Persistent corruption and the California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC)

With all of the rhetoric that has been thrown at the problem of corruption within CalDORC, the obvious question becomes, "Why is the rampant corruption still flourishing?" Perhaps because it's all just rhetoric?

If one listens to the various mission statements of Rod Hickman and his minions, one might be deceived in thinking that they are serious about what they say. Don't be deceived, these are hollow, empty and meaningless words that are generated by some of the most masterful spin-doctors to be found anywhere.

Many years ago, in my book "State Secrets", I warned of the function of departmental investigators as an isolating buffer between departmental corruption and the correctional managers/administrators who thrive on it. In reviewing the February 3, 2000 Management Review Audit of Larry Witek who, at the time, was the Warden of the California Institution for Men in Chino¹, the Office of the Inspector General seems to validate my observations in this area, with a scathing rebuke of, not only CIM's Investigative Services Unit, but the Office of Internal Affairs as well.

Out of a random sampling and review of eight (8) "completed" cases, the Office of the Inspector General found 50% of these cases (4) to be "incomplete", with two of the four having been conducted by the Office of Internal Affairs. Further, the conclusions of two of these four cases (50%) were disputed by the Office of the Inspector General "Because they do not agree with the facts of the cases. Both cases would require reinvestigation or a reassessment of findings."

The Office of the Inspector General further explains their review of the Office of Internal Affairs cases as being linked to the CIM Warden's Management Review Audit thusly:

"Although two of the four incomplete cases were conducted by the California Department of Correction's Office of Internal Affairs, the Warden is responsible because it is his duty to review the cases before the report is released and action taken."

Almost six years have passed since this report was written. There is a new Inspector General, new leadership in the Office of Internal Affairs, a new Warden at the California Institution for Men and this "New and Improved" organization seems to have embraced the same old corruption.

In a variation on the February, 2000 theme, where investigations were manipulated on the back end, AFTER completion (or incompletion), through erroneous and baseless conclusions, the "New and Improved" Warden is failing in his duty to refer Category 2 investigations to the Office of Internal Affairs for investigation, choosing to transfer the errant employees out of OIA's jurisdiction instead.

This is, particularly, handy when the employee is asserting that her misdemeanor misconduct was directed by the very same individual who authorized the transfer.

Rod Hickman and his sycophants may spew and sputter about the new disciplinary procedure that CalDORC has recently implemented, and how these procedures will bring improvement to CalDORC, however, the light that shines on the misconduct of the line staff has always been, is now, and will continue to be much brighter than the light that shines on the misconduct of correctional managers and administrators. CalDORC investigators, steeped in politics, brimming with hopes for advancement in CalDORC, are but one of the many reasons we will never see change in the organizational quality of CalDORC. After all, the foxes are still watching the hen house.

The more things change the more they remain the same.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

___________________________
¹http://oig.ca.gov/reports/pdf/larrywitek0202.pdf

Two Things.

Schwarzenegger Trounced!

State Workers, Retire Early With Air Time!

Shame On You CalDORC!

Open Letter To:

Mark Gantt Assistant Secretary Office of Internal Affairs

Deborah Zeh Assistant Secretary Office of Civil Rights

YOU TWO SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!

In your September 28, 2005 Memorandum, entitled "CODE OF CONDUCT AND THE DUTY TO REPORT", you have targeted the new, naive correctional staff and set them up for disappointment, frustration and, ultimately, an untimely termination. What kind of a cruel joke are you playing on these people?

You regurgitate a "CDCR CODE OF CONDUCT" together with a duty to report violations of that conduct and the mythical protection that CalDORC is committed to providing. However you fail to inform them that any whistleblower action taken by them or protections afforded to them by CalDORC is predicated, solely, on Power, Privilege and Politics.

Oftentimes, the power differential between the reporting employee and the employee who is being reported, renders your fairy tale nothing more than dangerous folklore which can cause untold damage to the career of a new employee.

As you two know or should know, the most popular way of dealing with whistleblowers is to place them under investigation for lying about the entire incident, usually without ever investigating the seminal event. Once Departmental investigators have, officially and Departmentally, manufactured the mendacity of the reporting employee, the original report of employee misconduct may safely be discarded as the product of an overactive imagination or blatant dishonesty. This has been the Departmental way for decades and you knew or should have known this when you published the September 28, 2005 Memorandum. Is it CalDORC's intention to encourage whistleblower reporting for the purpose of placing them on a "Whistleblower's Watchlist" for CalDORC action against them at a later date?

For the new and uninitiated employee, your lofty and impressive titles may well represent you as experienced and savvy Correctional Managers dispensing sage advice. However, having stated CalDORC policy, you should have footnoted a warning/disclaimer that, "Following this policy may be hazardous to one's career."

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

More to come.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

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OPEN LETTER TO M.E. POULOS, WARDEN, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTION FOR MEN.

Dear Mr. Poulos,

1. Martha Stewart
2. Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr.
3. Edward Alameda
4. M.E. Poulos

You should have embraced your legal obligation to refer CIM’s Health and Safety Officer’s Category 2 investigation to the Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) to avoid the appearance of Obstruction of Justice through her untimely transfer to CalPERS. Even though your name would have, probably, come up again as the Master Of Ceremonies of the, alleged, misdemeanor Workers Compensation harassment¹, your career would not have been impacted to any appreciable degree. Instead, however, you chose to transfer the H&S Officer outside of the jurisdiction of CalDORC, rendering your failed obligation to, properly, refer this case for investigation, moot. VERY slick move Mr. Poulos!

Let's examine the other alternative, an alternative such as following the law and keeping the H&S Officer at CIM to face the music for her actions, actions which she alleges were directed by you. This alternative would have protected you from the appearance of impropriety and, in retrospect, may have been the better course of action.

If they ever did get around to investigating her misconduct (doubtful but possible), after receiving the referral and placing it in their "to do - someday" box, OIA would have consulted the most recent edition of the "CalDORC Investigator's Manual". There they will find the most common Departmental techniques for conducting “Politically Connected Personnel” investigations.

The first is the "CalDORC Two-Step", a method whereby the conclusion of the investigation is pre-determined, based upon politics and cronyism (Step 1), followed by a perfunctory investigation designed to validate this conclusion (Step 2).

The second is the "Psychic Investigation" which is concluded through the psychic acumen of the investigator.

The third and most cost effective is just to ignore it, which seems to be CalDORC's favorite method.

If you needed further guidance, CalDORC might bring the former CIM ISU Chief Investigator Captain Dave Morris² out of retirement to assist OIA. His skills are legendary in CalDORC's Southern Region and his ability to put a spin-and-a-fix on the most embarrassing of political situations might have been a valid consideration as you sink further into this quagmire. There are still some leftovers of the Dave Morris era, awaiting retirement and working on the MSF yard, who may be able to contact him for you.

In other words Warden Poulos, you needn't have worried. CalDORC investigators, at all levels, have the flattest hands in the industry - they are always sitting on them. By the time they get around to considering cases for investigation, the yellowing, brittle paper crumbles in their hands, case closed. Once a Warden has been assigned to a prison, only a catastrophe can remove him/her.

Fear not, Warden Poulos, you are protected. Protected, that is, until someone dies.

More to come.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

_____________________________
¹Labor Code §132 a.

²http://www.e-kard.com/ss/ssbook/ssbook.htm