Corruption allegations against prison guards shadow Aryan gang trial

Monday, May 25, 2009 | 2 a.m.

White supremacists will be tried before jury (5-19-2009)
Aryan Warriors trial to begin amid threats of violence (5-17-2009)
Liver transplant sought for gang leader (12-18-2008)
Aryan Warriors meth cook gets 11 years (11-26-2008)
Conditions at jail 'harsh' but court can't change them (10-28-2008)
No place to sit, take notes (10-7-2008)
Lockdown hell (9-19-2008)
Aryan Warrior prison gang leader sentenced to more than 16 years (9-17-2008)
Feds may race Grim Reaper in gang case (7-31-2008)
Aryan Warriors threaten violence (6-6-2008)

Authorities have said all along that one of the most disturbing aspects of the Aryan Warriors case is the way the violent prison gang corrupted Nevada corrections officers.

Former members and associates of the gang who are cooperating with federal prosecutors name some of those corrections officers and spell out their alleged corruption in FBI reports and grand jury transcripts.

They accuse officers of helping the white supremacist gang smuggle drugs into prison yards. They say guards left cell doors cracked open to allow gang members to assault other inmates, passed messages of all sorts among Aryan Warriors and allowed gang members to use cell phones to contact partners in crime on the streets.

One gang member even testified that corruption within the prison system played a role in the killing of at least one inmate, a planned slaying that the witness had warned authorities about in writing.

And yet, as the racketeering trial of six Aryan Warriors and associates moves into its second week downtown, federal authorities have not charged corrections officers with any related crimes.

“They have not taken action against any of our staff, which leads me to believe they don’t have any substantiation or there’s going to be another wave” of charges, Nevada Corrections Department Director Howard Skolnik said.

The latter scenario may be more likely, FBI spokesman Dave Staretz said.

“We’re not ruling out any further prosecutions,” he said.

Sixteen corrections officers accused of misconduct were either partially or fully identified by former gang members and associates in documents obtained by the Sun. But 16 is not a comprehensive total because the documents in the newspaper’s possession are a small portion of the evidence accumulated in the lengthy federal investigation. Some allegations date back more than a decade.

Skolnik said at least eight of the 16 still work for the Nevada prison system. Officials could not determine whether four of the partial names on list the Sun provided ever worked for the prison system. Some of the identified corrections officers were disciplined by the Corrections Department as a result of information developed by prison officials, Skolnik said.

Skolnik, however, won’t say how many officers were disciplined, and he won’t identify the officers. He cited privacy concerns.

The Sun is not publishing the corrections officers’ names because they have not been charged.

The absence of charges also poses an issue for the prison system. Inmates, after all, are presumed to have less credibility than their guards.

“If we can’t substantiate an inmate’s allegation, we’re not going to take action,” Skolnik said. “We still function under the basic philosophy of you’re innocent until proven guilty.”

Federal authorities have not provided prison officials with additional information to support the accusations by the protected witnesses, Skolnik said.

“They’re in the midst of litigation, and they may be holding back until they’re done with the trial,” he said.

The conduct alleged hardly seems the type for which authorities would want to postpone action, however.

In a January 2008 report, FBI Agent Robert Hunt said former Aryan Warriors leader Guy Almony told him that drugs were “primarily smuggled” into the maximum security Ely State Prison by corrections officers.

Almony, who began cooperating with federal authorities after he survived a November 2007 attack by fellow gang members at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, identified five corrections officers at the Ely prison who he claimed assisted in the drug smuggling operation, Hunt wrote.

One of those officers had a “heroin problem” and “would smuggle in anything for half the product,” the report quoted Almony as saying.

Almony, who signed a sealed agreement with prosecutors in March 2008 calling for him to plead guilty to a racketeering charge, alleged that the corrections officer also provided another Aryan Warriors leader in Ely with his cell phone to call gang members outside the prison.

In a February 2008 FBI report, one of the officer’s friends, who also worked at the Ely prison, also said that the officer had a heroin habit, that he would snort drugs out of an eye dropper. The officer interviewed by the FBI said the Aryan Warriors had tried to recruit his addicted colleague to smuggle drugs into the prison for them, but he didn’t believe his friend had ever complied with that request.

The officer with the alleged heroin problem agreed to take an FBI-administered polygraph test in April 2008 and told agents he no longer worked for the prison system, another FBI report shows.

Almony, who is expected to testify for the government in the Aryan Warrior trial, told agents that another guard would smuggle drugs in return for $500 a package, and yet another would bring in marijuana in return for half the amount of the drug for his personal use.

Skolnik said state regulations don’t allow the prison system to conduct random testing of corrections officers, but the officers can be tested if they appear under the influence of drugs or alcohol while on duty.

Senate Bill 47, which is now in the Assembly, would give officials the authority to conduct random testing, Skolnik said.

In his interview with FBI agents, Almony identified two other corrections officers he alleged passed messages for gang members. Both officers denied that in earlier interviews with agents, according to reports of those interviews.

One of the guards denied opening doors for gang members, but he accused yet another officer at the Ely prison of doing it, the reports show.

Two other former gang members now cooperating with and protected by federal authorities also accused the latter Ely officer of smuggling drugs into the prison.

Michael Kennedy, a former Aryan Warrior leader who testified at the trial last week, told the FBI in December 2006 that the officer often slid compact disc cases filled with a white powder under the cell doors of inmates, a report shows.

Michael Alvarez, a former Hispanic gang leader who brokered a drug trafficking alliance with the Aryan Warriors inside the prison, testified before a federal grand jury in November 2006 that the guard was one of several who helped inmates distribute sheets of construction paper that had been soaked in methamphetamine, transcripts show.

The drugs were brought in through the mail to his unit, he said.

“And it would come in on a daily basis, and we’d always, you know, send things to other units ... and use COs, correctional officers, to do it,” Alvarez told the grand jury.

Alvarez, who is expected to testify in the racketeering trial, said the sheets sold from $75 to $100 apiece.

When interviewed by the FBI in July 2007, the Ely officer denied cracking doors for inmates or bringing drugs into the prison. But he acknowledged getting a tattoo from a skinhead gang at the prison, which caused him to be put on administrative leave, an FBI report of the interview said. The officer indicated he was under “psychotherapeutic medication” at the time. The officer “has a reputation of ‘taking care of things’ within the institution,” the report said. “He does not take (expletive) and supervisors would often come and request his help.”

Kennedy told the FBI that while he was at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City, a guard had provided the Aryan Warriors with information that allowed gang members to “beat up child molesters and take their property.”

At the Ely State Prison, another guard left a cell door open to allow an Aryan Warrior leader to assault an inmate, Kennedy alleged in the report. He also said a fellow inmate was “sleeping with several female corrections officers” there.

While at the High Desert State Prison in Southern Nevada, Kennedy came in contact with a female prison investigator who allegedly was providing sensitive information to gang members, the FBI report said.

The investigator once used her truck to deliver flowers, manure and other garden items with drugs hidden inside to the High Desert prison, Kennedy alleged. The investigator also once revealed the identity of a prison snitch to Kennedy and instructed him to “hit him,” the report alleged. The informant, however, was moved out of the state.

Alvarez testified in 2006 that he tried to warn authorities about a plot to kill one of his fellow Hispanic gang members. He sent a letter to a local prosecutor, but asked the prosecutor not to forward it to the Corrections Department.

“And I told her I didn’t trust the DOC, the Department of Corrections, because of everything that was going on there, but she sent the letter to the Department of Corrections anyway,” he testified.

The inmate was later killed, as Kennedy had warned, prompting an internal inspector general’s investigation within the prison system, he said.

Skolnik said he did not recall any corrections officers being disciplined as a result of that investigation.

He defended his staff of 1,800 corrections officers, saying there are “very few” bad apples.

“We have a very good record of controlling violence and escapes compared to most correctional departments in the country” even though Nevada has a higher inmate-to-staff ratio, he said. “Our staff does an incredible job with the resources it has.”

But Skolnik also acknowledged that mistakes are made.

“It’s a very difficult and stressful job,” he said. “It’s easy to become complacent, and when you become complacent, you get taken advantage of.”

Jeff German is the Sun’s senior investigative reporter.

Discussion: 24 comments so far…

By msfreeh

5/25/09 at 8:06 a.m.

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to view a partial list of crimes committed by FBI agents over 1500 pages long see
http://www.forums.signonsandiego.com/sho...

to view a partial list of FBI agents arrested for pedophilia see
http://www.dallasnews.com/forums/viewtop...
By Phyremedic

5/25/09 at 8:47 a.m.

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But Skolnik also acknowledged that mistakes are made.

"It's a very difficult and stressful job," he said. "It's easy to become complacent, and when you become complacent, you get taken advantage of."

This begs the question, if you know of this problem, why has it gone on for so long?

The answer as you put it; "Inmates, after all, are presumed to have less credibility than their guards."

Seems this is not the case, the inmates did have the credibility in this case. The guards relied upon this aforementioned mentality to get away with murder.
By KillerB

5/25/09 at 9:01 a.m.

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"Authorities have said all along that one of the most disturbing aspects of the Aryan Warriors case is the way the violent prison gang corrupted Nevada corrections officers."

Let's start with the premise the incarcerated could not corrupt their keepers who did not choose to be corrupted. Then let's see how this plays out.

msfreeh -- good one! I'd recommend Napolitano's "Constitutional Chaos." It's a book by a former federal judge disturbed by the fact government agents, including FBI and police, no longer operate within the law.
By olygene

5/25/09 at 9:12 a.m.

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Do I think that prison guards can be corrupted? Hell Yeah. Do I think prison guards will be reprimanded, sentenced, or reprimanded? Hell No. Not every guard is dirty, but every guard is tainted by these accusations. To weed out the bad one, ALL guards should undergo polygraph testing (yes, I know it's not infallible (is that a double negative)) and if any guard refuses, immediately terminate them or reassign them to other non-prison duties. It's unfortunate that civil rights will be trampled, but if I was a honest guard, I would not hesitate to take the test. If I was dirty, I would fight tooth and nail to not take the test.
By doubledown_deadender

5/25/09 at 9:35 a.m.

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Ohh...yes, I am reminded of the FEDERAL prison guard at Manhattan Correctional Center (MCC) telling John Gotti that Sammy the Bull Gravanno had just been escorted from the facility. (i.e. became a US gov witness).
The latest scandal? The recent New York terrorist case is turning into another "Russian in Miami/titty-bar owner/brokers a submarine/Colombian Cartel" type of embellished, glory seeking, taxpayers fiasco"

Stay Tuned.
By positivechange

5/25/09 at 9:35 a.m.

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No wonder the illegal drug trade is hopping at Ely... and other Nevada prisons!

Prisons don't work... they never have.

House arrest would be less costly and would keep families together.

It's FINALLY coming out through the ACLU lawsuit that medical care at Ely State Prison is inadequate==unconstitutional.

Legalize drugs and let's move on!

There were 545 lawsuits in federal courts 19 Feb 2009. The bulk of the work for the federal court in Reno is from NV prison inmates at Ely State Prison.

Total bill to Nevada taxpayers? $3,338,021 for just one budget year.

Re: Guards recruiting snitches in NV prisons?

What happens to the prisoners who won't dance this illegal tango? Some do stand up... and at great personal price.

Check this out:
http://www.nvpv.us/pjcorner.html

"Skolnik, however, won't say how many officers were disciplined, and he won't identify the officers. He cited privacy concerns."

No random drug testing for guards? A big secret society benefit for guards, who mostly have little education and little to no training for their big paying jobs.

Don't get me wrong. Some NDOC officers are honest==humane, but, God help them if they go against their own. They have their own court battles, too, against NDOC.

I grew up thinking that justice was blind. But, Mr. Skolnik confirms that NV prisons are a secret society, and a draconian society.

Who will stop this injustice within an unjust system=in a society based upon justice? Not Nevada paid officials, not legislative representatives. Do they have a vested interest in the continuance of injustice, though we the people want true justice?

I think that, based upon legislative nonaction on prison matters this session, we can expect this to go on and on and on until the prisons bankrupt Nevada and we're all dead=without being able to have seen and experienced true justice.

There is no public oversight of NV prisons allowed. Why? These money sucking, nonaccredited to professional standards prisons, unlike public hospitals and schools, would have to be shut down immediately if examiners got inside.

Bottom line? It's all about money. Not people, not true, blind justice, not progress.

The taxpayer money that the Nevada Department of Corrections spends daily in their secret society, a shameful system in our democracy, is truly going down the toilet.
By johnmanrules

5/25/09 at 10:53 a.m.

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"No random drug testing for guards? A big secret society benefit for guards, who mostly have little education and little to no training for their big paying jobs". Big paying jobs? Your kidding right? Have you seen how much these guys make? They get piss and sh#t thrown on them for 33,000 per year. Sure, they get overtime if they are willing to work a double shift if the next guy doesn't show up, woopdie doo. And your legalize drugs argument is just old. Argue for marijuana and many will agree with you and you won't get much of an argument out of me. Argue that all drugs should be legal and all I can do is laugh at you. You must have no concept of reality or maybe you don't know anyone who has had their life ruined by meth or heroin. Either way, "drugs" will never be legalized.
By positivechange

5/25/09 at 12:36 p.m.

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TO: johnmanrules...

The prohibition of drugs leads to criminal activity.

Certain irresponsible institutional personnel and officials, well paid officers included (as pointed out in this article) perpetuate this illegal activity... insulated, protected. That's so wrong.

Please become informed. Read the requirements for education? Corrections officers make big bucks compared to ordinary citizens.

Look at this:

CORRECTIONAL OFFICER TRAINEE - 13.314 - 6366

APPROXIMATE SALARY $38,524 - $56,627 per yr

LOCATION: Ely

Source: The State of Nevada
http://www.recruitingnevada.com/jobposti...

Maybe you work in a prison and want to make more?

Check out the City of Las Vegas salary 5/22/09:
http://careers.reviewjournal.com/careers...

CORRECTIONS OFFICER
APPROXIMATE MONTHLY STARTING SALARY: $4,322

Their pensions? Enviable. Corrections officers make more than teachers, Sir. That's so wrong and backwards.

Yes, I have felt the helplessness and trauma of being involved with drugs ruining helpless addicts' lives.
And do you think there is adequate treatment for addicts in Nevada prisons? There is not.

Drugs must be legalized. Only careful, consistent medical treatment can cure drug addiction and that war is not always successful, but it's the only logical way to recovery.

Yes, big meth and heroin are special killers and that's exactly why we must legalize them==so that the addicts can come out of the dark and the drug dealers inside and outside of prison can be put out of business.

It's money, remember?

Go ahead and laugh at me if you wish... laugh as our ship sinks. We are all going down with it.

This is the current ugly, sickening reality. Do you call or write your representatives? What do you do to make our society better? What do you do to try to save lives?

Science and education work. Prisons do not.

If the drug traders and smugglers in prison had had education, support and the opportunity most did not have to turn their natural talent for business into legal business skills... well, I'd bet money that they would not be where they are now.

Sadly we can't go back to when they were children and given them great educations and support. But, we can keep youth out of prisons by spending more on education for them now.

And we must habilitate and educating those in prisons now.

We Americans (U.S. citizens) are by nature entrepeneurs... ban it and we will sell it==with a vengence; especially if we're protected under color of law.

It's all about money, as I said... and maybe power. You seem to defend the status quo, the system, so, you appear to want to be part of the problem, not the solution... especially since your name is: "john man rules."

Have a nice holiday.
By johnmanrules

5/25/09 at 2:15 p.m.

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To Positivechange,

Wow, you call me part of the problem based on what I wrote above? First, let me correct you on a few things. These are prison guards we are talking about, not city employees. Don't try bunching overpaid non-relevant city corrections officers into the mix to boost your argument. They make almost twice the base salary as the prison guards which this article references.

Next, I will tell you what I do. I supervise these criminals before and after they are released from prison. I am sure my firsthand experience with drugs and addicts is as good or better than yours. I also believe that I do my "part" for society. I see everyday what drugs do to peoples lives. And no, there are not even close to enough programs to help those who are addicted. But at the same time I believe most made a choice and dictated their own fate. I had that choice and I made the right one.

You also stated "The prohibition of drugs leads to criminal activity". The crime itself leads to someone committing it? That is a complete victim mentality. Does me having material possessions lead to someone committing a burglary?

Lastly, you compare the wages of teachers to these prison guards. You said "Corrections officers make more than teachers, Sir. That's so wrong and backwards". Is that really backwards? Why are prison guards in demand? You can't find people to do that sh$tty job. That is how you end up with the corrupt turds that this article is about, they can't find good people (they all go to work for the city). Just watch the show lockup on MSNBC for one hour and you will see why. I think I would rather watch 12 or 14 year old children than I would convicted murderers and rapists. And the discrepancy in pay is very narrow when all is said and done. Teachers probably may even make more and rightfully so. You are barking up the wrong tree if you think I am anything but pro-education. In my opinion that is the biggest problem with Las Vegas. I could show you the retirement offset, but unless you really want that info, I won't waste your time. Have a nice day.
By positivechange

5/25/09 at 4:45 p.m.

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TO: johnmanrules

1) Yes, you are part of the problem because you misled readers by citing incorrect information about corrections officers' (c/os) salaries.

Unfortunately, teachers do not make more.... we make $3,000 less after teaching seven years than c/os' when they begin with their starting salaries. That's criminal.

Look at facts, please:

http://www.teacher-world.com/teacher-sal...

2) You supervise these criminals before and after they are released from prison? Drug addicts, as I said, have serious medical problems, but you still insist on labeling them as criminals? Where is your compassion? Wake up, please.

3) You made the right choice? Good for you. I hope that you supervise with kindness and are aware of the obstacles that the failed system has created for our prisoners.

If you are treating those you supervise as you would like to be treated, you must see positive results, I predict. But, your calling them criminals when drug addicted prisoners still have medical afflictions because the prisons have given them no tools or treatment to get better... seems unfair, whether they chose to become addicted or not... and frankly, nobody wants to be addicted.

Peer pressure, dealers and misinformation are contributing factors... as well as the guards in this article.

4) Yes, prohibition does lead to criminal activity... 80% of offender crimes have drugs involved... per Attorney General Masto's report:

Of the approximately 13,000 inmates in Nevada state correctional facilities, methamphetamine was a factor in the crimes of 40% of the men and 72% of the women . Four out of every five inmates report having a substance abuse problem.

Source: http://lasvegassun.com/search/?q=catheri...

Yes, our having material possessions can lead others to burglarize... the poor, and most drug users are poor, seek escape through drug use and burglarize to sustain their need to pay for drugs. The vicious circle.

4) Finally, I'm glad you are pro-education. But, we don't just watch "12 - 14 year old children," we teach them, or try to, in order to keep them out of prisons. They are sophisticated. We're on the front lines, not in a bubble with a gun.

We ought to make more, not less than guards. I've taught in jr. high school, and I've taught prisoners, too.

Also, the minority, not the majority in prison are murderers and rapists, both of which I've taught, who gave me no problem. Do not scare the public or poison their view of prisoners, please.

Yes, show me the retirement offset. I like facts.
By xie

5/25/09 at 6:38 p.m.

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There are several guards at ESP with Nazi tattoos. The warden doesn't look into this because he doesn't care.
By xie

5/25/09 at 6:40 p.m.

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It has gone on so long because Skolnik is corrupt, but most of all the warden of ESP is completely corrupt, lies under oath, frames people for crimes to take the heat off himself and more. Skolnik is either just lazy or maybe the warden of ESP has some dirt on someone high up. Why else would they not get rid of him when they have known about this for years and it has cost lives?
By johnmanrules

5/25/09 at 7:14 p.m.

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When you are convicted of a crime, you are called a criminal, not a nice guy or gal or anything else. They are convicted of crimes, no questions asked. Sorry if I am not PC on that one. I guess I just lack that compassion that you speak of.

"But, your calling them criminals when drug addicted prisoners still have medical afflictions because the prisons have given them no tools or treatment to get better". I think you meant "have not" and I would like to address that. I wish I could tell you how many chances most of these "criminals" have had before they are actually sent to prison. No it is not one, two or in most cases even five. They are given opportunities at treatment while their crimes are reduced to misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors. They continue to incur victims along the way. They are given every opportunity at programs like drug court and inpatient treatment facilities. Sure there are not enough of them, but they are there and they do work. "Criminals" are not just locked away at the onset of the problem.

Please show me where I misled anyone. I am pretty sure you were saying I was part of a different problem than misleading readers, but now I am part of that problem too? You were right about the starting salary for a prison guard. They are state employees, therefore, the salary posted is 17.5 percent higher due to retirement contributions (Correctional Officers are under Police/Fire. That will increase 1.75 percent starting July 1.
The salary you posted above was correct, only with retirement taken out of that it really is 31,781 to 46,716. I am not sure if teachers are on the same system, but I don't think you are. Your salary is your salary. Here is the link to the state employee website which shows the compensation schedules.

http://dop.nv.gov/compschedules.htm

Look under PP 01 and PP 02. Under PP 01 you take the higher salary and 17.5 percent is deducted from your check for retirement. Under PP 02, nothing is deducted but you take the lower salary. They work out the same but one has a lower tax bracket.

It is nice to see that you do have an interest here though. You are teacher and you believe yourself to be underpaid. However, you knew before you went into that profession what you would be paid. Now that you are there, you complain about how much you make. Now you attack others salaries who make more than you. Nice!

"Unfortunately, teachers do not make more.... we make $3,000 less after teaching seven years than c/os' when they begin with their starting salaries". After teaching for seven years you make less than $35,524 (which is actually 29,307)? I read your link above and it shows with a bachelors degree after seven years in clark county teachers make 38,600. What numbers are you using?

I guess prison guards don't watch over rapists and murderers because they are the minority. You think I was trying to scare someone? Do you have a family member in prison?
By johnmanrules

5/25/09 at 7:16 p.m.

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I think the biggest thing wrong with your argument is you seem to blame everything on the "system". The "system" has failed everyone. When did it become a "system" and why is it responsible? What happened to personal responsibility? From the teachers to the parents to the CO's to the PO's, people are responsible. You can't just blame it on a "system". That leaves no personal responsibility and an easy cop-out.
By geezelouise

5/25/09 at 7:18 p.m.

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This is ghastly. What the heck. There are a few "bad apples?

Skolnick, get a life.

The public expects that these prisoners are guarded to keep us safe.

We don't want Guards to help them become better crimials.
By FreeMan

5/25/09 at 7:42 p.m.

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Skolnik believes that people are innocent until proven guilty? That is a pile of c**p. I have family members who are fighting Skolnik in the federal court right now for the exact reason that Skolnik has decided they are guilty even though proven innocent. Skolnik is nothing but a liar, and his sidekick McDaniel is a murdering criminal as bad or worse than any in his custody.

It is time for the feds to step in and get rid of McDaniel before more lives are lost.
By positivechange

5/25/09 at 8:53 p.m.

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Yes, johnmanrules, the system in place is broken... broken by unscrupulous prison officials right up to the governor who is the head of the prison commission... all personally responsible.

A legislator who spoke recently at a corrections committee meeting in April recently knows the bottom line.

An informed person, he publicly stated that the system is broken. He knows that neither the officials nor the legislators will not break rank, too, individuals who could use power wisely, but who do not.

And now the feds are not bringing the guards in this case to justice? If it were not for the guards, the prisoners would not have drugs to sell or use! This is social insanity.

It's all a joke on justice, which is far from blind in this case.

Why can't you realize that personal responsibility goes out the window when addiction takes over the real person inside?

You continue to refer to your clients as criminals. Why can't you see them as victims of a deadly disease that the guards and drug dealing prisoners manipulate?

You told me to watch Lockdown on TV. I don't have to. I've witnessed lockdown, smelled the foulness, seen the misery, heard the deafening attempts at communication in units unfit for animals, let alone human beings.

It's worse than a 17th century mad house, yes, draconian, as one attorney has so aptly stated. Conditions like this in NV prisons exist outside of constitutional law.

Why do the individuals employed in the system, the administrators allow conditions like this to continue? Power, money, hate, desensitization, ignorance?

This whole drama is shameful to the human race.

I think that anybody who condones these concrete cemeteries that house live persons, no matter their crimes, is personally irresponsible and needs to be sued out of house and home, as Skolnik and McDaniels are being sued right now.

Guards could strike, demand positive change for the prisoners and themselves since they are locked up, too, and they had better do so before the riots explode in this unregulated prisons, as they did in Ohio and New York.

Salaries? Teachers shape future society by educating, leading out human beings, not shackling them and locking them down. There is dignity in that.

Though underpaid, teaching and teachers are priceless. And, I would choose to teach again, but in a better paying area.

My being a guard? Not a chance if they paid me a million a year.

The prisons' sociological, anthropological, family wrecking failure in the USA, has created the highest incarceration rate in the world.

I predict that Ely State Prison will go down in history as one of the world's most infamous places of systematic genocide ever known in prison history when the smoke clears from the court cases coming out of NV.

No, I don't have a family member in prison, but I know that we need to have compassion for prisoners. If they can make it out alive, they are true survivors... who have my utmost respect.
By FreeMan

5/25/09 at 10:09 p.m.

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I suggest that everyone read the Superceding Indictment in this case. It is eye-opening to say the least.
By WilliamClarke

5/26/09 at 12:39 p.m.

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Great coverage of the trial about the AW's. I was a CO at HDSP and SDCC for almost 16 years.

When I was forced to depart the NDOC in 2003 the gangs were becoming a little restless because of the administration was going after officers like my self. Howard Skolnick wanted to show who's boss and went after the AW's. There are very small reference to size of group.

The story about internet access in wrong. The Rick Tabish story is a shame. He only had access to intranet.Meaning communication between prisons and that was to staff members.Things may have changed since I had left.

Letting you know if IG Patrick Conmay is on any paperwork involving the AW's his information may be tainted since he was not a POST certified Peace Officer for at least 5 years.
By sunshower

5/27/09 at 12:20 a.m.

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First the superceding indictment, at least a good portion of it was based on the testimony of a defentant that was facing federal charges himself and regardless of the questioning ....He absolutly would benafit by giving testamony to an elaborate case ...So much of that testamony was almost an exact repeat of a dicovery chanel documentary...

Also I can respect the issues that prison guard face, yet that should not excuse any wrong doing or criminal behavor. Why must any man or woman not be held accountable for their actions Those men on trial certanly are being held accountable
Those that are to be represenatives of Law and order must do so without prejudice. The Law Is the Law it should not be assigned only to those that are unfavorable. Shame on everyone that believes otherwise.
By Tonja

6/2/09 at 1:06 p.m.

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Why doesn't this surprise me. This has been and ongoing thing for years. When you try to say something to someone, they just blow it off or simply cover it up.
By D_Dawson

6/6/09 at 7:49 p.m.

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First and foremost I would like to start by stating that I am a Correctional Officer and not a prison guard. I dont guard the prison, any more then teachers are baby sitters.

Here is a brief look into my history, upon graduation from highschool, I enlisted in the army military police corps, where I did two tours of combat in protection of your rights. I have worked corrections in texas, and now here in Nevada.

It is my experience that there are 4 dirty teachers and free staff for ever dirty correctional officer. As for rapists, child molesters, and murderers being the minority I will state that in my unit there are 84 inmates of those 84 inmates there are 15 rapists and/or child molesters and 13 murderers. there is your minority.

"Salaries? Teachers shape future society by educating, leading out human beings, not shackling them and locking them down. There is dignity in that.
Though underpaid, teaching and teachers are priceless. And, I would choose to teach again, but in a better paying area.
My being a guard? Not a chance if they paid me a million a year."

The dignity of being an officer is in knowing that I protect you from the murderers, rapists, and child molesters that you care for so much and whom if not for me and my fellow officers would be at YOUR DOOR.

"Guards could strike, demand positive change for the prisoners and themselves since they are locked up, too, and they had better do so before the riots explode in this unregulated prisons, as they did in Ohio and New York."

For your information, it is illegal for CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS to strike, if we didnt show up to work the safety and security of this state would cease to exist.
By spartacusproject

6/28/09 at 10:36 p.m.

Suggest removal

POSITIVECHANGE, GEEZELOUISE, TONJA: Your statements are very well received and accurate. Johnmanrules is a state paid parasite. He thrives on making misery within the halls of our justice system--which is foul to begin with.

Skolnut, director of prisons is a bitter man who was in corrections in another state--where the inmates got sick of him and stuck a gun down his throat. (It's true!) The coward left for greener pastures in Nevada. Aren't we lucky?

McDaniels, warden at Ely Prison, is a fat, ugly and putrid human being. It must be disgusting to look like this Jabba the Hun. His hate comes through the guards--for his personal depressed state of life. He is absurd as a person. A hater and sick, mentally & physically! He needs to go. I'd like to know why he hasn't been gone long ago. What does he have on the State of Nevada Prison Administrators? It must be good.

Let's not just pick on the abusive guards at most of the prisons, let's include the paychecks of the administrators. Skolnut = $130.000.00 a year. Just accepted a huge raise. Was it $30,000.00 a year, when this state is broke?

If, those of you that try to defend this state for their incarceration policy and prison policy--you need to give it up. The guard only reflect the attitude of their administrators. Look at all those new cars in the parking lots of the prisons. You think only their paychecks bought those new cars?

I know for a fact many of the guards, the low life bastards, push the convicts into sales for them. Sales include alcohol as well as drugs. Do you think the convict really has the defense to say NO? Come on Nevada = Get a life!

So for all you parasites that try to recondition citizen into believing parole, probation and prison is just the ticket all of us need to prosper, you disgust me! You are liars, and living under a cloud of idiocy! Try telling it like it is on Nevada's judicial system, starting with the police, prosecutors, judges and all of the attorneys in this state. (Miserable lot--all of them.)

Tell me how a 17 years old boy is shot in the back and killed, while running from the police--handcuffed? Tell me how brave your justice is when a woman is shot in front of her children, sitting on the ground in front of her ice cream truck? Tell me how much justice you can claim when a man is on his knees, legs crossed, hands in the air--is shot in the back because the dirty rotten cowardly cop thought he was going for a gun? Now, here is your parasitic Nevada justice: None of the above killers were held responsible for the killings.

Let's put it this way: Nevada Rules...for the moment. You parasites live your pathetic lives and enjoy the moment. It won't last forever.

Can you imagine a guard wants to be called a correctional officer. Tell me what is he correcting?