Swordsmyth
09-24-2019, 09:07 PM
An assistant director of the federal prison system engaged in a sexual and financial relationship with a top prison union executive that included transmitting explicit photographs from her agency phone to the union official, an internal Justice Department review concluded Tuesday.The Justice Department's inspector general also found that the longtime assistant director carried on an inappropriate personal relationship with a Bureau of Prisons contractor and was not truthful with federal investigators when questioned about it.
The prison official and union executive were not named in the brief public report, but officials familiar with the matter identified the assistant director as Judith Garrett, and the union executive as Eric Young, who until last month served as president of the prison workers union.
Investigators concluded that Garrett's relationship with Young was not only inappropriate but "a conflict of interest in violation of federal regulations and BOP policy."
The inspector general did not identify the bureau contractor cited in the report, but Dominic Henry, a former inmate who served 35 years on a murder conviction, accused Garrett of seeking an inappropriate relationship in his role as a bureau consultant for newly-released prisoners.
Criminal prosecution of the assistant director was declined, the report stated, though the inspector general has referred its findings to the Department of Labor's inspector general for possible additional review.
Garrett declined to comment on the matter Tuesday.
"There is nothing I can say about it," she said.
Young also declined comment.
In a brief statement, the Bureau of Prisons said the assistant director had been removed from a management position in July 2018.
"The BOP will take appropriate actions in response to the (inspector general's) findings," the agency said in a statement, declining to indicate whether the official remained employed by the agency.
Shane Fausey, who succeeded Young as union president last month, said the inspector general's findings were "a surprise."
"We are convening an emergency meeting of the board right now," Fausey said. "We're going to have to look back at everything to see what related to him (Young) and whether there were conflicts of interest. I want to be clear, he (Young) is the former president."
The inspector general's review represents fresh embarrassment for an agency still reeling from the institutional failures cited in the suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/doj-federal-prison-official-had-215747704.html
The prison official and union executive were not named in the brief public report, but officials familiar with the matter identified the assistant director as Judith Garrett, and the union executive as Eric Young, who until last month served as president of the prison workers union.
Investigators concluded that Garrett's relationship with Young was not only inappropriate but "a conflict of interest in violation of federal regulations and BOP policy."
The inspector general did not identify the bureau contractor cited in the report, but Dominic Henry, a former inmate who served 35 years on a murder conviction, accused Garrett of seeking an inappropriate relationship in his role as a bureau consultant for newly-released prisoners.
Criminal prosecution of the assistant director was declined, the report stated, though the inspector general has referred its findings to the Department of Labor's inspector general for possible additional review.
Garrett declined to comment on the matter Tuesday.
"There is nothing I can say about it," she said.
Young also declined comment.
In a brief statement, the Bureau of Prisons said the assistant director had been removed from a management position in July 2018.
"The BOP will take appropriate actions in response to the (inspector general's) findings," the agency said in a statement, declining to indicate whether the official remained employed by the agency.
Shane Fausey, who succeeded Young as union president last month, said the inspector general's findings were "a surprise."
"We are convening an emergency meeting of the board right now," Fausey said. "We're going to have to look back at everything to see what related to him (Young) and whether there were conflicts of interest. I want to be clear, he (Young) is the former president."
The inspector general's review represents fresh embarrassment for an agency still reeling from the institutional failures cited in the suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/doj-federal-prison-official-had-215747704.html