-Caveat Lector-
PROTECTION: PAY YOUR MONEY, TAKE YOUR CHANCE
We are a nation of shirkers. We collectively shirk our responsibility to
protect and care for each other. We have no ligitimate excuse. We have
reaped the consequences. The public trust has been ravaged by
unspeakable government misfeasance. Scandal is the civic norm. We, in
our naive folly, increasingly opt for the "lesser evil." Sometimes,
that's exactly what we get. Privatization of public responsibility
metastasizes through out society. Reliance on government contracts has
so ravaged the private sector that no employee feels secure. Public
reliance on government protection has so corrupted society that we can
no longer depend on each other for even common courtesy, let alone
mutual aid. Mass media mind control more or less sucessfully shifts the
blame for our mutual socio-pathology onto relatively defenseless
scapegoats. We suffer ever more greatly as these trends feed on each
other, and on us. We who refuse to care for each other have been
bankrupted and left to die by an avaricious and uncaring medical system.
We who refuse to clean up after ourselves are choking on each other's
fumes. We who refuse to teach each other are dragged back from an
otherwise promising future by the collective ignorance that our
education system so lovingly nurtures. We who refuse to protect each
other are at the mercy of a legal system whose very business is crime.
And a lucrative business it is.
By this point in history, all but the most naive of us have stopped
expecting cops, public or private, to all behave like Boy Scouts. There
has been simply too much evidence to the contrary. In the gray and murky
zone where law enforcement overlaps with organized crime, an underground
empire has arisen. It is a world where the so-called "War on Drugs" is
often a war on rival drug dealers, and always a war on the poor. It is a
world where "National Security," excuses war crimes and genocide is a
salable commodity. It is a world where justice is for sale and cops are
for rent.
A family business, Wackenhut Corp., was founded by one time FBI man
George R. Wackenhut, in 1954. His son Richard, a Citadel graduate, is
president and CEO. The immediate family hold over 50% of the stock The
rest is divided among just 1100 stockholders. Wackenhut stock is traded
on the New York Stock exchange. Buy a share, and you will receive a
fascinating brochure. The company's revenue has grown from just $300,000
in 1958 to nearly half a billion today. It is one of the largest private
security firms in existence.
Wackenhut specializes in security contracts. Government contracts are
best, of course, and the company's remarkable growth is due on no small
part to George Wackenhut's relationship to certain government officials.
His first big break came when he secured a contract to watch over Titan
missile sites in four states. Since then, security and public safety
functions have proven a lucrative focus. Wackenhut provides security
guards for such high-risk installations as the trans-Alaska pipelines,
major airports both in the United States and abroad, dams and the
nuclear test site in Nevada. It also owns a casualty reinsurance firm, a
travel service, and an airline services company. The Department of
energy provides 25% of Wackenhut's total gross. Their operatives also
serve friends of the U. S. Govt. and Big Oil (like the fugitive Shah of
Iran), abroad as well as at home.
Wackenhut personnel guard the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites
in Louisiana and Texas. From time to time, they can be seen around the
complexes, dodging alligators, and exchanging laser gunfire with
soldiers, local police and sheriff's deputies. This is just practice to
prepare for real trouble, such as terrorists. Wackenhut touts it's
supposed anti-terrorist expertise. James P. Davis, who manages the site
for government contractor Boeing, declares: "I pity anybody who tries to
invade here. It would be tougher than Fort Knox." That is arguable. The
government itself concedes that the security could be beefed up. But the
analogy to Fort Knox is fitting. There is gold here, too, only it's
black. Always remember the Golden Rule: "Gold rules."
Wackenhut often recruits ex-police and military men who don'trequire a
fresh background check. Cutting this corner (at $30,000 to $40,000
apiece) has allowed the employment of a number of unsavory characters,
including infamous navy spy John Walker. Therein lies a tale or few.
When Wackenhut operatives were caught recently in the public spotlight
by court allegations of illegal surveillance, Associated Press reports
that they were staunchly defended by their employer in the case, the
president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., James B. Hermiller. Alyeska
is a consortium of seven oil companies including Exxon Corp. owners of
the Exxon Valdez. They are also long time Wackenhut clients. During the
spill, industry security mounted an armed "bear patrol" to "keep
grizzlies from rolling in the contaminated sand." They kept potential
witness from the spill scene. Alyeska lies about clean up.
Contaminants--including carcinogens such as benzene and toxic materials
such as heavy metals--are ending up in the waters and sediments of Port
Valdez, state studies have confirmed. Happy dining, crab lovers They
also lie about the carcinogen content of the atmospheric pollution they
inflict on their neighbors. Breath deep, Valdez.
Few of it's victims are surprised that Big Oil lies. Internal documents
to that effect (and worse) were leaked by Aleyska employees to long time
industry gad-fly (and professional tanker broker) Charles Hamel The
whistle blowing employees were afraid to let their names be used.
Charley Hamel was not. At least one regulatory action, a $20,000 fine
proposed by the EPA last August against Alyeska for illegal waste-water
dumping, is attributable to information provided by Hamel.
One former employee, Robert Scott, has filed a complaint with the U.S.
Labor Department charging that Alyeska illegally fired him for leaking
information that detailed problems with vapor-emission.
"This is not a knock down and kill you problem," says Riki Ott, a marine
toxicologist and president of the Oil Reform Alliance, a coalition of
fishing and environmental groups in Alaska. "It's more like a 20 year
from now cancer problem."
Cancer is not the only problem in this case. Public trust is at issue.
Disinformation is a cancer in our body politic. Can Wackenhut's public
relations department be trusted to tell the truth? Their track record,
and that of their clients, tell the tale.
Company officials claim that Alyeska is committed to operating in an
environmentally sound manner. But environmentalists, state and even
federal officials and other observers differ. Privy employees agree.
Alyeska has been a major source of water, air and soil pollution in
Alaska. Wackenhut Corp. has been (at least) a witting accomplice, both
during and after the fact. They have worked to conceal disturbing truths
from Congress, law enforcement, and the public. They have perpetuated
dangerous lies. They hired Wackenhut to help cover them up. Wackenhut
certainly gave it a try.
As disturbing as the cover-up itself, allegations have surfaced in court
that Alyeska has pursued an aggressive campaign of spying and covert
operations aimed at ferreting out internal whistle-blowers and silencing
outside opponents. Their main tool in this undertaking has been
Wackenhut Corp. Three of five dissident Wackenhut employees allege that
even Rep. George Miller (D-California), chairman of the House committee
that oversees environment and resource development issues was targeted
for "dirty tricks" when he began investigating alleged environmental
wrongdoing by Alyeska, according to sources and sworn court statements.
Miller became incensed to the point of subpoena. His committee began
investigating the possibility that Wackenhut may have obstructed
Congress, as well. Alyeska, as well as Wackenhut denies any wrongdoing.
But for some, the alleged black-bag operation conjures up disquieting
echoes of the past, and uneasy foreboding about the future. One honest
(and prudent) cop, Rafael Castillo, a thirty year veteran of city,
county, state, and federal police work left Wackenhut rather than expose
himself to the possibility of criminal prosecution and a ruined career.
Twice he had confronted superiors on the matter, to no avail. He had no
honorable choice but to quit. He did, reputation intact.
Sworn court statements and interviews with sources familiar with the
probe, portray a conspiracy of electronic surveillance, lies, phony
offices, burglaries and other questionable behavior aimed at silencing
critics. With one side of it's mouth, Alyeska has denied the charges.
With the other side, Alyeska assigned Wackenhut the task of rooting out
the sources.. Wackenhut began by attempting to backtrack from Hamel. In
a sworn statement in U.S. District Court in Houston one former Wackenhut
employee stated that the company's special investigations division
conducted illegal electronic surveillance of Hamel's home, searched his
garbage, obtained his telephone records and attempted to furnish him
with large amounts of cash.
The employee, whose name was blacked out in the court file, said
Wackenhut agents also masqueraded as news reporters and
environmentalists. Hamel agrees. They also steal garbage. He caught them
on video tape. They got a parking ticket while inside bugging his house.
These are not exactly what you could call rocket scientist types. They
were beaten at their own game by an amateur. It can be done. Wackenhut
also set up a phony environmental group, called Ecolit, with offices
near Hamel's home. This was part of a 17 person "special investigation
unit" created by Wayne Black. Black described it in an interview with
the Washington Post as a "private FBI." Black had once been a criminal
investigator for the Dade County prosecutor. According to the Anchorage
Daily News, he had been suspended for illegally conducting a wire tap
and pressuring witnesses. Despite, or perhaps because of (we'll never
know) the efforts of a special prosecutor, he managed to squirm out of
the charges. A month later he went into private practice. In 1989, the
Village Voice reports, his firm was purchased by Wackenhut. He's their
kind of guy. He told Hamel his name was Dr. Wayne Jenkins, a staff
researcher for Ecolit. At one point, Hamel was told that real estate
tycoon Donald J. Trump was on Ecolit's board of directors. For a while,
Hamel fell for it. Then his garbage started disappearing. His suspicions
aroused, he set a trap with his trusty camcorder. It worked.
On occasion, Wackenhut also delivers garbage. One operative, identifying
herself as an environmental journalist, tried to "befriend" Hamel in an
Anchorage hotel bar in March, 1990, and later on an airline flight. Her
aim was to discover Hamel's sources and also to "compromise him" in some
way, court statements said. It didn't work.
Wayne Black was not a loose cannon. According to Castillo, Black kept
Wackenhut security chief (and former head of Alaska's State Police) Pat
Wellington abreast of his progress. Black has since been promoted. He is
now vice-president of investigations for Wackenhut. Alyeska President
James B. Hermiller said the company would cooperate fully with Miller's
committee, but he has denied that Alyeska targeted Hamel for
investigation. Hermiller declined to comment on the specific allegations
in the court documents. But he did say, "Wackenhut is probably the
premiere security firm in the world, and they do not do anything
illegal. They conduct programs in a very professional and legal way."
Premier? Professional? Legal? The press presents a much different
picture. In service to other less influential clients, Wackenhut has
appeared on numerous occasions, to be the premier bunglers of the trade.
Yet at other times they appear deadly efficient, and downright sinister.
Wackenhut performs a wide variety of services, with widely varying
efficiency.
One such service is union busting. The firm provides a comprehensive
strike-breaking service. It includes armed protection, bedding, bath
facilities and a catering service for scab labor. Clients of this
particular service range from the Greyhound Corp. to Capital Cities
(owner of ABC). Capital Cities was founded by reputedly deceased
Director of Central Intelligence, William Casey, the alleged mastermind
of the "October Surprise" and convenient scapegoat of Iran-Contra.
A poignant vignette of Wackenhut labor relations is found in SPOOKS The
Haunting of America- The Private Use of Secret Agents ( . Author Jim
Hougan recounts the dilemma of a certain Muldoon, hired by Wackenhut to
guard publisher Katherine Graham and other executives of the Washington
Post during a dispute with the pressmen. About twenty of Muldoon's
spooks were given plainclothes assignments that placed them round the
clock in the executive's living rooms. Muldoon remembered the
awkwardness of the situation. "It was uncomfortable," he said, "These
were really nice homes. The family would eat dinner, the kids would be
playing-and there, sitting on the couch would be me or some other guy
from the agency -- big, you know, and checking his gun. It was sorta
tense. We didn't really fit in. I'll tell ya: some of those people were
real shits about it. Katherine Graham wouldn't even let us in. She
wanted my man to sit outside on a cot in the cold all night. I wouldn't
let him. I mean, who the hell does she think she is?"
Meanwhile the pressmen bothered Muldoon even more. One morning he came
home to find his car filled with garbage and a threat painted on his
hood. Muldoon was furious. He "called a friend in New Jersey who's very
well connected to both the unions and, well, organized crime. And I told
him that I had a list of twelve union leaders here in Washington. If
anyone fucked with me or my family or anything of mine, I was going to
take out three of the bastards at the exact same time. As a warning. If
anything else happened, I was going to hit the other nine-all at once. I
told him I didn't care if those guys were responsible or not. I was
holding them responsible and he'd better get the word out. I was not
bullshitting either. I would have done it. I know guys inside the
Agency, and guys who left, who could do that. And they would, too. I
offered, as a demonstration, to abduct three of the union people and
hold them for an hour -- just to show I was serious. But he took the
hint. Nothing ever happened after that." Muldoon, smiling, admitted that
such an abduction would have been "embarrassing" to the Post's
publisher. He shrugged. "What the hell? If they can hit my car, they can
hit my family." The Wackenhut Corporation boasts widely of its
sophisticated (sic) "strike service." Employing them placed the liberal
Katherine Graham in some very strange company indeed. The immense
private intelligence service relies on dossiers of the Church League of
America, a right-wing think tank whose massive "intelligence files" on
the "left" surely included volumes about Mrs. Graham herself. In 1971,
six executives of Wackenhut, Pinkerton's, and Burns were found guilty of
bribing New York City policemen to obtain confidential records of
would-be employees of American and Trans-Caribbean Airlines. Hougan
wonders why they needed to resort to bribes at all, since (as Rand
Corporation reports) Wackenhut and Pinkerton's -- never mind Burns --
have dossiers on more than four million Americans.
Wackenhut sells "protection" to more than just media moguls. A look at
how well, where, and when, they deliver presents a telling appraisal of
their talent and intent. Far from "premier," they instill little
confidence in their ability to protect even themselves against bunglers,
turncoats, and law enforcement. Still less does Wackenhut's consistent
corner cutting inspire confidence in it's ability to protect the lives
and property of ordinary clients.
Wackenhut has proven repeatedly to be incapable of protecting the Nevada
Nuclear Test site from the intrusion of pacifist protesters in peace
time. They perform better in the brochure than they do on the ground.
Under the scrutiny of the press, the "premier" track record of
Wackenhut's much vaunted and ballyhooed "protection" business has been
repeatedly exposed to be far more apparent that real. During the recent
Gulf War, Wackenhut's impotence was driven home by terrorists. February
6, 1991 the Los Angeles Times reported that "guerrillas opposed to the
U.S. role in the Persian Gulf War" blew up a car outside the offices of
Pesevisa, the Peruvian subsidiary of Wackenhut, which is under contract
to provide security for the U.S. and Canadian embassies in Lima. Three
security guards were killed. Seven other people were seriously injured,
authorities said. In a drive-by attack, assailants threw at least 22
pounds of dynamite and fired machine-gun bursts at three diplomats' cars
parked in front of the company, police said. The explosion left a large
crater in front of the company, blew out windows outside the office.
Leaflets condemning American involvement and attributed to the pro-Cuban
Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement were left at the scene. A U.S.
Embassy spokesman in Lima said the attack was directed at Pesevisa,
though Tupac Amaru guerrillas also attacked the U.S. Embassy twice that
week and dynamited the North American Cultural Institute the previous
November. Wackenhut guards have also died in line of duty in El
Salvador. The "premier" protection business seems hard pressed to
"protect" themselves, let alone clients. What would Muldoon say?
In fairness, it must be emphasized that in 1986, when Wackenhut Corp.
announced the creation of an anti-terrorism division headed by former
agents of the FBI, CIA and State Department, the director of the new
division stated specifically that it would not provide
"rent-a-commandos" but would instead provide "training" on how to
survive a terrorist attack. The anti-terrorism and crisis management
division would be for hire to "advise" corporations or governments, said
Richard R. Wackenhut, "This is a new corporate division to deal (sic)
not only with the threat of terrorism but with a major industrial
accident, hostage taking or any other crisis facing an organization,"
The L.A. Times reported that in 1985, the increasing fear of terrorism
had boosted the already growing security business significantly, citing
a 25% increase in 1984 of clients for Wackenhut's executive protection
division, provider bodyguards and "other" security services in 28
countries. Revenue was up 16% said Matt Kenny, director of corporate
communications. The greater the number of terrorist incidents, what ever
their source, the greater the demand is for "protection." One con not
help but wonder if some incidents are covert operations by private
security aimed at drumming up business.
"We are aiming at some U.S. government contracts," said Conrad V.
Hassel, the director of the new division. Hassel had previously served
as chief of special operations for the research unit of the FBI for part
of his 23-year career with that agency, and so presumably knew where to
peddle his wares. Hassel foresaw embassy security as one potential
marketplace, adding that Wackenhut already posted guards at five U.S.
embassies.
"There's no way we're going to be rent-a-commandos," Hassel said, "We're
not going to put a force together to storm any airplanes."
Instead Hassel predicted the new division would provide training for
clients and their families who might be targets of terrorism. "We will
try to instruct them how to survive over there, but we're not going to
train them how to become 'Rambos' and kick their way out of a room," he
said. Training would include discussions by former hostages, and focus
on psychological preparedness, such as teaching potential victims to
humanize themselves in the eyes of their captors. "The terrorists are
reacting against a symbol of what they are fighting against," he said.
"Once you become human, it becomes damn hard to kill you." This bit of
brilliant wisdom was marketed to customers from among the company's
15,000-member base of clients as well as to the United States and
certain unnamed foreign governments.
Lack of proper training has been a Wackenhut trademark for years. The
reduction in cost provided by cutting this corner enables Wackenhut to
deliver their admittedly "reduced services" at substantial savings to
organizations and individuals who value a penny saved over the lives of
their employees, customers, families. The spate of terrorist attacks
against Americans and their allies, during the Gulf War included some
pesky snipers in Saudi Arabia. Was the House of Saud safe? According to
the Jonathan Littman , the Saudi ruling family negotiated, at least,
with Wackenhut over a contract for security at Crown Prince Fahd's
palace itself. Whether Wackenhut delivered or not is not for commoners
to know. These negotiations took place by way of the tiny (but
sovereign) band of Cabazon Indians in Southern California. The Cabazons
have also allegedly fronted for Wackenhut's role in the secret (and
illegal) Contra supply scam. Wackenhut as well as the Cabazons prefer
the term "joint venture"
In 1978 the Cabazons hired a certain John Philip Nichols to manage their
finances. This self (and falsely) proclaimed "Doctor of Theology" was
reputed to be a "premier" grant obtainer. Once he had obtained the
Cabazons' trust, Nichols began proposing an array of projects involving
tank cartridges, laser-sighted assault rifles, portable rocket systems,
night vision goggles, and, most ominously, biological weapons. Many of
these proposals grew out of the tribe's partnership with Wackenhut. The
Cabazons' sovereign status, and it's accompanying freedom from costly
regulation, enables great ease in the bidding process.
"I was present at one meeting where Wackenhut people were present. We
were told it was part of the security system on the reservation," said
Cabazon Joe Benitez. "Later on, I found out they were working to develop
munitions. It seemed amazing to me."
It is unclear which, if any, of the deals went through. It is a matter
of court record, though, that in 1985, Nichols pleaded no contest to the
charge of solicitation to murder. He served 18 months. His son, John
Paul, took over as acting administrator of the Cabazons while his father
did time. After his release, Nichols was barred by his felony record
from running any of the reservation's gambling operations. His brother,
Mark, inherited the position of Cabazon administrator. What, if any,
role Wackenhut currently plays in Cabazon life is unclear. Wackenhut
denies any. "It turned out that we never got any contracts and, after
two years, the venture was canceled," claims director of public
relations, Patrick Cannan (1-305-666-5656).
Cannan also denied any connection with the so-called "Inslaw case."
Wackenhut's name has come up consistently in relation to claims made by
Michael Riconoscuito that he, while a research director for a joint
venture between Wackenhut and the Cabazon Indians, modified a stolen
copy of Inslaw's PROMIS software for sale by Earl Brian to the Canadian
government. Brian is a crony of former Attorney General, gutter of the
Fourth Amendment, and Wedtech scandal principal, Edwin Meese. Brian is
also a principal in the Inslaw case. Former US Attorney General Elliot
Richardson, attorney for Inslaw, has been quoted that Inslaw "is far
worse than Watergate." In fact, the Inslaw case makes Watergate look
like a small town parking ticket fix. The press has barely scraped the
surface of this most sordid of scandals.
According to Jonathan Littman , Riconoscuito was a "consultant" for
Wackenhut. According to Patrick Cannan, Riconoscuito. was a "hanger on."
The Inslaw case involves the alleged theft of software by the Justice
Dept. from the Inslaw Corp. and, has grown from a title and bankruptcy
case to one that includes allegations of sales of the software to
foreign governments (such as Canada, Iraq, South Korea, Libya and
Israel) by such Iran-Contra figures as Robert McFarlane and Richard
Secord. The case attracted more public attention following the apparent
suicide death of journalist Joseph D. "Danny" Casolaro on mid-August in
a Martinsburg W. Va. motel room. Casolaro had told friends that he had
made connections between Inslaw, Iran-Contra and the so-called "October
Surprise" (allegations that representatives of the Reagan-Bush campaign
team had convinced the Iranian government to delay release of American
hostages until after the 1980 U.S. elections). Casolaro also allegedly
told his brother, that, if he reportedly had an accident, it was not to
be believed. Elliot Richardson has demanded a federal investigation of
Casolaro's death.
Cannan also denied that William Casey was legal counsel to Wackenhut
before joining the government and that former CIA officials Frank
Carlucci and Admiral Bobby Ray Inman were Wackenhut directors. Cannan
said, "Although Casey's law firm represented Wackenhut, Casey himself
never had any connection with us. Carlucci was a director of the firm --
he is no longer -- but Inman was not. We did have another director with
a similar background to Inman, an admiral who was chief of naval
operations, and that might have lead to the incorrect rumor."
Plausible deniability has been an American tradition at least since the
Boston Tea Party. "The Indians did it." Right. Sure. Tell us another
one.
Fronts within fronts, is a standard modus operandi of Wackenhut.
Wackenhut Corp. itself appears on occasion to be the collective front of
a variety of felons and scofflaws. They hide behind a wall of omerta
excused by "national security" and enforced by an old boy network rooted
deep in the intelligence community. Scams also lie hidden behind the
facade of ineptitude projected by their under-trained and under-paid
employees. This has proved a somewhat less successful tactic. Wackenhut
Corp. does not inspire a degree of "loyalty up," commensurate with the
"loyalty down" they demand. Instead, they buy it. They buy it cheap.
Loyalty bought is intrinsically fleeting. Loyalty bought cheap is
fleeter still. The testimony of disgruntled former employees has damaged
Wackenhut's reputation in court as well as the press.
Potential future employees sometimes take note, and act in advance.
According to the Los Angeles Times, members of a state prison guards
association picketed the American Correctional Assn. convention in San
Diego on Tuesday, August 14, 1990, to protest the organization's
unhealthy private-sector influence on public prison policy nationwide.
The guards said such influence is manifested locally in the planned
construction of a 200-bed pre-arraignment jail in the East Otay Mesa
Correctional Complex, to be operated by Wackenhut Corrections Corp.
through a joint San Diego city-county contract. The pickets, members of
the California Correctional Peace Officer Assn., carried placards up and
down the length of the San Diego Convention Center. While California law
prohibits counties from contracting out the management of its jails to
the private sector, the San Diego county counsel's office (not a Court
of Law) had recently determined that the sheriff could contract for beds
in the city's proposed jail. According to correctional officials, the
Otay facility would be the first privately owned and operated jail in
California. Just what we need. eh? How many more are in the works, one
wonders?
Wackenhut operates 10 detention or correctional facilities in seven
states that house 3,456 inmates. It's first facility, a federal
Immigration and Naturalization Services detention center, opened in
1987. Within two years the correctional business generated about $25
million of Wackenhut's $462 million in 1989 revenue This is according to
company spokesman, not independent auditors. Robert Hennelly reports in
the Village Voice , that Wackenhut is also developing and marketing
electronic systems for tracking prisoners under house arrest for local,
state, and federal authorities.
According to the L. A. Times , Wackenhut does not "operate" any jails in
California, but it does "run" a minimum security "correctional facility"
for the state in McFarland, where parole violators are housed. This
subtle distinction may be lost on those outside the profession.
"Privatization is a slap in the face to corrections officers as
professionals," said Jeff Doyle (no relation), a prison guard and CCPOA
vice president. "It's irresponsible for government to turn this over to
the private sector." Although Doyle acknowledged there is an element of
self-protection among the state guards who are upset with privatization
plans, he emphasized that the Wackenhut guards do not have the same
level of training and experience that state corrections officers do.
Pete Abrahano, the San Diego manager for Wackenhut, said the guards who
will run the Otay Mesa facility, will be better trained than the rest of
the company's guards. "They will have the necessary training and
experience required by federal law," he said. "These will not be just
regular guards."
Wackenhut's "just regular" guards are no strangers to informed San
Diegans, at least not those who read the L.A. Times .
When the Union-Tribune Publishing Co. brought in the Tennessee law firm
King & Ballow to handle its contract negotiations, K&B fired all the U-T
security guards and hired new guards from Wackenhut. Bringing in
Wackenhut is standard procedure when K&B enters a newspaper labor
dispute. The Newspaper Guild complains that the tactic is meant to
intimidate employees.
When intimidation fails to do the trick, there's always the courts.
Consider the case of murder victim Richard Crake, who met his demise in
La Jolla in 1981. In 1985 a jury lodged $217,500 in compensatory damages
against the Wackenhut Corporation, the security firm that guarded the
complex where Crake lived. Before the trial, his widow, Kathryn Crake
turned down an offer to settle the case for $1,375,000 from attorneys
for the Wackenhut Corporation and it's co-defendants. Then Ken Grider,
32, of Los Angeles, alleging to have been Richard Crake's male lover,
testified as a witness for the defendants about how much time Crake
spent with him daily before he was killed. The defendants' attorneys
argued that the Crake marriage was doomed because of the love affair and
would not have survived had he lived. Compromising the reputation of
their dead client failed to redeem that of the Wackenhut guards who
bungled his protection. It is an aphorism of the trade that "dead
clients don't pay." Whether their survivors collect what they are owed
is a matter for the attorneys.
Wackenhut hires much better trained attorneys than guards. They need
them. In August 1986 it took a 4th District Court of Appeal ruling just
to gain a Los Angeles woman the mere right to sue Wackenhut Corp. and
it's co-defendants. Florence Blakely was struck by a passenger gate
blown open by a blast from a jet engine at John Wayne Airport, where
Wackenhut provided the security. Judge Sonenshine, citing "human error"
as a "further complication" found the gate dangerous, despite sworn
statements from airport officials that there had been no prior reports
of negligence by guards opening the gates. Gates are the business of
guards.
Consider the case of survivor George Bagwell Jr., who sued futilely for
redress in the wrongful death of his father. George Bagwell Sr., who had
suffered from Alzheimer's disease for years, drove to Lindbergh Field in
January, 1988, thinking his son was due to arrive on a flight. Bagwell
wandered into a security area and didn't respond when Harbor Police and
Wackenhut Corp. security guards called to him. According to the lawsuit,
guards beat and kicked Bagwell, in the course of his arrest. At the time
of the incident, Bagwell was wearing a medical bracelet that explained
his health problems, and he had further details about his condition
inside his billfold. Bagwell's son said his father was about 130 pounds
and 5-foot-7, hardly a threat.
The lawsuit said Bagwell suffered lacerations and injuries to the face,
scalp, arms and body, which lead to his death in April, 1988. Medical
experts testified at trial that the stress of the incident contributed
to his death. He did not die in the guard's hands but died soon
thereafter. Bagwell Jr. said the January 1991 verdict was a second
disappointment, although the family has no misgivings. They have no
redress either. Legal redress after the fact is not guaranteed in a
contract with Wackenhut, a fact worthy of note by future contractors.
In San Diego, where the public employs Wackenhut to provide security for
hospitalized prisoners at county hospitals, the L.A. Times reports one
prisoner escaped in a wheelchair, kidnapping his guard in the process.
Los Angeles and Orange counties use their own deputies to guard
hospitalized prisoners. One of the reasons San Diego County Sheriff's
Department uses Wackenhut is economics, said Sgt. Bob Takeshta, public
affairs officer with the Sheriff's Department. "It's a pure fact of
dollars and cents."
Sheriff's deputies are paid an average of $12 to $16 an hour for their
services. Peter Abrahano, area manager for Wackenhut. declined to say
how much his guards made per hour, except to say that they are paid less
than sheriff's deputies.
To Takeshta's knowledge, the escape was not highly unusual. "This is not
an isolated incident; there have been others," he said. Earlier that
month, a narcotics suspect escaped from by jumping out a 4th floor
window. Hospital guards are unarmed and do not wear uniforms, said
Sheriff's Lt. Sylvester Washington, a shift watch commander at County
Jail downtown. The Sheriff's Department "prefers it that way," he said.
"The guards don't have adequate training to be armed." Wackenhut also
works for private companies and, in some instances, its guards are
armed. Washington said it's a wonder hospital escapes aren't more
common. "We've been lucky, very lucky," he said.
"There's no reason for guards to be armed," said Abrahano. "You don't
really think (prisoners) are going to go anywhere."
Not really thinking seems to be an ongoing problem at Wackenhut.
Consider case of the 27-year-old fugitive from Colorado who escaped from
custody at UC San Diego Medical Center ten days later, the third such
escape from a hospital room in less than six weeks. In each case the
inmate had been guarded by Wackenhut Corp., which is under contract to
the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Wackenhut cost the Sheriff's
Department $410,000 that year, according to county officials. The
prisoner, who jail officials had considered to be an escape risk, eluded
two Wackenhut security guards but was arrested after crashing a stolen
truck into a tree across the street from a San Diego Police Department
substation. Clearly this was no rocket scientist either, but was smarter
than his guards.
According to police, the escape occurred about noon when, with one of
the guards apparently out to lunch, the prisoner asked the other guard
for permission to take a shower. He then asked for shampoo and, when the
guard left to get it, escaped from his 10th floor room by taking a
stairway that leads outside. Well, duh!
Thirteen months, and nearly half a million dollars later, San Diego city
officials recommended that the City Council choose Wackenhut to build a
privately run, $6.5-million jail on four acres of county-owned land at
the East Otay Mesa Correctional Complex to house misdemeanor cases who
are currently given citations and remain free until their day in court.
Assistant City Manager Jack McGrory recommended March 16, 1990 that
council members authorize the city manager's office to negotiate with
Wackenhut Corrections Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Wackenhut
Corp. A "selection committee" chose from among four proposals to build
and operate the jail. The Wackenhut proposal, which was selected over
two cheaper bids, "was rated highest in every category" except cost,
McGrory said. It was also the only proposal to meet all requirements
described in the bidding request. Wackenhut was rated highest in
experience, program quality, security and supervision and staff quality.
"Wackenhut Corrections Corp. has the experience and financial stability
necessary to successfully design, build and operate the city's
Misdemeanor Pre-arraignment Detention Facility," McGrory said.
The CCPOA maintains that "influence" has much to do with the germination
of such private projects. Who or what influenced McGrory remains a
matter of conjecture. The City Manager's Office needed council approval
to begin negotiations with Wackenhut. Approval was reported the
following week. A City Council committee authorized City Manager John
Lockwood to begin negotiations even though the city had not yet decided
how to pay for the $6.5-million jail. A state grant to pay for
first-year jail costs was sought. Negotiations with the county to lease
the four acres on East Mesa were already in progress. This style of
government is by no means exclusive to the city San Diego. Who or what
influenced Lockwood is equally open to conjecture.
A week later, representatives of the city and county of San Diego signed
a memorandum of understanding clearing the way for the city to build.
The County Board of Supervisors agreed to amend its Criminal Justice
Master Plan to include the temporary jail. According to the memo, the
building would be turned over eventually to the county to use as part of
a planned jail complex in the area. Or so, said the Times , authorities
"hope."
City officials believe the new jail is needed to house an increasing
number of suspects who remain free because of a lack of space. The
county, however, claimed concern that the new city complex would further
increase the number of inmates, burdening the county's already
overcrowded criminal justice system even more. Besides the Sheriff's
Department, the new facility will increase workloads for the county
court system and the public defender's office, according to the county's
chief administrator's office. That the 200 prisoners to be entrusted to
the care of Wackenhut's "premier" prowess, would burden the criminal
justice system anyway, lends a hollow ring to the county's alleged
concerns. June 16, 1991 The Times ran a business section article on the
privatization of prisons in general, apparently an attempting to justify
the project The article was slanted heavily towards privatization and
dwelt mainly on the financial savings involved.
All this was finally too much for D. M. McClure, correctional officer
and Times reader. He wrote to the editor: ". . . make no mistake about
it, this work is not for everyone. Correctional officers work in some of
the most miserable places in the world, with some of the most miserable
people in the world. Do the 'privatization' boosters really think that
Wackenhut (Corrections Corp.) or any of the other discount outfits are
going to attract professional, career-oriented officers with their
minimum wage and minimal fringe benefits? Just wait until one of these
'rent-a-guards' kill or seriously injure someone, or start a riot
because they don't have the training and temperament to deal with
seriously disturbed and violent people. That first lawsuit that the
state loses will more than wipe out any potential savings the state may
have achieved by contracting out for part-time guards over professional,
trained officers. There are many ways that the state can save money in
the prison system, but contracting out to the lowest bidder is not one
of them."
Never in my life did I even imagine that one day I would be sticking up
for a screw, but by golly there people, this guy is right. Prisons are
clearly no answer to the problems of crime. If they were, they'd work.
Only a complete restructuring of society can begin to address the
problem. Victimless crimes are not crimes. Crimes against property are
political offenses, and almost always the result of drug prohibition.
This leaves violent crime, a tiny minority of all crimes. The best and
only truly effective defense is self defense, both individual and
collective. History has proven conclusively that courts, prisons, and
cops, both public and private, are useless. They fail to cure the
problem and add to the cost. Worse, they use the power we grant them
against us. Then they charge us for the service.
There are many ways the public can abdicate it's autonomy in order to
shirk the duties that come with freedom. The practice of hiring of
bumbling thugs to "protect" us has long withstood the test of time. Our
freedom has not. As we approach the increasingly corporate millennium,
we can look forward to life in a private prison that encompasses all
society and subjugates every moment of daily life: work, a prison of
measured time, and play, a supervised activity. For this we have
sacrificed our birthright. To this end we even hire our own guards.
Guards who work for pay, not for us. Guards who have their own agenda.
And a lot of them aren't even good at it. This is a mixed blessing.
They, themselves, are a curse.
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