Nigel & Cain: Your thoughts on this?

[Cain]

Also, CCA isn't a PATCH on Wackenhut Corrections.

WOW.

Yeah, Wackenhut are pretty nasty.  Essentially a private arm of the national security state...kind of the Blackwater of their day.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Yeah, that's the sticky thing... he seemed to be in the CCA's pocket, so why would they clean him?

Unless there's something more going on, or perhaps they have a dirtier backup ready to take his place.

Or unless he was being investigated, and they wanted him quiet.

This doesn't sound like a murder motivated by a grudge, it sounds like a hit.

It does sound like a hit. Exactly like one.

The only thing I can come up with is pure speculation.

Take a sniff of this:

http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/grassrootsleadership/cca.pdf

Especially the bottom of page 3.

Also, 1400+ inmates were released, rather than transferred to CCA's Kit Carson facility.

This is very interesting, because it would seem to validate my impression that it reeks of desperation; that the CCS is foundering, and is resorting to desperate measures.

It still leaves me with nothing in the "Why?" department, though. Unless Clements was, as you mentioned, being investigated... or unless, to take it a step farther, he was distancing himself from the CCA because he was actively participating in an investigation.

It's almost impossible to dig right now, because searching his name gets you the getting shot thing, and searching Colorado gets you 100,000,000 screeching gun nuts due to Hickenlooper signing the gun control laws there.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Also, CCA isn't a PATCH on Wackenhut Corrections.

WOW.

Yeah, Wackenhut are pretty nasty.  Essentially a private arm of the national security state...kind of the Blackwater of their day.

Yeah, they have what's basically a modern army fielded inside the USA.  Tanks, APCs, attack helicopters, the works.

That's fairly old news.  Their corrections arm is fucking VILE.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

So, the killer shows up in a "boxy car", then drives off afterward.

The police are fucking around in a nearby woods with search dogs.

[Cain]

Also, CCA isn't a PATCH on Wackenhut Corrections.

WOW.

Yeah, Wackenhut are pretty nasty.  Essentially a private arm of the national security state...kind of the Blackwater of their day.

Yeah, they have what's basically a modern army fielded inside the USA.  Tanks, APCs, attack helicopters, the works.

That's fairly old news.  Their corrections arm is fucking VILE.

They also provide security and intelligence for several large Wall Street firms.  Only those of a conservative bent need apply, of course. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Also, CCA isn't a PATCH on Wackenhut Corrections.

WOW.

Yeah, Wackenhut are pretty nasty.  Essentially a private arm of the national security state...kind of the Blackwater of their day.

Yeah, they have what's basically a modern army fielded inside the USA.  Tanks, APCs, attack helicopters, the works.

That's fairly old news.  Their corrections arm is fucking VILE.

They also provide security and intelligence for several large Wall Street firms.  Only those of a conservative bent need apply, of course.

Yep.  They approached our company on the intel thing, and were told to go shit in their hat.

My company isn't a pack of screeching hippies, either.  They just view Wackenhut as a problem for hire.

[Cain]

Yeah - way too close to certain three letter agencies to trust their judgement on any issue.  You can't be entirely sure who they are actually working for.

[Cain]

Unlike most news agencies, I don't think this is related to the proposed change in gun laws in Colorado...but looking into the El Paso County Sheriff Office, Terry Malekta certainly seems incensed by the proposals, has been a very vocal opponent of the laws and has accused local Dem politicians of "extortion" over the issue.  Extortion in this case meaning not paying sheriffs who don't intend to enforce the laws of the state.

He's a complete wingnut with only a tenuous grasp on reality, in other words.

This doesn't mean he's necessarily involved...but it does make any judgements from the county office suspect.  It also means Maleka may have links with the local conservative elite...which may include people involved in the private prison industry.  Requires further investigation.

[Junkenstein]

Fucking hell, this smells like the docks.

Will throw up anything (possibly) related I find.

[Cain]

http://www.gazette.com/news/sequestration-151828-conditional-local.html

Will the so-called sequestration of federal funds affect local governments?

Generally, the answer is a conditional yes. 'Conditional' because few impacts will be seen immediately, and because Congress still has time to change the across-the-board budget cuts before they reach their full impact later this year.

Here are some local examples. The list is not intended to be complete, but to paint a picture about the kinds of cuts that could impact cities, county agencies and school districts.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said, "It's not immediately today, other than we got notified by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that they would be using less of our (county jail) bed space."

That means somewhat fewer federal dollars to the jail for illegal immigrants being held on charges prior to trial, but it is impossible now to pinpoint how many dollars. If the sequestration is locked into the federal fiscal year in October, Maketa worries that there could be less cooperation from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI in robbery cases — but again, difficult to fix a precise cost.

[Cain]

Compare and contrast:

http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/20174469.html

Tue 10:12 PM, Jun 17, 2008
Back to News
New Jail Opens In El Paso

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office was able to kill two birds with one stone. They were able to open up a new jail and have it pay for itself.

The new jail is located in the downtown Colorado Springs area on Tejon St.

The building used to be a maximum facility prison. Three years ago, it was shut down for safety reasons. It has now been converted into a minimum security prison for work release inmates.

Tuesday was the grand opening.

"We really just pumped new life into an old building," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.

Since the building was a jail, there was already a lot of material like beds, showers and steel bars that came into good use.

"Beds were pulled out saved and refurbished. We saved all the stainless steel shower units too," said Commander Mitch Lincoln with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

The county was also able to gather more than two-million pounds of steel which was sold for about $68,000. All of that money was put back into the project.

"Jail overcrowding is a serious issue here in El Paso County," said Jim Bensberg, El Paso County Commissioner for the 5Th District.

The work release prison will be able to hold 350 inmates. A huge help for the county's swelling cells. "We saved probably hundreds of thousands of dollars in labor," said Sheriff Maketa. That's because inmates did most of the work. They helped construct a jail many of them will be serving time in.

It saved the county a total of a quarter of a million dollars.

"They're still functioning members of society, paying their taxes and keeping their families afloat. So, it's a win, win for the whole community," said Commissioner Bensberg.

Inmates will be allowed to come and go for work. Even though the inmates are low risk inmates, they'll still be under constant surveillance.

"They want to see these inmates put to good use, instead of being warehoused," said Commissioner Bensberg.

The project cost 4-million dollars. But each inmate pays 22-dollars a day. County officials say they'll make 2-million dollars a year which covers the cost to run it plus a little extra.

Bensberg is supported by Maketa for the D-3 Colorado Springs City Council position currently.

[Cain]

Information about CCA's national pull:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/14/meet-the-private-prison-lobby/

Among the gang of eight senators, all but Lindsay Graham and John McCain have received significant money from the private prison corporations.

CCA also lobbies heavily on the national level....has particular pull in Arizona, still researching Colorado interests and paid for politicians.

[insideout]

Unlike most news agencies, I don't think this is related to the proposed change in gun laws in Colorado...but looking into the El Paso County Sheriff Office, Terry Malekta certainly seems incensed by the proposals, has been a very vocal opponent of the laws and has accused local Dem politicians of "extortion" over the issue.  Extortion in this case meaning not paying sheriffs who don't intend to enforce the laws of the state.

well, yeah.  El Paso County has had a concealed-carry program for longer than any other County in Colorado, and Maketa is a HUGE supporter of concealed carry.  I couldn't imagine him being happy with the new law.

He's a complete wingnut with only a tenuous grasp on reality, in other words.

Maybe, but this is Pretty much Anti-Denver talk/posturing more than it is being a wingnut.  El Paso County is one of the most politically conservative counties in the United States;  for example, Bob Dole beat Bill Clinton by a considerable margin in El Paso County.  This is tough talk for locals and for posturing in front of those damn liberals in Denver

This doesn't mean he's necessarily involved...but it does make any judgements from the county office suspect.  It also means Maleka may have links with the local conservative elite...which may include people involved in the private prison industry.  Requires further investigation.

He DEFINITELY has very stong links with the local conservative elite.  But I am unaware of any tie-ins with the private prison industry.

In the interest of clarity, I've been a resident of Colorado Springs since 1993.  So I'm not speaking from any specific source other than some level of awareness of local politics.

[Cain]

Thanks, I appreciate the local perspective.

I did notice a rather conservative slant, when looking at the county comissioners office.  I think every single one of them is a Bush-worshipping Republican.

[Cain]

Looks like in April of last year, the CCA were threatening to close their prisons in Colorado entirely unless they got a state subsidy.  The state government ended their contract in response to the threats, causing CCA to get prisoners from Arizona to make up the shortfall.  Except budget cuts in Arizona caused the prisoners to be recalled back to the state, so the CCA had to shut the facilities anyway.