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Topic: Aramark -alleged hit men & mob ties
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Pam Faris

5 hrs ·
.

I am very disturbed by this. As a member of the Appropriations committee, we were told about this fine. We asked many questions about the Aramark contract, implications, etc. We were never told the fine had been canceled and were left with the impression it was paid. Even members of the appropriations sub-committee on corrections were not informed that the fine had been canceled. Governor Snyder and his administration have kept information from the legislative committee dealing with corrections budget in a very deceptive way. If they are deceiving us can you imaging what they are doing with the public? How many lies - yes, these are outright lies - have been told?


Michigan Corrections canceled first $98,000 Aramark fine for contract violations


The Michigan Department of Corrections canceled a $98,000 fine against Aramark Correctional Services months before the Snyder administration announced...


mlive.com


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Thu Sep 25, 2014 8:46 am; edited 4 times in total
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:58 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Michigan Corrections canceled first $98,000 Aramark fine for contract violations
Aramark, the private vendor that provides prison food in Michigan, continues to come under fire. (File Photo | MLive.com)
nt
Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com

on September 12, 2014 at 9:09 AM, updated September 12, 2014 at 3:58 PM

aramark in michigan prisons
Michigan Corrections canceled first $98,000 Aramark fine for contract violations
Snyder hires former Florida prisons chief to monitor Aramark contract in Michigan
No outside health inspections for prison kitchens, Michigan corrections department says
Aramark fined $200,000 by Gov. Rick Snyder for prison food problems
Steve Miller: Why did Aramark get the prison food contract? Here's some insight

|



LANSING, MI — The Michigan Department of Corrections canceled a $98,000 fine against Aramark Correctional Services months before the Snyder administration announced another $200,000 fine for the private prison food vendor.

An MDOC spokesperson on Thursday told The Detroit Free Press that the original fine, levied in March for various contract violations involving meals and improper contact with inmates, “never was paid.”

The acknowledgement followed the release of an email thread between Gov. Rick Snyder's Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore and MDOC Director Dan Heyns, who wrote on March 13 that he would “tone down my attack dogs, delay or cancel any fines and give Aramark time to solve the problems.”

The emails, obtained by Progress Michigan through a Freedom of Information Act request, began with Muchmore forwarding a news story about lawmaker concerns with violations by Aramark, which won a three-year $145 million contract with the state in late 2013.

“Do you feel you’ve got this under control?” Muchmore asked, suggesting the “attacks” were initiated by union groups, ostensibly upset that the state privatized a service previously performed in-house.

A subsequent email from Muchmore was redacted by the state, according to Progress Michigan, before Heyns said he would cancel any fines.

“We were concerned about losing control of a joint and told them repeatedly with no improvement,” Heyns wrote. “Our corrective action was too harsh.”

The original fines, detailed in a series of letters from MDOC to Aramark earlier this year, were expected to be paid within 30 days. Up until this week, it was not known that MDOC canceled the fines.

• Read Aramark-related emails between Muchmore, Heyns

Snyder administration spokesperson Sara Wurfel said the email exchange was “simply a request to ease off escalating the tension and work toward identifying the cause of issues and finding resolution.”

“The contract and food service operations was clearly an issue — problems had been identified on both sides of the relationship and getting that situation fixed, along with safety and security at the state’s correctional institutions, was a top priority,” she said.

Progress Michigan, a liberal advocacy group that released the emails, had a different interpretation. The exchange, the group said, “shows the top levels of Snyder’s administrations pulling strings in the early stages of Aramark’s public blunders” and confirmed fears about prison safety.

"For months, we were led to believe this fine had been levied and that it was part of holding Aramark accountable, and then we find out it hadn’t been levied," said spokesperson Sam Inglot. "It’s a questionable action from this administration."

Snyder last month announced a $200,000 fine against Aramark and said the company would be required to redesign its current training and staffing procedures in coordination with MDOC.

Using that fine money, Snyder this week hired a new independent monitor to act as a liaison between the state and Aramark. Ed Buss, former chief of prisons in Florida and Indiana, will make $160,000 as the Senior Advisor for Contract Oversight.

Buss has extensive experience in corrections, but critics have also questioned his hire. He was reportedly forced out after six months on the job in Florida following contract clashes with Gov. Rick Scott, including concerns that initial health care privatization bids would have benefited a consultant whom Buss had hired.

Update: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer on Friday blasted Snyder's handling of the Aramark contract, saying the governor should apologize for failing to note the original fine was canceled and release the redacted email.

“The governor’s chief of staff himself cleared the way for special treatment for a contractor that’s shown gross incompetence every step of the way … When you’re governor, the buck stops with you.”

Update 2: MDOC released a full version of the email exchange. “Do we need to get drink?” Muchmore wrote to Heyns in the only email that had been redacted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:01 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Schauer accuses governor of lying about canceled Aramark fine
9:04 PM, September 12, 2014 |
By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau


LANSING — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer on Friday accused the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder of lying to the people of Michigan about a $98,000 fine levied against the state’s prison food contractor.

But a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections said “there was absolutely no deception at play” in not publicly revealing until Thursday that the fine levied against Aramark for poor performance in March was suspended and never paid.

The latest developments are part of a long-running battle over the privatization of about 370 state prison kitchen jobs last December in a move the administration expects will save $14 million a year, but Democrats and union officials say will cost the state more in areas such as prison safety.

Schauer, a former state lawmaker and one-term congressman from Battle Creek who has called on Snyder to cancel the contract, said in a conference call with reporters that March e-mails disclosed Thursday between Snyder Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore and Department of Corrections Director Dan Heyns “highlight a pattern of rank corruption in the governor’s office that can no longer be ignored or tolerated by the people of the state of Michigan.”

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said Schauer’s language is extreme and offensive.

“I find it truly disturbing that anyone is willfully distorting and twisting facts,” Wurfel said. “That is not how this administration operates, and that’s exactly what’s wrong with politics today.”

The e-mails, obtained under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act by the liberal group Progress Michigan, show Heyns promising to ease off on Aramark — whose three-year, $145-million contract had been plagued with problems including meal shortages, unauthorized menu substitutions, employees smuggling contraband, and employees fraternizing with or having sex with inmates.

■ Related: Kitchen friendships, sex acts lead to firings for Aramark’s prison staff

“I know where you want to go,” Heyns said in a March 13 e-mail to Muchmore.

“I will tone down my attack dogs, delay or cancel any fines and give Aramark time to solve the problems,” Heyns said.

“I met with one of their honchos today and he gets the picture. We were concerned about losing control of a joint, and told them repeatedly with no improvement. Our corrective action was too harsh.”

Wardens had attributed demonstrations and prison unrest to unhappiness over the food.

As first reported by the Free Press, Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan confirmed Thursday that Heyns withdrew a $98,000 fine the department had assessed against Aramark for contract violations earlier that month.

The state, which initially redacted the prior e-mail message Muchmore sent Heyns, on Friday released that missing message.

In it, Muchmore asks Heyns: “Do we need to get drink?” Heyns’ response begins: “I can always use one of those but not necessary.”

Marlan couldn’t immediately say why the e-mail message from Muchmore had originally been redacted.

Schauer said the e-mail exchange shows a top aide to the governor pressuring a department director to give special treatment to a contractor.

He said after acknowledging the fine, the Snyder administration should not have let months go by without correcting the impression the fine was paid by Aramark.

“The governor has to take responsibility, through his spokespeople, for continuing to contend ... that Aramark paid a $98,000 fine,” Schauer said.

Marlan said the fine was reported by the media as a result of a FOIA request and never announced by the department.

“As such, the director’s decision to suspend the fine would not be anything we would publicly announce,” he said.

Heyns decided on his own to suspend the fine after meeting with a top Aramark official who “pledged his commitment and high-level support to resolve the problems we were experiencing at the time,” Marlan said.

State Rep. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said he feels misled.

“We have asked tough questions about the Aramark contract and were reassured that corrective action was being taken,” Singh said. “This revelation, five months after the cancellation of the fine, not only makes me feel misled, but suggests this administration has very little respect for the legislative branch.”

Nick Ciaramitaro, legislative director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ Council 25, which represented the state kitchen food workers, said canceling the fine was “outrageous” because “things only got worse after the first fine.”

In August, as widespread problems continued, Snyder announced a new $200,000 fine and a new contract monitoring system. Marlan said Thursday the $200,000 fine has been paid.

Schauer also called on Snyder to immediately disclose whether Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia or any of its officials had donated to the New Energy to Reinvent and Diversify (NERD) fund, a Snyder nonprofit fund that accepted undisclosed corporate donations and which Snyder announced in October he was disbanding.

Nobody from Aramark donated to the NERD fund, whose donors don’t have to be disclosed under federal law, Wurfel said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:05 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Partial quarantine ordered at prison in Jackson as 150 inmates fall ill
7:05 PM, July 3, 2014 |


Inmates are served food through Aramark Correctional Services last week at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson. Flu-like symptoms have struck 150 inmates as officials await test results to determine the cause of the illness.
Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press



By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

LANSING — The Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson was placed under partial quarantine with 150 prisoners now showing flu-like symptoms — up from 30 last weekend — and officials couldn’t say whether bad food is the cause of the outbreak.

The Free Press reported Monday that about 30 Parnall prisoners fell sick over the weekend with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea after maggots were discovered Friday along a prison meal line — inches from the serving trays.

But Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan said Thursday the number of sick prisoners has grown to about 150. In a partial quarantine, the sick prisoners are not being allowed visitors, and no prisoners are being moved in or out of the facility. Swabs have been taken from the sick prisoners and test results were pending, he said.

■ Related: Aramark pushed to end prison meal shortages or risk losing $145M

■ Related: Gov. Snyder: Maggots near prison food 'unacceptable'

Officials moved quickly last Friday to shut down the meal line and thoroughly clean the area. Karen Cutler, a spokeswoman for prison food contractor Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia, said there was no evidence linking the outbreak of illnesses with the discovery of maggots on the meal line.

“We continue to await the test results and have ordered a third-party auditor to visit every facility in the state to ensure they meet our safety and sanitation standards,” Cutler said Thursday.

Marlan said the department’s chief medical officer said, “These types of illnesses usually relate back to food,” but the department can’t say for sure until more test results are available.

No prisoners have died or required hospitalization, he said.

On Wednesday, the Free Press reported that warden Heidi Washington ordered Aramark to throw away potatoes in a kitchen storage area at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson on Tuesday after maggots were found in potatoes. A thorough cleaning was ordered of the storage area.

Also Thursday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer called on Gov. Rick Snyder to terminate the three-year, $145-million contract with Aramark, which has been the subject of almost constant controversy since the contractor took over in December, eliminating 370 state jobs.

The outsourcing “has proven to be a serious mistake that is wasting millions of taxpayer dollars and putting the lives of our corrections officers at risk,” Schauer said.

Incidents of Aramark workers attempting to smuggle marijuana and other contraband into prisons, showing up drunk, and getting overly friendly with inmates “pose a very serious risk to public safety,” Schauer said in a news release.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:10 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

4 Aramark prison workers caught in sexual romp with inmates, fired
4:05 PM, July 16, 2014 |


Four female Aramark prison workers at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, located in Ionia, were fired Wednesday for having inappropriate sexual contact with male inmates inside a walk-in cooler, a Corrections Department official confirmed. / Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility



By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau


LANSING — In a development a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman said was “unprecedented,” four Aramark prison workers at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia were fired today for having inappropriate sexual contact withinmates inside a walk-in cooler, a Corrections Department official confirmed.

.

“It’s unprecedented that four workers at the same facility, in the same day, are placed on stop order,” said Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan. “It’s concerning on a number of levels.”

■ Related: Kitchen friendships, sex acts lead to firings for Aramark's prison staff

The firings came after officials reviewed recent surveillance video, Marlan said. Two of the kitchen workers were at work today and were escorted out. Two others were fired and not allowed into the prison when they showed up for work, he said.

The firings also mean more than 80 Aramark workers have now been banned from prison property for various infractions since the company took over on Dec. 8, eliminating 370 state jobs.

The conduct involved kissing and sexual touching with several inmates, but no intercourse, Marlan said. The firings reduce Aramark staff at Bellamy from 14 to 10 and help will need to be brought in from elsewhere, Marlan said.

“I don’t believe all four of them were in the cooler at the same time,” Marlan said.

It’s the latest in a litany of problems for Aramark Correctional Services since the Philadelphia-based company took over food services from state workers in December.

■ Related: Prison food supplier has Michigan officials at wit's end

Officials have fined Aramark $98,000 over meal shortages and menu substitutions and began strict enforcement of the meal portion and substitution clauses of the contract on July 1. There have also been problems with food quality, security issues, Aramark workers smuggling in contraband and getting too friendly with inmates, and growing prisoner unrest.

The Free Press detailed problems on Sunday after receiving thousands of pages of records related to the three-year, $145-million Aramark contract under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. Those records disclosed a range of problems, including an earlier incident in which an Aramark worker and an inmate were discovered engaged in a sex act in a walk-in cooler at Carson City Correctional Facility.

Marlan said criminal charges are possible against the Aramark workers in the latest incident. Federal law treats any sexual contact between prison staff and inmates as abuse, and officials are investigating, Marlan said.

■ Complete coverage: Freep.com/aramark

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:15 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Unions say Snyder means to shield Aramark from complaints
7:04 PM, August 14, 2014 |

By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

Unlike the Michigan Department of Corrections, which has been overseeing the $145-million contract with Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia since it began in December, the governor's office is exempt from the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. / Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press

LANSING — About 50 unionized state employees demonstrated outside the governor’s office today against a private prison food contractor and said Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent announcement that he will shift monitoring of the contract into his office is likely an attempt to shield problems with the contract from public scrutiny.

But a spokeswoman for Snyder denied the charge. “Everything that’s been shared previously will continue to be shared” and “utmost transparency is in everyone’s best interests,” said Sara Wurfel.

Unlike the Michigan Department of Corrections, which has been overseeing the $145-million contract with Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia since it began in December, the governor’s office is exempt from the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

On July 13, the Free Press published a series of articles documenting widespread problems with food shortages, smuggling of contraband, food-related prisoner unrest and Aramark employees getting too friendly with inmates. The reports were based on thousands of pages the newspaper received from the Corrections Department through the FOIA.

■ Complete coverage: Freep.com/aramark

Michael Migrin, legislative liaison for the Michigan State Employees Association, an AFSCME union that represented the 370 state food workers displaced by the three-year contract, said he and other members suspect monitoring of the contract is being shifted to the governor’s office to shield e-mails and other related records from mandatory disclosure.

“They’re going after less transparency,” Migrin said, as a mix of AFSCME, Michigan Corrections Organization and UAW Local 6000 leaders and members marched and carried signs outside Snyder’s office in Lansing.

Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Corrections Department, said the change Snyder announced Aug. 8 is “absolutely not” intended to limit public scrutiny.

“The rationale behind it is to make it more independent,” Marlan said of the monitoring.

The state has fined Aramark nearly $300,000 for various contract infractions, and more than 80 Aramark employees have been banned from prison property for breaking rules such as those related to smuggling contraband and fraternizing with inmates.

“We fully acknowledge that our performance has not always been perfect and are committed to continuing to improve,” Aramark spokeswoman Karen Cutler said today.

“We are encouraged by the comprehensive contract reforms being made to address critical operational issues that have hindered the partnership over the past seven months” and “we also appreciate the recognition by the state that there have been errors made on both sides,” she said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:24 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Aramark's record in other prison systems
July 13, 2014 |

By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Aramark has contracts with Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas and West Virginia and provided prison food for Florida. In some of those states, the company has faced complaints similar to those in Michigan.

■ An Aramark prison food worker in Indiana was placed on probation for two years in August 2013 after officials said she smuggled tobacco, narcotics and a cell phone to an inmate at New Castle Correctional Facility.

■ Related: Food worker accused of trying to smuggle marijuana into Jackson prison

■ In August 2012, an Aramark worker at Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility was charged with a felony after she was caught trying to smuggle marijuana and cell phones to an inmate.

■ Ohio, which switched to Aramark for its prison food service in September, fined the company $142,100 in April for a range of contract violations, including failing to hire enough workers.

■ Related: Michigan prison food vendor fined $98,000 for worker fraternization, menu problems

■ In Ohio last October, two of Aramark’s food workers were fired and a third resigned at Mansfield Correctional Institution over “inappropriate relationships” with inmates — two of whom had new tattoos in reference to the workers.

■ Florida and Aramark parted ways in 2008 after the state repeatedly fined the company for contract violations and an audit accused Aramark of cutting costs and boosting profits by skimping on meals.

■ Related: Aramark pushed to end prison meal shortages or risk losing $145M contract

■ In Kentucky, corrections officers and others said a 2009 prison riot was provoked by poor food service by Aramark. The company also was cited in a Kentucky audit for food skimping and excessive billings.

■ Related: Michigan prisoners leave cells in protest over meals, menu options

■ Not all reviews have been negative. In Indiana, for example, where the contract with Aramark is credited with saving the state more than $11 million a year, the National Governors Association last year gave Aramark an award for a prison vocational program it said has reduced recidivism.


Paul Egan
Post Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:27 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Aramark worker arrested after 5 inmates found with heroin, other drugs



Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau 12:50 a.m. EDT September 16, 2014



LANSING –An Aramark kitchen food worker is facing charges related to drug smuggling after five prisoners at St. Louis Correctional Facility were found with heroin, marijuana, cocaine and tobacco Monday, a Corrections Department spokesman confirmed.

In all, 39 packets of the contraband drugs and tobacco were found in a series of searches that followed an investigation, Russ Marlan told the Free Press.

An Aramark Correctional Services worker was turned over to the Michigan State Police and is expected to face charges, Marlan said.

Karen Cutler, a spokeswoman for Aramark, had no immediate comment when reached late Monday.

The incident at St. Louis Correctional Facility is at least the second incident in which an Aramark employee has been caught smuggling drugs into a Michigan prison since the Philadelphia-based company began a three-year, $145-million contract in December.

In March, an Aramark worker was caught trying to smuggle bags of marijuana into the G. Robert Cotton Facility near Jackson. He pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

"It's tragic," said Mel Grieshaber, executive director of the Michigan Corrections Organization. "I don't care if it's public employees or private employees, this is the kind of thing that we're always concerned about."

Prisoners in "altered states" are more dangerous, Grieshaber said.

The privatization of Michigan's prison food service, which eliminated 370 state jobs and is expected to save about $14 million a year, has been plagued with problems.

The Free Press has written a series of articles, some of which were based on thousands of pages of records obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, documenting meal shortages, unauthorized menu substitutions, prisoner unrest and overfamiliarity between Aramark workers and prisoners, including sex acts.

The Corrections Department fined Aramark $98,000 in March, but last week officials confirmed the fine was suspended and Aramark never had to pay it. In August, Gov. Rick Snyder announced a new $200,000 fine against Aramark for contract violations, which Marlan said the company has paid.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:11 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

September 16, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Aramark prison food contract sparks debate in Michigan Legislature
Gary Heinlein and Chad Livengood
Detroit News Lansing Bureau


Monday's arrest of an Aramark worker suspected of smuggling heroin and other drugs to St. Louis inmates continues 'a pattern of incompetence that is putting the safety of prison guards and other workers ... at significant risk,' said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, in a Senate speech. Purchase Image
Monday's arrest of an Aramark worker suspected of smuggling heroin and other drugs to St. Louis inmates continues 'a pattern of incompetence that is putting the safety of prison guards and other workers ... at significant risk,' said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, in a Senate speech. (The Detroit News)
Lansing— Gov. Rick Snyder faced new questions Tuesday about having a private company provide prison food following the arrest of an employee of contractor Aramark Correctional Services on suspicion of drug smuggling.

The Michigan Senate’s Democratic leader and Republican Judiciary Committee chairman clashed on the chamber floor over the arrest Monday at the state’s St. Louis prison.

It’s another incident involving an employee of the Philadelphia-based service giant that took over prison food services in December. About 90 of its employees have been banned from state prisons over an array of issues.

Monday’s arrest of an Aramark worker suspected of smuggling heroin and other drugs to St. Louis inmates continues “a pattern of incompetence that is putting the safety of prison guards and other workers ... at significant risk,” said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, in a Senate speech.

Whitmer wants the contract ended and food provision returned to state workers.

But Senate Judiciary Chairman Rick Jones of Grand Ledge and Michigan Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan countered that drug smuggling in prisons is an ongoing challenge that is not unique to Aramark.

“This had nothing to do with Aramark,” Jones said in a reply to Whitmer’s charges at the close of Tuesday’s Senate session. “It has to do with people who are greedy, trying to make money.”

But it’s an embarrassing development for the Republican governor, who’s locked in a close re-election race against Democrat Mark Schauer. It allows Democrats to keep criticizing Snyder over the outsourced food service, which resulted in 370 state employee layoffs and angered unions.

“The governor likes to tout his accounting experience, but the Aramark privatization push and subsequent fallout paint him more like a snake oil salesman,” Whitmer said. “Governor, fire Aramark, or the people of Michigan will have every reason to fire you in November.”

After an East Lansing campaign event Tuesday, Snyder said his administration is “working through the Aramark situation.

“There’s a significant $200,000 fine that’s been imposed that we’re going forward that’s helping give us the resources to bring in (food contract overseer) Ed Buss to make sure this program gets instituted right,” he said.

In late July, Snyder announced the administration would continue the Aramark contract, but under an agreement in which the company agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty. At least a portion of the fine money is to pay Buss, a former Indiana prisons chief newly hired to act as the independent overseer of the food service contract, according to the Snyder administration.

Snyder also was asked about the St. Louis drug smuggling arrest.

“Those are concern points,” he told reporters. “There are a number of issues in the past, and the issue is how do we make sure those aren’t continuing issues.”

Reports of the Aramark worker’s arrest surfaced Monday and were confirmed by Marlan. A male employee of the food contractor was arrested by State Police following an investigation in which 39 packets of illegal drugs and tobacco were found in inmates’ possession.

Marlan said the drugs included heroin, cocaine and marijuana. The kitchen employee, who was at work Monday, now faces criminal charges, he said.

It’s at least the second drug-smuggling incident involving an Aramark employee. An Aramark worker was arrested in March after he allegedly was caught smuggling drugs into the G. Robert Cotton prison at Jackson. He later pleaded guilty.

Marlan said such incidents, unfortunately, aren’t unique.

“We’ve had problems with our own staff involving contraband,” he said. “We’ve had problems with other contractors; we’ve had volunteers and visitors bring it in. It’s something (prison authorities) constantly battle.”

There also have been incidents involving food shortages, too-close relations between workers and inmates and maggot infestations since Aramark took over the food service in December on a $145-million-a-year contract that is to last three years. The arrangement is on pace to save the state $14 million this year, Snyder said in August.

Democrats have made it a campaign issue for Schauer, a former state lawmaker and ex-congressman from Battle Creek.

Their efforts heated up last week when liberal group Progress Michigan uncovered and publicized emails indicating the Corrections Department quietly waived a $98,000 fine it had announced against Aramark in March. The emails were obtained through requests filed under the state Freedom of Information Act.

The emails, evidently about how to handle the situation, were between Snyder Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore and the state Corrections chief Daniel Heyns.

When asked whether he had been aware Aramark’s fine had been dismissed before that became public, Snyder replied: “That was, again, within the department making those decisions. I don’t view that as the critical issue here. The critical issue is we’re solving the Aramark problem.”

The governor dismissed charges by Democrats and Schauer that the canceled fine was a favor to a friendly corporation.

“I have no relation to Aramark — there’s no corporate buddy there at all,” Snyder said. “That’s electioneering — politicians making up charges that have no substance.”


GHeinlein@detroitnews.co

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140916/POLITICS02/309160090#ixzz3DZTEOawF
Post Wed Sep 17, 2014 6:29 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW


Shelly Lynch · Top Commenter · Macomb Community College
"The governor dismissed charges by Democrats and Schauer that the canceled fine was a favor to a friendly corporation.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140916/POLITICS02/309160090#ixzz3DVQcseww"

Mr. Governor. If the Fine was levied by the Director of Prisons, and Later Removed by the Director of Prisons.

Why was your Chief of Staff involved?

Why was Amarak calling your Chief of Staff and lobbying for the fine to be removed instead of making the case to the Professional... the Director of Prisons?

Why did your Chief of Staff in turn, contact the Director of Prisons, on Amarak's behalf?

That's not politics questioning, that's called reporting.

And maybe you have a process set up or an answer for that and its completely innocent of any political favoritsm. Or maybe not....

But either way, it looks very strange, and it's a legitimate line of questions
Post Wed Sep 17, 2014 6:32 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Canceled Aramark fine questioned by state panel member


Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

LANSING – A member of the state Civil Service Commission said today he feels "misled"by the Michigan Department of Corrections, whose official testified about a $98,000 fine levied against a prison food contractor for poor performance but never mentioned that payment of the fine had been waived.

Russ Marlan, a top official of the Corrections Department who will soon take on a deputy director's position, told the commission about the fine on March 19 after the commission heard concerns from union representatives and others about the performance of Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia, who on Dec. 8 began a three-year, $145-million contract to provide meals to about 43,000 state prisoners.

E-mails made public last week show that six days earlier, on March 13, Corrections Department Director Dan Heyns said in an e-mail to the governor's chief of staff that he would "delay or cancel any fines and give Aramark time to solve the problems."

Only when that e-mail was made public by the group Progress Michigan on Sept. 11 did Marlan confirm that Aramark had never been required to pay the fine, imposed for repeatedly running short of food, making unauthorized menu substitutions, and employing workers who got too friendly with Michigan inmates.



'I feel misled'

"I feel misled," said Robert Swanson, who sits on the four-member Civil Service Commission that oversees state employee compensation and must approve state government privatization initiatives such as the Aramark deal, which eliminated about 370 state jobs.

"Why we were not informed?" Swanson asked Marlan at Wednesday's commission meeting.

Marlan did not directly answer that question, but he told the Free Press later he wasn't aware when he testified before the commission that Heyns had suspended the fine.

"The director has the ultimate responsibility over management of this contract," Marlan said in an e-mail.

"While he had employees assisting in overseeing contract compliance issues; ultimately the authority over enforcement was his. And he was very involved on a personal level with the issues surrounding this contract."

Swanson, a Democratic appointee to the commission, pointed out that the commission received a further update on the Aramark contract in late April and had informal discussions with the department as recently as July, but he didn't learn the fine had been waived until he read about it in the newspaper.

"I don't feel like I've been dealt with forthrightly by the department," he said.

Marlan told the Free Press he learned the fine had been waived "probably a month ago" and saw no need to go back and tell the commission.

"They have no authority over contract management," "we didn't impose the fine to get media attention, make headlines or create the appearance that we were getting tough," but to "gain contract compliance," Marlan said.

"After receiving notice of the fine, the director felt that the issues were elevated to a much higher level within the Aramark organization, and that they were then taking the issues seriously and had a plan to appropriately resolve the problems."

But things had not improved in August, when Gov. Rick Snyder announced a new, $200,000 fine against Aramark for many of the same problems. Marlan told the commission that fine has either already been deducted from the company's monthly payment from the department or will be deducted from the next one.

The Free Press published a series of articles on how the contract with Aramark, which began in December, has been marked by problems with food shortages, sanitation issues and Aramark workers getting too friendly with prisoners — in some cases smuggling in contraband or engaging in sex acts with prisoners. There also have been inmate demonstrations and other unrest related to food issues.

In the most recent incident, an Aramark worker at St. Louis Correctional Facility was arrested by Michigan State Police Monday on suspicion of drug smuggling after five inmates were found with heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and tobacco.

Also Wednesday, in a 2-2 vote, the commission rejected calls from union representatives to appoint a work group to review standards for approving the privatization of state employee work.

Several speakers said the present standards are a problem because they don't consider the quality of work the state will receive -- only whether the state will achieve a cost savings of at least 5%.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
Post Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:17 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Progress Michigan FOIA Reveals Aramark Scandal Reaches Top Levels of Snyder Administration



September 11, 2014
Progress Michigan


Progress Michigan FOIA Reveals Aramark Scandal Reaches Top Levels of Snyder Administration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News from Progress Michigan

September 11, 2014

Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org

Progress Michigan FOIA Reveals Aramark Scandal Reaches Top Levels of Snyder Administration

MICHIGAN — Today, Progress Michigan released a document that was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request that shows the top levels of Snyder’s administration pulling strings in the early stages of Aramark’s public blunders.

The email exchange, between Gov. Snyder’s chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, and Daniel Heyns, the head of the Michigan Department of Corrections, shows the Snyder’s administration trying to stamp out the controversy in March of this year.

On March 13, Muchmore sent an email to Heyns and referenced a story in MIRS News about the scandals regarding Aramark. The email exchange is listed below:

Muchmore:

“Do you feel you’ve got this under control? Seems like these attacks are always initiated by AFSCME, but I find it kind of unusual that this comes up on the heels of the escape so maybe it is MCO this time.”

Heyns:

“Answer is no but I am working on it. Let me know when you want to get together to talk about it.”

Muchmore:

REDACTED

Heyns:

“I can always use one of those but not necessary. I know where you want to go. I will tone down my attack dogs, delay or cancel any fines and give Aramark time to solve the problems. I met with one of their honchos today and he gets the picture. We were concerned about losing control of a joint and told them repeatedly with no improvement. Our corrective action was too harsh. Let me know if you need more or just want a drink. I will watch it closely from here out.”

“What was said between Muchmore and Heyns that caused him to ‘tone down his attack dogs’ and cancel fines to Aramark?” Scott questioned. “Was the Snyder administration trying to hide problems with Aramark from the public? Heyns states that he was concerned about ‘losing control of a joint,’ proving that the Aramark contract is a threat to public safety. The governor needs to do more than just slap Aramark on the wrist. He needs to end the contract immediately to protect not just taxpayer dollars, but taxpayers themselves.”

Progress Michigan also questioned Gov. Rick Snyder’s decision to hire a controversial, out-of-state, ex-public official to oversee the state’s contract with Aramark.

“In light of the information we’re releasing today, it is even more troubling that Gov. Snyder has announced that he’s chosen an ex-public official who has already been embroiled in controversy to oversee the state’s Aramark contract” Scott continued. “You would think the governor would want to avoid any future scandals at all cost given what has happened within his administration, but it appears that his allegiance to corporate profits and privatization is greater than than his commitment to the people of Michigan.”
Post Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:56 am 
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twotap
F L I N T O I D

Laughing



Obama is at Two Dozen Scandals and Counting

by Keith Koffler on August 1, 2013, 9:25 am


President Obama claims that Republicans are busy probing “phony scandals.” But the sheer number of scandals suggests that misbehavior, abuse of power, and possibly corruption are not something being dreamed up by the GOP, but a defining characteristic of the Obama administration.

Here is a full list of the administration’s most egregious scandals. The ones we know about, at least. I’ve added four since the last time we ran the list – an increase of 20 percent!

1. IRS targets Obama’s enemies: The IRS targeted conservative and pro-Israel groups prior to the 2012 election. Questions are being raised about why this occurred, who ordered it, whether there was any White House involvement and whether there was an initial effort to hide who knew about the targeting and when.

2. Benghazi: This is actually three scandals in one:
◾The failure of administration to protect the Benghazi mission.
◾The changes made to the talking points in order to suggest the attack was motivated by an anti-Muslim video
◾The refusal of the White House to say what President Obama did the night of the attack

3. Watching the AP: The Justice Department performed a massive cull of Associated Press reporters’ phone records as part of a leak investigation.

4. Rosengate: The Justice Department suggested that Fox News reporter James Rosen is a criminal for reporting about classified information and subsequently monitored his phones and emails.

5. Potential Holder perjury I: Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress he had never been associated with “potential prosecution” of a journalist for perjury when in fact he signed the affidavit that termed Rosen a potential criminal.

6. The ATF “Fast and Furious” scheme: Allowed weapons from the U.S. to “walk” across the border into the hands of Mexican drug dealers. The ATF lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which were used in crimes, including the December 2010 killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

7. Potential Holder Perjury II: Holder told Congress in May 2011 that he had just recently heard about the Fast and Furious gun walking scheme when there is evidence he may have known much earlier.

8. Sebelius demands payment: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius solicited donations from companies HHS might regulate. The money would be used to help her sign up uninsured Americans for ObamaCare.

9. The Pigford scandal: An Agriculture Department effort that started as an attempt to compensate black farmers who had been discriminated against by the agency but evolved into a gravy train delivering several billion dollars in cash to thousands of additional minority and female farmers who probably didn’t face discrimination.

10. GSA gone wild: The General Services Administration in 2010 held an $823,000 training conference in Las Vegas, featuring a clown and a mind readers. Resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator.

11. Veterans Affairs in Disney World: The agency wasted more than $6 million on two conferences in Orlando. An assistant secretary was fired.

12. Sebelius violates the Hatch Act: A U.S. special counsel determined that Sebelius violated the Hatch Act when she made “extemporaneous partisan remarks” during a speech in her official capacity last year. During the remarks, Sebelius called for the election of the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina.

13. Solyndra: Republicans charged the Obama administration funded and promoted its poster boy for green energy despite warning signs the company was headed for bankruptcy. The administration also allegedly pressed Solyndra to delay layoff announcements until after the 2010 midterm elections.

14. AKA Lisa Jackson: Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used the name “Richard Windsor” when corresponding by email with other government officials, drawing charges she was trying to evade scrutiny.

15. The New Black Panthers: The Justice Department was accused of using a racial double standard in failing to pursue a voter intimidation case against Black Panthers who appeared to be menacing voters at a polling place in 2008 in Philadelphia.

16. Waging war all by myself: Obama may have violated the Constitution and both the letter and the spirit of the War Powers Resolution by attacking Libya without Congressional approval.

17. Biden bullies the press: Vice President Biden’s office has repeatedly interfered with coverage, including forcing a reporter to wait in a closet, making a reporter delete photos, and editing pool reports.

18. AKPD not A-OK: The administration paid millions to the former firm of then-White House adviser David Axelrod, AKPD Message and Media, to promote passage of Obamacare. Some questioned whether the firm was hired to help pay Axelrod $2 million AKPD owed him.

19. Sestak, we’ll take care of you: Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used Bill Clinton as an intermediary to probe whether former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) would accept a prominent, unpaid White House advisory position in exchange for dropping out of the 2010 primary against former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

20. I’ll pass my own laws: Obama has repeatedly been accused of making end runs around Congress by deciding which laws to enforce, including the decision not to deport illegal immigrants who may have been allowed to stay in the United States had Congress passed the “Dream Act.”

21. The hacking of Sharyl Attkisson’s computer: It’s not clear who hacked the CBS reporter’s computer as she investigated the Benghazi scandal, but the Obama administration and its allies had both the motive and the means to do it.

22. An American Political Prisoner: The sudden decision to arrest Nakoula Basseley Nakoula on unrelated charges after protests in the Arab world over his anti-Muslim video is an extraordinarily suspicious coincidence. “We’re going to go out and we’re going to prosecute the person that made that video,” Hillary Clinton allegedly told the father of one of the ex-SEALs killed in Banghazi.

23. Get rid of inconvenient IGs: Corporation for National and Community Service Inspector General Gerald Walpin was fired in 2009 as he fought wasteful spending and investigated a friend of Obama’s, Sacramento Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson. The White House says Walpin was incompetent.

24. Influence peddling: An investigation is underway of Alejandro Mayorkas, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, who has been nominated by Obama for the number two post at the Department of Homeland Security. Mayorkas may have used his position to unfairly obtain U.S. visas for foreign investors in company run by Hillary Clinton’s brother, Anthony Rodham.

_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times.
Post Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:04 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Right Wing Blogger, Keith Koffler, Takes Offense with First Lady Michelle Obama’s 42 Days of Vacation in Past Year

August 12, 2011 By Janet Shan —Leave a Comment


Right wing blogger Keith Koffler criticizes First Lady Michelle Obama for spending 42 days on vacation this past year, but how many vacation days did Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan take?

Does anyone really care how many vacation days First Lady Michelle Obama takes? Well, Keith Koffler at the White House Dossier seems to give a sh*t. I didn’t realize First Lady Michelle Obama was an elected official. I guess Koffler and The Drudge Report, which linked to this non-story, have her confused with Michelle Bachmann, who has missed a lot of votes in the House since she decided to run for the presidency. How many vacation days did Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton take when their husbands were presidents? Do we even care? Koffler and Drudge have an issue because Michelle Obama is black and they just can’t stand her husband as well. Here’s an excerpt from the White House Dossier:


“First Lady Michelle Obama over the last year has spent a total of 42 days on vacation, or a little more than one out of every nine days, according to a White House Dossier analysis of her travel.

Her vacations, the cost of which are mostly borne by taxpayers, include trips to Panama City, Fla., Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii, South Africa, Latin America, Vail, Colo., and her visit this week to her brother in Corvallis, Ore.

The total does not include a nine day sojourn in Martha’s Vineyard that the Obamas will enjoy this month. Nor does it include a trip she made to Ireland and Great Britain in May, which I’m counting as official travel.

The total vacation time would have been slightly higher had the Obamas gone as planned for an April weekend in Williamsburg, Va. The trip was cancelled due to an extended stalemate between President Obama and Congress over the budget.

Typical right wing bullsh*t. There’s no other way to say it, considering members of Congress have been living the high life at the expense of American taxpayers like you and I. You know, flying business class, some using private jets, having a driver, expensive hotel accommodations, dining at exclusive restaurants, etc. How do they want Mrs. Obama to travel? In Coach or on a Greyhound bus?



Janet Shan

Janet Shan is a freelance journalist, blogger and social media consultant. Janet specializes in political and social commentary, as well as business writing. She is the founder and managing editor of the Hinterland Gazette. She is putting the finishing touches on her new novel, a mystery based in the
Post Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:51 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Two tap- I am not surprised that you chose not to reveal your source for Koffler.

Koffler call himself Confessions of a Close republican and became a blogger after the editors of th publications he worked for refused his material. He calls his material "hard hitting analytical satire". He is in the same league as Breibart and the Onion.

I have never heard of some of this garbage and most was debunked along with Issa.

Satire definition
noun

1.the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Post Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:26 am 
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