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Feds Investigate Santa Rosa County, Private Prison Link
August 24, 2011
A Santa Rosa County commissioner’s work computer was seized by the FBI on Tuesday as a federal grand jury investigates the funding and construction of a privately owned prison in Milton.
The computer was used by Commissioner Jimmy Melvin and his predecessor, Gordon Goodin. Melvin said the FBI assured him that he is not involved in their investigation.
Documents related to the Blackwater River Correctional Facility operated by Geo Group of Boca Raton were previously subpoenaed from Team Santa Rosa, and subpoenas were issued in May to the Florida Office of Legislative Services for travel documents for former lawmaker Ray Samson and some of his aides.
Back in 2008, a provision inserted by Samson into a general appropriations bill provided for $110 million to build a private prison somewhere in the state. That money eventually went to fund the Blackwater facility in Santa Rosa County.
Blackwater CF has a maximum capacity of 2,000 inmates. Construction began in February 2009 and the first inmates were transferred into the facility in October 2010.
Comments
7 Responses to “Feds Investigate Santa Rosa County, Private Prison Link”
Follow the money like they say on TV starting with who paid who for the land to build this on chase it all the way to who is related to who handing out contracts I’d really like to see that……
The sad part is that when Samson’s charges were dropped all of his “friends” in the house patted him on the back and were shaking his hand. They had all beat the legal system. (if there is such a thing)
lol
Now look into all the computers of Escambia County Commissions.
If I were Samson, I would be Googling, pleasant places, with no extradition treaty with the US of A, The provision was a bad move for Samson. I would imagine there is 110 million in dirty money around Boca, that Geo could have laundered through the prison construction. How in the world did they get mixed up with an idiot like Samson?
Someone please explain, I don’t understand. If it’s a privately owned and operated prison why did a bill pass pay 110 million dollars of tax payer money for some private persons to have a prison, am I reading this wrong? If its private then the 110 mil must be a loan to be repaid.
Can I just have a bill passed to pay me an exhorbitant amount of money to build or do what ever crosses my mind ? and all you all pay for it?
Oh what fun, I should go into politics, very profitable, kind of like working at the fair I bet, alot of junk for alot of money.
The Santa Rosa County FL county commission is the most corrupt set of GOOD OLE BOYS you will ever see. Look deeper and see where the USAGE of CONSTRUCTION companies and firms hired to build the MILTON PRISON were all owned by the same COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
Down right dirty corruption reaks havoc in the Florida Panhandle. These commissioners got paid through the employment of their AKA Friends &
Family members getting all the contracts.
Ed Gray III is the dirtiest cheat around and makes Sansom look clean. Come on Governor SCOTT do your job and show FLORIDA that political corruption stops
in the 1st Judicial District….. Where it all began.
For profit prisons will always be corrupt, after all the more people you jail the more that they make. They have incentive to jail people … I hope the FBI busts them red handed