Update: Central Falls mayor fires Wyatt jail's board chief
5:05 PM Tue, Apr 28, 2009 | Permalink
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CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- Mayor Charles D. Moreau announced Tuesday that he has fired Daniel F. Cooney as board chairman of the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation for "callous" statements Cooney made about trying to get the federal government to send more detainees to the facility. Last week, Cooney was talking about the need to get more federal prisons, and the nearly $100 per prisoner per week the federal government pays for them, back into the Donald F. Wyatt Detention Facility when he said, "Frankly, I'm looking at it like I'm running a Motel 6. I don't care if it's Guantanamo Bay. We want to fill the beds." Moreau, who as mayor of Central Falls has the power to appoint the members of the jail's governing board, said that was unacceptable. "Comparing the facility to one of our nation's most controversial detention centers clearly demonstrates he does not share my goal to restore public confidence in the operations of the Wyatt Detention Facility," Moreau said in a prepared statement. "It is my highest priority to ensure that, going forward, all detainees are treated with the utmost respect and dignity," said Moreau. "It is imperative the community at large have confidence in our ability to operate the detention center which serves the needs of federal law enforcement agencies." Earlier Tuesday, a group of about 50 activists gathered outside the Wyatt Detention Facility to protest the for-profit jail's zeal for seeking federal-immigration detainees, saying it was a sacrifice of human rights for corporate profit. A week ago Monday, Wyatt's governing board had fired the jail's embattled executive director and his management firm, saying that they had placed the 700-bed jail in dire financial straits. In a sweeping denunciation, the board unanimously passed a series of motions that terminated Anthony Ventetuolo Jr. and his Warwick-based real estate management firm, Avcorr Management LLC. Tuesday, Moreau said he hoped to meet with various community leaders and advocates about the future of the jail. "I share the concerns of the community. The facility has been heading in the wrong direction and systemic reform will take time, but it is an achievable goal and we will restore confidence in this institution." The jail is facing a budget crisis from the federal government's decision to pull its immigration detainees from the jail, a decision that costs the for-profit jai about $100,00 a week. The federal government pulled its immigration detainees from the jail earlier this year in response to the in-custody death of 33 year-old Hui Liu "Jason" Ng last summer. Ng was a Chinese national who from a fractured spine and liver cancer that went undiagnosed until the final days of his life. The initial version of this report was posted at 4:43 p.m.
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Will we be hearing from Mayor Moreau in the future about how the facility is loosing money and the taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill? It seems that Mr. Cooney's remarks have been taken out of context. He was addressing the need to put "fannys in the seats" to make the facility a going concern, not a burden to the taxpayers of Central Falls. Should he be repremanded for his insensitivity, Yes. Should he have been fired for trying to do his job... No.
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"utmost respect and dignity"?
we are talking about criminals here folks...
this is all window dressing - the mayor is trying to save face and show he is doing something. what a waste of time. this guy was stating the obvious - fill up the beds and the facility pays for itself. once again our politicians are wasting time and energy grandstanding.
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Congratulations Mayor Moreau, You did the right thing!
Dan, weather the money comes from the feds, state, or local government, is taxpayer’s money. He's job is not to run this facility as a "terrorist center"; he's job is not to deny people's rights. We are moving to a dangerous path, where we think that it’s OK. for the government to take some one else rights. As long as is not yours. But by the time you try to claim yours, Dan it will be too late. There will be nothing left.
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It might have been more appropriate to reprimand the Chairman and fire the Mayor. Looks like more of a burden is going to placed on the taxpayers backs.
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Central Falls is a City out of control with a Mayor over his head and drowning the City. Please stop him and don't fall for his double-talk and his "Good-O-Boy" Administration.
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