GUARD HAPPY 'BAD APPLES' REMOVED FROM COUNTY PRISON

It's been a tough two weeks to work at the Luzerne County Correctional
Facility.

A high-profile inmate made a daring escape last week. And now three
corrections officers have been arrested along with two inmates on
drug-related charges.

The arrest of three corrections officers, said prison Capt. Al Ottensman,
"is embarrassing, to say the least."

Ottensman, who helped found the 7-year-old Straight-Up anti-drug program,
which takes inmates into area schools to teach children about the dangers
and consequences of drug use, said the arrest of the three officers
reinforces a message he and Straight-Up co-founder Paul O'Malia have been
trying to get across for years: drugs are not dependent on age or occupation.

"The one good thing about this entire situation is that our district
attorney and local law enforcement were diligent in arresting the three
corrections staff members," he said.

The Straight-Up program won't be impacted by recent incidents, prison
officials said, and the guards involved in Thursday's arrest had nothing to
do with this program.

Prison Warden Gene Fischi, who is waiting for a state Department of
Corrections review of the Luzerne County prison to begin on Monday,
believes the recent arrests are an exception, not the norm.

"Most of the guards here are very good guards," he said. "The staff is
frustrated with what went on."

Fischi said: "We have a few bad apples, as there are in any institution.
It's our job to try and find them and weed them out."

Fischi, who has come under fire this week along with other prison
administrators in the wake of last week's escape and subsequent criticisms
by some staff members, was credited on Thursday with helping to trigger the
investigation that led to Thursday's arrests.

"Unfortunately, drugs are prevalent on the streets and they could become a
very lucrative venture for someone willing to partake in an illegal
activity," Fischi said.

"The consequences aren't worth it," he warned.

By some estimates, drug activity is the reason 80 percent of the inmates
are in the county jail - a facility built for 250 inmates that now houses
more than 500. Overall, there are more than 700 inmates in the county
prison system.

While the latest incidents have put a spotlight on the prison, Fischi said
the administration has been active in trying to root out problems. Last
February, the district attorney's office, and police from Hanover Township
and Wilkes-Barre were brought in quietly to conduct a shakedown of the
entire prison system.

"We went through all four facilities," Fischi said. "We showed them we're
taking an active role." Fischi is welcoming the upcoming DOC investigation.

"Hopefully, with these investigations, this will give us some answers as to
where there can be improvements in the staff, our policy and procedures, or
physical plant itself."

Fischi couldn't release any more details about internal investigations of
the escape or the recent arrests at this time.