Texas Prison Bid'ness

The San Antonio Express News recently investigated the relationship between the Bexar County Jail's private commissary contract, the Sheriff’s office and the Louisiana based company Premier Management Enterprises.

According to reports, officials close to Sheriff Ralph Lopez are being investigated by the District Attorney's office following the disclosure that Premier deposited four checks totaling $27,500 into accounts named for charities that were "shells" and "fronts," according to court documents.

Sheriff Lopez established the Benevolent Fund corporation board several years ago to run the jail commissary. We recently posted that the jail was over capacity in recent months. The large jail capacity means greater commissary revenues and benefits Premier's bottom line. During 2005, the jail's commissary generated $2 million in gross profits.

The $27,500 was funneled through the Benevolent Fund corporation. John Reynolds, who chairs the Board, is currently under investigation by the Bexar County District Attorney public corruption investigators, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers. Reynolds has strong ties to Sheriff Lopez, who he has known for at least 15 years. Previously, Lopez hired Reynolds as his campaign manager for years and once made Reynolds his chief of staff.

The apparent corruption now involves the Board's Vice Chairman -- John E. Curran III. He was in position to benefit financially from a deal with Premier as well. Curran's temporary worker company, PersoNet, now provides the very commissary employees that Premier uses to implement its private jail commissary contract.

Scandals like this emphasize that private jail and prison contracts must be closely monitored through preventive mechanisms and not simply reactive ones. Reactive oversight only comes into place following the surfacing of some scandal or event like a death or escape. Yet, preventive oversight can reduce the prevalence of such events and strengthen public safety. Preventive oversight, which can be achieved through a close review of private contracts and other conditions issues, will ensure that high standards are adhered too and public trust is maintained.