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A26 u.s. news
Diasabra 27 November 2021

Workers at federal prisons are committing some of the crimes

admissions bribery scandal, are under disciplinary system has led to an out-
investigation. size focus on alleged misconduct by
rank-and-file employees and they
Monaco said after Garcia’s arrest that say allegations of misconduct made
she was “taking a very serious look against senior executives and wardens
at these issues across the board” and are more easily brushed aside.
insisted she had confidence in the
bureau’s director, Michael Carvajal, “The main concern with the Bureau
months after senior administration of Prisons is that wardens at each in-
officials were weighing whether to stitution, they decide if there’s go-
oust him. ing to be any disciplinary investiga-
tion or not,” said Susan Canales, vice
In August, the associate warden at the president of the union at FCI Dublin.
Metropolitan Detention Center in “Basically, you’re putting the fox in
New York City was charged with kill- charge of the henhouse.”
ing her husband — a fellow federal
prison worker — after police said she At the federal prison in Yazoo City,
shot him in the face in their New Jer- Mississippi, the official tasked with
sey home. She has pleaded not guilty. investigating staff misconduct has
been the subject of numerous com-
One-fifth of the BOP cases tracked plaints and multiple arrests. The
(AP) — More than 100 federal Department said it “will not tolerate by the AP involved crimes of a sexual bureau has not removed him from
prison workers have been ar- staff misconduct, particularly crimi- nature, second only to cases involv- the position or suspend him — a de-
rested, convicted or sentenced nal misconduct.” The department ing smuggled contraband. All sexual viation from standard Justice Depart-
for crimes since the start of 2019, said it is “committed to holding ac- activity between a prison worker and ment practice.
including a warden indicted for countable any employee who abuses an inmate is illegal. In the most egre-
sexual abuse, an associate war- a position of trust, which we have gious cases, inmates say they were co- In one instance, a prison worker re-
den charged with murder, guards demonstrated through federal crimi- erced through fear, intimidation and ported that the official assaulted him
taking cash to smuggle drugs and nal prosecutions and other means.” threats of violence. inside a housing unit, according to a
weapons, and supervisors stealing police report obtained by the AP. In-
property such as tires and trac- Attorney General Merrick Garland A correctional officer and drug treat- ternal documents detail allegations
tors. has said his deputy, Lisa Monaco, ment specialist at a Lexington, Ken- that the official grabbed the officer’s
meets regularly with Bureau of Pris- tucky, prison medical center were arm and trapped him inside an in-
An Associated Press investigation ons officials to address issues plagu- charged in July with threatening to mate’s cell, blocking his path.
has found that the federal Bureau ing the agency. kill inmates or their families if they
of Prisons, with an annual budget of didn’t go along with sexual abuse. A The same official was arrested in an-
nearly $8 billion, is a hotbed of abuse, Federal prison workers in nearly ev- Victorville, California, inmate said other instance when a different em-
graft and corruption, and has turned ery job function have been charged she “she felt frozen and powerless ployee contacted the local sheriff’s
a blind eye to employees accused with crimes. Those employees in- with fear” when a guard threatened to office, accusing him of stalking and
of misconduct. In some cases, the clude a teacher who pleaded guilty in send her to the “hole” unless she per- harassing her. The AP is not iden-
agency has failed to suspend officers January to fudging an inmate’s high formed a sex act on him. He pleaded tifying the official by name because
who themselves had been arrested for school equivalency and a chaplain guilty in 2019. some of the criminal charges were
crimes. who admitted taking at least $12,000 later dropped.
in bribes to smuggle Suboxone, Theft, fraud and lying on paperwork
Two-thirds of the criminal cases which is used to treat opioid addic- after inmate deaths have also been is- In both instances, the victims said
against Justice Department personnel tion, as well as marijuana, tobacco sues. they reported the incidents to the
in recent years have involved federal and cellphones, and leaving the items prison complex warden, Shannon
prison workers, who account for less in a prison chapel cabinet for inmates Earlier this month, three employees Withers, and to the Justice Depart-
than one-third of the department’s to retrieve. and eight former inmates at the no- ment’s inspector general. But they
workforce. Of the 41 arrests this year, torious New York City federal jail say the Bureau of Prisons failed to
28 were of BOP employees or con- At the highest ranks, the warden of where financier Jeffrey Epstein killed take any action, allowing the offi-
tractors. The FBI had just five. The a federal women’s prison in Dublin, himself were indicted in what pros- cial to remain in his position despite
Drug Enforcement Administration California, was arrested in September ecutors said was an extensive bribery pending criminal charges and allega-
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and indicted this month on charg- and contraband smuggling scheme. tions of serious misconduct.
Firearms and Explosives each had es he molested an inmate multiple The Justice Department closed the
two. times, scheduled times where he de- jail in October, citing deplorable con- A bureau spokesperson, Kristie Bres-
manded she undress in front of him ditions for inmates. Last year, a gun hears, declined to discuss the case or
The numbers highlight how criminal and amassed a slew of nude photos of got into the building. address why the official was never
behavior by employees festers inside her on his government-issued phone. suspended.
a federal prison system meant to pun- One of the charged employees, a unit
ish and rehabilitate people who have Warden Ray Garcia, who was placed secretary, was also accused of mis- Breshears said the agency is “commit-
committed bad acts. The revelations on administrative leave after the FBI representing gang member Anthony ted to ensuring the safety and security
come as advocates are pushing the raided his office in July, allegedly told “Harv” Ellison as a “model inmate” of all inmates in our population, our
Biden administration to get serious the woman there was no point in re- to get him a lesser sentence. staff, and the public” and that allega-
about fixing the bureau. porting the sexual assault because he tions of misconduct are “thoroughly
was “close friends” with the person The Bureau of Prisons, which houses investigated for potential administra-
In one case unearthed by the AP, the who would investigate the allegation more than 150,000 federal inmates tive discipline or criminal prosecu-
agency allowed an official at a fed- and that the inmate wouldn’t be able and employs about 37,500 people, tion.”
eral prison in Mississippi, whose job to “ruin him.” Garcia has pleaded not has lurched from crisis to crisis in
it was to investigate misconduct of guilty. the past few years, from the rampant The bureau said it requires back-
other staff members, to remain in spread of coronavirus inside prisons ground checks and carefully screens
his position after he was arrested on Garcia’s arrest came three months and a failed response to the pandem- and evaluates prospective employees
charges of stalking and harassing fel- after a recycling technician at FCI ic to dozens of escapes, deaths and to ensure they meet its core values.
low employees. That official was also Dublin was arrested on charges he critically low staffing levels that have The agency said it requires its em-
allowed to continue investigating a coerced two inmates into sexual ac- hampered responses to emergencies. ployees to “conduct themselves in a
staff member who had accused him tivity. Several other workers at the manner that fosters respect for the
of a crime. facility, where actresses Felicity Huff- In interviews with the AP, more than BOP, Department of Justice, and the
man and Lori Loughlin spent time a dozen bureau staff members have U.S. Government.”
In a statement to the AP, the Justice for their involvement in the college also raised concerns that the agency’s