Pubdate: Sat, 18 Oct 2003
Source: Citizens' Voice, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Copyright: 2003 The Citizens' Voice
Contact:  http://www.citizensvoice.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1334
Author: Tim Gulla
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

GUARD HAPPY 'BAD APPLES' REMOVED FROM COUNTY PRISON

It's been a tough two weeks to work at the Luzerne County Correctional 
Facility.

A high-profile inmate made a daring escape last week. And now three 
corrections officers have been arrested along with two inmates on 
drug-related charges.

The arrest of three corrections officers, said prison Capt. Al Ottensman, 
"is embarrassing, to say the least."

Ottensman, who helped found the 7-year-old Straight-Up anti-drug program, 
which takes inmates into area schools to teach children about the dangers 
and consequences of drug use, said the arrest of the three officers 
reinforces a message he and Straight-Up co-founder Paul O'Malia have been 
trying to get across for years: drugs are not dependent on age or occupation.

"The one good thing about this entire situation is that our district 
attorney and local law enforcement were diligent in arresting the three 
corrections staff members," he said.

The Straight-Up program won't be impacted by recent incidents, prison 
officials said, and the guards involved in Thursday's arrest had nothing to 
do with this program.

Prison Warden Gene Fischi, who is waiting for a state Department of 
Corrections review of the Luzerne County prison to begin on Monday, 
believes the recent arrests are an exception, not the norm.

"Most of the guards here are very good guards," he said. "The staff is 
frustrated with what went on."

Fischi said: "We have a few bad apples, as there are in any institution. 
It's our job to try and find them and weed them out."

Fischi, who has come under fire this week along with other prison 
administrators in the wake of last week's escape and subsequent criticisms 
by some staff members, was credited on Thursday with helping to trigger the 
investigation that led to Thursday's arrests.

"Unfortunately, drugs are prevalent on the streets and they could become a 
very lucrative venture for someone willing to partake in an illegal 
activity," Fischi said.

"The consequences aren't worth it," he warned.

By some estimates, drug activity is the reason 80 percent of the inmates 
are in the county jail - a facility built for 250 inmates that now houses 
more than 500. Overall, there are more than 700 inmates in the county 
prison system.

While the latest incidents have put a spotlight on the prison, Fischi said 
the administration has been active in trying to root out problems. Last 
February, the district attorney's office, and police from Hanover Township 
and Wilkes-Barre were brought in quietly to conduct a shakedown of the 
entire prison system.

"We went through all four facilities," Fischi said. "We showed them we're 
taking an active role." Fischi is welcoming the upcoming DOC investigation.

"Hopefully, with these investigations, this will give us some answers as to 
where there can be improvements in the staff, our policy and procedures, or 
physical plant itself."

Fischi couldn't release any more details about internal investigations of 
the escape or the recent arrests at this time.
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