Management and Training Corporation

Education & Training

MTC contracts with the U.S. Department of Labor in operating or partnering in operating centers in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, California, Utah, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Hawaii, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.

Corrections

MTC is the third largest operator of correctional facilities in the U.S. with a capacity to serve more than 31,000 offenders. MTC's philosophy is 'rehabilitation through education' and offers inmates a wide variety of programming, including GED, adult basic education, substance abuse, life skills, and vocational training. Twelve MTC correctional facilities have earned American Correctional Association accreditation ACA, meaning the facilities exceed national standards and implement state-of-the-art safety and security policies and procedures. Ten MTC correctional facilities exceed Correctional Education Association CEA, standards for educational programming. Various MTC facilities are also accredited by the Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Facility organization, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and The Joint Commission.

On August 18, 2016, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates announced that the Justice Department intended to end its contracts with for-profit prison operators, because it concluded "...the facilities are both less safe and less effective at providing correctional services..." than the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In response, MTC's spokesperson, Issa Arnita, said, it was "disappointed" to learn about the DOJ's decision. "If the DOJ's decision to end the use of contract prisons were based solely on declining inmate populations, there may be some justification, but to base this decision on cost, safety and security, and programming is wrong." In a memorandum, Yates continued, for-profit "...prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities. They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department's Office of Inspector General (O.I.G.), they do not maintain the same level of safety and security. The rehabilitative services that the Bureau provides, such as educational programs and job training, have proved difficult to replicate and outsource and these services are essential to reducing recidivism and improving public safety." The findings of the report were called into question in articles in Bloomberg News, and the National Review, For-profit prison operators, including MTC, contended that the report lacked objectivity. The O.I.G.'s report itself noted some difficulties with its conclusions, to wit: "Moreover, we were unable to compare the overall costs of incarceration between BOP institutions and contract prisons in part because of the different nature of the inmate populations and programs offered in those facilities." "We note that we were unable to evaluate all of the factors that contributed to the underlying data, including the effect of inmate demographics and facility locations."

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in December that the Utah-based Management & Training Corporation-operated South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility will be closed and inmates will be relocated,"...in light of the declining offender population because of the success of the agency's treatment and diversion initiatives." It employed about 115 people. MTC had recently sent requisite notice to the Texas Workforce Commission that it will cut its 110 jobs at the downtown jail, before the end of 2016, according to its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter to the agency. Its workers weren't represented by a union so lacked bumping rights. Workers with seniority can't take positions held by those with less time on the job.

MTC Medical

MTC Medical provides medical and dental care to prisoners at 14 facilities:

Economic & Social Development

MTC created its Economic & Social Development division in 2004. MTC has provided technical assistance in multiple locations around the world. Work has included vocational assessments, small and medium enterprise development, training for marginalized populations including women and youth, executive training, national skill set development, technical vocational education and training system design and implementation, among many others. Projects have included work in China, Haiti, Iraq, Palestine, South Sudan, Mongolia, Jordan, and Tunisia.

Background

MTC was founded in 1981 by Robert L. Marquardt, (1925-2012) when Morton Thiokol decided to divest its Job Corps training division. Marquardt, who worked for Morton, and his partners, borrowed $3.5 million to purchase the spin-off.

Controversies

On October 25, 2003, a 90-minute prison race riot broke out at MTC's low-security Eagle Mountain Community Correctional Facility in Eagle Mountain, California Some 150 mostly Hispanic prisoners attacked black inmates with meat cleavers, kitchen knives, broom handles, rocks, pipes, crutches and fire extinguishers. The privately employed guards retreated, while state correctional officers were called in from distant state facilities. Two inmates were stabbed to death, seven others were critically injured, some airlifted out, and dozens more hurt. Eight short-term inmates were ultimately charged with and convicted of murder. The facility was closed by the end of the year.

In November 2007, four MTC employees at the Willacy Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas were charged in relation to their use of company vehicles to smuggle illegal immigrants through checkpoints. They were allegedly caught smuggling 28 illegal immigrants through the U.S. Border Patrol's Sarita checkpoint, situated approximately 100 miles north of Brownsville. The immigrants were from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Two of the men charged were wearing their uniforms and driving a company van, apparently overloaded with the immigrants.

On 30 July 2010, three homicidal prisoners escaped from the Arizona State Prison – Kingman after MTC workers ignored alarms indicating a breached fence. They had cut through the fence with tools tossed to them by a getaway car driver. Two MTC employees resigned in the wake of the escape, a unit warden and a unit security chief. On September 20, the Arizona Department of Corrections released a report which stated that the escape went undetected for an unknown period of time because the security system between the perimeter fences, which should have detected the prisoners passing through, had been incorrectly installed and had not worked properly for the previous two and a half years. One killer escapee, who absconded outside the fence with the getaway car, was captured 28 hours later after a shootout with law enforcement in Rifle, Colorado. He was eventually sentenced to 48 years in the Colorado prison system. Two truck drivers were robbed, hijacked and kidnapped by the other two killers and their accomplice. "This is the first major glitch we’ve had, and I pray they pick the two guys up and nobody gets hurt," said Robert Marquardt. Three days later, the ringleader hijacked, kidnapped, killed and incinerated two vacationers in New Mexico. He and his fellow escapee and their accomplice were captured within 20 days. Two are now serving life terms in federal prisons and their accomplice got a 40-year federal sentence. Subsequently, corrections officials stopped sending new inmates to the facility, which they stated was "dysfunctional." MTC threatened to sue the state for breach of contract, which guaranteed the facility 97% occupancy, and for the loss of $10 million in revenue from empty beds. The state renegotiated the contract and paid MTC $3 million.

On June 22, 2011, MTC Security Officer Edwin Rodriguez at the Willacy facility was arrested, and subsequently charged with the sexual abuse of a female detainee.

In July 2014, a portion of an internal ceiling collapsed in a dayroom at the Diboll Correctional Center in Texas. A number of inmates were taken to the hospital. One was listed as being in critical condition.

MTC took over management of the troubled Walnut Grove Correctional Facility from GEO Group in the summer of 2012

In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF), operated by the MTC, which they described as an "extremely dangerous facility" where "basic human rights are violated daily." The lawsuit claimed that rats crawled over prisoners in their beds so often that sometimes they were captured, put on leashes and sold as pets to seriously mentally ill inmates. Many prisoners had reportedly been unable to access appropriate medical care, even for life-threatening conditions. In November 2014, Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps was arraigned on charges of organizing a massive corruption scheme in which he received $1,900,000 in bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts to private prison and subcontractor firms including MTC, with ties to Cecil McCrory, a Republican former state legislator. According to the indictment, the bribes occurred when the MTC-operated EMCF was descending into "hellish chaos" with gang violence routine, medical care substandard and corruption rampant among corrections officers. On February 25, 2015, Epps pleaded guilty to tax evasion and taking bribes. He took "about $2 million" in exchange for prison contracts. After Epps was indicted, Governor Phil Bryant quickly ordered renegotiation of the $60 million MTC contract to operate three Mississippi prisons: Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, East Mississippi Correctional Facility and Marshall County Correctional Facility, which had been managed by the GEO Group, and a fourth, Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, which had been managed by the Corrections Corporation of America, now known as CoreCivic, all of which involved McCrory and Epps. MTC had been sued for mistreatment of inmates in two of those prisons. After his indictment, McCrory had at first plea bargained to lesser federal charges. Before being hired as a consultant by MTC, he had begun working as a consultant to Cornell Companies and GEO, which had paid him $10,000 monthly. MTC subsequently won all four contracts and hired McCrory as a consultant. Upon the disclosure of the federal charges, MTC fired McCrory, claiming they knew nothing of his criminal activities. According to the indictments, MTC confirmed that it paid McCrory $12,000 a month and had hired him at Epps’ recommendation. The company stated Epps had not forced it to hire McCrory. MTC spokesman Issa Arnita said that Epps “made us aware of the fee McCrory had charged in the past to other contractors” and had worked for GEO Group, the Boca Raton, Florida for-profit prison firm which held the contracts that were subsequently awarded to MTC. “MTC was not aware of any alleged inappropriate relationships between Mr. Epps and Mr. McCrory or that Mr. Epps was allegedly a participant in any way in the contract with McCrory.” The indictment indicated that McCrory also consulted for Cornell Companies, of Houston, Texas, which operated the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility prior to Cornell's purchase by GEO Group in 2010. The indictment recounts a 2012 conversation quoting Epps telling McCrory that he had persuaded MTC to hire him, with them to split MTC's payments after taxes. The indictment has Epps saying, “I got us $12,000 per month.”

Epps was originally scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2015, but on June 8 federal authorities first announced that the sentencing was indefinitely delayed. Cecil McCrory, co-defendant in the Epps case, moved to withdraw his guilty plea and have a trial scheduled. Consequently, the sentencing of Epps was again postponed. The sentencing of Epps and Brandon businessman McCrory last scheduled for July 19, 2016, was again delayed by Judge Henry Travillion Wingate to give their defense lawyers additional time to review materials concerning how much money was gained by 15 corporations paying bribes to the pair. Prosecutors hope to use the evidence to increase the recommended prison sentences for Epps and McCrory. Epps faces a possible 23 years after his 2015 guilty plea to money laundering and filing false tax returns related to $1.47 million in bribes. After his sentencing had been delayed twice, Judge Wingate reset Epps' sentencing for May 24–25, 2017. Although Epps' sentencing was delayed, Wingate had set sentencing for his co-defendant, McCrory, for Dec. 21-22. On December 21, 2016, Judge Wingate rejected McCrory's request to withdraw his plea, ruling it had been made with sufficient advice of counsel, and setting a new date for sentencing. It was revealed via testimony from the FBI that McCrory admitted in their first interview with him to laundering $40,000 in cash for Epps, and that he began wearing a recording device for his conversations with Epps. McCrory remains free on bail, but was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison on February 2, 2017. It was revealed via testimony from the FBI that McCrory admitted to laundering $40,000 in cash for Epps in their first interview with him, and that he began wearing a recording device for his conversations with Epps. After he was sentenced to 8 1/2 years, on February 3, 2017, McCrory remained free on bail, with the judge indicating that time could be reduced after the other defendants in the case are sentenced.

In mid-June 2016, in the face of declining prison populations and the removal of juveniles to more suitable facilities, the state announced it would close the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility. That was accomplished on September 16, 2016. It was anticipated to have a devastating effect on the local economy.

On January 19, 2015, 23-year-old inmate Neil Early died in a hospital in Las Vegas after being sexually and fatally assaulted in MTC's, Arizona State Prison – Kingman, located in Golden Valley, Arizona. A search of the prison turned up numerous weapons, illegal cell phones and a quantity of heroin. A guard working a 16-hour shift had been supervising 200 inmates at the time of the attack on Early. Early's parents filed suit for millions against the state, MTC and a prison medical provider alleging delayed medical intervention after he was found beaten and sexually assaulted.

On February 21, 2015, inmates at the MTC-operated Willacy County Correctional Center "tent" prison in Willacy County, Texas rioted over issues such as poor medical care. The prison was rendered "uninhabitable" according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which had contracted with MTC to manage 2,800 inmates. About two thousand inmates participated in the riot, which required intervention by federal, state and local law enforcement, and all of the inmates were soon removed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. MTC informed the state that all its employees would be laid off by March 9, 2015. In March, 2015, the bonds that paid for the construction of the prison were lowered to "junk" status by Standard & Poors. At the time of the closing, the bond debt balance was about $128 million, and the annual payments due for the bond debt were about $8 million a year.

On July 1, 2 and 4, 2015, riots broke out once again at the Arizona State Prison-Kingman, at Golden Valley, which had "a long history of problems." Nine guards and seven inmates were injured, and the state brought in 96 members of its special tactical unit to quell the disturbances. In August 2015, Arizona governor Doug Ducey terminated the contract with MTC after an Arizona Department of Corrections investigative report revealed the company had "a culture of disorganization, disengagement, and disregard" of DOC policies. Five competitor for-profit prison corporations indicated an interest in operating the facilities upon MTC's departure. It was ultimately awarded to Florida's GEO Group, effective December 1, 2015. GEO had contributed $2,000 to Ducey's 2014 campaign for Governor, plus $50,000 more to an Independent expenditure Superpac that exclusively supported Ducey's candidacy.

A July 2016 rally by 100 opponents of an MTC immigration prison proposal for Hopkins Park, Illinois followed local rejection of such proposals by larger competitors Corrections Corporation of America in Joliet and Crete, Illinois, and GEO Group in Hobart and Gary, Indiana due to similar protests. Protesters also cited the recent loss of MTC's Arizona State Prison – Kingman contract, a result of that state's negative characterization of MTC's prison operation.

In a 24-month period ending in 2016, there were 175 incidents of violence requiring disciplinary action at the 430-bed, MTC-operated, Correctional Alternative Placement Program (CAPP) in Kuna, Idaho. It the last for-profit prison in the state after the Department of Corrections was forced to take over a notorious nearby Corrections Corporation of America-operated prison, following nationwide revelations of massive, fraudulent overbilling, lack of oversight, and six-figure corporate campaign contributions to the incumbent governor. CCA had maintained a pervasive and condoned culture of violence, the "Gladiator School," employed as a method of control of the severely understaffed, state-owned prison.

A federal lawsuit blamed MTC's South Texas prison's closure on "abysmal mismanagement." Prisoners responded to flooded toilets, rodents, overcrowding and the absence of basic services by engaging in all-out riot at the Willacy County Correctional Center in February 2015. Federal Bureau of Prisons inmates cited inadequate medical care and other difficulties for their refusal to comply with orders at the facility that had contracted with the FBOP to house low-risk, non-U.S. citizen inmates at the CAR prison. Initially, they simply refused to do routine chores or to eat breakfast. Then inmates burned some of the prison's massive, tent-like domed housing units. The FBOP terminated their MTC contract and Willacy County three weeks later and their action closed the prison. In a lawsuit filed in early December, officials with the county, which had revenues as high as $2.7 million a year from the prison operation under its arrangement with the FBOP and for-profit prison operator Management and Training Corp, claimed MTC failed to properly "oversee, manage, and repair" the facility and "turned a blind eye to the enormous problems that plagued the Prison from its inception." The Willacy difficulties extended back several years. Before obtaining the CAR contract, the tent prison was an immigrant detention center that was alleged to harbor chronic sexual assault, physical abuse, and medical neglect. In 2011, months after immigration officials ended their contract with MTC, federal prison officials decided to send immigrants convicted of crimes (typically for criminal re-entry) to Willacy. The Texas ACLU had long alleged that private prison contractors running institutions such as Willacy chronically cut corners in order to boost shareholder profits. That invariably led to medical under-staffing and extreme cost cutting putting both prisoners and staff at risk. In 2014, the group documented complaints inside Willacy that caused it to be palpably dangerous. A prisoner said, "They have a lot of people in here. Sometimes it smells. It's too many people. Some people even talk about burning this place down. They just don't have enough space for all of us here. Sometimes it makes me go crazy." The pleadings said that its inmates dealt with conditions so intolerable that some were forced to stay in solitary confinement, tensions growing higher inside as the problems escalated. MTC only posted a solitary guard to oversee each housing pod on each shift. "The unacceptable conditions caused by mismanagement and its failure to take remediate them led to the riot on February 20, 2015." Ultimately, this forced the prison to be vacated. It was declared "uninhabitable" by the BOP, due to MTC's failures. All 400 employees of the prison were discharged. The pleadings further claim MTC routinely failed to alert government officials about its problems there.