Four Texas parole officers were jailed in Houston on Monday as authorities began the first arrests in a continuing, year-long federal and state investigation into allegations that the officers took payoffs to ignore drug-trafficking and other illegal activity by recently freed convicts. ...Though the timeline and precise chain of events underlying this episode remain unclear, Ward wrote that the investigation was initiated after state Sen. John Whitmire's office "was tipped by an inmate who said he was being shaken down for money and sex "
In Houston, U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson said the indictments allege that the four arrested parole officers took took bribes averaging $1,000 to allow them to continue dealing drugs. On one occasion, the payoff was $3,000.
The arrested officers — identified as April L. Carson, 35, of Missouri City, and Crystal M. Washington, 52; Darlene J. Muhammad, 42, and Ernie Rogers, 56, all of Houston — were to be arraigned on federal charges, according to authorities. They said bond was not immediately set.
Officials said the investigation is continuing, hinting that other arrests are likely.
Federal authorities said the four officers worked at two Houston parole offices, where allegations of bribery and exchange of sexual favors had been under investigation for some time.
Separately, reported Ward, juvenile correctional officers from the Evins unit in South Texas face allegations of excessive force, official oppression and covering up misconduct:
In a separate case, juvenile-justice system director Mike Griffiths [Monday] announced the arrests of three employees at the Evins lockup, including security director Pete Martinez. The other two employees were identified as Juan Tamez and Julian Fuentes, both correctional officers.Ugly, disturbing allegations.
The Evins lockup has been plagued by gang violence and assaults by youths on staff and other youths for nearly two years.
Griffiths said Tamez and Fuentes, both alleged to have used excessive force on teen-aged lawbreakers incarcerated at the lockup, face official oppression charges, and Martinez is accused of falsifying records concerning the abuse.
He said that three youths who were identified as victims did not sustain serious injuries.
In addition to the three employees who face criminal charges, seven other Evins staff members have been suspended for having knowledge of the alleged abuse but failing to report it, according to Griffiths.
MORE: See more detail on the situation at TJJD's Evins unit from the McAllen Monitor, July 2:
Three employees at an Hidalgo County juvenile detention facility were arrested last week for allegedly using excessive force against inmates.
Officers from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General arrested Evins Regional Juvenile Center correctional officers Juan Tamez and Julian Fuentes, along with Evins Director of Security Pete Martinez between June 21 and 27.
Tamez and Fuentes were charged with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor, and Martinez was charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence, a third-degree felony. ...A probable cause affidavit against Martinez charges him with deleting a video that showed Fuentes mistreating an inmate.On April 8, an inmate who had been in Evins for almost two years was ordered to a special detention area for being disruptive, the affidavit said. Fuentes escorted the handcuffed inmate, and while doing so twisted the inmate’s arm, slammed him against a concrete cell wall and his bunk. Then, after the teenager told Fuentes to stop, the jailer slammed the youth hard against the cell floor and fell on top of him.The youth was being cooperative at the time of his mistreatment, the affidavit said. Fuentes admitted to investigators that he intentionally physically mistreated the youth.After the incident, Fuentes’ direct supervisor told him that the violence had been recorded on camera, but that Martinez had deleted the video.Details of Tamez’s arrest were not available at press time Tuesday. His charges are identical to Fuentes’. The probable cause against Martinez does not mention any incident involving Tamez.
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25 comments:
At least the feds are involved and not the local prosecutors. That ensures these pieces of filth will likely do time behind bars rather than receive probation. And I've been told that the BOP has been sending former cops and such to bad places to do their time instead of the camps as was done in the past. They're getting a taste now of the good life like other convicts. Not even Judge Sam Kent was spared. And he obviously didn't like real prison: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Former-federal-judge-Kent-calls-prison-unfair-1718673.php
We are looking to close 1 institution. Another reason it MUST be Evins. Plagued for many years.
Unfortunetly, The Executive Director has anounced that Cosicana will close. There still is the public hearings on the 15th and the board meeting on the 21st. However no one wants the Evans youth so what can we say. The cartel will still run Evans and treatment..hell we don't need no stinking treatment.
Ham2mtr
Actions at Evins is actually going on all over the Agency. Maybe if Mike would get out of his office and do surprise checks on the other campus's in the state he might catch it. Kinda sad also when one campus has a Superintendent that was once suspended without pay and was also part of a lawsuit for hiding abuse.
Whitmire has Griffiths in his back pocket. It ain't over till Whitmire is happy.
Mike Ward has done a great job exposing what the Texas Legislature and the Governor have been trying to cover up.
Senator Whitmire has raised hell over Texas criminal justice agencies being underfunded and is only one of a few politicians to rock the boat. The only CJ agency the Austin political establishment wants to properly fund is DPS, because they protect the Capitol.
If TDCJ and Texas Juvenile Justice Department had proper funding to recruit, retain, and train the officers, we would see less corruption like this. Right now Mike Ward is just exposing the tip of the iceberg. Texas criminal justice agencies are ripe with corruption and gross mismanagement. Brad Livingston, TDCJ's Executive Director, received a $73,000 raise as a reward for covering up the agencies mess so well.
We need more reporters like Mike Ward to cover Texas corrupt government. The voters need to know the mess they keep electing to Austin.
Anonymous 03:30, are you suggesting higher pay will somehow cause these lowlifes to have character? No, money isn't the real issue, it's a lack of character and morals.
The worst criminals in the state are employed by TDCJ. Parole officers who are corrupted, now I see why someone who is shipped back off to prison. They can not pay the extortion fees being levied by the state employees. Rapists working in the female and youth facilities. The parole board and TBCJ are as corrupted as they come.
Until the powers that be in TJJD realize that Evins is not going to change until someone has the good sense to clean out an administration that supports cronyism and feels anyone who isn't "from the Valley" can't possibly fit in to their "culture." This system results in the type of abuse and the subsequent cover up that is all to familiar at Evins and. It is sad to see a facility that was able to come out from under a DOJ Agreed Order in February 2011 and receive a perfect score on their ACA accreditation audit in March of that same year. The three staff that were arrested and the seven suspended are just the tip of the iceberg. This should be seen as a direct reflection on the so called "outstanding leadership team" alleged to be in place at Evins. They are just as responsible as those arrested. I feel for the "good" staff who work there and wish them luck.
Maybe Tom Adamski can step in and run this facility until it is whipped back into shape, heard he did great things in Brownwood.
07/04, 3:16 pm: Are you high? Adamski couldn't lead thirsty sheep to water.
Someone from the outside should spend a couple months down there to actually see for themselves. Showing up one or two days and shaking hands will not cut it. Might be a good time to contact senator Hinijosa.
First of all the not the entire agency in TJJD and TDCJ are lowlifes. It sounds to me like you watch too many prison movies.
You are correct in the fact money does not create morals or ethics, however you are shortsided in the fact money gives the administration the ability to recruit and select from a better field of applicants who possess better morals and ethics.
With lack of competive wages in most state agencies, good employees leave upon finding a higher paying jobs. A vacuum in tallant and leadership exist because of the lack of pay. These are the factors that gave us the TYC scandle.
A proactive stance cost more, but prevents corruption on the levels found in TJJD and TDCJ. Hiring standards are the problem. Staff who lack morals and ethics, lacked them prior to their employment and that is why these agencies need to invest in attracting a pool of better qualified applicants and screen the trash out, but with positions to fill and lack of quality applicants due to low wages, the end result is a higher than usual corrupt staff.
7/04/13 @ 5:24 pm & 7/05/13 @ 5:35 am, Having someone from the outside come into the agency and took a look around in late 2010. They identified what they termed challenges (problems in real terms)that were system-wide and some specific to Evins. I cite specific references to an "unofficial" administrative entity that undermined the "real" administration and to numerous policy and procedural issues. Recommendations were made and promptly ignored by the Executive Director who commissioned the study. Staff contacting Senator Hinojosa and the media have also been used as a mechanism to undermine any administrator who did not follow the "That's not how we do it at Evins" doctrine or did not fit in to the "Evins culture." Increasing wages won't fix anything. Quality staff have worked there in the past, but have been run off by the "unofficial administration that doesn't want their little "Evins" boat rocked. I lived it for two years. I would be happy to address this with anyone who would care to listen.
That the problem. No one cares to listen. Mr. Griffiths has ingnored this agency problem. Corrupt administrator like Ms. Lashbrook who covers up issues for halfway house superintendents and lies directly in Mr. Griffith face. This crap needs to stop. I work for TJJD and none of these people want to change the culture here. Shut it down and save the taxpayers money.
Pete Martinez was in Gainesville to observe and an assist the security unit there with different issues. So now it turns out while he was telling the security staff there how everything they do is wrong and how 'that just wouldn't fly at Evins', he was under investigation for deleting video of staff assaulting youth at Evins.
This is who the big brains at TJJD's central office in Austin choose to send to make sure policy is being followed?
Anyone who has worked for TJJD/TYC longer than five years knows that Evins is a disaster that has stayed open solely because of the political clout of Senator Hinijosa.
It has become painfully obvious that while this agency can change executive directors in Austin, superintendents and assistant superintendents at every state school or halfway house, at the end of it all they just don't get it.
It is infuriating to the quality field personal who work for this agency, yes they are out there, who do so because they want to help youth who have nine toes in the adult system change their lives for the better.
Like I said, EVINS needs to be closed immediately...
I was one of the employees at Gainesville who was trained by Pete Martinez as well as other security staff from Evins. The funny thing about this is administrators from Austin (Stroud, Adamski) touted the great programming taking place at Evins. Where in the world is their heads, dang sure out in the field making observations.
Everything reported and much more applies in Johnson County, Texas. The people of that county know of the corruption but seem to be afraid of the jack-booted sheriff's and probation departments. Probation officers dole out more prison time that the judge assessed in the beginning through trumped up charges/infractions in conjunction with TDCJ officers in prison units. This county should receive a federal investigation for corruption also
That ole TJJD culture. Whoever is given authority in the facilities is dirty--hell, that's why they got promoted in the first place. Terminal cronyism. The reason they think nobody is on to their game is because ordinarily nobody is.
Lots of dirty TYC Supers are now retired on big State pensions.
7/07/2013 09:19:00 PM So that means that if you were put in charge of a facility, you too would become "dirty"? Statements like that make me wonder what (if anything) you have done to help change this culture? Making broad, generalizations like this indicates to me that you have had a bad experience(s) with an administrator and are judging all of them based on that experience. But then again, it's so much easier to complain anonymously than it is to stand up and actually do something to try and make the system better. Something to ponder...
Mr. Hollis,
The administration at TJJD are all dirty. I work for this organization in I have seen my superintendent here in San Antonio cover up drugs being found on youth, sexual assaults youth on youth, assaults on staff, verbal abuse on youth from the assistant superintendent discrimination on staff and retaliation. When these issues are reported to Austin the issues are not addressed. All the TJJD administration does is make excuses for and cover for these superintendent not only in San Antonio but across the agency. Austin has no intention on fixing any of the issues going on in TJJD. They just want continued funding. They are all crocks. The staff at Evins are not the only ones erasing videos to cover up incidents with youth. Its my understanding that even supervisory staff dont have access to erase video that the codes to do that are held by main office staff in Austin. All of the videos are held for at least two years before being erased. So how was it done? Seems to me that these JCO staff members are being thrown to the wolves. And yes the majority of central office administrators are crooks but let me just name a few; Hurley-the lying spokesperson for tjjd,Rebecca cox thomas,Karen Lashbrook,T,stroud.
Mr. Griffiths has surrounded himself with the same people that have caused the problems the last several years in tjjd. These corruption issues will not go away until new blood has replaced those people listed.
7/10/2013 05:05:00 PM, I hear what you're saying. Again, contrary to what you assert, there are good people in TJJD. Not everyone is a crook. In my TYC career, I was confronted by the Brookins incident at West Texas in 2005, the Pope/Humphrey "purges" in 2007, moving to Evins in 2009, when NO ONE in their right mind would go there because of the kids, the DOJ and the number of previous superintendents who got fired from the job. I pissed a lot of people off in my time, but for me it was all about the kids. Doing the right, moral, ethical and professional thing was what mattered to me and it cost me dearly. Finally, in 2011, I chose (or was put in a position where I had not choice but) to retire rather than wait around to be fired for refusing to compromise my integrity. And I'd do it all again, exactly the same way. No doubt in my mind. Nothing changes until someone has the balls to take a stand for what is right and in the best interest of the kids. Eventually, we all have to make a choice about what is or is not right. Good luck. :-)
More drama at Evins? Hmmmmm!
Wow i guess prayr&being a mother w finamcial struggles is faith!WOW!!!!!!
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