Rejecting employment with CalDORC!

For those job seekers who have sent me e-mail, in which you express that the information contained within this blog constituted a pivotal factor not to seek employment with CalDORC, I salute you.

To quote the slogan of a national financial institution, "There is more to life than money" and, while the California prison guards union has accomplished all within their legal power to negotiate favorable wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for their membership, they have no authority in the selection process of the correctional managers and administrators who continually fail to execute the duties of their office.

While you would benefit from the prodigious successes of CCPOA, you would be working for individuals who, depending on who you ask, have developed a management style that exists somewhere between The Three Stooges and John Dillinger.

In a continuing validation of your decision, I offer you the following, as reported:

On 1-30-06 During the swing shift (Third Watch) a Female Sergeant was doing post checks at a dormitory facility within the CIM complex known as the Reception Center West (RCW).

As she arrived at Mariposa Hall (dorm setting) She began to receive "Cat Calls" from a group of white inmates and, as a result, the Sergeant ordered yard staff to assist with searching the dorm and doing strip searches of the inmates.

Additional staff arrived and began searching the bunks and checking all inmates housed in the unit for contraband. Some weapons were recovered from a couple of Hispanic Inmates who were transferred out of the unit.

At approximately 2045 hours an alarm sounded from Mariposa Hall, the White and Hispanic Inmates began fighting amongst themselves.

A code 3 response (assistance from other facilities within the CIM complex) was called for and within a short time order was restored to the unit.

Approximately 70 white and 80 Hispanics inmates were involved.

Apparently, the hispanics believed that the problem was caused by the white inmate's "cat calling" of the female Sergeant, thereby bringing unwanted attention to the unit. Hostile words were exchanged between the whites and the Hispanics prior to the alarm sounding.

West yard staff responded well and got the situation under control, no staff injuries were reported as of this writing. Several inmates received minor wounds.

It is further reported that three Correctional Officers, working within Mariposa Hall, utilized an outside window in the staff office as an escape route by exiting this window when the fighting began, thereby preventing injury and, possibly, death.

There is, currently, a construction project underway at the Reception Center West (RCW) to fence off the individual housing units, a project which, reportedly, will close off the escape routes for correctional staff facing these types of emergency situations. Informed sources state that there is a grievance addressing this issue on file, however, amazingly, it is being resisted at the Institutional level and is now under review in Sacramento.

These sources further state that, in the aftermath of the riot, in which "CN" gas was deployed, Correctional Officers, untrained in CN gas decontamination, were attempting to clean up the gas remnants while wearing paper smocks, hair-nets and gas masks. With this outfit, they would have been more at home serving limburger cheese in the chow hall than cleaning up a hazardous and toxic chemical.

Fortunately for those of you who have rejected the idea of employment with CalDORC, you will never get the dubious honor of receiving inane instructions from Larry, Moe and Curly-Joe.

More to come.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

CalDORC employment policies - EXPOSED!

As CalDORC staff shortages continue to drive an unprecendented recruitment effort, the management explains its employment policies!

CLICK HERE!

Please Wake Up!

A Letter To Inspector General Matthew Cate

Dear Mr. Cate,

I found the following mission statement on your web site at http://www.oig.ca.gov. I'm sure that the staff appreciates your efforts in 2005, however, the corruption never sleeps at the California Institution for Men.

PLEASE WAKE UP!

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

"A message from Inspector General Matthew Cate


Welcome to the home page of the Office of the Inspector General. My mission as Inspector General is to safeguard the integrity of the state's correctional system — in effect, to act as the eyes and ears of the public in overseeing the state's prisons. The Office of the Inspector General carries out that mission by rigorously investigating and auditing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to uncover criminal conduct, administrative wrongdoing, poor management practices, waste, fraud, and other abuses by staff, supervisors, and management.

To bring public transparency into the operation of the state's correctional system, we post the findings of every audit and large-scale investigation on this website, along with quarterly summary reports describing the number of audits, special reviews and special reviews completed, the types of misconduct uncovered, and the discipline meted out. This public posting is critical because prisons are, by their very nature, places where most events occur outside the public view. The public airing of the reports provides a powerful incentive to organizational remedy of the problems afflicting the state's correctional departments and institutions.

The public is a vital partner in ensuring that California's correctional system operates in a sound and effective manner and that correctional administrators are held accountable for implementing necessary reforms. I hope you will find this website useful in the furtherance of those goals.

—

Matthew Cate
Inspector General"

Find sexual predators living near you.

Just CLICK on "The Dog"!

Must Another Correctional Officer Die?

Will CalDORC's insistence on their rights of managerial incompetence cause another death?

On or about March 8, 2004, charges were filed with the California State Personnel Board against Captain K. Peters of the California Institution for Men for having authored and signed a Letter of Instruction against a sergeant who alleged that the LOI was based on fraud and dishonesty. In a letter addressed to Margaret Teague, Staff Counsel, Legal Affairs Division for the Department of Corrections, Captain Peters defended himself by stating that he was not the author of this, allegedly, fraudulent Letter of Instruction, merely the agent of its service and the subject LOI was authored by the Employee Relations Officer, even though this individual is not mentioned anywhere within the LOI nor is his signature anywhere to be found on it.

This explanation, in turn, became the official mantra of Captain Peters' actions when repeated, as a defense, to the State Personnel Board, by Margaret Teague. Instead of addressing the issues raised in the SPB Request to File Charges, the State Personnel Board accepted this preposterous story proffered by the Department of Corrections. Instead of ruling on the substance and evidence in this matter, the State Personnel Board had the complainant chasing phantoms.

Within two weeks of the filing of these State Personnel Board charges against Captain Peters, a four month old allegation against this complainant surfaced in the form of a Category 1 investigation in which, it was alleged that this sergeant had disrespected a subordinate. Ultimately, this allegation was ruled to be unfounded.

Due to the delay of referral and time proximity between the filing of charges with the State Personnel Board against Capt. Peters and this new investigation, an investigation which CalDORC policy states would have been initiated promptly by the Warden, this sergeant filed State Personnel Board charges against L. Dicarlo, the Warden, at that time, of the California Institution for Men.

The basis of these charges were, Whistleblower Retaliation for, essentially, shelving the allegation until it proved useful for this purpose; Inexcusable Neglect of Duty for not having referred this allegation to investigators in a prompt and timely fashion as required by Departmental Operating Policy; Willful Disobedience and Insubordination for not complying with Departmental Policies and directives regarding whistleblower retaliation.

In defense of Ms. Dicarlo's apparent misconduct, Martin N. Hoshino, Assistant Director, Investigative Services Unit, explained away Ms. Dicarlo's delay and violation of departmental policy as being reasonable because "[the delay] does not appear unreasonable considering the complaint did not present an immediate safety issue - rather allegations of a hostile work environment.", a standard that is nowhere to be found in the Departmental Operations Manual.

Clearly then, this was just another departmental excuse to cover up malfeasance, negligence and misconduct by prison officials, managerial qualities which, arguably, led to the tragedy of January 10, 2005 and the Death of Correctional Officer Manual Gonzales. The departmental reaction to this event was the removal of Warden Dicarlo and her two chief deputies. Only after this tragedy was the malfeasance and incompetence addressed, even though ample red flags were raised prior to this event, red flags which were excused and dismissed by top departmental officials.

These two episodes are not exclusive of other examples of bureaucratic politicos at CIM achieving and/or securing their promotional potential in the Dicarlo administration through dishonesty, fraud and malfeasance, however, they are among the most recent and, although all promotions during her administration should be reviewed, they won't.

With the removal of Warden Dicarlo there is a new batch of snake oil salesmen that has been installed at the California Institution for Men, however, as I have stated many times in my blog, "The more things change, the more they remain the same" - let's review.

As I have, previously, reported in this blog, on Wednesday, August 24, 2005, one of my clients filed a Report of Employee Misconduct against the California Institution for Men's former Return to Work Coordinator/Health and Safety Officer, Kris Hilliker, for threatening to subject him to a process that could result in his termination from state service for having filed a workers compensation claim with the California Institution for Men. In so doing, she threatened a process which violates §132(a) of the Labor Code and constitutes a misdemeanor. In the initial conversation with Ms. Hilliker, in which the threat was issued, Ms. Hilliker reportedly stated that she was acting at the direction of the new Warden, M.E. Poulos who, ultimately, replaced Warden Dicarlo.

Departmental policy demands that allegations of misdemeanor misconduct require the Warden's referral to the departmental Office of Internal Affairs for investigation, however, Ms. Hilliker, reportedly, was transferred to the California Public Employees Retirement System soon after the report of her misconduct and before this case was referred. This departmental approval of Ms. Hilliker's reported transfer seems to be a transparent and intentional circumvention of departmental policy requiring its referral to OIA for investigation. Ms. Hilliker's reporting of the Warden's direction of her misdemeanor misconduct would have, reasonably, greased the wheels of her transfer, out of the jurisdiction of an OIA investigation, and put an end to the possibility of embarrassing revelations regarding the new Warden and his reported instructions to her.

- - - - - - - - - -

On April 13, 2005, a report was written by Sergeant G. Wilkerson, California Institution for Men, accusing one of his peer supervisors of threatening to spray him with Oleo-Capsicum Resin or OC, a form of tear gas. An investigation was completed on November 14, 2005 and its findings were, "The investigation is now closed, having failed to provide sufficient evidence that would merit corrective action." This official exoneration of the accused employee made a powerful case for the dishonesty of his accuser.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2005, a report of employee misconduct was filed, with Warden Poulos, against Sergeant Wilkerson citing dishonesty in his April 13, 2005 reporting as it's basis and, once again pursuant to departmental policy, this Report of Employee Misconduct required referral to the Office of Internal Affairs by Warden Poulos. On December 26, 2005, Sergeant Wilkerson was the beneficiary of a temporary promotion to Lieutenant instead. There is an old saying in CalDORC which seems to be applicable here - "Screw-up, move-up."

It becomes clear, through this continuing pattern of promotion, the type of talent CalDORC is scouting to fill their halls of power. While CalDORC drones on about ethics, this is nothing more than pablum for the masses as the real rewards continue to go to employees who's actions could be, reasonably, portrayed as unethical.

There is a new terminology floating around CIM regarding the management style of this new Warden - "CIM is off-the-hook." History is, once again, repeating itself and, if the past is any measure of what we can expect in the future, nothing will be done until another employee dies, once again, forcing Sacramento to become involved in their own future, albeit for that specific episode only.

Will it be you?

Lorraine Bradley

http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

A BELATED “NOT THE SHARPEST TACK IN THE BOX” AWARD.

In perusing my archival files, I discovered my case No. 135-04, a case in which a Captain at the California Institution For Men wrote and issued a Letter Of Instruction to a subordinate supervisor. The problem came when the allegations cited on the, disputed, Letter Of Instruction were fraught with lies, dishonesty and fraud.

For this reason, a complaint¹ was filed with the State Personnel Board, against the Captain, as per the instruction found in Government Code §19583.5 in which the attendant subsections of GC §19572 were cited as cause for discipline against the malfeasant Captain.

In defense of himself, in one of the most stunning examples of creative writing I have ever seen, this Captain wrote a, self-serving, letter of explanation to Margaret Teague, Staff Counsel, Legal Affairs Division, California Department of Corrections, in which he states that the Letter of Instruction was written by another individual and he merely signed and served it.

Even though there is no empirical evidence that this was true (indeed there were no other signatures on the Letter Of Instruction nor any reference to a third party author within the document), Margaret Teague adopted his fabrication which she regurgitated to the State Personnel Board as the official Departmental defense of this Captain's dishonesty, never addressing or disputing the dishonesty of the Captain which formed the basis of the original complaint. It would appear that analytical thought is not a necessary prerequisite for passing the Bar Exams in California.

Wow, Golly Gee Marge, maybe this other individual was the Captain's clone???

Now we come to the official letter from the State Personnel Board who swallowed this preposterous story "hook, line and sinker". In a letter authored (at least signed) by Stacey Burdue, Associate Personnel Analyst, State Personnel Board, on the basis of this superficial and self-serving explanation of the Department of Corrections, the complaint was denied.

In my experience, when dealing with politically powerful individuals, this type of myopia by the State Personnel Board is the rule rather than the exception.

In the annual training sessions that are required of all Correctional Officers, employees are instructed to utilize worthless avenues to process whistleblower complaints and reports of employee misconduct. Roads to nowhere such as:

1. Processing them through the Appointing Authority (Warden)

and

2. Processing them through the State Personnel Board.

Margaret Teague and Stacey Burdue, for your lack of analytical abilities and general gullibility, I award you the, never-to-be-prestigious, "NOT THE SHARPEST TACK IN THE BOX" AWARD.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

___________________________

¹"Request To File Charges"

Dear Santa . . .

By Gordon Campbell, Daily Bulletin Editorial Artist.

THE SHAM!

Employees of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDorc) are, continuously, being spoon-fed the expectation that employee misconduct must be fully and expeditiously reported. Since it is written Departmental policy, it seems reasonable that this policy should be followed. However, there seems to be no expectation that any of this reporting will amount to anything even though there are attendent written Departmental policies directing Correctional Managers and Administrators as to the proper disposition of these reports.

In the absence of any expectation of properly processing these reports, the reporting itself creates nothing more than "busy work" for correctional employees which waste taxpayer dollars due to the, ultimate, failure of departmental officials to act to correct the misconduct being reported.

Indeed employee misconduct is rampant within CalDORC, however, it's not the type that is being resolved or even recognized through established departmental processes. It is as old as CalDORC itself and as elusive as Big Foot. It is misconduct perpetrated by correctional managers and administrators and it isn't scrutinized until a public stench is created, through tragic circumstances, in which CalDORC is forced to act.

As I explained to you, the reader, on Sunday, October 24, 2004 in my blog article entitled "The Folly of Reformation in YACA" (this was before the agency name had been changed to CalDORC), the first problem which must be overcome before misconduct reporting becomes anything more than busy work, is the prejudice against upward reporting. The foxes continue to watch the hen house as they sit in judgement of which reports will be acted on and which reports will find their way to the round file, especially reports with their names or the names of their cronies on them.

In a supreme act of hypocrisy and "Do what I say and not what I do.", CalDORC has tinkered together a class in "ethics" as part of a Correctional Officer's annual training. Clearly the course content for this eight hour class was researched outside of CalDORC since the concept of ethics is foreign to the upper bastions of this agency. This class would seem to constitute the "comedy relief" portion of the training.

"We have seen the enemy and it is us."

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

Rotting Fish!

In reading the newspaper today, I can only say that the long assailed California government employee's unions are the only buffer between the State of California and total melt down.

It is being reported by the Los Angeles Times that Governor Schwarzenegger is being ordered by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson to appoint a chief of health care services to run the troubled prison health care system that, reportedly, "kills an average of one California inmate each week."¹

The prison health care system was placed under Federal receivership earlier this year and continues to be dysfunctional in the wake of the mounting frustration of Judge Henderson, who had, at one time, considered placing the entire Department of Corrections under receivership but chose to limit the receivership to the health care system instead.

Even though the California Correctional Peace Officers Association has been assailed by Governor Schwarzenegger, Judge Henderson and the mainstream news media as "running the California Department of Corrections", in retrospect, this was not a bad thing, considering the total inadequacy of the Correctional Managers and Administrators who have been promoted to do this job.

Since the failings of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections has, seemingly, increased under the Schwarzenegger administration, the involvement of the Correctional Officer's Union in CalDORC management seemed to have a positive impact until Schwarzenegger's new prison chief, Roderick Hickman, slammed the door in CCPOA's face.

Now, the most recent scandal to hit the Capitol is Governor Schwarzenegger's production and utilization of, taxpayer-supported, "Fake News Videos" in support of his, recently defeated, November propositions.

In his ruling, "Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly of Sacramento ordered that Schwarzenegger refrain from producing and distributing the videos, ruling that state law bars officials from using tax money to pay for one-sided releases, particularly when they advocate pending proposals to alter state laws and regulations."²

Clearly, with the moral compass gone and the rudder broken, the "Good Ship California" continues to drift into troubled waters.

In Russia there is a saying that, "A fish rots from the head", perhaps this explains the "Sacramento Stench".

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

______________________
¹ L.A. Times, December 2, 2005: "Gov. Is Ordered to Name Prison Healthcare Czar" By Jenifer Warren, Times Staff Writer.

² L.A. Times, December 2, 2005: "Gov.'s Fake News Videos Ruled Illegal" By Dan Morain, Times Staff Writer.

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

Psst! You wanna buy a bridge? . . .

How about a $10.00 Rolex?
CLICK HERE!

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

"THE WARDEN MADE ME DO IT!"

"It's Good To Be The King."

Throughout history, one of the prerogatives of despots has been, and remains to this day, the ability to dispense privileges to favored members of their court, while disenfranchising those whom have failed to receive the appropriate benediction, and the fiefdom of the California Institution For Men (CIM) is no exception.

The newest addition to the long list of CIM's imperious rulers has wasted no time in the incorporation of this philosophy into the "Poulos Doctrine".

Within California State Service and, more specifically, the California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) there is the principle that "Reasonable Accommodation"¹ will apply equally to all employees. However, the Departmental Operations Manual seems to have, secretly, been modified by the "Poulos Doctrine".

In CalDORC, "Alternate Job Placement" is colloquially termed "Light Duty Assignment" and, on Thursday, August 25, 2005, the fax machines at the State Compensation Insurance Fund rang off of their hooks as lists of employees with Workers Compensation Claims were being removed from their Light Duty Assignments at CIM. Coincidentally, just the prior day, on Wednesday, August 24, 2005, one of my clients filed a "Report Of Employee Misconduct" against the Health and Safety Officer for, allegedly, having perpetrated criminal discrimination against him for having filed a workers compensation claim². An act, so she asserts, that occurred under the direction of Warden Poulos.

Instead of making my client like the other Workers Compensation related, Light Duty employees, they were made in the image of my client - out of work and going home. If what the Health And Safety Officer is reported to have said is true, instead of resolving my client's allegation of a violation of law, Warden Poulos chose to send everyone who had Light Duty and a Workers Compensation Claim, HOME, and discriminate against all of them instead of just one. Perhaps it was his belief that this would make the unlawful discrimination more equitable? As Warden Poulos said in a written communique, he will pick and choose on a "case-by-case basis" those who will receive light duty dispensation.

Yes, I said discriminate. There is, at least, one, supervisory, member of the king's court who avoided the emperor's wrath and was allowed to remain on his Light Duty Assignment, even though his injury is reported as non job related and there is no Workers Compensation Claim resulting from it.

This should serve as notice to all industrially injured workers at CIM - you have no place or standing in the Court Of The Royal Wardenship.

More To Come!

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

_______________________________

¹D.O.M. §31010.9.1 Reasonable Accommodation (in part):
"All employees who incur disabling injuries or illness and wish to remain employed shall be provided with reasonable accommodation. This includes the necessary assistance and appropriate employment options to remain productive state employees. Alternative job placement will also be provided when appropriate and if a transfer is necessary, contacts with prospective hiring authorities shall be the responsibility of the local Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator (RAC) (who is usually the AA Coordinator)."

²Labor Code §132 (a), a misdemeanor

Regarding the peasants, “Let Them Eat Cake!”

The popular history of the French Revolution and the causes surrounding it center on King Louis XVI (1774-1792) and his queen, Marie Antoinette. The prevailing and unquestioned philosophy was that elites should rule society. The arrogance and ignorance of the French royalty and their indifference toward the austere plight of the peasantry is summed up in that one fateful statement that has been attributed to the tactless Queen of France.

When informed by a member of her court that the peasants were starving and had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette’s legendary response was, “Then let them eat cake.”, and, even though this statement is controverted by scholars of the French Revolution, they all agree that this statement represented the acrimonious relationship between the Royalty and the proletariat.

Now we transition from France in the late 1700s to Chino, California, USA, in the year 2005 anno Domini.

In an article written by Mason Stockstill and published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the headline reads, “Repairs needed after CIM riot”. This story articulates the damage that was inflicted on the physical plant of the East Facility of the California Institution for Men by the rioting inmate population on September 22, 2005.

However, as I have written in prior columns on this blog, there has been a historic lack of maintenance at this prison over the decades and it still continues to this day. The repairs that are spoken of in Mr. Stockstill’s article, as reported by Tim Shirlock, CIM’s Public Information Officer, are the ones that made it to the paper and they represent the small tip of a fiscal iceberg which threatens to sink Warden Poulos’ ship which has just come in.

Further, nothing was learned from the Manual Gonzales tragedy as a multitude of uniformed staff have yet to be issued stab-proof vests, thereby inviting future tragedies.

The logical question that arises is whether or not Sacramento has ever provided or is now providing the California Institution for Men with sufficient maintenance funding to properly continue their mission of providing safety to the public or the staff working at CIM. Prison maintenance appears to have taken a back seat to Warden Poulos’ creature comforts while Warden of CIM.

In the front of the California Institution for Men are approximately 10 State owned houses which serve as the, low rent, taxpayer subsidized, residences of the, highly paid, Warden and his Court, and Warden Poulos has recently begun preparing his house for his occupancy.

As Warden Poulos reported in his recent meetings with line staff, this preparation includes a new fence around, and a paint job for, his Warden’s Mansion. However, there are reports from CIM insiders that these repairs are far more extensive than Warden Poulos admitted at these meetings.

Reportedly, there is to be a complete renovation of this house including, but not limited to, all new major appliances, new paint, a new fence, and modernized bathrooms.

It seems odd that the prior residents of this house didn’t see the need for this level of, taxpayer subsidized, home improvement. More unusual still is the timing of all of this restoration.

If these reports are discovered to be true, through a proper external investigation, it leaves one to wonder just how much the necessary renovations of the prison will have to be split with the King’s new castle.

Perhaps the Inspector General could investigate and ascertain the veracity of these reports?

Perhaps the new Warden considers his own creature comforts to be a part of his fiduciary responsibility to the public. After all, Mel Brooks said a mouthful in his movie “History Of The World, Part I” in which he stated, “It’s good to be the King.”

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

TMTCTMTRTS - Part 2

Insiders at the California Institution for Men are reporting that, days after I published my October 11, 2005 article, " The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same.",¹ the individual reported as having committed misdemeanor employee misconduct², for whom Warden Poulos balked at referring this investigation to the Office of Internal Affairs, as is his duty³, has been transferred to another agency within California State Service, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).

If pressure had been mounting on Warden Poulos to follow Departmental policy and refer this investigation to the Office of Internal Affairs, the transfer of this individual to an agency outside of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) will bring a halt to such an investigation due to lack of jurisdiction of CalDORC's Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) to conduct investigations into employees of other agencies. This former Health and Safety Officer of CIM fell into this category upon her transfer.

This would seem to be CalDORC's version of the "Witness Protection Program", and her transfer would contain the additional benefit of preventing testimony by her, during the course of her interrogation by OIA, that would serve to implicate any of her superiors who were complicit with or, perhaps, even directed her actions.

Regarding the reported incident of Workers Compensation related retaliation, she has reportedly stated in the presence of others, "Don't blame me, the Warden made me do it."

Assuming that her statement regarding her direction by Warden Poulos was true, then this transfer would appear to be for the self-serving purpose of Warden Poulos protecting himself.

As with Ed Alameda and Pelican Bay, another investigation halted and more justice obstructed.

Just a thought - what do you think?

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

______________________________

¹ http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

² Labor Code §132a.(1)

³ Departmental Operations Manual: §31140.4.1; §31140.4.2; §31140.6.2

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same.

After my career as a Correctional Officer at the California Institution For Men (CIM) had ended, I studied and became a certified Paralegal. Since then I have acquired a Departmental clientele, some of which are employed at the California Institution For Men, Chino, for whom I have written and filed various documents with various levels of management and administration of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC).

One of the managerial practices that has transitioned through several changes of wardens at CIM is that of the perpetration and condonation of criminal activities within the Workers Compensation venue, committed against employees which have filed or made known their intention to file, claims¹. Although the California Institution For Men has a brand new administration, they are plagued with the management style of their predecessors.

In a recent communication with one of my clients², whom had filed a report of employee misconduct reporting Workers Compensation related retaliation, CIM's Acting Warden, M.E. Poulos, displayed his misunderstanding regarding his obligation to refer criminal investigations to the Office of Internal Affairs (OIA)³, a division of CalDORC which exists outside of the institution and, theoretically, outside of institutional politics.

In this correspondence, Acting Warden Poulos erroneously stated that it was his responsibility and sole discretion to initiate a criminal investigation (Category 2). Indeed, if this were more than mere ignorance of his established duties, it would harken back to the days when Ed Alameda, past Director of CalDORC, halted an investigation into staff at Pelican Bay, an act which Federal Judge Thelton Henderson characterized as "Obstruction of Justice".

Since all CalDORC investigations exist under a shroud of secrecy, it is not possible for an outsider to ascertain whether this misconduct report has been properly referred to OIA, albeit, having been politically poisoned in the process. However, if not, hopefully this editorial will prompt Acting Warden Poulos to take the appropriate action, however, none of us should hold our breath.

It is true that the more things change the more they remain the same.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

___________________________

¹ Labor Code §132 a. (1), a misdemeanor.

² This client has permitted me to refer to this report in this editorial.

³ Departmental Operations Manual: §31140.4.1; §31140.4.2; §31140.6.2

California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) embraces the lost theory of Spontaneous Generation.

Spontaneous Generation, or abiogenesis, is the archaic theory that life springs forth through the physicochemical agencies of inorganic substances. In other words, an eclectic assemblage of inanimate objects would, miraculously, produce life.

This assumption was widely abandoned by the scientific community in the early 1700s and was relegated to the ranks of other early scientific notions such as the "Flat Earth" and "Geocentric Universe". There it remained, undisturbed for hundreds of years until, just recently, when the intellectual Blue-Bloods of the California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) pulled it out of mothballs, dusted it off and, with modifications, reintegrated it into CalDORC's prison management strategies.

In the modified postulate, Rod Hickman's management team need only create additional Correctional Officer positions on paper and a miraculous, spontaneous generation of, fully trained and uniformed, Correctional Officers would ascend from CalDORC's primordial soup. However, like most of the management strategies tinkered together by the geniuses in Sacramento, this one was, but another, abysmal failure for Mr. Hickman's legacy.

In a prison system previously plagued by unwanted overtime forced upon uniformed correctional staff, the addition of these new positions, requiring more uniformed correctional staff to fill them, only exacerbates an ongoing staffing emergency in CalDORC. Obviously management's strategy to create the positions and let Spontaneous Generation do the rest has failed. It was only after the inevitable failure was realized by CalDORC that emergency academy classes are, only now, being pushed through. Meanwhile, Correctional Officers and Sergeants are packing pictures of their families and tattooing their home addresses on their hands so they don't forget where they live during these long, unwanted and numerous forced overtime shifts.

It is ironic that, once again, CCPOA has come to CalDORC's rescue with ideas and emergency measures that would alleviate some of the burden and impact that this flood of overtime is having on uniformed correctional staff, until the cavalry of fresh troops arrives. Yes L.A. Times and Sacramento Bee, this is the same CCPOA that has been assailed in your tabloids as running CalDORC. Yes Rod Hickman, this is the same CCPOA that you have shut out of the decision making process because of pressure from these tabloids. It is ironic that, usually, when the ship sinks, a drowning man doesn't seem to care who sent the life raft.

CCPOA's historic provision of management assistance to CalDORC has arisen out of necessity, in a total vacuum of departmental leadership. Rod Hickman is just one link in a long and notorious chain of Departmental failures to which CCPOA has offered rescue, however, he is the most conspicuous as he continues to push the life raft away merely because it was sent by CCPOA.

Perhaps Rod Hickman is the living proof that scientists need to resurrect the theory of Spontaneous Generation. In the recent Senate hearings investigating the failures of management in the Department of Corrections, Senator Romero asked the question, regarding Correctional Managers and Administrators, "Where do they get these people?" The theory of Spontaneous Generation would certainly answer her question.

Lorraine Bradley
Former Correctional Officer
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

DA Drops Ball In Blaylock Case!

http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~2842159,00.html

CIM inmate's file was ruled illegally obtained by the DA

By Rod Leveque
Staff Writer

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A judge on Thursday said she is leaning toward removing county prosecutors from the case against an inmate accused of murdering a Chino prison guard.

Judge Ingrid Uhler ruled that the San Bernardino County District Attorney illegally obtained and reviewed Jon Christopher Blaylock's confidential psychological files before filing criminal charges against him. She said she feared the information may have prejudiced prosecutors against Blaylock early in the case, even before they made their decision to seek the death penalty for him.

"They thought they were doing the right thing," Uhler said in court Thursday. "But unfortunately, in my opinion, it was the wrong way of doing it."

Although the judge hinted at her leanings, she assured attorneys she will not make up her mind until after listening to arguments from both sides during a hearing set for June 3 in West Valley Superior Court.

Prosecutors said afterward they are confident the judge will not remove them from the case. Deputy District Attorney Mark Vos said the judge has thus far heard arguments only from Blaylock's lawyers, and he believed she will be swayed after hearing the District Attorney's version.

"The court has not yet seen the evidence and the court has not yet been briefed on the case law," Vos said.

Blaylock, 35, is accused of fatally stabbing Correctional Officer Manuel Gonzalez inside the California Institution for Men in Chino on Jan. 10. San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos announced he was seeking the death penalty for Blaylock on Feb. 18, the same day criminal charges were filed.

Blaylock's lawyers have accused Ramos' office of bias. They claim Ramos made a rushed and politically motivated decision to seek the death penalty because the victim was a peace officer.

Defense attorneys protested this past month after learning the Department of Corrections had given Blaylock's confidential records to Ramos' staff without an appropriate court order or permission from Blaylock.

Defense attorneys asked the judge to order that the files be returned, that prosecutors provide an accounting of what was done with them and, finally, that prosecutors be tossed from the case for having seen the privileged information.

Prosecutors claimed they needed the records to help them determine, among other things, whether Blaylock is mentally retarded or otherwise unfit for the death penalty.

Uhler took custody of the records earlier this month pending her ruling.

After reviewing the files, the judge on Thursday said the documents appear to be confidential, and she ruled prosecutors obtained them illegally.

The judge then ordered the District Attorney's Office to turn over any handwritten notes taken by anyone who reviewed the files.

She said her common sense told her the information in the files was likely to have prejudiced the District Attorney's Office, although she promised to "keep an open mind."

Deputy Public Defender Joe Canty said the judge's ruling supported his claims of bias.

"We feel this shows the District Attorney is not capable of behaving fairly," he said.

Prosecution of the case would most likely fall to the California Attorney General's Office if county prosecutors are recused.

Blaylock has not yet entered a plea. He will not do so until after the recusal motion is litigated, his lawyers said.

Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9325.