Cecil McCrory (born December 1, 1951) is a former Mississippi state legislator, justice court judge, Rankin County school board president and businessman.
Enterprises, which held a no-bid Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) contract for inmate services, beginning in 2006, was owned by Cecil McCrory.
The contract also had given GT the right to sell commissary products at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility which McCrory's management company also operated.
[7] On November 6, 2014 the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi announced that it had indicted Epps on corruption charges related to his dealings with the for-profit prison industry.
Epps leveraged the resulting increased equity together with another bribe payment to buy a condominium; he later traded up the latter for a larger, more expensive condo.
[11] According to Leake County Sheriff Greg Waggoner, the investigation was initiated after an attempt by MDOC to cover-up a sexual assault of an inmate of a transitional facility in Walnut Grove, Mississippi.
During the mid-1990s, he served on a board that oversaw prison construction projects authorized after the state was sued because of overcrowding and substandard conditions.
MTC spokesman Issa Arnita said that Epps “made us aware of the fee McCrory had charged in the past to other contractors” and that McCrory had worked for GEO Group, the Boca Raton, Florida for-profit prison firm, which had previously held the contracts in Mississippi that MTC was awarded.
[18] The federal government indicted many others of those who allegedly bribed Epps, such as Mark Longoria, CEO of Drug Testing Corporation of Houston, Texas, who pleaded guilty in August 2016.
[19] He is being held at Federal Correctional Institution, Forrest City, Arkansas, with an anticipated release date of September 13, 2021.
[24][25] On July 17, Malone changed her plea to guilty of the charges that involved her furnishing bribes, in amounts of $1000 to $1,750 to Epps through McCrory, in return for the continuance of the medical services vendor monitoring and Medicaid eligibility contracting which the state had with AdminPros, LLC.
[29] The sentencing of Epps and Brandon businessman McCrory scheduled for July 19, 2016, was delayed by Judge Wingate to give their defense lawyers additional time to review materials concerning how much money was gained by the 15 corporations paying bribes to the pair.
Epps faced a possible 23 years after his 2015 guilty plea to money laundering and filing false tax returns related to $1.47 million in bribes.
Cecil McCrory originally pleaded guilty to a single count of money laundering conspiracy and faced up to 20 years in prison.
Based on the prosecutors' $65 million estimate, federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a maximum of 23 years in prison for Epps.
If the lower amount of $1.47 million is used, Epps faced a recommended sentence between 14 and 17 1/2 years, giving Judge Wingate latitude.
On June 30, 2016, John Colette, Epps' defense attorney, said he received more than 1,500 pages of documents in the previous week and would require at least 30 days to review them.
[32] 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.
"[34] GEO had been paying McCrory $5,000 monthly, which President and Chief Operating Officer Wayne Calabrese, who retired in 2011, subsequently doubled.
Cornell operated the troubled Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility where it had been accused in a lawsuit of prisoners mistreatment.
Disputed issues concerned how much consideration he should receive for his cooperation, including his recording of conversations with other scheme participants.
Waggoner received 5 percent of the revenue as a consultant for Global Tel-Link, which provided phone services at Mississippi state prisons.
Alcorn County paid Benjamin, president and lobbyist for Mississippi Correctional Management (MCM), $114,000 a year for services to it, although he lived more than 200 miles away.
He formed MCM in 1996, when the state Department of Corrections and counties started hiring private contractors to operate prisons and smaller regional jails.
Benjamin said the company also has jail accreditation contracts worth $4,000 or $5,000 a month with other counties, including Hancock, Holmes, Marion, Pearl River, Washington and Yazoo.
Benjamin, who said he was "pressured" by Epps, estimated that he paid the commissioner between $180,000 and $225,000 in cash bribes to secure support for the regional jails.
His plea also covered bribes paid for drug and alcohol rehab programs which his company ran under contract to the state.
[47] Benjamin is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Forrest City, Arkansas, with an anticipated release date of June 13, 2022.
We are also seeking punitive damages to punish these conspirators and to deter those who might consider giving or receiving kickbacks in the future.
Lawsuits were filed against 10 individuals and 11 corporations accused of using so-called “consultants” in bribery schemes to gain more than $800 million in Mississippi prison contracts.