Ohio's Prison 'Ethics'

Wow, this is rich! I feel sorry for the citizens of Ohio because it is obvious that the public officials think their constituents are nothing but a bunch of morons...

From the Columbus Dispatch-

"The Ohio Ethics Commission says prisons director Gary C. Mohr does not have a conflict of interest with plans to privatize state facilities - even though he previously worked for a private prison company.

Paul M. Nick, interim executive director of the Ethics Commission, said in a letter on March 30 to state Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria, that even though Mohr formerly worked for Corrections 

Corporation of America, there is no conflict if a state employee "has fully severed his relationship with a former employer or business associate, with no understanding that the relationship will be resumed in the future."

Nick noted that Mohr took the "possibility of perceived conflict seriously" because he turned over decision-making authority to Linda Janes, his chief of staff."

ajohnson@dispatch.com

Private Prison Bribes Beginning to Pay Off in FL

GEOGroup's bribes to FL legislators is obviously beginning to pay off for them...

"The Florida Legislature’s push to privatize many more prisons, its most far-reaching cost-cutting plan in years, could open a lucrative door to politically connected vendors who stand to profit.

Senate and House budgets require the state to privatize prisons in South Florida, home to one-fifth of the statewide inmate population of 101,000. The region is the home of the GEO Group, the nation’s second-largest private prison operator, which currently runs two private prisons, including the largest private lockup, the Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton.

GEO also operates five state psychiatric hospitals, including South Florida State Hospital in Pembroke Pines, which got its long-sought accreditation after GEO’s takeover.

The Boca Raton company, a reliable contributor to the Republican party, employs more than 2,000 people and a stable of 16 Capitol lobbyists. It donated $25,000 to Gov. Rick Scott’s inaugural celebration in January. A top transition budget adviser to Scott, Donna Arduin, is a former trustee of a GEO real estate company, Correctional Properties Trust. The company’s healthcare subsidiary, GEO Care, is led by Jorge Dominicis, a familiar figure in the Capitol from years of lobbying for the sugar industry."

Read more: Miami Herald