COs at NorCo Jail Complain About Money, Mandates, Morale and Management

I opened my coverage of last week's Northampton County Council meetings with a story about Council President Lori Vargo Heffner's recent $3,100 junket to Tampa at taxpayer expense, followed by a question about the Eagles-Packers game. I intended to continue coverage today, but that wasn't good enough for disgruntled corrections officers. They expected a story immediately. One of them remarked, "It great that a group of county employees tell county council that the jail is in crisis we talk about a football game. Shows were [sic] our county is. Tampons and a football game. Guessing paper towels are hygiene products. Need toilet paper, Tampons, pads, just nothing to dry your hands. Just use the TP." Corrections officers have been claiming "the jail is in crisis" since I first started covering the county in 2016. I'll agree they have very difficult and stressful jobs. I appreciate their dedication, which actually has saved lives at the jail. But I honestly believe their complaints are being addressed, especially when I look at their most recent binding arbitartion. .  

At Thursday night's meeting, a group of COs flooded the room, but only two spoke, They designated AFSCME staff representative Brian Dayoc and local union President Justin Edelman, their President, to do the talking. Both read prepared statements. 

Dayoc correctly observed that corrections officers continued working during pandemic while employees at some departments were paid to stay home. This was a reference to Human Services caseworkers, who were initially permitted to work from home during the pandemic. He complained that the county denied requests for bonuses to corrections officers but handed them out at Gracedale. This is true and is because federal funds for that purpose were made available at nursing homes, but not at the jail. Dayoc cited the example of one employee with 13 years of experience who is only on step 5 of an 11-step payscale. He conceded that COs have received steps in recent contracts under the current administration but argued that does not make up for lack of steps from previous administrations. He noted that staffing levels are critically low and have resulted in mandatory overtime under which COs work 16-hour shifts. But at the same time, he said many guards depend on overtime. He said the union is opposed to scheduling changes the county has been attempting since 2015 unless they are paid more money.  

Justin Edelman, President of local 2495, read a moving CO statement from Zion Harstine, whose wife passed away in January. He has an autistic daughter and has to rely on others to take care of her while he works mandatory overtime. "My child needs me more than ever, as well as I need her. I am her father, and I will be the one to raise her, not my other family members. ... It's a shame when an employer unable to fulfill their responsibilities is now making an employee of almost 22 years choose between his family and his job. ... No employer should expect an employee to work the hours we are working ... to fill the voids that they have created. ... " Harstine's statement complains of "vindictive retaliation, bullying and trying to place fear into the employees to get what they want to fix their problems. Scare tactics that are as clear as day. I'm not alone in this. Every officer has their own story, We gave you our thoughts on how to fix the problem but it fell on deaf ears. The issue is four Ms: money, mandates, morale and management." 

After reading Harstine's statement, Edelman asserted that Executive Lamont McClure and the HR department have stopped unionized COs from bidding on other county jobs in what he says is a clear violation of the Home Rule Charter Sections 806, 807 and 1307. He stated that the county's HR department has morphed into an "enforcement agency for the bullying campaign of our Executive." 

The county's Home Rule Charter does establish a "career service designed to attract, select, and retain, on the basis of a fair and open competitive selection process, the best qualified individuals, and to impose on elected officials, officers, and employees the highest possible ethical standards." It establishes two classifications of county employees, exempt and career service. Exempt employees include elected officials and a limited number of political appointees. The rest are career service. There is no separate category for union workers. 

Section 806 specifically provides that "[n]othing in this Charter shall be construed to limit the rights granted under the laws of Pennsylvania or the United States to any employee or employee organization." And Section 807 states that "[n]o individual shall be favored or disfavored with respect to any position or office because of ... lawful activity in any employee organization."  

Historically, union employees have been permitted to bid on county jobs. The decision to prevent this is clearly a departure from established practice. 

During his report to Council, McClure told Council member Ron Heckman that he disputes the claims made by COs. "We're in the middle of a contract, which we're honoring." He was also questioned by Council members John Goffredo and John Brown concerning the decision to prevent corrections officers from bidding on county jobs. Brown asked McClure whether he believed that any county employee has the right to bid on other county jobs. "That's not my understanding," responded McClure. "Your rights, if you're in an organized unit, are determined by the four corners of your contract and you're not necessarily entitled to the mechanisms of the career service." 

This interpretation appears to fly in the face of the Home Rule Charter's express intent that the "best qualified individuals" be selected, preferably from within the county, to the best jobs available. It also is contrary to practice in the private sector, in which union members at companies like Bethlehem Steel could advance into management. 

The County's Administrative Code (Section 14.09) delineates two classes of employees at the jail. "The Director of Corrections and the Public Safety Administrator of the Northampton County Prison shall be in the exempt service. All other employees of the Prison shall be included in the career service." It makes no difference whether these employees are unionized. They still are entitled to the benefits of a career service system.

As if that were not clear enough, the Career Service Regulations provide that they "apply to any employee included in a unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement, unless specific provisions encompass the same general subjects as the career service regulations, by way of example, issues such as promotion, layoff, transfer, etc." The regulations, adopted by Council, specifically state "collective bargaining agreements shall not replace or eliminate a merit system as described by these career service regulations, the Home Rule Charter and the Administrative Code."

It appears that McClure's attempt to prevent prison employees from transferring to other jobs within the county is contrary to the Home Rule Charter, Administrative Code and Career Service Regulations. 

But does this mean that the complaints about money, mandates, morale and management are warranted? A review of the current collective bargaining agreement tells me that corrections officers are off base. 

The corrections officers are currently in the middle of a contract, decided as a result of mandatory arbitration on February 14, 2024.

Under this contract, the starting salary for a corrections officer was $41,334 in 2023, followed by two 4 1/2% step increases in 2024 and 2025. This translates to a salary increase of about 13.5% over three years. 

The contract also includes longevity pay of $300 (starting at 5 years), $1,000 (starting at 10 years), $1,750 (starting at 15 years) and $2,000 (starting at 25 years). It does require COs to contribute a little more of their salary for the rising cost of health care, depending on which medical plan they use. 

Arbitrators also noted the following: "[T]his panel notes that it has had numerous discussions regarding the effect of the current schedule. By any statistical measure, the schedule is not working efficiently and that has been affecting both the employer and the employees. The panel urges - as did its predecessors - the parties to find a way to voluntarily change the schedule by considering potential solutions before a subsequent panel chooses to take up the schedule itself and impose changes to address the obvious issue with the schedule." 

This belies Dayoc's implication to Council that the current schedule works. 

Without question, there is a staffing crisis at the jail. Though there have been 376 new hires at the jail since 2018, all but 102 are gone. The retention rate of these new hires is just 27%.

Fifty-five of these departures have been to other positions within the county, and some include promotions at the jail. But interestingly, 15 COs have left the jail to work at lower-paying county jobs like groundskeepers or 911 technicians. This contradicts the assertion that COs are leaving because of low pay. 

Since at least 2015, when John Brown was Executive, corrections officers have been urged to consider scheduling changes as a way to reduce mandated overtime and ensure coverage. Since 2015, corrections officers have refused because they don't want to lose the overtime. You can't have it both ways. You can't complain about mandated overtime while resisting an initiative designed to reduce it. 

Binding Arbitration at Jail A Pyrrhic Victory for McClure and Union

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure told County Council on August 1 he is "very pleased" at the binding arbitration award between the County and the union representing corrections officers. The union sought binding arbitration after negotiations with the county reached an impasse.

McClure had offered a step increase (4 1/2%) in the first year, followed by two percent pay hikes in years two and three. In addition, he offered to bring corrections officers into the county's health care plan, a significant improvement over what they have now.  This offer was rejected, and because corrections officers are unable to strike, they are entitled to and sought binding arbitration.

The arbitrator awarded 0.77% more in wages than the county had offered. What McClure liked about this award is that the "lion's share"of the increase went to officers who have been employed for 13 years or less. Those with more than 13 years are getting less money than they would have received had negotiators taken the county's offer.

"The arbitrator did for us what we were not able to do at the table with any of our bargaining units," said McClure. This suggests that perhaps some union negotiators have been more interested in taking care of themselves than in protecting members who have little seniority. 

McClure said the award addresses a complaint he hears often. "We can't recruit or retain because Lehigh pays more ..."

The arbitration award will actually cost the county less than it would have paid had the union accepted the contract.

"Under our offer at the table, which was rejected for arbitration, it would have cost us $827,326. The arbitrator's binding award is going to cost us $791,164."

McClure may be pleased, but corrections officers are not. On the weekend following his announcement, 22 officers were mandated on one shift and 23 on another.  This pattern continued again the following weekend. While corrections officers are being mandated, they can work 16 hours with no relief and no food

In addition, they are leaving sooner than the county can hire them.

McClure or the union might both claim a victory but it is pyrrhic. The final loser will be the officer,inmate and especially the taxpayer, who will have to pay the overtime and awards that occur as a result of civil rights violations. As a jail expert observes, “The risk of an inappropriate response to a jail incident is higher when an employee is mentally or physically fatigued.”

NCP Inmate Stricken By Cardiac Event, Passes Away

Easton resident Donnell Davis, 49, who was serving a sentence at Northampton County jail, was stricken by what has been described as a "cardiac event" on Saturday. He has passed away.

Davis was one of five people snagged in a drug sweep by Easton police in April. He was accused of escorting a police source to a drug dealer, and then witnessing a sale of crack cocaine. At his prelimhavinary arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Antonia Grifo, he denied making any sales. He claimed to have mental health issues and to be on medication, though he had no doctor. He also had trouble reading.

He would later waive his preliminary hearing and plead guilty to one felony count for his role. Judge Leonard Zito imposed an 11 month, 29 day sentence on August 31. This spared Davis state prison. Judge Zito gave Davis credit for time already served and waived court costs because Davis was disabled. He also ordered that Davis undergo psychiatric evaluation, and even agreed to parole Davis for mental health treatment if that was the ultimate recommendation.

It is unknown whether Davis had been evaluated, and if he was, whether a recommendation had yet been made.

Davis was a graduate of Easton Area High School. Originally from Reading, he was adopted. Those who know him describe "Donnie" as an affable person who was a bit gullible and perhaps a bit slow. Throughout his short life, he made mistakes. But his Facebook page shows a man who loved his son and daughters.

On Friday, the day before Davis passed away, the County was advised that it is receiving over $3 million from state Human Services to help expand the treatment options for inmates with mental illness. “By expanding available beds and treatment options, we’ll be able to keep people from languishing in the County prison system,” said Executive Lamont McClure. One of the chief features of this program is a re-entry housing program.

It's impossible to say whether Davis would have done better had he known this, but his biggest  worry on the day of his arrest was housing.

On Tuesday, I will have more to say about the efforts Northampton County is making to help inmates with mental illness. The county's re-entry coordinator talked about what is being done on Thursday night. 

Did Brown Want New Jail to Hold Federal Prisoners?

Back in October, Northampton County Executive John Brown proposed a new $185 million jail at Easton. It's pretty clear he originally intended to build it at Gracedale until Upper Nazareth residents got wind of his intentions. One of he biggest arguments for a new facility is that conditions are so bad that the federal government would order us to build one if we failed to do it ourselves. But at yesterday's budget hearing, Corrections Director unknowingly defeated that argument.

He told Council that in October, and right around the time that Brown said he wanted a new jail, the county inked a deal with the feds to house up to 30 federal inmates at a time. The county would be paid $72 per day. This amounts to $788,400 into the county coffers every year.

So it looks like Brown was going to go into the jail business.

Brown Proposes $185 Million Jail in Easton

John Brown

With an election just around the corner, Northampton County Executive John Brown proposed a new jail at Easton yesterday with a $185 million price tag. His recommendation is based on a $78,000 study prepared by architectural firm DLR, which reviewed seven different options. The report also states that the existing facility cold be could be repaired at a cost of $82.7 million.

Brown acknowledged yesterday that neither the state nor federal government has ordered that a new jail be built. He also admitted that no litigation has been filed by inmates concerning jail conditions. He also agreed that he could have asked the National Institute of Corrections to prepare a study at no cost to taxpayers.

The options considered greenfield sites compared to the existing facility. Brown denied that any specific location was considered, but the DLR report contradicts him.

One criterion used to evaluate each option is "community support." Two are color coded red, meaning community support is "fair."  Four are color coded yellow, meaning community support is "better." The Easton site is color coded green, meaning community support is "best."

How could there be such different ratings for community support if no specific location is considered?

Brown said I'd have to look through the report to get an answer to that question, but there is no answer. Brown has simply refused to list the greenfield locations considered, and that's because one of them is  Gracedale.

One county official told me that these locations are confidential, but there is nothing confidential about Gracedale, which is already publicly owned.

This report includes an inmate population profile and plans for different services like mental health treatment, but does so without seeking input from the biggest stakeholder of them all - the courts. They have a much better idea of what is needed than the Executive, Correction Director or a prison design firm from California. Amazingly, they were ignored in preparing this report, which renders it worthless in my view.

Brown claimed that he will save $6 million per year at the new jail, and can build it without a tax hike through the P3 "alternative bidding" he has used for bridges.

But as the Morning Call's Tom Shortell observes in his own compelling analysis, the savings is likely half that amount because it is premised on 254 corrections officers,not the 200 currently employed. It also fails to include the cost of demolishing the Civil War era jail as well as the expense of a new parking deck.

This is as nutty as the County spending $15 million for the DaVinci Center's giant fish tank in an Easton flood plain.

Brown supports that, too.

Judge Giordano Reinstates Corrections Officer Accused of Domestic Violence

In an Opinion released late last week, Judge Giordano cleared the way for the reinstatement of a fired corrections officer with a history of domestic violence. He had little choice. He was stuck with a record missing some salient details.

Shawn Hoffert, an elected constable in Bethlehem's 13th ward, had also been a corrections officer at Northampton County jail for the past 23 years. But he was fired by Northampton County after an October 17, 2014 fracas with his wife. This has been a pattern. In 2004, he was issued a harassment citation after he allegedly slapped his wife. Assault charges were filed against him in 2006, although it appears that he they were reduced to harassment or dismissed altogether.

In the 2014incident, Bethlehem police responded when Hoffert's wife called 911 and reported that her husband was drunk, had choked her, hit her repeatedly and then threatened to kill her. They observed that she was bleeding from her temple, and she was transported to Muhlenberg Hospital. She later obtained an emergency Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order. In her Petition, she made this statement:

I was sent to the hospital after several open hand hits by Shawn Hoffert on my face. He continued. He slapped my face back and forth from one side to another. He punched me in the eye, causing several stitches, swelling, neck pain, etc. With his two hands he put them around my neck and was choking me. He was banging my head on the floor. He did this 2-3 times. I was gasping for air. While he was doing this, he either said "I'll kill you" or "I can kill you."

Then, as so often happens in domestic violence cases, she failed to appear for her final hearing and the case was dismissed.

When Bethlehem police arrested Hoffert, they administered a breath test. He registered a 0.157, about twice the legal limit. He admitted drinking, said his wife started the fight and he may have pushed her once to get away. He also claimed she "had a way of producing her own injuries."

Hoffert was charged with terroristic threats, simple assault, simple assault/physical menace and harassment. He ultimately pleaded to four summary charges of harassment and was placed on probation for 360 days.

At his arbitration hearing, he denied abusing his wife and described himself as a pillar of the community. A union VP testified that Hoffert was told by former Corrections Director Arnie Matos that he'd get his job back if the criminal charges "went away."  But Director Dan Keen, who succeeded Matos, had a different view and fired Hoffert.

In his Opinion, Arbitrator Thomas G. McConnell concluded that Hoffert did engage in acts of domestic violence, but determined there was insufficient evidence to establish physical violence or a death threat. He noted her absence, although that is common in instances of domestic violence. He ordered Hoffert reinstated without back pay.

Though it was an uphill battle, the County appealed the Arbitrator's ruling. Labor lawyer Dave Steckel argued that "it is inconceivable and morally reprehensible that a person who displayed (on multiple occasions) such little regard for the safety and well being of a female should be placed back in charge of an inmate population."  He added that reinstatement "presents a substantial risk of harm to the inmate population, particularly the female inmate population, as well as to the female Corrections Officers and other female staff, due to Mr. Hoffert's troubling history of committing physical violence against women, and further it unnecessarily exposes the County to significant potential liability in the event Mr. Hoffert once again exhibits physically abusive behavior towards women."

Domestic violence is an epidemic affecting one out of every four women. The overwhelming majority of female prisoners - 82% - sufffered serious sexual or physical abuse as children. There is a compelling public interest, obviously, in preventing those who prey on women, either physically or sexually, from ever becoming or remaining a corrections officer.

Judge Emil Giordano, disturbed by these allegations, initially remanded the matter back to the Arbitrator, who stuck by his initial decision.

And Judge Giordano was stuck with a lousy record. "[T]he record itself essentially limits this Court in its ability to make a factual finding that Mr. Hoffert would be a danger in the workplace," he writes. All that the County could prove was that there was an altercation that resulted in a guilty plea to four summary offenses. Mrs. Hoffert never testified, nor did any police officers. "[M]ost of what the County presented was hearsay or double hearsay without any evidentiary exception."

Judge Giordano also noted that Hoffert had been suspended without pay for eight months. But he struggled in reaching this conclusion, and for good reason. As he himself eloquently observes,

This Court cannot stress enough how seriously we take all allegations of domestic violence, particularly due to our unique ability to sentence abusers and protect victims of this abhorrent crime. Despite this Court's feelings on the subject, however, it is the law that we must follow ... .

The County should be credited for fighting this losing battle. It failed to produce the one thing Judge Girodano needed - evidence.

NorCo Jail's Subtle Racism in Hiring and Discipline

Yesterday, I told you that a former stripper and heroin user is working as a corrections officer at the jail. She was hired in January 2014 despite a complete inability to produce a complete work history that would reveal she worked as a stripper and was a heroin user. She is white, proudly refers to herself as a redneck and has displayed both religious intolerance and bigotry on her Facebook page. While she slips through the cracks, many Latinos and blacks who are being denied employment in what appears to be a double standard - one set of rules for white applicants and another for minority hires. This double standard also extends into discipline.

The chief excuses for refusing to hire a Latino or African American is "lack of life experience." At the same time, the County hires 18 year old white kids fresh out of high school. "Poor job retention" was the reason for refusing to hire an honorably discharged 23 year-old Coast Guard veteran. At the same time, whites with a demonstrated  inability to hold onto a job are hired. One black female was denied employment for lying on her job application. She had denied ever working for the County, but had been employed at Gracedale. She was unaware that Gracedale is a County facility. While she was denied a job, the white Madame X was hired despite misrepresenting herself on her application by failing to report her work as a stripper or her drig history.

One black applicant who had lost a job after testing positive for marijuana was denied employment at the jail. Yet white Madame X admitted to experimenting with heroin and was hired.

If a minority applicant is lucky enough to get hired, he is subjected to the same double standard when it comes to discipline.

* A Latina corrections officer was disciplined for letting a visitor with a cell phone get by her during a visit. Yet the white front gate officer received no discipline even though that cell phone came in through that front gate and slipped by that officer, too.

* A Latina corrections officer rumored to be a member of the Latin Kings was investigated for potential gang involvement despite a lack of any credible evidence, and was eventually exonerated. Yet a white corrections officer who actually tape recorded a prison employee was never investigated despite knowledge by prison officials of this illegal act and the existence of the recording.

* A black corrections officer with a hair weave was declared "unfit for duty" and sent home, but a Lieutenant who attempted to enforce the uniform policy on a white female corrections officer was fired.

* A black corrections officer accused of an inappropriate relationship with an inmate was forced to endure an internal and District Attorney investigation, but a white Lieutenant who improperly tied to seek payment for a shift he never worked was never investigated for theft

* A Latina corrections officer who had inappropriate telephone conversations with an inmate was fired, but a white corrections officer who engaged in the same behavior was only suspended.

Beginning to see a pattern?

If you're the kind of person who routinely posts the Confederate Battle Flag on Facebook, you probably are missing it. But it appears that a subtle form of racism is at play, though most participants are probably unaware of it themselves.

NorCo Gets $500,000 To Help Inmates Find Jobs

Flanked by Nancy Dischinat on the left, and John brown and Bob Werner on the right,
Corrections Director Dan Keen announces $500,000 Grant For Mini Career Center at jail.
Yes, he is one big dude. 

Over nine million people are released from county jails every year with dim prospects for a job. In some cases, they lack even a basic form of identification. "With no ID, you can't even cash a check," observed Northampton County Corrections Director Dan Keen. Under circumstances like these, it's little wonder that many released inmates soon find themselves back behind bars. The United States Department of Labor is trying to change that statistic. It has invested $10 million into 20 communities throughout 14 states, in an attempt to close the revolving door at county and local jails. Northampton County and the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board will receive $500,000 to help inmates find jobs as they are released. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez calls this series of grants "a commonsense approach that strengthens communities and improves public safety at the same time."

Statewide, Montgomery County and its Workforce Investment Board will also receive a $500,000 grant.

Nancy Dischinat, who is the Executive Director at the Workforce Investment Board, cobbled together the grant application with Keen. "This is so cool!" she exclaimed at a recent news conference announcing the award.. Acknowledging that there are "serious barriers," she nevertheless insisted that "the jobs are going to be there. It's all about jobs. It's all about putting people to work."

The grant will fund a staff of four people from the Workforce Investment Board, inside the jail. establishing individual plans over the next two years. Keen stated inmates can be trained to drive forklifts or receive SafeServe certifications from the restaurant industry. Those programs used to exist at the jail, according to long-time corrections officers.

This program will be available for up to 212 inmates at any one time in a jail with a population of about 689. The goal is to keep released inmates from returning.

According to Keen, each inmate costs the County about $36,000 a year.

Dischinat, who hopes to have a program up and running within the next four to six months, stated there will be a sustainability plan in place to determine whether the program is really working. If it does, Executive John Brown said he would ask Council to support funding the program after the grant expires.

Victor Schmidt, President of the 950-member Lehigh valley Chapter of the Society for Professional Human Resource Management, explained that the grant effectively creates a "mini career center" inside the jail. "We will be helping to find the jobs and support the training," he promised.

The award was also praised by Council member Bob Werner, who called it a positive sign.

The Great Jail Raid: Much Ado About Nothing

Let's say you're a bad guy, someone who smuggles contraband into Northampton County Jail, either as a corrections officer or as a visitor. The last day you'd do this would be on a Wednesday, when jail staffing is at its highest, and everyone is crawling over each other. Yet that's precisely the day that NorCo Corrections Director Dan Keen chose for a surprise shakedown. Over the course of six and a half hours, 79 state corrections officers and 14 K-9 dogs searched every inch of the place. And found nothing. A dog and pony show that afternoon created the false impression that drugs had been found in two cells and a locker, but District Attorney John Morganelli confirmed on Thursday that the massive search had yielded nothing worthy of his attention.

All they found were lots of autographed pictures of me!

Basically, state taxpayers wasted about $40,000 in wages and salaries for a wild goose chase. I'm sure state investigators will come right away the next time Keen cries "Wolf!"

Just so you know, there's no doubt in my mind that there really is a contraband ring inside the jail, as there is in nearly every jail. But instead of letting professionals look into the matter, Executive John Brown listened to Cathy Allen, a Deputy Director of Administration with absolutely no experience or education in corrections or criminal investigation. She conducted her own investigation, developed her own stoolies, persuaded Brown to hire Keen and then arranged with Keen for this sweep, which was doomed to failure from the start.

Keen had assured everyone there would be tons of drugs and cellphones .But he picked the worst day possible in a sign of naivete and inexperience that have become Brown trademarks.

Morganelli, who actually has gone through a few of these, could have told them they are wasting their time and our tax dollars. "It's hard to get into a locked down facility," he explained, noting that word always gets out.

On Thursday, when it became clear that no drugs or criminal contraband had been found, Keen stopped taking questions from The Express Times.

There's a rumor that about eight corrections officers were escorted out of the jail last week, but nothing has been referred to Morganelli for prosecution.

Updated 12:13 am: Morganelli told The Morning Call's Riley Yates that this search was "like the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." Keen has apologized for any "miscommunication" when he asserted that drugs had been found in two cells as well as someone's locker. Jail inmates were apparently strip-searched.

Jail Supervisor Denied Counsel at Termination Hearing

From what other corrections officers tell me, Lieutenant Jason Rosati should have his termination hearing soon, if it has not already occurred. He was suspended without pay for enforcing the military discipline that is imperative at a jail. Unfortunately for him, he went by the book with a favorite of Deputy Director of Administration Cathy Allen. she was written up for coming to work with a dress shirt that was not buttoned at the top, a choker necklace and wearing makeup that is inappropriate in a jail setting. But her write-up was overturned, and jail officials have told Lt. Rosati they intend to fire him.

Lt. Rosati has retained Counsel, but Corrections Director Daniel Keen has reportedly refused to allow him to be represented. This means that Keen either intends to exonerate Rosati for what we all recognize is bullshit, or that he does not know what he is doing.

Franklin County Warden Named NorCo Corrections Director

Franklin County Warden Daniel Keen has been named Northampton County's new Director of Corrections. His name was submitted by Executive John Brown to County Council yesterday for confirmation. If five members of Council agree, his starting salary will be $100,237. According to Brown, "The Courts and the Sheriff have vetted Mr. Keen."

As the Warden of Franklin County jail, located in Chambersburg, Keen oversees a 474-bed facility. He has been there since May 2011. He began as a corrections officer in Clinton County in 2000, and since that time, has been employed at five different prison facilities, including a 1 1/2 year stint doing inspections of county jails for the state.

A Lock Haven high school graduate, he has either completed or is still working on a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Bellevue University, which appears to be an accredited online institution.  

He comes highly recommended by wardens at Clinton, Cambria and Pike Counties.