In December, two things happened around this story. In Farmville, an inmate at Piedmont Regional Jail was ignored (according to some accounts) when he complained of pain and sickness. If he was given medical attention, it must have been the worst medical care in history. The other event in December was a riot at a Geo Group-owned facility in Reeves County Texas.

This subject became of interest to me when I discovered that Geo Group is a contributor to the campaigns of both Clarke Hogan and Watkins Abbitt. When I went and looked at who the Geo Group is, I uncovered the underpinnings of some very suspect business being done by the People’s House. Clarke Hogan, among others, mostly Republican, have received contributions from Geo Group as well. Geo Group was formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections.

Geo Group has installations all over the world. England, South Africa, America primarily. The Reeves County facility in Texas has been the site of two riots in two months, both spurred on by complaints of inadequate medical care, the same complaint that is now being leveled in Farmville’s Piedmont Regional Jail. There have been quite a few news reports about private prisons in the last year. This New York Times article last fall was quite disgusting. There has been a lot of coverage of an incident in which an inmate with advanced spinal cancer was repeatedly given Tylenol until he recently died. Both the Washington Post and New York Times have done articles concerning the private prison industry and the incident in Farmville in December, as well as the death less than two years ago in the same facility.

As I mentioned in my previous article about this subject, Delegate Watkins Abbitt (I-Appomattox) has filed a bill in the House of Delegates to allow the training of the personnel that will staff the new facility in Farmville, at a training facility owned by the Commonwealth, in Lynchburg.

Something here is starting to fit together, but not all the pieces are there yet. Dr. Edward Gordon, Farmville area physician and Medical Director of the Piedmont Jail, is also a member of the Farmville Town Council. Gerald Spates, Town Manager for Farmville, has referred all questions about the newer facility to Immigration Centers of America – Farmville, LLC’s partner, Russell Harper, a partner in the venture. (no web page)

Let’s pretend for a moment that we don’t know anything about a lot of this, which is not far from the truth. Incidents from all over the country and one thing about these incidents is that they all involve accusations of poor or non-existent medical care. Do the Medical Directors of these facilities get paid whether the medical care is delivered at all?

ICE is investigating the death in December in Farmville. ICAF does not have a contract for inmates yet from the Federal Government. Many organizations are looking at this situation, and although face-to-face interviews with inmates wasn’t possible, telephone interviews are.

Several detainees interviewed by telephone last week said that in the two weeks before Thanksgiving, Mr. Newbrough’s back pain grew so bad that he began sobbing through the night, and some in the 90-man unit took turns making him hot compresses. By the Sunday before Thanksgiving, he was desperate, two detainees said, and banged at the door of the unit’s lunchroom, yelling for help. They said by the time guards responded, he was seated at a table.

“They told him to get up, and he said he couldn’t get up because he was in a lot of pain,” said Salvador Alberto Rivas, who identified himself as Mr. Newbrough’s bunk mate, awaiting deportation to El Salvador. “Because of the pain, he started crying, and he was trying to tell them he had put in requests for medical and didn’t get any. And then one of the guards threw him to the floor.”

“They drag him by his leg, in front of about 30 people,” said another detainee, who gave his name only as Jose for fear of retaliation, adding that many witnesses had since been transferred to other jails or deported.

“We didn’t know that he was dying,” added Jose, who wrote about the case in a letter published online by a Spanish weekly. “They took him to the hole. He was yelling for help in the hole, too.”

That information, he said, came from a detainee in the isolation section at the same time, but since deported, who was so upset by Mr. Newbrough’s death that he left his name and alien registration number — Rene Cordoba Palma, No. 088424581 — in case anyone wanted his testimony.

Source:

Another Jail Death, and Mounting Questions

Look, I am as law abiding as the next person, so I do not mind that people get put in jail if they did something wrong. But I can tell you from personal experience that one of the first things ignored in jail is whether you might have a need for medication or medical care. If we as a country want to continue this horrible exercise in mistreatment and apathy while people die due to withholding even basic medical care, then I will continue to complain about it.

However, if we want to make a new way, and treat people in a humane fashion that doesn’t violate their rights, I will applaud loudly and long. It’s not about ideology, it’s about the treatment of our fellow human beings, even those who have gone astray. I do not want to see this continue, therefore I am fighting back against it.

Watkins Abbitt has no business doing the dirty work of the Geo Group, or any other contributor. If he takes money from someone, and there is an expectation of a return to the contributor, then that’s called selling influence.

Clarke Hogan, good buddy of Abbitt, also has no business taking money from a company that regularly violates or violated the human rights of those in custody. Actually, I can’t figure out why Abbitt introduced this bill, when the immigrant facility in question is in Hogan’s district. Maybe Abbitt is taking the heat on this one for his good friend.

Next: Why does the Town of Farmville want this prison so bad? Why does the Town of Farmville refuse to answer questions about this facility, even though it is their contract with ICE? Why does the Town of Farmville’s Police Chief tell a group of demonstrators that he had nothing to do with a demonstration permit? And finally, why Is the ACLU telling the Town of Farmville to change its ordinances concerning demonstrations? All that and more in the next installment.

Delegate Watkins Abbitt I-Appomattox

One of Watkins Abbitt’s contributors is Geo Corporation, a private prison construction company. I noticed this when I was looking through donation records for Abbitt in order to try and connect the donations to possible interests Abbitt protects in the House of Delegates.

Geo Group has donated money to him. One Thousand dollars. Now, we know part of the connection to the private prison industry. On January 23, 2009, Abbitt introduced HB2624, a measure which would allow training of private prison corrections personnel at Lynchburg Training Academy, as long as that training is paid for by the employer.

One curious thing about this bill though, is that it was rushed along with an emergency clause:

01/23/2009 Presented and ordered printed with emergency clause 095983400

I had never heard of this, so I went looking. An emergency clause mainly does two things, as far as I have found out about them. First, the bill requires an 80% majority vote in the House, and second, it would take effect upon the signature of the Governor.

Currently, HB 2624 is awaiting a vote in the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.

If you are wondering how this bill and Geo Corp are connected, they aren’t entirely connected. If the company building and opening an immigrant prison in Farmville wasn’t doing it, Geo or one of the other private prison industry regulars would be. In fact, I have not been able to find out who the construction would be done by. Part of the problem is that Immigration Centers of America Farmville is actually owned by an LLC, just as the dump being built in Cumberland is owned by Cumberland County Development Corp LLC. With the legal shield of the LLC in their name, they could be owned partially by Geo, and we might not ever know.

Thanks, Watkins! I already didn’t like the idea of an immigrant prison in my area, or in any area really, and finding out that you are going to help make it possible for their employees to get training in this work at a publicly-owned facility strengthens my faith in you. I knew you could sneak around like a rat and do things on the sly, but you have become more adept at it over the years.

Oh, one more thing. GEO, of Coral Gables, FL, is represented in the Legislature by Watkins Abbitt’s niece, Anne Leigh Kerr of Troutman Saunders. It’s going to be a long hot summer on the political trail.

The session starts today, and unless he has some surprises for all of us, I doubt very much of consequence will be submitted by the Delegate without a party.

Source: Richmond Sunlight

When you consider how important it is this coming 2009 Session to actually get something done, Republicans-be-damned, it makes little sense to wait to talk about the Repub.. er Independent in the 59th District. You see, Watkins is a man without a caucus, without a party.

In any case, the ‘Mayor of the 59th District’ needs to go into retirement. He can’t go soon enough.

The graphics, courtesy of Contributing Editor Lisa Blanton, make it easier to see the connections and the figures clearly in their context.

(Note: at each of these links, you can find where these companies donated their money during the cycle in question.)

These are the current clients of Madeline Abbitt. I am sure she represents them well. Notice Barr Laboratories and MedQuest. They are two of her biggest clients.

• AT&T
• Barr Laboratories Inc
• Identity Sciences, LLP
• Mark M. Deutsch, LLC, Health Care Advisory
• MedQuest Associates Inc
• Richmond Renegades

These are her clients for 2006 – 2007. Notice the heavy number of medical/medical supply clients.

• American College of Radiology – Va Chapter
• AT&T
• Barr Laboratories Inc
• MedQuest Associates Inc
• Richmond Renegades
• Va Chapter American College of Cardiology
• Value Options

The list below was her registered clients for 2005 – 2006. Again, medical/medical supply companies dominate the list.

• AT&T
• Barr Laboratories Inc
• DCI Consulting
• MedQuest Associates Inc
• Va Chapter American College of Cardiology
• Value Options

Below is the amount of money taken by Watkins Abbitt for his reelection campaigns during the same years.

2007 Health care Category (VPAP)

Health Care $20,400

2005 Health Care Category (VPAP)

Health Care $8,400

Health care is not the only category:

2007 Telecommunications Category (VPAP)
AT&T $500

Plus another $2,250 from other telephone companies/carriers (same link)

2005 Telecommunications Category (VPAP)

AT&T $500

Plus another $1,500 from other telephone companies/carriers (same link)

Since my time and space here are limited, and you don’t want to read all the numbers here anyway, do yourself a favor. Go to the links above, and read for yourself about donations to Watkins Abbitt’s campaign.

You may have thought this was a small slice taken out of Abbitt’s donations in order to prove a point. I do have a point to prove. Beyond Mrs. Abbitt, there are other family-connected lobbyists for companies that donate to Abbitt as well.

Anne Leigh Kerr, Esq, serves as the Director of
State Government Affairs for the Virginia office of the
Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group. Her practice
specializes in state and local government relations, including
legislative lobbying work before the Virginia General
Assembly and the Executive Branch. Ms. Kerr represents
national business interests and trade associations in a
variety of areas including alcohol beverage control, health
care, insurance, and natural resources. (source: (VLTA)

Anne Leigh Kerr is Watkins Abbitt’s niece, the daughter of his sister. In Part II, we will discover who her clients are and how much they donated to Watkins Abbitt.

I will leave you now with these statistics: The overall amount Watkins has taken from various groups this year, and the percentage of his contributions that are less than $500. (the little guy)

Percentage of donors above $500.00 – 73%

Percentage of donors below $500.00 – 27%

Source: Virginia Public Access Project

The word on the street is that Watkins Abbitt is so threatened and desperate to beat Connie Brennan in the 59^th District that he has printed up new signs about hunting that are being posted around the area just as the early hunting seasons are beginning. I saw one today in front of a big weekly turkey shoot location on Route 60 in rural Cumberland County. “Protect your hunting rights” it said in big green letters on a yellow background, followed by “Re-elect Watkins Abbitt.” What a pathetic move by someone who is misleading local hunters into thinking that Connie Brennan is about to take their guns and their tradition of hunting away. That is not her position at all. For more information on what Connie thinks about hunting and the right to bear arms, go to her website and check out a flyer about her position.

There is only person telling the truth in the last days of the campaign for House of Delegates in this district—and, as we’ll keep pointing out, that’s Connie Brennan.

What makes it possible for the dump to be located in the spot they have chosen is that Watkins Abbitt, friend to the dump industry, introduced and got passed HB 2129 (2005), which changes the distance that a dump can be located to a public water intake. It had been 5 miles; it is now 3 miles. Here is the official summary from when the bill was introduced:

Summary as introduced:
Siting of landfills. Reduces the distance that a landfill can be sited from a groundwater supply. Currently, a landfill cannot be constructed within five miles of a groundwater public supply intake. The bill prohibits the construction of a landfill within 500 feet of an existing groundwater supply. The bill also increases the acreage threshold for allowing a landfill to be constructed or expanded in a nontidal wetland. Under the existing law, permits may be issued for the construction or expansion of a landfill that impacts less than 1.25 acres of nontidal wetlands. This bill would allow the issuance of a permit for a landfill that would impact less than 3.5 acres, provided that the wetlands are replaced on a two-to-one basis with wetlands of an equal or higher environmental value as determined by the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. (emphasis mine)

Anyone with a brain can understand that the closer a dump is to a public water intake, the more chances it will be violated by runoff and leachate from that dump. Here is the summary for the bill how it was passed:

Summary as passed House:
Siting of landfills. Reduces from five miles to three miles the distance that a landfill can be sited from a surface water or a groundwater supply intake or reservoir. However, a landfill can be constructed as close as one mile from any existing surface or groundwater supply if the landfill meets certain conditions. The bill also increases the acreage threshold for allowing a landfill to be constructed or expanded in a nontidal wetland. Under existing law, permits may be issued for the construction or expansion of a landfill that impacts less than 1.25 acres of nontidal wetlands. This bill would allow the issuance of a permit for a landfill that would impact less than two acres. The bill authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to issue a permit for an expansion of a landfill located in a wetland only under certain specific conditions, such as the proposed site has to be at least 100 feet from any surface water body and one mile from any tidal wetland and that there is a minimum two-to-one wetlands mitigation ratio. (emphasis mine)

Obviously, nobody would want a dump built in their backyard. The trash has to go somewhere. But for Abbitt to make it so easy is a sell-out of his own constituents. Here is the record of money taken from Abbitt from waste companies.

So, as we see here, Abbitt thinks a dump is a ‘local issue’, but takes plenty of money for his re-election from those industries that operate dumps and haul and process human waste sludge. Where I am from that is called hypocrisy.

Now YOU have a friend in the dump business. Unless of course, the dump is going to be located in your neighborhood; then it is a ‘local issue’.

I read with amusement a recent political mailer that was sent out by Virginia House of Delegate member Watkins Abbitt. He is a 22yr member who left the Democrats in 2000, to become a Republican because he was threatened to get redistricted out, at the time. His latest campaign mailer accuses his current opponent of taking contributions from personal injury lawyers. “The kind who file frivolous lawsuits that hurt innocent people”. He conveniently forgot to also add that he had sought contributions from the Virginia Trial Lawyer organization. However, it still amazes me that this kind of garbage is still being put out there. A guy like this probably won’t support a “loser pays” bill, because he knows that the real frivolous lawsuits are those that are required by insurance companies, who fail to pay, even when their insured is at fault.

Source: Joel Bieber’s Blog

This is an indication of the outright lies Watkins Abbitt tells to get re-elected. How many more lies are there? We should find out this week. We can’t afford a serial liar like Watkins Abbitt in Richmond taking care of his fat cat donors while his district goes begging. Does he really need to smear Connie Brennan in order to win?

Abbitt’s largest individual contributor before today’s report?

His largest individual contributor is Robert Carter, a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyer’s Association, for $5,000.

Let’s not elect a serial liar and hypocrite to the House of Delegates.

First, let’s start with the money he has accepted from big health care companies.

1997 – present $41,110

Sectors:

Now, let’s say you have a problem to discuss with your representative in the House of Delegates. It’s about your HMO. You tell your Delegate that Anthem is not doing what they are supposed to be doing, like coverage for an illness.

Anthem donated $5,250 to Watkins Abbitt over the last ten years, $3,000 of it in this election cycle. Whose interests are going to be looked after? I won’t say that your complaint would fall on deaf ears, but these contributions are what helps Abbitt get elected over and over again. The Virginia Association of Health Plans has given Abbitt $3,250 since 2003.

Let’s say you have a problem with your dentist, something about the service you got from that office or offices. You call your Delegate, and tell him your problem. He remembers the $7,750 he has gotten from the Virginia Dental Association, including $5,000 this election cycle alone. Does he have a satisfactory answer for you?

Remember those mailers this year with the picture of Mr. Abbitt in a nursing home looking at a prescription bottle? That’s right, he took $3,000 from the nursing home industry, including $1,000 from the Virginia Health Care Association just this cycle.

Do you see a trend here?

That prescription bottle he was holding up in that oft-used picture in his mailers is a puzzle. He claims to be protecting us from rising prescription drug costs. He even claims to be ‘fighting to strengthen Medicare and Social Security.’ (campaign mailer)

I wonder if he can do anything about Social Security, since it is a federal program. There are programs administered by the Commonwealth, but largely under federal funding and guidelines

And there is the fact that he has taken over $4,800 from pharmaceutical interests, including $1,000 this cycle.

Who do you think Mr. Abbitt will listen to when you call?

Abbitt may have a chance to try again, as trips on the sheriffs’ association’s dime have become somewhat of a tradition during the past four years. He’s gone bear hunting in Quebec; flounder fishing in Wachapreague, Va; and duck hunting in Louisiana.

Abbitt said he paid about $2,000 of his own money toward the moose-hunting trip and the sheriffs’ association picked up the rest.

The fall moose-hunting trip was among the approximate $315,000 in gifts, honorariums, travel and taxpayer-funded trips that legislators and three statewide officeholders reported receiving in 2005, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch analysis of a database of disclosure statements compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.

That money includes dinners, meetings and trips taken by Lynchburg-area delegates.

Abbitt reported accepting about $5,953 from companies and organizations. “I don’t think I have to explain,” Abbitt said. “I don’t think they’re huge trips.”

In addition to the hunting trip, Abbitt and his wife, Madeline, spent three days and two nights in Paradise Island, Bahamas, where Abbitt was asked to be a speaker at the Virginia Auto Dealers Association’s annual conference.

The auto association paid $1,983.83 for Abbitt’s tropical trip.

In 2002, the auto association paid $3,087.33 to fly Abbitt and his wife to their conference in Bermuda.

“I talked about the upcoming General Assembly and what they can expect,” he said. “It was nice. I enjoyed it.”

I am sure it was nice, there in Bermuda, partially on someone else’s dime. And the same with the bear hunting trip, the duck hunting trip and the flounder fishing trip.

Donations in connections with the sponsors of these trips:

Virginia Auto Dealers Association – $16,100 – 1997 to Present
Virginia Sheriff’s Association – $5598 – 1997 – Present

Source: VPAP