 prisons, submitted a proposal that would have
cost on average $3.8 million a year for 850 inmates. In a letter to the editor
published in The Times-Tribune on Friday, minority Commissioner A.J. Munchak
questioned the county's timing in filing a lawsuit against Correctional Care two
days before proposals were discussed by the prison board. Mr. Munchak pointed
out county solicitor Larry Moran is the brother-in-law of Epidarus owner, Dr.
Conaboy. As chief solicitor of litigation for the county, Mr. Moran handled
filing the lawsuit against Correctional Care. Asked Friday if he was suggesting
impropriety by Mr. Moran or the majority commissioners, Mr. Munchak would say
only "the timing is suspect." Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Washo called any implication
of impropriety "ludicrous." "A.J. must be confusing us with his administration.
I'm not going to dignify that kind of comment with a response," Mr. O'Brien
said. Mr. Washo said the timing of the lawsuit was coincidental and the issues
raised in the lawsuit against Correctional Care had been developing for months.
Mr. Moran called Mr. Munchak's comments "despicable" and said they were made to
divert attention from Correctional Care and its co-owner, Edward Zaloga, M.D., a
longtime friend of Mr. Munchak. "I think his smokescreen bomb is a dud," Mr.
Moran said. "It's a transparent effort to divert scrutiny from his lifelong
friend, a friend who despite a ruling of the (state) open records office and a
lawsuit has refused to account for the expenditures of millions of dollars over
five years." Dr. Conaboy, who also denied any impropriety. "More than half the
city is related to me in someway," he said. "I will tell you I never had a
single discussion with anybody in the commissioner's office."
September 25, 2009 Scranton Times
A Lackawanna County Prison inmate made half a dozen requests seeking medical
help for a severe skin condition, but was ignored until the American Civil
Liberties Union intervened, an ACLU attorney said Thursday. The inmate's
condition became so severe it shocked Valerie A. Burch, an attorney with the
ACLU of Pennsylvania. "He looked like a burn victim," she said. "He had severe
psoriasis all over his body. His skin was cracked and bleeding. It was
immediately apparent this man was not getting the treatment he needed." Prison
advocacy group Pax Christi and the ACLU of Pennsylvania brought the case of
inmate Cal Burns, 32, to light after a decision by the Lackawanna County Prison
Board to negotiate a new contract with the current prison medical care provider,
Correctional Care Inc. The decision was made on a 5-2 vote, with majority county
Commissioners Corey O'Brien and Mike Washo voting against negotiating with
Correctional Care and discarding proposals from three other medical care
providers. Board members who voted for retaining the company said they are
satisfied with the medical care provided at the prison. Told of the board's
action, Ms. Burch said she was surprised. The ACLU receives more inmate
complaints about medical care at Lackawanna County Prison than from any other
prison in the state, she said. Complaints are so common, she said, they are
immediately assigned an attorney, bypassing a standard screening process. "This
is one (prison) we've been watching because we do think the medical care at
Lackawanna County Prison is bad," Ms. Burch said. The ACLU and Pax Christi are
each actively investigating complaints at Lackawanna County Prison, according to
officials at both organizations. However, they said it is difficult to measure
exactly how many complaints they receive. Mr. Burns remains in the prison and
could not be interviewed Thursday. He gave Ms. Burch permission to speak with
The Times-Tribune on his behalf. Ms. Burch said she visited the prison in March
to interview Mr. Burns. The inmate's pain was so intense, he could not sleep,
Ms. Burch said. Mr. Burns submitted six requests for medical treatment over a
period of several weeks, she said, but prison officials failed to respond.
"Before jail, he was getting injections that kept him completely healthy and
normal," she said. "In prison, he wasn't getting the same treatment. They
reduced it to a cream, which was obviously inadequate." Ms. Burch said she sent
a letter to Warden Janine Donate, threatening a cruel and unusual punishment
suit if Mr. Burns did not receive different treatment. Soon after, proper
treatment was given, and Mr. Burns has since recovered, Ms. Burch said. Citing
medical privacy laws, Ms. Donate refused to discuss Mr. Burns' case, or the
claim his requests for treatment went unanswered. She insisted Correctional Care
provides satisfactory medical care to inmates. The state Bureau of Corrections
gave Lackawanna County Prison a 100 percent rating in 2009 for an inspection
that included questions about medical care, she noted. "We've been inspected on
state and federal levels several times since 2004 ... and we've never had any
notable issues," she said. "So on an objective level, yes, they're doing what
they're supposed to be doing within the standard of a medical provider of the
prison." Minority county Commissioner A.J. Munchak, Judge Vito P. Geroulo,
District Attorney Andy Jarbola, Controller Ken McDowell and Sheriff John
Szymanski - the prison board members who voted for negotiating a new contract
with Correctional Care - said they were unfamiliar with Mr. Burns' case and
stood by their votes Thursday. "There are a couple of people who are
dissatisfied with the care and that's the basis of (complaints)," Mr. Munchak
said. "The bottom line is medical complaints have decreased substantially." Mr.
Jarbola said claims made by Pax Christi can't be trusted. "I don't give Pax
Christi any credibility whatsoever," he said, declining to elaborate. He said he
is unaware of any ACLU concerns with the prison, but would be open to hearing
about them. Judge Geroulo, who regularly speaks with inmates, said it is
"extremely rare" he receives complaints about medical care at the prison. "I get
hundreds of letters per year directly from prisoners, I question any prisoner
before me that looks like they need medical attention and I immediately speak
with the warden if there is a problem," the judge said. Judge Geroulo said he is
aware of inmate complaints about the types of medications they receive. He said
Correctional Care told him while some medications may have different brand
names, inmates are receiving the same types and quality of medicine. The judge
said he was unfamiliar with Mr. Burns' experience, and could not comment. Pax
Christi has never been concerned with who is providing medical care at the
prison, said Joseph Rogan, Ed.D., president of the local chapter. "We've never
asked to have anybody replaced," he said. "What we've asked for is good health
care and we believe the county has a duty to take care of their inmates."
May 7, 2008 The Times-Tribune
The medical care provider at Lackawanna County Prison filed a lawsuit
against the president of a local social justice advocacy group, alleging
defamation, slander and interference with contract because of a report that
blasted prison health care. Correctional Care Inc., of Moosic, filed a
three-count complaint against Joseph Rogan, Ed.D., seeking damages in excess of
$50,000. Mr. Rogan, who heads Pax Christi of Northeastern Pennsylvania, said he
had not seen the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon. Pax Christi, an international
nonprofit Catholic organization that advocates peace, justice and human rights,
issued a report calling for major reform of the prison’s medical care.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges tortious interference with existing
contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective contractual
relations, and defamation, libel and slander. The report suggested prenatal care
was inadequate and requests for medical care were answered slowly, among other
things. The report, based on face-to-face surveys of 16 current or former
inmates, also suggested distribution of medication was deficient. “Mr. Rogan
acted irresponsibly and without sufficient due diligence in issuing his report,
and as a result, has harmed our client,” said attorney James Scanlon,
representing CCI. Pax Christi submitted the report to the Prison Board on Jan.
29. Warden Janine Donate subsequently issued a response dismissing the
allegations at a Prison Board meeting March 12. Minority Commissioner A.J.
Munchak, who formerly served as Prison Board chairman, had not seen the lawsuit
but said he was surprised one hadn’t been filed sooner.
March 13, 2008 The Times-Tribune
Several members of the Lackawanna County Prison Board on Wednesday railed
against a review of prison health care released last month by the regional
branch of an international social justice group. Pax Christi, a Catholic
nonprofit group that advocates peace, justice and human rights, undertook the
project after the birth of a baby in a prison cell in July. Among a multitude of
Pax Christi’s allegations rebutted by Warden Janine Donate were deficient
distribution of medication, ignored inmate requests for care and almost
nonexistent prenatal care. Ms. Donate assured the Prison Board that pregnant
inmates are given appropriate prenatal care and prenatal vitamins. “As for the
allegation that inmates are ignored and services have significant delays, it’s
simply not accurate,” she said. The survey’s eight recommendations were based on
16 face-to-face interviews with current and former inmates. Fourteen were
current inmates interviewed by members of the prison ministry program. However,
Pax Christi was denied access to prison inmates when Joseph Rogan, Ed.D., head
of the regional Pax Christi chapter, made the request in December. Ms. Donate
said she denied the request because she’d never met Dr. Rogan and did not know
who the other members of the review team were or what qualifications they had to
conduct a health care survey. District Attorney Andy Jarbola, a member of the
Prison Board, questioned the qualifications of the review team and the way in
which the study was conducted. “I have a huge problem with this report,” he
said. “We have no idea whether these individuals have done such a survey in any
other prison or institution anywhere in Pennsylvania or the United States.”
Compared with the 5,000 inmates incarcerated since Correctional Care Inc., of
Moosic, took over the prison’s medical care, the number of complaints was
minuscule, Mr. Jarbola said. “If you’re only talking about 16 complaints over
5,000, that’s less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the individuals that were
incarcerated,” Mr. Jarbola said. Other members of the health care review team
included the Rev. William Pickard, Joan Holmes, Sister Barbara Craig, of the
Sisters of Mercy, and Ann Marie Crowley. Members of Pax Christi were not
specifically invited to Wednesday’s Prison Board meeting. The group has not been
contacted by county officials and only knew the warden was reviewing its
findings from a Feb. 20 article in The Times-Tribune. Contacted later by phone,
Dr. Rogan said he hopes the commissioners send a response. “Nothing changes in
terms of our views,” Dr. Rogan said, adding that he expects the group will make
a decision about how to proceed at its next meeting March 26. “I would guess
(the group) would be interested in pursuing it further. It’s not expected that
we drop the ball now.” Minority Commissioner A.J. Munchak, former Prison Board
chairman, said the report should not have been given credence by the board. “All
it is, is a shot at our prison and a shot at the doctor who’s running this,” he
said of Dr. Edward Zaloga, the prison’s medical director and his longtime
friend. “I think it’s absolutely terrible, and if it were up to me, this
wouldn’t have even been addressed here today in public.”
February 20, 2008 The Times-Tribune
County officials are mum on a report released by the regional chapter of an
international justice advocacy group that calls for a number of reforms to
medical care at Lackawanna County Prison. In a report released to The
Times-Tribune, Pax Christi of Northeastern Pennsylvania alleges existing
conditions such as heart problems and broken ribs were not addressed when
inmates arrived, distribution of medication was deficient and sporadic, requests
for medical care were answered slowly, and prenatal care for pregnant inmates
was almost nonexistent. The report, based on face-to-face surveys of 16 current
or former inmates, also suggests medical care has been rationed to boost profits
for the medical care provider. “We feel there are very, very serious criticisms
that need to be followed up on,” said Father William Pickard, who serves as
chaplain for the county’s prison ministry program on behalf of the Diocese of
Scranton. Father Pickard also is a member of the regional chapter of Pax
Christi, an international Catholic nonprofit group that advocates peace, justice
and human rights. Provider under fire -- Medical care at the prison is provided
under contract by Correctional Care Inc., of Moosic, a company co-owned by the
prison’s medical director, Dr. Edward Zaloga. The report says the relationship
is a potential conflict of interest and suggests that money not spent on medical
care results in higher profits for CCI. “It’s an inference, but it would seem to
be to his (Dr. Zaloga’s) advantage, for example, not to fill medications,” said
Joan Holmes, a member of Pax Christi and volunteer with the prison ministry
program. Attempts to reach Dr. Zaloga were unsuccessful. It is not clear exactly
how Dr. Zaloga would directly benefit from limiting or denying care. Under its
five-year contract that expires Nov. 14, 2009, Correctional Care Inc. is paid a
flat fee of $250,000 a year regardless of medical expenses and is reimbursed
separately for all costs of medical care inside and outside the prison. The
report does say that inmates have “major consternation” with Dr. Zaloga and says
the fact “that the person best positioned to provide inmates with care was the
one they most disrespected was telling.” In the report — dated Jan. 29 — Pax
Christi recommended that the Prison Board hire an independent party to evaluate
the prison’s medical services. The purpose of the study is not conflict, but
change, said Mrs. Holmes. The idea for a review was triggered by the birth of a
baby in a prison cell on July 10, Father Pickard said. Then-inmate Shakira
Staten, 22, of Chambersburg, accused Lackawanna County Prison officials of
ignoring her repeated pleas to go to the hospital before her daughter dropped
from her womb and to the floor of a cell monitored by a closed-circuit
television camera. Although the Prison Board initially denied the staff did
anything wrong in that incident, county officials later publicly apologized to
Ms. Staten for what happened. According to the report, Ms. Donate denied Pax
Christi access to current inmates. Father Pickard and Mrs. Holmes conducted
interviews during regular visits with prisoners as part of the prison ministry
program. Joseph Rogan, Ed.D., heads the regional chapter of Pax Christi. Other
members of the prison health care review team included Sister Barbara Craig of
the Sisters of Mercy and Ann Marie Crowley. Inmates give examples -- The report
details many complaints registered by the interviewed inmates. Among them were
the claims of two women who were pregnant while incarcerated. The report says
the pregnant inmates received no checkups after entering the prison, and
“received inconsistent prenatal vitamins and received no prenatal care.” Another
inmate reportedly claimed that “medicines are routinely replaced or unavailable
to save the (medical care) firm money.” Several complaints were reported about a
lack of response to inmate requests to see a doctor or to file grievances about
medical care denials. “A few did get the care they requested ... ,” the report
says. “Most, however, reported that their requests were ignored, or, if
addressed at all, only very slowly. When they did get attention, in many cases
no treatments were prescribed. One (inmate) was told that he was just getting
old.” The report said two interviewed inmates independently confirmed that when
one inmate they knew filed a grievance about medical care, the “entire unit was
locked down while a guard read the details of the inmate’s complete medical
history over the intercom for all to hear.” None of the interview subjects is
identified in the report, and it contains a disclaimer that says some responses
“may have been colored by personal motives.” However, the document also says
that there were underlying themes amid the responses that triggered the
recommendations. “We thought there was enough of a common thread there to
release the report,” Father Pickard said. “I could tell by (the inmates’)
emotions that they were sincere, that they went through a terrible ordeal. They
weren’t play-acting. It was very obvious in the interaction I had with them.”
Prisoners faced possible retribution by answering the survey questions, Father
Pickard said. The committee recorded a majority of the inmates’ names, and
Father Pickard said the committee verified what inmates told them “as best they
could.” However, Mrs. Holmes admitted they did not have a way to verify all
claims. Pax Christi received 38 responses when input was solicited, but was only
able to interview 16 people because of time and logistical constraints. Of the
16 people who responded, 14 were current inmates. The report recommends that the
Prison Board: Review the prison’s inmate intake procedures. Review the prison’s
medical response procedures. Review the possibility that inmates with mental
health issues could be better placed. Review whether inmates who have
substance-abuse problems could be served through treatment and education. Review
the prison’s policies and procedures related to pregnant inmates. Review the
prison’s food-service system to determine whether inmates receive proper
nutrition. Officials not talking -- County communications director Lynne
Shedlock said the study was referred to Prison Warden Janine Donate, who was not
immediately available for comment. “There is no further comment until the warden
has had a chance to review it,” Ms. Shedlock said. “She’ll present a report back
to the Prison Board at the appropriate time.” Majority Commissioner Mike Washo,
who chairs the board, was out of town and not available for comment. Minority
Commissioner A.J. Munchak, who served as Prison Board chair when he was majority
commissioner through last year, deferred questions to Mr. Washo. “Any official
response has to come from the chairman,” Mr. Munchak said. Commissioner Corey
O’Brien, also a member of the Prison Board, declined comment as well. In
addition to the three county commissioners, the Prison Board includes District
Attorney Andy Jarbola, Sheriff John Szymanski , Judge Vito Geroulo and County
Controller Ken McDowell. Mr. McDowell said he read the study and anticipates the
warden will review it and make a report to the Prison Board. Efforts to reach
Mr. Jarbola, Mr. Szymanski and Judge Geroulo were unsuccessful.
August 18, 2007 Times-Tribune
The Lackawanna County Prison’s medical director was fired from a similar post at
a Pittsburgh-based health care services company in 1999 in an apparent dispute
over a new treatment for hepatitis C in state prisons the company served.
Company officials could not be reached to explain his termination, but in a
lawsuit later filed against the company, Dr. Edward J. Zaloga claimed he was
fired because he disagreed with a plan to begin treating the liver disease with
a then-new, unproven drug that ultimately would be a waste of taxpayer money.
The treatment “would waste more than $7 million of the (state) taxpayers’ money
on unnecessary and unwarranted medical treatment,” he charged in a suit filed
against Wexford Health Sources Inc. in November 1999. He claimed in his suit
that his management practices had created a profit for the company of $4.1
million, and the company — which at the time was trying to get the state to pay
for the new treatment — feared it might have to pay for treating inmates if the
state found out about its profits. He was fired for raising the concerns, he
alleged. The suit demanded more than $1 million in unpaid wages, expenses,
lawyer’s fees and punitive damages. The company, in its legal responses, denied
earning anywhere near $4 million. It denied his other claims as well. County
judges rejected Dr. Zaloga’s suit in separate rulings in 2002 and 2004 with one
judge writing that Dr. Zaloga failed to establish “a report of wrongdoing ... or
waste.” Wexford in its legal filings acknowledged firing Dr. Zaloga but did not
say why. Dr. Zaloga is now co-owner of a company, Correctional Care Inc., of
Moosic, that provides medical services to county prison inmates, and oversees
those services. A former inmate, Shakira Staten, 22, a federal prisoner who gave
birth at the prison July 10 and has since been transferred to Adams County
Prison to await sentencing, has sued him, the company and the prison in federal
court. She claims she was a victim of cruel and unusual punishment because her
pleas to be taken to the hospital when she went into labor were ignored and she
had the baby alone in a cell. The county Prison Board this week apologized for
the way she treated and blamed a Correctional Care nurse for “serious errors of
judgment” that included failing to properly monitor her labor and unnecessarily
delaying taking her to the hospital. The board barred the nurse from working in
the prison. A secretary in the company’s office said Dr. Zaloga was not
available for comment and would only reply to written questions. A secretary at
Wexford Health Sources said no company officials would be available to comment
until next week. Dr. Zaloga was Wexford’s regional medical director for its
central Pennsylvania operations from Feb. 1 to Sept. 29, 1999, the day the
company’s operations director dismissed him, according to court records.
November 24, 2004 Scranton Times Tribune
PrimeCare Medical Inc., the Harrisburg company that lost out last month on a
lucrative contract for medical care at the Lackawanna County Prison, hit the
county with a $926,000 lawsuit Tuesday. PrimeCare
President Carl A. Hoffman claims county officials, namely Commissioner Robert C.
Cordaro, breached an oral agreement with him when they hired another company to
take over prison medical services. Earlier this year, PrimeCare said it would
forgive about $400,000 in outstanding bills in exchange for a new five-year
contract, according to the lawsuit.
The county paid PrimeCare $900,000 instead of the $1.3 million owed and
later awarded the health care contract to a local upstart company, Correctional
Care Inc.
October 15, 2004 Scranton Times
Tribune
Divided on the issue days ago, Lackawanna County Commissioners voted unanimously
Thursday to award a multimillion-dollar prison health-care contract to a new,
local provider instead of the veteran incumbent company. Correctional Care Inc.,
of Moosic, was founded four months ago by Dr. Edward Zaloga and investors Joseph
Compagnino, William Drazdowski and Ronald Halko for the sole purpose of taking
over medical operations at the county jail. The
upstart company beat out PrimeCare Medical Services of Harrisburg for the
five-year service contract.
Having no experience to draw on, the company was unable to estimate its
annual cost, Commissioner A.J. Munchak said. PrimeCare has been the
prison's health-care provider since 2001. It has been working without a contract
since January and proposed a $5.4 million five-year contract.
The question of the contract had been hotly contested since May, when
PrimeCare officials answered the Prison Board about concerns raised in a county
grand jury report. In it, jurors cited "failure to adequately treat inmates
for serious medical conditions" and "failure of medical staff to
report, document or question suspicious injuries."
Luzerne County Court
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care LLC
May 27, 2010 Billings Gazette
A state panel investigating the "kids for cash" scandal in northeastern
Pennsylvania called Thursday for improved oversight of judges among dozens of
other recommendations meant to strengthen the state's juvenile justice system.
The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice was created last August by the
Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell to look into the causes of the judicial scandal
at the Luzerne County Courthouse and to suggest ways to prevent a recurrence
there or elsewhere. Former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella are
charged in federal court with racketeering for allegedly taking millions of
dollars in kickbacks to place youth offenders in for-profit detention centers.
Conahan has agreed to plead guilty for his role in the $2.8 million scheme.
Ciavarella awaits trial. The state Supreme Court tossed thousands of juvenile
convictions after federal prosecutors charged the judges last year. In its
report, the interbranch commission said that corruption in the Luzerne County
courthouse "has been deeply ingrained for many years" and that "many individuals
may be seen to have shared the responsibility" for failures in the juvenile
justice system there, including prosecutors, public defenders and probation
officials. The commission's work also revealed failures in state oversight of
the court system. Its recommendations cover a range of issues, from improving
the state Judicial Conduct Board _ the agency that investigates and prosecutes
misconduct by Pennsylvania judges _ to ensuring that juveniles have access to
legal representation, to reducing or eliminating the use of shackling in
juvenile courtrooms. The commission voted Thursday to approve the report and
recommendations and send them to Rendell, Chief Justice Ronald Castille and
legislative leaders.
January 25, 2010 AP
A northeastern Pennsylvania prosecutor has dropped her effort to retry as many
as 46 youths who appeared before a judge charged in a corruption scandal,
bringing an end to a legal saga that involved an estimated 5,000 tainted
juvenile convictions. The agreement between defense lawyers and Luzerne County
District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll means that none of the thousands of
youths who appeared before disgraced former Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. between
2003 and 2008 will face retrial, and all will have their juvenile records wiped
clean. "It's in the interest of fairness and justice that these cases be
reversed, too," Carroll said in court Monday, exactly one year after Ciavarella
and another judge were charged with accepting millions in kickbacks to place
juvenile offenders in for-profit detention centers. Anthony Brennan, who spent
more than a year in detention after being caught breaking into an abandoned
building when he was 15, said he was gratified by the decision. "It's a sense of
relief," said Brennan, now 18, of Hazleton. "I can get on with my life now." The
Pennsylvania Supreme Court has said that Ciavarella ran a kangaroo court in
which he systemically denied youths their constitutional rights, including the
right to counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea. After being found
delinquent, the youths were often shackled and taken to private jails whose
owner was allegedly paying bribes to the judge. Federal prosecutors have said
that Ciavarella and another former Luzerne County judge, Michael Conahan, took a
total of $2.8 million in payoffs.
December 8, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer
A special panel investigating judicial corruption in Luzerne County heard a
woman testify last night that her 14-year-old daughter was sent to jail by
former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. despite her warnings that the girl was
epileptic and subject to seizures under stress. "Two days later, I got a call at
5 in the morning telling me that she had had a seizure," she said. "I almost
lost her." Mother and daughter sat side by side in witness chairs before the
Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, which is conducting hearings into
judicial corruption here. For at least five years, young defendants routinely
appeared in Ciavarella's courtroom without lawyers for hearings that lasted just
a few minutes. After being found delinquent, the youths were taken to private
jails, often in shackles. Federal prosecutors charge that the owner of two of
the jails paid some $2.8 million in bribes to Ciavarella and former Judge
Michael T. Conahan. The mother said her daughter was released from the detention
center, placed under house arrest, and not allowed to go to school despite being
an A student. After being allowed to resume her schooling, she said, her
daughter was very introverted. "I had to force her to go to her prom. It's taken
a lot of years for her to come out of her shell, and I blame Ciavarella for
that." The girl was accused of defacing public property with a felt pen, using
phrases such as "Vote for Michael Jackson." Her daughter testified that during
her hearing, Ciavarella and the policeman who arrested her spent most of the
time talking about a previous night's football game. Asked what she had learned
from her experience with the juvenile justice system, she said: "People in power
are not always people we should trust." Seven children and their parents, most
of whom were in tears for at least part of their testimony, appeared last night.
The commission members appeared shaken and angered by the testimony. A college
student told the commission that when she was 16 years old she was arrested for
"giving a police officer the finger." She said a probation officer advised her
that she didn't need an attorney, but Ciavarella sentenced her to two months in
prison even though she had no record. She was placed in shackles and taken out
of the courtroom to detention. She said she was a good high school student,
involved in numerous extracurricular activities, and plans to go to law school.
A 16-year-old girl who was sent away for eight months by Ciavarella when she was
13 for fighting with another girl in school testified that she had emotional
scars from the experience that made her unable to return to school after she
completed her sentence. "I am unable to deal with large groups of people, and I
am now being homeschooled," she said. Judge John Cleland of the state Superior
Court, chairman of the commission, said the juveniles' testimony would "serve as
a reminder to us that court policies and court procedures have real-life
consequences for people. Good and bad." The child defendants were among about
6,000 young people whose convictions were overturned in October by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court on grounds they did not get a fair hearing in
Ciavarella's court. Earlier in the day, witnesses painted a picture of a legal
establishment bending to the iron will of Ciavarella. "We trusted the judge,"
said Thomas Killino, a former assistant district attorney when asked why he did
not challenge many of Ciavarella's actions, including illegally obtaining forms
from young defendants waiving their right to a lawyer. Much of the questioning
centered on why prosecutors, probation officers, and public defenders did not
challenge Ciavarella's failure to explain to defendants the consequences of
waiving their right to counsel and of pleading guilty. This process, called a
colloquy, is required by state court rules. "Did it ever bother you that there
was no colloquy?" asked George D. Mosee, head of the juvenile division of the
Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. "It was a fast-paced environment,"
Killino replied. "This was the established practice of the court. Everyone went
along with it." Mosee, who oversees the prosecution of about 10,000 juveniles a
year, added: "I've never prosecuted a child who didn't have an attorney. How do
you handle it?" Killino said he was told that the defendants had signed written
waivers outside the courtroom and that he believed those overrode the
requirement for a colloquy in open court to determine that the juveniles
understood that they had a right to an attorney. When Killino confirmed
estimates that more than half the child defendants who appeared before
Ciavarella did not have attorneys, Judge Dwayne D. Woodruff asked him if he had
ever read the juvenile law that required them to have counsel. Killino said he
had read parts of the law but not the entire law. Later, Woodruff said he had
heard about 4,000 juvenile cases and every defendant had a lawyer. Judge John C.
Uhler asked Killino if there were instances when defendants without lawyers were
sentenced without ever speaking in their own defense. Killino said there were,
and that in those cases Ciavarella would move right on to sentencing in a matter
of minutes. Later, Uhler said that in his 20 years as a juvenile court judge, no
defendant had ever appeared before him without an attorney. Killino testified
that he and other prosecutors did not have enough information available to them
to determine whether a sentence from Ciavarella was unduly harsh. "Didn't you
want to know?" demanded Jason D. Legg, a commission member who is a prosecutor
from rural Susquehanna County. "It was not part of our purview," said Killino.
Later, Legg said he prosecutes hundreds of juveniles every year and they always
have legal representation.
November 23, 2009 Claims Journal
Two former county judges accused of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks
to send juveniles to private detention facilities are partially immune from
civil lawsuits, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Friday. The decision by
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo could make it harder for the people suing
former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. to
collect damages. Caputo said Ciavarella will avoid civil consequences for "the
vast majority'' of his conduct, because much of it occurred inside a courtroom,
such as determination of delinquency and sentencing. He said Conahan largely
would not be immune, because his alleged actions were more administrative in
nature, such as signing a placement agreement with the detention centers. The
decisions have no bearing on the federal criminal charges that Ciavarella and
Conahan are currently facing in what has become known as the kids-for-cash
scandal. Marsha Levick, a lawyer with the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, a
co-counsel for plaintiffs in the case, said Friday she did not consider the
ruling to be a major setback. There are more than 400 named plaintiffs in the
case, and lawyers are seeking class-action status. "I think what's important is
the judges remained in the litigation,'' Levick said. "Conahan is extremely
vulnerable because most of what Conahan did with respect to the plaintiffs'
allegations, it was all outside the courtroom.''
November 11, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer
To the frequent frustration and occasional exasperation of a special panel
investigating judicial corruption in Luzerne County, yesterday's testimony gave
off the steady and unmistakable sound of the buck being passed. Phrases like "I
was not aware," "Yes, but," and "It was not my responsibility" wafted from the
witness chair as officials who oversee the county's courts denied knowing that
thousands of adolescents were being locked away, often for petty offenses, after
hearings in which they had been effectively denied lawyers. When Luzerne County
District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll challenged the 11 members of the
state-appointed Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice to "tell me what you
do when you have a judge who is a crook," she was promptly interrupted by the
questioner-in-chief. "You report him," interjected John M. Cleland, the
commission chairman and a judge on the state Superior Court. Cleland and his
fellow panelists have until May 31 to discover how two former judges, Mark A.
Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan, managed to get away with what federal
prosecutors say was a five-year, $2.8 million kickback conspiracy, a scheme that
one juvenile-justice advocacy group called "one of the largest and most serious
violations of children's rights in the history of the American legal system."
Musto Carroll said she was unaware that more than half the teenagers whose cases
came before Ciavarella did not have legal representation. She said the judge's
"zero-tolerance" policy was a result of the 1999 Columbine High School
shootings. "I think Judge Ciavarella was probably doing what he thought he ought
to do," the district attorney testified. "I have heard in a number of cases,
what he did actually straightened out kids' lives. Some went on to get
scholarships and college educations." That brought an angry response from panel
member Robert L. Listenbee, head of the juvenile unit of the Defender
Association of Philadelphia. "Ms. Carroll, I remind that you and I as attorneys
took an oath to uphold the Constitution. There were children here whose basic
constitutional rights were being violated every day. Let's keep that in mind."
Lawyer Kenneth J. Horoho Jr., a commissioner from Pittsburgh, offered a litany
of questions about Musto Carroll's having not known or questioned Ciavarella's
methods. Horoho concluded, "The bottom line is that 'zero tolerance' went
unchallenged by your office." "Don't worry about Luzerne County," Musto Carroll
assured the commission. "As long as I'm here, it's in good hands." Yesterday's
first witness was David W. Lupas, Musto Carroll's predecessor as district
attorney and now a county judge, who said that none of his assistants ever
brought concerns about Ciavarella's conduct to his attention. Panel member
Dwayne D. Woodruff - the head juvenile judge in Allegheny County, and a former
Pittsburgh Steelers safety - noted that 54 percent of the children brought
before Ciavarella did not have lawyers. "Would you expect your assistant D.A.s
to come to you with that?" Woodruff asked. "No one came to me," Lupas said.
Cleland interjected, "I could understand a case here and a case there. But 6,000
cases? This went on for years, and it was a massive deprivation of rights. No
assistant D.A., no public defender, no private lawyer ever raised a question?
That's hard to believe." Basil G. Russin, who has been chief public defender in
Luzerne County since 1980, said that even if he had known the extent of
Ciavarella's denial of rights to juvenile defendants, he would not have had many
options. "We don't have the time or the money to look into things very deeply.
We just do the best we can," he said. Besides, Russin said, the judges'
get-tough stance against juvenile misbehavior had wide public support.
"Everybody loved it. The schools loved it because they got rid of every problem
kid. The parents loved it because there were kids they couldn't control. The
cops loved it because it got kids off the streets, and the D.A. loved it because
they were getting convictions." In earlier testimony, Sandra Brulo, a former
Luzerne County probation official, said she had raised concerns about Ciavarella
with her boss, but did not hear back. "Don't you think you should have taken it
further when you didn't get any satisfaction from your supervisor?" asked Ronald
P. Williams, a panel member from nearby Wyoming County, raising his arms in
amazement. "I took it to my boss," Brulo replied. "That's as far as I thought I
should go." She testified that probation officers, not attorneys, asked young
defendants to sign forms just before they entered Ciavarella's courtroom that
waived their right to a lawyer. Commissioner George D. Mosee, a deputy
Philadelphia district attorney, asked Brulo if this was a proper role for
probation officers. "We did what the judge instructed us to do," she said. "Even
when their very liberty was at stake?" Mosee asked. Brulo did not answer. Joseph
Massa, senior counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates
complaints against judges, told the panel that his agency had acted properly
more than two years ago when it referred allegations it received against
Ciavarella and Conahan to federal prosecutors. By not acting on its own, the
board allowed the jurists to stay on the bench until they resigned this year.
The judges stepped down after a federal grand jury indicted them on
racketeering, bribery and fraud charges. "To allege the [Judicial Conduct Board]
members put their heads in the proverbial sand while juveniles in this county
were sent to the hoosegow is a disgrace," Massa told the panel. Ciavarella is
accused of taking bribes from operators of two for-profit detention centers in
return for sending children to the centers. Conahan is accused of securing
lucrative contracts for the private jails, which the state paid according to the
numbers of inmates they housed. Once the scheme was set up, prosecutors say,
Ciavarella guaranteed that the jails were filled with a steady stream of
juvenile offenders. Ciavarella and Conahan are awaiting trial. They initially
pleaded guilty but withdrew their pleas after a federal judge rejected the terms
of their plea agreements.
October 29, 2009 AP
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed thousands of juvenile
convictions issued by a judge charged in a corruption scandal, saying that none
of the young offenders got a fair hearing. The high court on Thursday threw out
more than five years' worth of juvenile cases heard by disgraced former Luzerne
County Judge Mark Ciavarella, who is charged with accepting millions of dollars
in kickbacks to send youths to private detention centers. The Philadelphia-based
Juvenile Law Center, which represents some of the youths, said the court's order
covers as many as 6,500 cases. The justices barred any possibility of retrial in
all but a fraction of them. "This is exactly the relief these kids needed," said
Marsha Levick, the center's legal director. "It's the most serious judicial
corruption scandal in our history and the court took an extraordinary step in
addressing it." Children routinely appeared in front of Ciavarella without
lawyers for hearings that lasted only a few minutes. Ciavarella also failed to
question young defendants to make sure they fully understood the consequences of
waiving counsel and pleading guilty, showing "complete disregard for the
constitutional rights of the juveniles," the Supreme Court said. After being
found delinquent, the youths were often shackled and taken to private jails
whose owner was paying bribes to the judge. Federal prosecutors have said that
Ciavarella and another Luzerne County judge, Michael Conahan, took a total of
$2.8 million in payoffs. "Ciavarella's admission that he received these
payments, and that he failed to disclose his financial interests arising from
the development of the juvenile facilities, thoroughly undermines the integrity
of all juvenile proceedings before Ciavarella," the Supreme Court said.
October 28, 2009 The Citizens Voice
Former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella said little during a hearing today on his
request to be dismissed from a series of civil lawsuits filed in the aftermath
of the Luzerne County kids-for-cash scandal. Ciavarella, who is representing
himself, declined to make a formal argument before U.S. District Judge A.
Richard Caputo, instead deferring to a brief he filed asking for dismissal on
grounds of judicial immunity. Ciavarella's co-defendant, former Judge Michael T.
Conahan, did not attend the hearing, despite previously asking to be dismissed
from the case. Both former judges have said their alleged conduct in the
kids-for-cash scheme, including the closure of a county juvenile detention
facility and the contracting with a private jail, were within the bounds of
their duties as judges and courthouse administrators. Attorneys for the
plaintiffs in the lawsuits, the hundreds of juveniles sentenced by Ciavarella
between 2003 and May 2008, argued Ciavarella and Conahan's conduct went beyond
the scope of normal court business. Conahan acted as a political lobbyist when
he forced the closure of the county facility and pressured county commissioners
to approve a lucrative lease with the private facility, the plaintiffs'
attorneys said. Ciavarella acted as a dictator on the bench, running a "star
chamber" that left juveniles' constitutional rights in tatters, the attorneys
said. "Ciavarella made up the rules on his own," Marsha Levick, the legal
director of the non-profit Juvenile Law Center, said. "He may as well have set
up the courtroom in his garage and put on the black robe." Levick acknowledged
the difficulty of clearing the hurdle of judicial immunity, which was designed
to give judges freedom to make rulings without fear of legal retribution. "There
is no question we are testing the bounds of established legal principles,"
Levick said. "But we have never seen anything like this."
October 25, 2009 Philadelphia Enquirer
In October 2005, a 16-year-old boy appeared in Luzerne County Court to answer
charges that he had shot out several windows in a city home with a BB gun. The
boy had never been in trouble with police before, and even the homeowner asked
the judge to be lenient, according to a federal lawsuit. Nevertheless, Judge
Mark A. Ciavarella, after repeatedly silencing the boy's court-appointed
attorney, ignored the homeowner's request and in a matter of minutes banged his
gavel and said, "Adjudicated delinquent!" The boy was handcuffed, shackled, and
taken in a van about 50 miles to a juvenile "boot camp" for the next three
months, the complaint states. The boy's brief hearing in dark-paneled Courtroom
4 was closed to the public, but it was witnessed by an assistant district
attorney, the public defender, other lawyers, probation officials, bailiffs,
clerks, and other court staff, according to the suit, filed by the Juvenile Law
Center of Philadelphia. Now the monumental task facing a special 11-member
commission investigating what one advocacy group called "one of the largest and
most serious violations of children's rights in the history of the American
legal system" is to determine how something like that could happen, how it can
be prevented - and why no one spoke up. State Superior Court Judge John M.
Cleland, chairman of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, said the
goal is to identify "those who knew but failed to speak" and "those who saw but
failed to act." While it cannot indict or prosecute, the commission is empowered
to investigate and recommend legislation, rules, and other procedural changes.
Ciavarella is accused of taking bribes from private prison operators for every
child he sent to two private juvenile detention centers. Also accused is fellow
Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan, who secured lucrative contracts for the
private jails, which were paid by the state according to their number of
inmates. Last month, Conahan and Ciavarella pleaded not guilty to federal
racketeering charges. They had agreed to plead guilty in February to lesser
charges that called for 87-month prison sentences, far below federal guidelines.
But a federal judge rejected the deal and said the two judges had not fully
accepted responsibility. They switched their pleas to not guilty, and
prosecutors secured a 48-count indictment that includes racketeering, bribery,
and extortion charges. Ciavarella presided over juvenile court in Luzerne County
between 2003 and 2007. According to the Juvenile Law Center, children were
summarily dispatched to incarceration after the briefest of hearings, often
without legal representation. Parents who had accompanied their children to
court and expected to return home with them instead left, stunned and
bewildered, without them. The Juvenile Law Center alleges that something clearly
was unusual about Ciavarella's courtroom. To wit: A 15-year-old boy was sent
away for three months for pushing a classmate into a locker. A 15-year-old girl
was jailed for shoplifting a $4 jar of nutmeg. A 13-year-old girl went before
Ciavarella for fighting on a school bus. The judge asked why she had done it.
Rather than answer, the girl started crying. The lawsuit states that Ciavarella
sent her away for three months for not answering his questions. Records and
interviews paint a picture of a kangaroo court. Yet no one involved, directly or
indirectly, spoke up. Lawyers, elected officials, police, school administrators,
teachers, probation officers, prosecutors, and civil servants charged with
protecting children all remained silent. Ciavarella guaranteed that the jails
were filled with a steady stream of juvenile offenders. The prosecutors say the
two judges received kickbacks totaling $2.6 million from the former owner of two
detention facilities and their developer. There were bright red flags all over
the city well before the judges were charged in January. The Wilkes-Barre
Times-Leader published articles in 2004 raising serious and disturbing concerns
about juvenile cases. Robert Schwartz, the Juvenile Law Center's executive
director, said in an interview that detention-center workers had been told in
advance - before the hearings in Ciavarella's courtroom - how many new child
inmates to expect at the end of each day. For the commission, which has the
power to subpoena witnesses, there is no shortage of places to look. The other
judges. Judge Chester B. Muroski, who succeeded Ciavarella as president judge
this year, said he and his colleagues on the bench had been completely shielded
from the proceedings in juvenile court, first by Conahan and later by Ciavarella
when they served as president judge. He said the court seldom met as a unit to
discuss court matters. In 2006, when he began to suspect kickbacks, he contacted
the FBI. The court staff. Muroski said Conahan and Ciavarella had packed the
courthouse with relatives. Conahan's cousin was the court administrator, a
brother-in-law was jury management supervisor, and another brother-in-law was
paid $1.1 million in public funds for court-ordered psychological evaluations.
According to Muroski, other court-related workers knew they were "there at
Conahan's pleasure." "When I bucked them in 2005, they reassigned me," he added.
"That was a message to everyone: Keep your mouth shut." According to the
Juvenile Law Center, Ciavarella routinely pressured probation officers to
recommend detention even when it was not appropriate. Often probation officers
advised juvenile defendants to appear before Ciavarella without legal counsel.
Sometimes, the center said, he pressured them to change their more lenient
recommendations to detention. The center cited the case of a 14-year-old boy
arrested for stealing loose change from unlocked cars. Police told his mother
that he would receive probation because it was a minor offense. Just before
entering Ciavarella's courtroom, his mother was asked to sign a waiver of
counsel. She said she wanted her son to have a lawyer, but could not afford to
pay one. He appeared before Ciavarella without counsel - and after a
three-minute hearing was sent to a detention center for a year. The county
commissioners. To further the kickback scheme, the center said, Conahan shut
down Luzerne County's juvenile detention facility in 2002, contending it was
unsafe. Then he persuaded the county commissioners to enter a 20-year, $58
million agreement with PA Child Care L.L.C. to lease the new private facility.
Soon Ciavarella was filling the prison beds with delinquents, allegedly in
exchange for kickbacks. "Conahan had no power to close the center like that,"
said Ronald P. Williams, a member of the interbranch commission and a former
commissioner in nearby Wyoming County. "Why did the commissioners allow him to
get away with it?" The schools. Ciavarella's "zero tolerance" policy was warmly
embraced by school administrators, teachers unions, and many teachers, Muroski
and Williams said. "Everybody loved him," said Muroski. "He was putting bad kids
away. That's how it was perceived." Indeed, even six months after the scandal
became public, two administrators at the Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational Technical
School wrote a letter to the editor of the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader praising
Ciavarella. "His dedication to working with our students created a bond of trust
and confidence among him, the students and the staff," the administrators wrote.
The state court system. The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, which is
charged with investigating and prosecuting complaints of wrongdoing by judges,
received an anonymous complaint about Conahan in 2006. However, the board has
strict confidentiality rules, and it has refused to say whether it followed up
on these allegations. The interbranch commission had hoped to hear testimony
from the board at its first hearing two weeks ago, but the appearance by a board
representative was canceled pending resolution of the confidentiality issue.
Ciavarella's tough stance with juveniles had widespread public support. In 2006,
the Wilkes-Barre Friendly Sons of St. Patrick named Ciavarella its man of the
year. This prompted U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D., Pa.) to read a
congratulation into the Congressional Record. The commission, which must
complete its work by May 31, plans to hold two days of hearings in Wilkes-Barre
next month. Among the scheduled witnesses is Judge Arthur E. Grim, a special
master appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review about 6,000
juvenile cases handled by Ciavarella. Because of the allegations of wrongdoing,
the state Supreme Court has already overturned hundreds of convictions on the
ground that Ciavarella violated the constitutional rights of the defendants.
October 15, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer
The question hung over the hearing like a toxic cloud all day long: How
could two judges in Wilkes-Barre conspire over several years to deprive hundreds
of children of their most basic constitutional rights and send them off in
shackles to detention centers in which they had personal financial interests?
"There is no precedent that provides guidance about how to proceed with anything
we are being asked to do," said Judge John M. Cleland of the state Superior
Court, chairman of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice. The 11-member
commission has been established to investigate what Cleland called "the
breathtaking collapse of the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County." It
includes judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and victims' advocates. They
sat grim-faced and listened to the first day of testimony on the extraordinary
case of two former Luzerne County judges - Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T.
Conahan - who are accused of taking $2.6 million in bribes from private prison
operators over a period of seven years for sending young offenders to two
private juvenile detention centers. Under the "cash-for-kids" scheme,
prosecutors say, the judges conspired to deprive young defendants of their right
to counsel, ordered them into detention even when probation officers didn't
recommend it, pressured probation officials to change their recommendations, and
institutionalized them for offenses as minor as fighting with other students in
school. The main witness was Judge Chester B. Muroski, who took over as
president judge in Luzerne County after the scandal broke. Muroski said that in
2005 he was in charge of the court's juvenile dependency function and complained
because his unit was underfunded by $800,000 while Ciavarella's juvenile
delinquency court was $2 million over budget. He said that a few days later
Conahan transferred him to criminal court even though he had not handled a
criminal case since 1979. But several commission members pressed Muroski on why
he and other Luzerne County Court judges had not done more to stop Conahan and
Ciavarella. "We knew there was something not right," he said. "But the scheme
was so contrived and had so many labyrinths that at first we didn't know money
was involved. Our main concern was the high incarceration rate." Cleland said
the commission would seek to identify "all of those involved who, whether by
action, inaction, or silence, whether by willful choice or benign ignorance,
engaged in an assault on the fairness and impartiality of our legal system." In
addition to the other judges, the commission wants to know the roles of
prosecutors, public defenders, defense attorneys, police, school administrators,
probation officers, court staff, county commissioners, and state agencies with
responsibilities for juveniles. To these, Muroski added another layer of
responsibility - the public. "A lot of people admired what these judges were
doing," he said. "Many people knew how quick these proceedings were, but they
supported them." Muroski said school administrators, teachers, and police
supported and applauded the judges' efforts to get disruptive youths out of the
classroom and off the streets. And he said there was nepotism in the courtroom
itself that provided a "protective shield" for Conahan and Ciavarella. Muroski
noted that between 2001 and 2007, Dr. Frank Vita, Conahan's brother-in-law, was
paid $1.1 million in public funds for court-ordered psychological evaluations -
and many of these reports had evaluation references that were copied and pasted
from other reports. Muroski said that he and the other judges were kept in the
dark about juvenile court proceedings by Ciavarella and Conahan, and that the
court seldom met as a unit to discuss problems. "What you had was a perfect
storm for a court gone rogue - no meetings, no information, and public support."
State Rep. Todd Eachus (D., Luzerne) testified that in 2006, the state Public
Welfare Department informed state legislators from the Wilkes-Barre area that
there was an inordinate amount of incarceration of juveniles in Luzerne County,
"but they said they would handle it." Eachus, a cosponsor of the bill that
created the commission, said Conahan and Ciavarella were responsible for "one of
the darkest chapters in Pennsylvania history." State Sen. Lisa Baker (R.,
Luzerne), the bill's other principal sponsor, cited an "atmosphere of
intimidation that permeated the courtroom and the courthouse." Then she asked:
"Do we really want a commonwealth where we rigorously track every dollar that
moves through casinos, but where we casually lose track of the constitutional
rights of thousands of kids?" There was considerable discussion on whether the
State Judicial Conduct Board, which is charged with investigating and
prosecuting complaints against judges, had received complaints about the two
judges. Muroski said he believed a complaint had been filed in 2005, but he
could not confirm this. Muroski said Conahan arbitrarily, without consulting the
other judges, shut down a county juvenile detention center in 2002 on grounds it
was substandard, paving the way for their young offenders to be sent to the
favored private center. This prompted Judge John C. Uhler of York County, one of
the 11 commission members, to ask, "Did you or your colleagues ever challenge
the closing of this center?" "We were astonished that he did this, but what
could we do?" Muroski replied. "The commissioners went along. They could have
stopped it." The expressions on the commission members' faces went from anger to
disbelief to shock as the testimony unfolded. The plan is to hold as many
hearings as necessary, including two days of sessions next month in
Wilkes-Barre. The scandal led the state Supreme Court to overturn hundreds of
convictions on the ground that Ciavarella violated the constitutional rights of
youths who appeared in his courtroom without lawyers for hearings that lasted
just a few minutes. More convictions are under review. Last month Conahan and
Ciavarella pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering charges growing out of the
scheme. They had agreed to plead guilty in February to lesser charges that
called for 87-month prison sentences, far below federal guidelines. But a
federal judge rejected the deal and said the two judges had not fully accepted
responsibility for the crimes. They switched their pleas to not guilty, and
prosecutors secured a 48-count indictment that includes racketeering, bribery,
and extortion charges.
September 10, 2009 Times-Leader
A federal grand jury filed a 48-count indictment Wednesday against Mark
Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, charging the former Luzerne County judges with
racketeering, extortion, bribery, money laundering, fraud and tax violations.
The indictment, issued by a grand jury in Dauphin County, alleges Conahan and
Ciavarella received millions of dollars in illegal payments in connection with
improper actions they took to facilitate the construction and operation of the
PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers, according to a press
release issued by U.S. Attorney Dennis Pfannenschmidt. In addition to the
charges, prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of at least $2.8 million they allege
is the proceeds of criminal activity, the release said. Pfannenschmidt issued
the press release at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The document provided only a vague
description of the charges. It did not provide any further details of the former
judges’ conduct. A copy of the indictment could not be obtained Wednesday as it
was not publicly filed with the federal court’s electronic system.
Pfannenschmidt did not respond to a request to provide a paper copy of the
indictment. He also declined to comment further on the case. Speculation that
Conahan and Ciavarella would be indicted has been rampant since a plea deal the
men reached with federal prosecutors fell apart last month. The former judges
pleaded guilty in February to charges of honest services fraud and tax evasion
under plea agreement that called for them to serve 87 months in prison. They
withdrew the plea on Aug. 24 after U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik rejected
terms of the agreement, saying the men had not adequately demonstrated they
accepted responsibility for their conduct. Ciavarella’s attorney, Al Flora, and
Conahan’s attorney, Philip Gelso, declined comment on the indictment. Flora said
he expects Ciavarella and Conahan will next appear before a federal magistrate
judge for arraignment on the charges. He did not know when that arraignment
would take place. The charges contained in the indictment are far more serious
and carry significantly stiffer sentences than what Conahan and Ciavarella faced
under the plea deal, according to Douglas McNabb, a Washington, D.C., defense
attorney who specializes in federal law. “It is a very serious set of charges
that could bring substantial jail time if they are convicted on all counts,”
McNabb said. For instance, McNabb said the money laundering and fraud charges
alone each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Although the
indictment was not available, information contained in a complaint filed against
Conahan and Ciavarella in January and documents filed in connection with charges
against two other defendants involved in the scheme provide some insight into
the conduct that likely was the basis of the indictment. The extortion charge
likely refers to attorney Robert Powell, who co-owned the PA and Western PA
Child Care Centers. Powell alleges Ciavarella demanded he pay kickbacks totaling
$772,500 to compensate the judges for decisions they made that benefited the two
juvenile centers. Those decisions included Conahan’s closure in 2002 of the
county-run juvenile facility. Prosecutors allege Ciavarella, the county’s
long-time juvenile judge, ensured a high occupancy rate at the centers by
incarcerating youths even when probation department officials recommended
against detention. Powell pleaded guilty in July to failing to report a felony
and being an accessory after the fact to tax evasion for his role in the scheme.
In addition to the money he paid, prosecutors allege Powell helped funnel
approximately $2 million that was paid to the judges by Robert Mericle, the
contractor who built the two centers. That funneling of money is likely the
basis of the money laundering charge contained in the indictment. Money
laundering involves a scheme to disguise the source of illegally obtained income
to make it appear as though the money was legitimately earned. According to the
initial complaint filed against Conahan and Ciavarella, Powell disguised the
money he paid the judges by listing it as rental payments for a Florida
condominium owned by the judges’ wives. Prosecutors also alleged the part of the
money Mericle paid was funneled through Vision Holdings, a company Powell owned.
It was not clear Wednesday whether the money Mericle paid could be considered as
part of the money laundering charge. Prosecutors do not contend the payment of
the money was illegal, which is a necessary element of money laundering. Mericle
pleaded guilty last week to failing to report a felony. Prosecutors say Mericle
knew that Ciavarella had not reported the money Mericle paid him on his income
tax returns, but failed to disclose that information to federal authorities. At
Mericle’s plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod said the $2
million Mericle paid was a “finder’s fee” to reward Ciavarella for introducing
Mericle to Powell. Zubrod said the payment of the fee itself is a standard
practice in real estate and is not illegal. The illegality came when Mericle
failed to reveal that information to a grand jury and federal prosecutors when
questioned about it.
August 1, 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer
In a major reversal, a federal judge rejected plea agreements yesterday for
two disgraced former Luzerne County Court judges accused of taking kickbacks for
sending juveniles to for-profit detention centers. U.S. District Judge Edwin M.
Kosik issued a five-page order saying Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T.
Conahan had taken actions or made public statements since their February guilty
pleas that demonstrated that they had not accepted responsibility for their
crimes. The order opened the door for the defendants to withdraw their guilty
pleas and go to trial, renegotiate their plea deals, or throw themselves on the
mercy of the court, said Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia University
and a former federal prosecutor. For the third option, however, "this judge has
demonstrated that there might not be that much mercy involved," Richman said.
The agreements, in exchange for pleading guilty to corruption and tax fraud, had
been criticized as too lenient. Both defendants were facing 87 months - less
than 71/2 years - in prison, which was "well below the sentencing guidelines for
the charged offenses," Kosik wrote. Ciavarella and Conahan originally faced
maximum sentences of 25 years each and substantial fines, Kosik wrote. The plea
deals were binding, meaning the judge did not have the discretion to impose his
own sentence. "This is a relatively rare instance," Richman said, "where a judge
is given a take-it-or-leave-it choice on sentencing, and the judge chose to
leave it." Ciavarella and Conahan are accused of collecting a total of $2.6
million over seven years from a former owner of two for-profit detention centers
- one in Luzerne County and the other in Butler County - and their developer.
The ex-judges are accused of helping the detention centers obtain $58 million in
contracts, suppressing a critical audit of one of the centers, and closing a
competing county-run detention center. "The matter is under review with our
client and in consult with the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Al Flora Jr.,
Ciavarella's lawyer. Conahan and his lawyer could not be reached for comment.
"We are reviewing the court's order to determine the appropriate course of
action in this case in light of the court's ruling," Martin C. Carlson, U.S.
attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. Kosik
wrote that in the presentence report, Conahan "refused to discuss the motivation
behind his conduct, attempted to obstruct and impede justice, and failed to
clearly demonstrate affirmative acceptance of responsibility." Ciavarella, Kosik
wrote, "continues to deny what he terms 'quid pro quo,' his receipt of money as
a finder's fee." Kosik said Ciavarella's denials "are self-serving and
abundantly contradicted by the evidence." In a brief interview with the
Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice on Monday, Ciavarella took issue with the way the
media have described him. "You people said I took bribes, that I committed
extortion, that I traded kids for cash, that I had a quid pro quo," Ciavarella
told the newspaper. "Where in my guilty plea does it say that?" Marsha Levick,
chief counsel for the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, which is seeking to
overturn rulings against juveniles the ex-judges sent away and who has filed
civil-rights lawsuits on the youngsters' behalf, said she did not anticipate
Kosik's rejection of the plea deals. Levick said the order reflected Kosik's
"concern about the magnitude of what happened in Luzerne County and the
importance of restoring public confidence in the justice system." As for the
defendants, "I think it's pretty bad news for them," Levick said. In his order,
Kosik paraphrased what has been said about judges, that "integrity is their lot
and proper virtue, the landmark, and he that removes it corrupts the fountain."
"In this case, the fountain from which the public drinks is confidence in the
judicial system, a fountain which may be corrupted for a time well after this
case."
July 28, 2009 American Free Press
Lawyers who argue that thousands of juveniles were sentenced to prison terms
by corrupt judges are petitioning a US federal court in Pennsylvania to preserve
the case record so they can sue for damages. Attorneys are seeking to stop the
destruction of files related to the cases of an unknown number of juveniles who
received prison sentences for minor offenses from two judges who were later
found to have accepted bribes from private prison companies. The petition before
a federal judge in Scranton, Pennsylvania came after the state's Supreme Court
in March agreed to expunge the youths' criminal records, but also ordered the
destruction of their files. Without at least one copy of the relevant files,
attorney Lourdes Rosado told AFP, the juveniles will be unable to pursue a civil
case seeking damages. "The federal court needs that information in order to
decide whether or not that claim is valuable and whether or not the children are
entitled to relief," said Rosado, associate director of the Juvenile Law Center,
a non-profit group which advocates for children's rights. After months of
procedural battles, the state Supreme Court agreed last week to preserve under
seal a copy of documents related to 400 juveniles who have so far been
identified as victims and have filed lawsuits. But, according to Rosado, the
total number of victims "could be up to 6,500" and attorneys are now calling for
a class action lawsuit to be certified for all the children who appeared before
the judges between 2003 and 2008. Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan of
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania admitted last February to having accepted 2.6
million dollars from private prisons in exchange for giving juveniles sentences
that were disproportionate to their offenses. Ciavarella and Conahan have filed
a petition seeking the dismissal of lawsuits seeking damages, citing "the
doctrine of judicial immunity." Among those sentenced by the judges was a young
man who received nine months for having stolen a jar of nutmeg worth four
dollars, and another juvenile who was sentenced to three months for stealing
some change from a car.
July 24, 2009 The Morning Call
The sense of putrefaction in everything the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
touches keeps growing. Even if this court did not play a key role in other
scandals -- including the illegal pay grab for judges and other politicians, and
the illegal enactment of slot machine casino legislation -- its actions in the
Luzerne County Court corruption case would illustrate just how wretched it is.
Most recently, we learned that the Supremes connived to help a fellow robe
wearer, former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, escape accountability in
lawsuits that threaten to put a dent in the millions of dollars in payoffs he
took. (Ciavarella and another judge pleaded guilty in federal court in a case
that involved the placement of juveniles -- on the flimsiest of evidence and in
return for big payoffs -- in a commercial detention facility run by the son of a
former Supreme.) On Wednesday, the front page had an Associated Press story
saying the current Supremes refused to preserve juvenile records deemed
essential for the lawsuits. That story noted a ''Hobson's choice'' offered by
the court. It would preserve the records of any juvenile who requested it, but
that would mean the juvenile's ''adjudication'' (in essence, a finding of guilty
by Ciavarella the crook) would be reinstated. We'll let you smart alecks
preserve the documents necessary for you to sue our kindred spirit, the Supreme
seemed to be saying, but maybe we'll throw you back in juvie jail for trying to
exercise that right. On Thursday, a smaller AP story said the Supremes would
allow records to be preserved, but only for juveniles who have already filed
lawsuits against Ciavarella. Records showing how Ciavarella victimized thousands
of other juveniles, who might sue if they can get the documentation to prove
their claims, will not be protected. It was not clear if the Hobson's choice was
still in place. Ciavarella and fellow Judge Michael Cannon began their corrupt
jurisprudence in 2003, taking money to confine juveniles in a private jail owned
by Gregory Zappala, the son of former Supreme Stephen Zappala Sr. By 2007, the
Pennsylvania Juvenile Law Center found a pattern of children being denied their
rights in Luzerne County. In April 2008, the JLC petitioned the Supremes to
intercede. The Supremes trashed the petition without explanation. In this
climate, similar to the one in Mississippi involving civil rights cases a half
century ago, there was no way those two Luzerne judges were going to be held
accountable in any state court. (All state courts are regulated by the
Supremes.) When the two judges were finally prosecuted in federal court in
January, the state Supremes were forced to act. They appointed a master, retired
Berks County Judge Arthur Grim, to investigate. By March, the Supremes had to
accept Grim's recommendation to vacate the obviously bogus Luzerne County
juvenile adjudications. In May, the Supremes issued a notice saying the juvenile
victims could get copies of their records, but the JLC observed it was
''replete'' with so much legalese that parents could never understand it, and it
also gave them only a few weeks to act. The JLC asked the Supremes for a
clarification the families could understand. They refused, again with no
explanation. A few days later, however, Master Grim did issue an order to
provide for such a clarification. That move was killed by the Supremes the very
next day. When the JLC sought a federal court order to protect the records, the
state Supremes sent a letter to the federal court opposing it, and kept that
letter secret from the JLC or any of the parents. The feds went along with the
Supremes, citing ''federalism'' prerogatives that serve to keep systems
independent of each other. A JLC motion then observed that the Supremes
delivered a threat. ''The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in denying requests for
preservation of a single copy of juveniles' records for the sole purpose of
federal litigation, has explained that it will not permit juveniles'
adjudications to be vacated ... if they request a copy of their records to
prevent their destruction,'' the JLC motion says. In other words, if you try to
preserve the proof so you can sue our fellow robe wearer for some of the loot he
took in illegal payoffs, we may arrange for you to do it from a cell in a
juvenile detention center. All Pennsylvanians, not just the families of Luzerne
County, need to start looking at what happened here -- and they need to start
sniffing at the smell of putrefaction -- from a very personal viewpoint. If
innocent, or relatively innocent, children in one county can be incarcerated
just so a couple of judges can collect millions, it can happen anywhere. It can
happen to your children, and you can expect no help from the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court. In fact, you can expect the opposite. I keep wondering what it
will take for people to get angry enough to demand that their elected officials
make some changes.
February 26, 2009 New York Times
More than 70 juveniles and their families filed a
class-action lawsuit Thursday against two former judges who pleaded guilty this
month in a scheme that involved their taking kickbacks to put young offenders in
privately run detention centers. The suit contends that before resigning last
year, the judges “used kids as commodities that could be traded for cash,”
placing an “indelible stain” on the juvenile justice system of Luzerne County in
northeastern Pennsylvania. The suit, filed in the Federal District Court in
Scranton by the Juvenile Law Center, seeks to have all profits that the
detention centers earned from the scheme placed in a fund that would compensate
the youths for their emotional distress. In an earlier filing, the law center,
based in Philadelphia, asked the State Supreme Court to clear the records of all
juveniles who appeared before the judges, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T.
Conahan. The suit brought Thursday is the third filed on behalf of juvenile
offenders. The two others, one of which also seeks class-action status, were
filed by private lawyers. Mr. Ciavarella and Mr. Conahan pleaded guilty on Feb.
12 to federal charges of wire and income-tax fraud for having taken more than
$2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to the two privately operated
centers, run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care.
“Judge Ciavarella’s placement of so many children in juvenile facilities without
regard for their underlying charges suggests a Procrustean scheme that violated
one of the core principles of the juvenile justice system — the right to
individualized treatment and rehabilitation,” Lourdes M. Rosado, associate
director of the Juvenile Law Center, said in a statement. Lawyers for the two
former judges declined to comment on the suit. As for the criminal investigation
of court personnel, two additional people have already been charged, and federal
officials say they may soon charge others involved in the scheme.
February 19, 2009 Standard-Speaker
A witness will testify that one or both of the disgraced Luzerne County
judges who’ve pleaded guilty to accepting millions in kickbacks have “direct
connections” to jailed mobster William “Big Billy” D’Elia, according to a
petition to be filed today in the state Supreme Court by lawyers for the owners
of the Standard-Speaker. The petition asks the court to vacate a $3.5 million
defamation verdict issued by suspended Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. in June 2006
against The Scranton Times L.P., a related company called The Times Partners and
former Citizens’ Voice reporter Edward Lewis. Following a non-jury trial,
Ciavarella ruled in favor of West Pittston businessman Thomas A. Joseph, who
claimed he was defamed in a series of newspaper stories in 2001 following
federal raids at Joseph’s business and homes owned by Joseph, D’Elia and others.
In its petition, Scranton Times L.P. alleges that then-President Judge Michael
T. Conahan and his first cousin, Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr.
“steered” the case into Ciavarella’s courtroom, ignoring the usual practice in
which cases were assigned on a rotating basis. Ciavarella issued one-sided
rulings and ignored evidence that Joseph and D’Elia were close associates who
were suspected of money laundering, the petition says. D’Elia was arrested on
money laundering charges in May 2006, a month before the trial. Joseph was never
charged. In his opinion, Ciavarella wrote “there was no credible evidence
presented at trial linking the two men beyond being social acquaintances.” In
the past week, Conahan and Ciavarella have pleaded guilty to accepting $2.6
million in kickbacks from a juvenile detention owner and contractor and Sharkey
has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $70,000 from the county. “The unusual
handling of judicial assignments in Joseph v. Scranton Times, the scope and
subject of newspaper articles in question, and a cascade of recent revelations
regarding corruption in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas strongly
suggest the $3.5 million non-jury verdict was rigged …” the petition says.
“Petitioners have identified a potential witness who, on reliable information
and to Petitioners’ belief, would testify concerning direct connections between
D’Elia and Judge Conahan and/or Judge Ciavarella.” The petition asks the court
to allow Scranton Times L.P. to gather evidence that it believes will reveal
additional evidence of ties between D’Elia and one or both of the judges. Kevin
C. Abbott, an attorney for Scranton Times L.P., declined comment on the petition
or the identity of the unnamed witness. “We’re going to let it speak for
itself,” he said. Joseph and his attorneys did not immediately return phone
messages. Conahan, Ciavarella and Sharkey could not be reached for comment.
Ciavarella’ attorney, Albert Flora Jr., said he hadn’t seen the petition and
could not comment. Conahan’s attorney, Philip Gelso, and Sharkey’s attorney,
Bruce Miller, did not immediately return phone messages. D’Elia’s attorney,
James Swetz, did not immediately return a phone message. D’Elia, 62, the
longtime reputed head of the Bufalino crime family is serving nine years in
federal prison for money laundering and witness tampering. Scranton Times L.P.’s
petition argues that Ciavarella ignored evidence in federal search warrant
affidavits presented during the trial that stated D’Elia and Joseph were
“involved in and/or have knowledge of various federal criminal violations.” The
affidavits quoted confidential sources who alleged Joseph and D’Elia were
involved in money laundering. The petition also argues that Sharkey and Conahan
worked together to ensure the pre-trial hearings and the actual trial would be
assigned to Ciavarella even though Ciavarella and Conahan had assured Scranton
Times L.P. that the selection of a trial judge would be made at random by the
Court Administrator’s Office. The petition cited a record recently obtained from
the Court Administrator’s Office that notes the case was assigned by WTS, which
are Sharkey’s initials, at the direction of MTC, which are Conahan’s. Conahan
refused a request from Scranton Times L.P. to have a judge from another county
hear the case. Scranton Times L.P. unsuccessfully appealed the Ciavarella’s
verdict in state Superior Court, which upheld the verdict in September. The
petition to be filed today cites numerous aspects of the corruption
investigation that led to charges against Conahan, Ciavarella and Sharkey
including: A statement from attorneys for Robert J. Powell, a Butler Township
attorney whose company allegedly paid some of the kickbacks to the two judges,
that claimed Conahan and Ciavarella had extorted payments from him because he
was “particularly vulnerable to the pressures that these Judges could bring to
bear on him and his clients.” A review of the system for appointing neutral
arbitrators in certain insurance cases in Luzerne County Court ordered by
President Judge Chester B. Muroski in reaction to media reports of rumors of
case-fixing and the possible manipulation of that process by Conahan and
Ciavarella. A column in the legal journal The Legal Intelligencer citing rumors
that “the investigation of the judges was the result of William D’Elia talking.
D’Elia has been in federal custody since October 2006. In July 2007, he appeared
before a Dauphin County grand jury that later recommended perjury charges
against Dunmore landfill magnate Louis A. DeNaples. DeNaples is accused of
hiding his ties to D’Elia and other crime figures when seeking a state casino
license. Joseph appeared before the same grand jury in August 2007. Federal
prosecutors say D’Elia aided the Dauphin County case against DeNaples and he
could win a reduced sentence for continued cooperation. The perjury case against
DeNaples has been stalled by his appeals in state Supreme Court. Conahan and
DeNaples served together on the board of First National Community Bank in
Dunmore, where DeNaples was chairman until federal bank regulators suspended him
in reaction to the perjury charges in January 2008. Conahan resigned from the
board last month after the charges against him were announced. In the past two
weeks the bank has filed legal action to collect $4.15 million from defaulted
loans guaranteed by Conahan, Ciavarella, bank board member Michael G. Cestone,
Powell and his law partner, Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill A. Moran. The loans
were taken by W-Cat Inc., the company behind a failed townhouse development in
Wright Township.
January 27, 2009 AP
Two Pennsylvania judges agreed Monday to plead guilty to fraud charges
accusing them of taking $2.6 million in kickbacks in return for placing juvenile
offenders into certain detention facilities. The plea agreements for Luzerne
County President Judge Mark Ciavarella (shiv-ah-REL'-lah) and Senior Judge
Michael Conahan (CON'-ah-han) call for sentences of more than seven years in
prison. Both judges have agreed to step down from the bench. Authorities say the
judges took kickbacks between 2003 and 2007 in exchange for guaranteeing the
placement of juvenile offenders into facilities operated by PA Child Care and
Western PA Child Care LLC. In some cases, Ciavarella ordered children into
detention even when juvenile probation officers did not recommend it. "They sold
their oaths of offices to the highest bidders," Deron Roberts, chief of the
FBI's Scranton office, said at a news conference Monday. U.S. Attorney Martin
Carlson stressed the charges were "the first developments in an ongoing
investigation" into public corruption at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. PA
Child Care and Western PA Child Care have not been charged with wrongdoing.
Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll said her office would
review cases in which offenders might have been improperly placed into juvenile
detention. The Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group,
complained last year to the state Supreme Court about the treatment of children
in Luzerne County juvenile court, asking for the nullification of decisions in
hundreds of cases. Juveniles were often denied their constitutional right to
lawyers and were disproportionately sentenced to ill-advised, out-of-home
placements, the group said. "We feel that it's a great day for the young people
and the youth of this area to see the system really does work, the system really
isn't rigged against them," said Jack Van Reeth, whose daughter was ordered
detained in 2007 by Ciavarella. "It's just wonderful to see that the scheme of
jailing for dollars has come to an end." Jessica Van Reeth, then 16, was sent to
a juvenile wilderness camp for three months after admitting that she had
possessed a cigarette lighter and pipe in school. She told The Associated Press
last year that the items were found in a purse she agreed to hold for a friend.
The family, expecting probation, waived her right to a lawyer, unaware of the
potential consequences. Jack Van Reeth said Monday his daughter is "extremely
happy. She said that this is better than Christmas."
Moshannon Valley Correctional Center
Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Cornell
September 17, 2009 The Tribune-Democrat
Two former guards at a federal prison in Philipsburg pleaded guilty Wednesday to
providing inmates with contraband, including cell phones, cigarettes, MP3
players and muscle enhancers. Bryan Williams II and Ryan J. Spicher were
sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown to one year of
probation and a $1,000 fine each. They had pleaded guilty to one count each of
providing contraband inside the Moshannon Valley Correctional Center in Centre
County. The prison is a low-security lockup for male prisoners in the federal
system. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines said Williams was involved
in the criminal activity from June 2007 to Dec. 11, 2007. Spicher furnished the
contraband to inmates from January 2007 to Aug. 31 of that same year, Haines
said. The men could have faced prison terms of up to six months and fines of up
to $5,000. Moshannon Valley prison is run by Cornell Cos.
February 11, 2009 The Progress News
At yesterday's Clearfield County commissioners' meeting, Decatur Township
Supervisor Andy Rebar asked the commissioners to correct inequities in property
taxes by performing a countywide property reassessment. According to Mr. Rebar,
county residents are unfairly shouldering too much of the property tax burden
while commercial property owners are getting a break. Mr. Rebar said the impetus
for this occurred when the Cornell private prison opened several years ago in
Decatur Township. He said it was projected to provide local municipalities and
the school district with $1 million a year in tax revenue, but after the county
assessed the property it only ended up paying roughly half that. Mr. Rebar said
he then looked at what other commercial property owners were paying in real
estate taxes and said he discovered that they were disproportionately low when
compared to residential properties.
May 5, 2008 The Progress News
Some 126 local, county and state officials and guests gathered Friday at Brady
Township Community Center for the Clearfield County Association of Township
Officials Spring Convention. There are 30 second class townships in the county
as well as 19 boroughs and one city… Andy Rebar, Decatur Township supervisor,
spoke to the group about the Cornell facility that he said is a federally
funded, federally contracted private prison built in Decatur Township. He said
he was "wholeheartedly" in favor of it and the annual funding for the township
was to be $57,000 to $62,000 but instead only $15,290 was received. He said the
township has hired a legal team and will fight this. He asked for help from
other officials by writing a letter of support. He said property assessments
need to be fair and balanced. Clearfield County commissioner Mark McCracken said
the county is aware of the situation and is taking action.
September 22, 2007 Altoona Mirror
A federal judge has rejected a request by an inmate at the Moshannon Valley
Correctional Center to stop sending “Latino” inmates to the facility. Rudolph P.
Keszthelyi contended in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Johnstown that
prison authorities are segregating primarily illegal immigrants at Moshannon
Valley, a private prison operated by Cornell Co. Inc. of Houston, Texas. The
prison, located in the Phillipsburg area, has been open for about a year. In his
suit, Keszthelyi claims that the atmosphere at the prison is volatile because of
a large number of Latino inmates, and a minority of black inmates from
Washington, D.C., are being housed there. The prison holds few whites.
Keszthelyi asked for an injunction to bring about an immediate change so that
the inmate population will be more racially balanced. Federal magistrate Lisa
Pupo Lenihan recommended in August that no injunction be issued because she said
Keszthelyi could not show “irreparable harm” if the request was denied. The
inmate filed objections to Lenihan’s report, arguing that segregation of inmates
was illegal and noting that “the atmosphere at Moshannon Valley is oppressive,
as at any time the majority of Latino prisoners can decide to take matters into
their own hands and cause harm to a minority group or one individual.” He said
the situation is causing him “severe emotional distress.” U.S. District Judge
Kim Gibson this week adopted the magistrate’s recommendations and dismissed the
request for an injunction. The magistrate said any request for an injunction
“must always be viewed with great caution because judicial restraint is
especially called for in dealing with the complex and intractable problems of
prison administration.” She said “The federal courts are not overseers of the
day-to-day management of prisons.” Keszthelyi claims a race riot broke out Feb.
6 at the prison, resulting in a month-and-a-half lockdown of the facility.
May 1, 2007 Centre Daily Times
A school district and township, set to take in more than $200,000 in annual
property tax revenue from Pennsylvania's first private prison, are now appealing
a county assessment of the $74 million facility in an effort to get additional
funds. The appeals process could take months and discussion at the first hearing
Monday indicated the matter is likely headed to the Clearfield County Court of
Common Pleas. "This is an unusual facility that is going to take some unusual
valuation, conclusions, theories, projections and assumptions, and I see this
case in court," said Anthony R. Thompson, an Allentown attorney representing
Cornell Cos. Inc. -- a Texas firm that built the Moshannon Valley Correctional
Facility. The 1,300-bed prison, owned by W.B.P. Leasing Inc., is located in
Decatur Township, which filed an appeal in March. Shortly thereafter, the
Philipsburg-Osceola Area school board authorized its solicitor, Winifred
Jones-Wenger, to join with the township in the appeal. She has not yet filed the
paperwork to intervene but plans to do so, she said Monday. But the local
solicitors won't be handling the case themselves. The township and school
district have retained a Pittsburgh firm, Hollinshead, Mendelson, Bresnahan and
Nixon. Clearfield County assessed the prison at about $2.5 million, and its
market value is listed about $10 million. From the time Decatur Township and
Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District received their first tax payments from
the facilities, officials from both entities voiced displeasure, saying the
revenue wasn't what they expected. The facility cost $74 million to construct.
In correspondence dating back to the late 1990s, the prison had promised almost
$1 million annually in combined tax revenues and payments. The township and
school district haven't seen a third of that since the prison opened a year ago,
and they won't, based on the current full assessment. But Cornell, which was
embroiled in a legal battle over whether state law allows private prisons, has
said the scope of the project changed significantly, resulting in a much smaller
facility with less business than was first proposed seven years ago. At the
onset of the hearing Monday, the county assessment appeals board asked to see an
appraisal of the prison. Attorney William P. Bresnahan, of the Pittsburgh firm,
was unable to provide one because an appraiser had only been retained 10 days
ago. He asked the board for more time. "We thought it would be much more helpful
if we went through this proceeding with the real estate appraiser to give you
his insight," he told the board. In an interview afterward, Bresnahan explained
that finding someone certified in Pennsylvania who could appraise the prison was
a difficult task. But Paul Griffith, of Integra Realty Resources, was retained,
he said. Thompson asked the board not to allow the hearing to continue. The
matter will go to court, he said, and he would like to see it "resolved sooner
rather than later." He also questioned whether the board had the authority to
issue a continuance for the hearing. The board decided to talk with its
solicitor and make a decision sometime this week.
February 8, 2007 Altoona Mirror
An inmate at the recently opened private prison in Clearfield County wants
more diversity in its population. Rudolph P. Keszthelyi, serving a 10-year
federal sentence, said the prison, Moshannon Valley Corrections Center, and the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons have limited the population to illegal immigrants who
have committed crimes and to inmates from Washington, D.C., who are almost all
black. Keszthelyi says it’s a violation of the 14th Amendment to segregate
inmates. Keszthelyi said in its first five months, the facility experienced two
food strikes and “numerous violent assaults between prisoners of different
ethnic origins.” He was one of two Moshannon Valley inmates whose lawsuits were
filed in the U.S. District Court clerk’s office in Johnstown this week. The
second inmate, Ervin Leka, serving 18 months for conspiracy to possess
marijuana, complained that the prison is stamping mail that inmates send to
their families outside the U.S. with large red letters, stating “Inmate Mail.”
“My family is in a small village and now is ostracized because somebody saw the
envelope with ‘Inmate Mail’ stamped on it,” Leka stated in a complaint to prison
authorities.
February 7, 2007 WJAC TV
Security has been heightened and the Moshannon Valley Corrections Center
remains on lockdown, after a Tuesday lunch-hour inmate fight. According to
officials, at least one person was hurt and additional personnel had to be
called in to help clear the scene. Prison administrators said things got out of
hand when two groups of inmates began arguing about a basketball game. One
inmate suffered a head injury and a medical helicopter was called to the scene.
Ambulance and other emergency crews were called in, but were held at the prison
perimeter until the scene was secured. There is no word yet on other possible
injuries.
January 15, 2007 Centre Daily Times
The Moshannon Valley Correctional Facility, a $74 million private prison
expected to provide an economic boom to Clearfield County, will not generate the
amount of tax revenues it promised local officials years ago. Cornell Companies
Inc., a Texas-based firm that owns the facility and may soon merge with Veritas
Capital in New York, says the 1,300-bed facility is markedly smaller than what
was initially proposed. And that's why the prison's tax bill is several hundred
thousand dollars less than local officials expected. "The scale of the project
was cut fairly significantly," said Christine Parker, a Cornell spokeswoman. In
correspondence dating back as early as 1999, Morris and Decatur townships and
the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District were told that they would see
almost $1 million annually in combined tax revenues and payments. The townships
and district haven't seen a third of that since the prisoners arrived in spring
2006. And they won't ever see what they expected, now that the facility has been
fully assessed. "I truly hope that this is a mistake and not some sort of
favoritism," said Andrew Rebar, supervisors chairman of Decatur Township, where
the facility is located. "I won't be able to live with that." In a letter to the
state attorney general in 2001, then- Superintendent Sam Peterson explained the
grave situation facing the Philipsburg-Osceola school district and how he
thought the private prison would help. At the time, concerns were raised about
whether state law would allow a private prison to be built, and the project was
in jeopardy. "I have seen our district student population drop by 1,000 since
the late 1970s," Peterson wrote. "This is primarily due to the decline of the
coal industry and the loss of a couple of significant employers." Based on
company-driven estimates, the facility would bring $600,000 annually in property
taxes to the school district, he said. "I have lived in this area for 26 years
and can assure you that nothing of such magnitude has ever presented itself as a
viable economic option to the area's residents," he wrote. The attorney general
allowed the project to move ahead. But it wasn't the same project that was
originally proposed. In the seven years that had passed in resolving legal
issues, the federal Bureau of Prisons changed the scope of the project. The
prison was supposed to comprise three buildings. Now it has only one. And
Cornell, Parker said, "lost all of the business that would have come along from
it." Private prisons sprung up elsewhere, and "the needs of the federal Bureau
of Prisons changed," she said. So did the expected tax revenue. Last week,
Philipsburg-Osceola Area school officials said they did not receive any tax
payments from the prison. After digging further through their records, they
realized that they did receive about $51,000, which was based on a partial
assessment of the facility. Now the facility has been fully assessed at $2.5
million. And, at most, the district will receive $232,730 annually from it in
tax payments. "I would love to have it much higher, but I am very restricted by
what I can do," said Mary Ann Wesdock, director of the Clearfield County
Assessment Office. "I have to work within the structure that we have with regard
to our base year and the values that we are permitted to use." Clearfield
County's last reassessment was in 1989. Rebar said he was sick to his stomach
when he realized that the township would receive only about $15,000 annually in
tax revenues. "It is a drop in the bucket," said Rebar, who expected about
$60,000. "That is our philosophy here." Morris Township, where the prison's
water tower sits, is also not satisfied. Cornell's chief operating officer, in a
1999 letter to the township, said its general contractor would make a "one-time
only investment in Morris Township of $250,000 upon the township's endorsement
of this facility." The letter also indicated that the township would get an
annual $191,734 payment in lieu of property taxes. Troy Hill Road, near the
prison, also was supposed to be paved by Cornell, the letter indicated. Township
Solicitor F. Cortez Bell III said the township hasn't received anything.
Although a prison building was not constructed in Morris Township as planned,
"there is a water tower." "The supervisors have authorized me to take whatever
action is necessary," said Bell, who also is a Clearfield County assistant
district attorney. "We have even talked about eminent domain proceedings."
Morris Township would have received payments, Parker said, if the prison was
constructed as originally planned.
January 10, 2007 Centre Daily Times
Uncertain of what its financial situation is, the Philipsburg-Osceola Area
school board is trying to decide which way to throw the dice as it develops next
year's budget. And the one revenue source the board hoped to get tax dollars
from this year -- the newly constructed private prison -- appears to have
slipped between the cracks. The district has not received a single tax payment
from the prison so far, school officials said Tuesday. The crux of the dilemma
facing Philipsburg-Osceola is that the board must have a preliminary budget
drafted by Jan. 25. But school officials, who just stepped into their positions
a few months ago, say they have no clue what all of their expenses are and don't
want to rely on the figures contained in the previous deficit-laden budget. The
board could wait until the end of the year to draft a complete budget, but then
it must vow not to raise taxes above the state-mandated limit of 4.9 percent. If
the district needed additional revenue, it would have to cut staff and programs
in order to pay for its expenses. "I don't want to do that," said Cathy Hayes, a
board member. On the other hand, if the board decided to increase taxes more
than 4.9 percent, its budget would need voter approval by referendum. Several
school officials doubted that they could win the taxpayers' support. Nor are
they sure the community could handle any more tax increases. Last year, the
board increased taxes 27 percent in Clearfield County and 5 percent in Centre
County. "I could not, in my best judgment, ask to go over 4.9 percent. It would
just be devastating," said Mike Conte, the school district's director of
finance. "Whatever we have to do, we have to keep within that range." The budget
constraints, including the tax-increase limit and early budget schedule, are all
the result of the state's latest property tax law, Act 1. The legislation
mandated a series of new budget changes for almost all school districts across
the state. The board was at odds over what to do by the end of its meeting
Tuesday night. It is expected to decide at its next meeting on Tuesday. Board
member Thad Ritter appeared to be supportive of drafting a preliminary budget by
next week. He said if the district had to raise taxes above 4.9 percent, it
would have to sell its case to the taxpayers and explain what programs would be
cut without the additional revenue. "I think we need to submit the preliminary
budget just in case we need the referendum," he said. The board was hoping to
receive some tax revenues from the Moshannon Valley Correctional Facility.
Earlier reports show that the district expected at least a couple hundred
thousand annually. The prison is up and running, and Conte said the district has
not received any payments to date.
March 25, 2003
Ending a four-year standoff, a Texas corrections firm has won the go-ahead to
build Pennsylvania's first privately owned prison, officials said Tuesday.
The 1,000-bed prison for federal inmates, which will be built by next year on
reclaimed strip mines in Clearfield County, Pa., will be maintained and operated
by Houston-based Cornell Companies, Inc. Cornell owns eight other prisons
nationwide. The company was stalled in Pennsylvania since 1999 because
state law does not allow private firms to house federal prisoners. But a rare
agreement, finalized this week, will let Cornell guards use deadly force to
control prisoners - with authority delegated by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
No other prison in the state will be allowed to be owned by a private company.
(AP)
March 23, 2002
For more than two years, Pennsylvania's Attorney General Mike Fisher has stood
by his objections to Cornell Corrections' plans to build a private prison in
Clearfield County, saying that state law did not allow a corporation to be a
jailer. In an exclusive interview with the Progress, Mr. Fisher said his
office has formulated a plan that might "satisfy everyone concerned."
"What we're trying to do is federalize the prison," Rep. Lynn Herman
said yesterday, "it will then be legal." Cornell, which would be
the contracted operator of the facility, would also own the property and the
structure, allowing the local tax-base to benefit. Not everyone sees the
proposal as good news, however. "It was Mr. Fisher who said that
private companies cannot own and operate prisons without the General Assembly's
authorization," said state Rep. Camile "Bud" George, D-74 of
Houtzdale, in a statement this week. "I can assure you that
authorization has not been given." He called the proposal a
"deal kept secret from the media, the citizens of Clearfield County and
legislators of all stripes," and said the issues has become "a
political animal rather than a question of what is right for the people..."
(Clearfield Progress)
The federal government yesterday
lifted a moratorium that helped put a two-year freeze on what would be
Pennsylvania's only privately owned prison. That left developers
suggesting that the Clearfield County project could go to construction by
spring. But they still face stiff opposition from Gov. Tom Ridge and state
Attorney General Mike Fisher. "Our position has remained unchanged,
that state law as currently written doesn't allow incarceration of inmates by
private entities," Fisher spokesman Sean Connolly said yesterday. The
federal government froze work in June 1999, when a locally based group, the
Citizens Advisory Committee on Private Prisons, filed a complaint charging that
bureau hadn't done environmental homework on the project. Wednesday,
federal Judge D. Brooks Smith in Johnstown ruled that all was well -- a decision
that opponents are deciding whether to appeal. (Post Gazette)
Monroe County Correctional
Facility
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Canteen (formerly run by Aramark)
September 10, 2009 Pocono Record
A new company is serving meals to inmates and staff and the Monroe County
Correctional Facility. Canteen Correctional Services, a division of Compass
Group USA, has been doing the cooking since Sept. 1. Canteen was awarded a
three-year contract at $622,388 per year, replacing Aramark, which had been
employed at the Snydersville jail for five years. Staff members are happy with
the new menu and larger portions, says Acting Warden Donna Asure. "We've gotten
great comments," said Asure, who also is a county commissioner. "The staff is
satisfied with the staff meals." Four Canteen employees, assisted by inmates who
apply for positions, prepare about 1,200 meals daily in the prison kitchen.
Inmates eat in the day rooms of their assigned units. Staff members eat in the
employee dining room. Aramark was the subject of at least a few complaints
before losing its bid for a renewed contract. "We have had several complaints,"
Asure said. "We tried to work things out." The county has options to extend
Canteen's contract beyond the current three years, she said.
Montgomery
County Jail
Eagleville, Pennsylvania
Correctional Medical Care
March 20, 2010 Democrat & Chronicle
During the past decade the family that now manages medical care for Monroe
County jails has been entangled in lawsuits with claims ranging from significant
misappropriation of company funds to unusual contentions that marital infidelity
led to a private investigator bugging their house. Emre Umar, the president of
Correctional Medical Care Inc., is now accused in a local lawsuit of harassing
and ultimately firing a jail medical employee, April D'Amico of Rochester, who
alleges she had an affair with Umar. D'Amico alleges that Umar assured her "that
she was a valuable employee; that he would always take care of her; and, that if
she ever tried to use their relationship against him that he 'would destroy'
her." When D'Amico wanted to end the relationship, Umar proceeded to call her
dozens of times, constantly harassing her before finally firing her, alleges the
lawsuit, filed this month in U.S. District Court in Rochester. Timothy Myers, a
Pennsylvania-based attorney representing Umar and his company, said the
allegations "are baseless." The attorneys are seeking dismissal of the lawsuit
and allege that D'Amico cost Correctional Medical Care "hundreds of thousands of
dollars" through "misconduct." Despite the legal issues for Correctional Medical
Care, there have not been any concerns raised about the medical care the company
provides. In isolation, D'Amico's federal lawsuit may not raise questions about
the management of CMC. But Umar and his wife, Maria, the company's chief
executive officer, have been involved in another unusual lawsuit, in which the
couple alleged they were harassed by a Chicago businessman and his contracted
private investigator after Maria broke off a seven-year relationship with the
businessman. And Emre Umar and his father, Dr. Kenan Umar, were embroiled in
litigation against each other after the sale of a previous prison health care
provider the two managed and owned, court records from Pennsylvania show. The
father and son accused each other of harming the company through unauthorized
personal use of its revenues. Reached Tuesday at his office near Philadelphia,
Emre Umar declined to comment about his current or past litigation. He did say
the company is providing quality medical care for Monroe County's two jail
facilities. Sheriff's Office spokesman John Helfer also said CMC is providing
good care to inmates. He noted that CMC is accredited by a national agency. "We
have found they either meet or exceed those (accreditation) standards," Helfer
said. Privatized jail care -- The county privatized jail medical services about
a decade ago but has struggled to settle on a company to provide quality,
cost-effective care. The first company hired was Prison Health Services, but the
county stopped contracting with PHS in 2003 in the aftermath of an inmate death
in which the state was sharply critical of care. The county then contracted with
Correctional Medical Services into 2008. The county is now suing CMS, alleging
that the company did not provide staffing at the jails as contractually
promised. CMS has denied the allegations. In 2008, the county began its contract
with Correctional Medical Care, the Umar-run company. The County Legislature
unanimously approved the CMC contract. The county contends that CMC was the best
choice among five providers that answered a request for proposal — or RFP. Asked
whether any information about past lawsuits involving Umar came to light during
the county's due diligence, county spokesman Noah Lebowitz responded in an
e-mail: "It doesn't appear so based on the information in the RFP file." The key
issues for county officials were a company's "proposed fees; understanding of
the project; degree of relevant experience; technical competence; references;
capacity and availability to perform the services; and local office," Lebowitz
wrote. County officials believe that privatized health care, like that provided
by CMC, is "the best way to ensure quality services at a fair cost for
taxpayers," Lebowitz wrote. The Umars have experience managing a major prison
health care provider — Correctional Physician Services Inc., which provided care
in Pennsylvania state prisons and elsewhere. CPS was created in 1989 by Dr.
Kenan Umar, who later employed his son, Emre, and made him a vice president,
court records show. In 1999, Dr. Umar alleged that his son removed all of the
CPS money from a bank account — more than $1 million — without permission. Emre
Umar contended he was entitled to the money, and the t |