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A University of Florida criminology professor who became a leading privatization advocate may be slapped with $20,000 in civil fines for conflict-of-interest violations. Florida’s Commission on Ethics reached a proposed settlement with Dr. Charles Thomas, who was exposed for the violations by Ken Kopczynski, a research assistant for the Florida Police Benevolent Association.
A stipulation had been reached in April between Thomas and the commission, finding probable cause that a conflict of interest existed through: Thomas’ ownership of private corrections corporate stock at the same time he produced an annual report used by investment firms to determine the value of those stocks; Thomas’ employment as a consultant for the Florida Correctional Privatization Commission at the same time he had a financial interest in the outcome of privatizing correctional facilities; and Thomas’ $3 million contract for consulting work involving the Corrections Corporation of America and Prison Real Estate Investment Trust merger last year.
That agreement in April sought a $2,000 fine against Thomas, as well as his resignation and other penalties. The nine-member commission rejected the agreement because it felt it was too lenient for conflict-of-interest violations. The latest settlement must go to the commission for final resolution.
The Corrections Corporation of America is looking over its shoulder now that staff members, attorneys and family members of inmates have complained that a new private prison in Tulsa, Okla., is severely understaffed.
CCA received a three-year $14.8 million contract after it assured Tulsa County officials that it could operate the prison for $2 million less than the sheriff’s office could. Only in operation for two months, staff members have quit out of frustration forcing the county commissioner to monitor the number of staff on board to ensure CCA is in compliance with the contract.
In August alone, there were nine inmate-on-inmate assaults and three suicide attempts reported.
State officials have stopped the construction of a private prison in Pennsylvania that would house more than 1,000 inmates from Washington, D.C.
D. Michael Fisher, attorney general for Pennsylvania, has threatened legal action against Cornell Corrections Inc. if it builds the prison on land located 250 miles northwest of the District of Columbia. He declares that Pennsylvania has no law or statute that permits private prisons. The company started construction in the spring and has spent more than $11 million. Construction of the prison was slated for completion in December.
Cornell wants to build the prison on a tract of land in a poor section of central Pennsylvania. The Citizens Advisory Committee on Private Prisons in Osceola Mills filed a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Prisons because the bureau didn’t complete an environmental impact statement. The bureau was forced to issue a stop-work order for at least 45 days in June.
The contract is one of two that the Bureau of Prisons will award to house more than 2,000 D.C. inmates who must be moved because of the closure of the Lorton Correctional Complex in Fairfax County, Va., by 2001. The bureau hasn’t awarded the other contract.
The Illinois Department of Corrections has issued a directive that prohibits AFSCME staff from entering prison grounds to handle grievances or service medical contractual employees.
The directive prohibits local union officers who work for the department from meeting on prison grounds with their members who are medical contractual employees. Council 31 plans to challenge the policy in court and possibly at the Labor Board.
In response to disturbances at Louisiana’s two privately run juvenile centers, Gov. Mike Foster (R) said, in an article published by the Sunday Advocate of Baton Rouge, “This private thing just doesn’t seem to be working out.”
It was reported that guards at the Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth — operated by Correctional Services Corp. — abandoned their posts while security officers were transporting juveniles. The officers were protesting working conditions and low wages. CSC had taken over operations of the facility after Trans-American Associates Inc. had “repeated problems.”
The article also stated that LaSalle Parish deputies were called in to squash problems at the Jena Juvenile Justice Center, which is run by Wackenhut Corrections Corp.
U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, is lobbying to launch an investigation into the problems at Tallulah. David Utter, an attorney with the Juvenile Justice Project, argues that the state should gain control of the prison.
