The politics of the bidding process
The issue: Health care for jailed inmates
NWI Times
May 21, 2002
nwitimes.com/uncategorized/the-politics-of-the-bidding-process/article_fa457167-1fa9-56b8-a746-77f4d5e1966.html
Our opinion: Lake County commissioners are to be commended for seeking bids on health services for the jail inmates. They must keep a wary eye on the process so politics doesn't get in the way.
It should be a no-brainer that providing health care for inmates at the Lake County Jail should be awarded through a competitive bidding process. And the county commissioners are doing just that -- opening the health services contracts to bidding. That is prudent policy when public money is at stake.
However, because it is Lake County, the political machinations are already in play and could negate that prudence, giving new meaning to the term "award."
The Southlake Center for Mental Health in Merrillville has been providing health care for jail inmates for 20 years. Now, it seems requests from competing agencies prompted the commissioners to open to bidding that lucrative service -- currently about $1.6 million a year.
Political insiders, it seems, are behind some of those competing agencies. That should be cause for caution on the part of the county commissioners.
For example, Robert Cantrell, East Chicago's chairman of that city's nominal Republican Party, and Lee Christakis, a Merrillville lawyer, hope to profit, according to a story by Times reporter Bill Dolan in Sunday's paper.
Cantrell lobbied commissioners on behalf of Nancy Fromm, who runs Addiction and Family Services as an unpaid consultant.
"He will get paid if we get (the contract)," she said.
Even more egregious is the rationale from Christakis for his lobbying efforts. He said he urged Prison Health Services of Nashville to bid on the contract with the hope it would generate business for his wife's temp service, Nur-Staff Inc. of Merrillville. He also said he tried to get Southlake, the current health care provider, to use his wife's business in the county jail.
But, he said, Southlake "used us for 15 to 20 shifts, but that was all. So I started telling PHS (the Nashville firm), why don't you guys bid the jail contract? I'm hoping if (Prison Health Services) gets it, they will remember me for temp service."
What audacity. Shame on him.
Yes, the commissioners are to be commended for seeking bids on health services for the jail inmates. They must be diligent in vetting those bids, however.
Commissioner Frances DuPey, D-Hammond, says she is keeping a wary eye on this entire process. Good -- a wary, careful, open eyes is necessary here. After all, this is Lake County we're talking about.
U.S. attorney says fighting corruption a top priority
Van Bokkelen says FBI-backed task force is investigating others in NWI
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 19, 2002
It was the first news conference for U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen since he was appointed to the job by President Bush last year.
And perhaps the most momentous news conference in Lake County in years.
Announcing Friday's federal indictment of Gary city Clerk Katie Hall -- and her daughter, Chief Deputy Clerk Junifer Hall -- Van Bokkelen warned the indictments should put all public officials on notice.
With 22 charges leveled against the two, ranging from racketeering to perjury, he said
his office won't stop with just one corruption indictment, if more are to be had.
With an FBI-backed public-corruption task force operating in Northwest Indiana, he said he won't hesitate to prosecute others when there is proof of illegal activity.
"The vast majority of public officials do their jobs legally and in the best interest of the public," Van Bokkelen said. "But for those who choose to do otherwise, make no mistake: This office will seek them out and prosecute them."
The public-corruption task force, he said, is heavily modeled after the 1980s "Operation Lights Out" effort that nabbed several of Lake County's public officials then.
Van Bokkelen said he and his first assistant, David Capp, are familiar with that case and that this task force is modeled after that initiative.
When pressed, Van Bokkelen wouldn't say how many other public officials are now under investigation by the public-corruption task force.
But agents are known to be working in East Chicago, trying to determine the basis for personal concrete and paving work apparently done at taxpayer expense for select residents.
And the Post-Tribune has learned agents were investigating the activities of Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen, just weeks before he was voted out of office.
Hall's indictment is the first to come out of a task force formed 18 months ago.
Van Bokkelen said the investigation of Hall started after he read a story in the Post-Tribune, in which some of Hall's employees told how they are forced to contribute to her political campaigns or risk disciplinary action or termination.
"The message in (Hall's) indictment is that no level of public corruption can be tolerated by this office," he said.
Robert Reilley, special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis office, implored members of the public to tip agents to any proof they have of illegal activities being carried out by any of Northwest Indiana's elected officials.
The task force, based in Merrillville, will check out any solid leads, he said.
Hall's employees told their stories of coercion to the Post-Tribune and then told it to the grand jury, leading to the indictment of the Halls.
Katie Hall is charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, three counts of extortion and three counts of mail fraud.
Junifer Hall is charged with the same crimes, along with six counts of perjury.
"If we receive allegations of what we consider to be public corruption, we will take it seriously," Van Bokkelen said.
U.S. Attorney puts officials on notice about corruption
Van Bokkelen says FBI-backed task force is investigating others
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 19, 2002
It was the first news conference for U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen since he was appointed to the job by President Bush last year.
And perhaps the most momentous news conference in Lake County in years.
Announcing Friday's federal indictment of Gary city Clerk Katie Hall -- and her daughter, Chief Deputy Clerk Junifer Hall -- Van Bokkelen warned the indictments should put all public officials on notice.
With 22 charges leveled against the two, ranging from racketeering to perjury, he said his office won't stop with just one corruption indictment, if more are to be had.
With an FBI-backed public-corruption task force operating in Northwest Indiana, he said he won't hesitate to prosecute others when there is proof of illegal activity.
"The vast majority of public officials do their jobs legally and in the best interest of the public," Van Bokkelen said. "But for those who choose to do otherwise, make no mistake: This office will seek them out and prosecute them."
The public-corruption task force, he said, is heavily modeled after the 1980s "Operation Lights Out" effort that nabbed several of Lake County's public officials then.
Van Bokkelen and his first assistant, David Capp, are well-versed in that case and the federal attorney said "this task force is very much modeled after that initiative."
When pressed, Van Bokkelen wouldn't respond as to how many other public officials are now under investigation by the public-corruption task force.
But agents are known to be working in East Chicago, trying to determine the basis for personal concrete and paving work apparently done at taxpayer expense for select residents.
And the Post-Tribune has learned agents were investigating the activities of Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen, just weeks before he was voted out of office.
But Van Bokkelen wouldn't discuss pending inquiries.
Hall's indictment is the first to come out of a task force formed 18 months ago.
Van Bokkelen said the investigation of Hall started after he read a story in the Post-Tribune, in which some of Hall's employees detailed how they are forced to contribute to her political campaigns or risk disciplinary action or termination.
That led to the empaneling of a grand jury, to which investigators presented boxes of evidence and hours of testimony.
The work was swift, he admitted, and other cases might not wrap up as quickly.
But, Van Bokkelen said, that doesn't mean investigators aren't working on other cases.
"The message in (Hall's) indictment is that no level of public corruption can be tolerated by this office," he said.
Robert Reilley, special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis office, implored members of the public to tip agents to any proof they have of illegal activities being carried out by any of Northwest Indiana's elected officials.
The task force, based in Merrillville, will check out any solid leads, he said.
Hall's employees told their stories of coercion to the Post-Tribune and then told it to the grand jury, leading to the indictment of the Halls.
Katie Hall is charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, three counts of extortion and three counts of mail fraud.
Junifer Hall is charged with the same crimes, along with six counts of perjury.
The charges could mean long prison terms for both.
More important to Van Bokkelen, however, is the message the charges send.
"If we receive allegations of what we consider to be public corruption, we will take it seriously," he said. "Anything that seems to have a basis (of truth) we'll investigate it."
Jail contracts attract politically connected bidders
County officials think it may be time for a change in health care providers for inmates
NWI Times
May 19, 2002
nwitimes.com/uncategorized/jail-contracts-attract-politically-connected-bidders/article_ab3149d4-1ef9-5379-94c2-895db1ebf607.html
CROWN POINT -- After providing 20 years of health care for inmates at the Lake County Jail, Southlake Center for Mental Health in Merrillville may face competition. County commissioners, responding to requests from competing agencies, have decided to open up the health service contracts to bidding.
The 57-bed medical facility at 93rd Avenue and Main Street doesn't put its clientele on the cutting edge of health care technology, but it provides basic health care to a captive audience.
Thousands of men and women awaiting trial on criminal charges have been treated for physical and mental ailments by the medical staff on the fourth floor of the Lake County Jail since it opened two decades ago. The current cost of treatment is about $1.6 million a year.
Southlake Center is only one of three providers of health care to jails in the state to win accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. Still, county commissioners have decided to consider competing bids.
The process could be fraught with legal difficulties for the county, however, which has lived under the threat of federal penalties since the 1980s when health services in the lockup dropped to dangerous levels for inmates. U.S. District Court judges in Hammond took over the jail's operation and installed Southlake to bring health care up to acceptable standards.
Local officials regained control over the jail in 1997 when federal Judge Rudy Lozano lifted the mandate, but commissioners have been wary about making changes.
Political ties
Three agencies have responded with interest to the commissioners' decision to open the contracts again. They are Addiction and Family Services, a Hammond drug and alcohol counseling service; Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living in Gary; and Prison Health Services, a Nashville-based firm servicing 400 jails and prisons across the country.
Political insiders Bobby Cantrell, East Chicago Republican chairman, and Lee Christakis, a Merrillville lawyer, also hope to profit from the initiative.
Cantrell and Christakis recently urged commissioners to end Southlake's monopoly.
Nancy Fromm, who runs Addiction and Family Services, said Cantrell lobbied commissioners on her behalf as an unpaid consultant.
"He will get paid if we get (the contract)," she said.
Cantrell couldn't be reached for comment.
Fromm said, "It's just been given to Southlake, and every year (the cost) has increased."
Commissioners recently advertised two contracts. The first is to provide medical, dental, dietary and mental health services for the County Jail, which will have an inmate population of more than 850 next month when the Gary City Jail transfers its residents here.
Lee Strawhun, president of Southlake, said his center has provided quality health services and has bid to continue doing so.
No spokesman for Edgewater, formerly known as Gary Community Mental Health Center, could be reached for comment.
The second contract would provide alcohol and drug abuse rehabilitation for inmates. Fromm bid to do the drug contract for $200,000. Southlake, which has provided only minimal substance abuse counseling, is not bidding on that contract.
Commissioners chose to step back last week and hold a pre-bid meeting with potential vendors Wednesday to clarify what standards must be met to win the contracts. That may give Nashville's Prison Health Services an opportunity to join the contest, Merrillville lawyer Christakis said.
Christakis said he urged Prison Health Service to bid on the contract in the hopes of getting some business for his wife's temp service, Nur-Staff Inc. of Merrillville.
He said Prison Health Services, which services all Indiana state prisons, has contracted with his wife in the past to provide temporary health care workers for the Westville Correctional Center in LaPorte County.
"I don't think U.S. Judge Rudy Lozano ever intended to close off the County Jail contract to everyone else, including minority vendors," Christakis said.
He said he also tried to get Southlake to use his wife's temp service in the County Jail.
"Strawhun used us for 15 to 20 shifts, but that was all. So I started telling PHS why don't you guys bid the jail contract? I'm hoping if (Prison Health Services) gets it, they will remember me for temp service."
A spokesman for Prison Health Services said last week the firm is looking at the County Jail but has made no decision on whether to bid on the contract.
Strawhun said he doesn't oppose competing with others for the jail contract.
"It is prudent public administration to periodically bid these contracts," he said. "That is hard to argue with."
Southlake's current contract
Southlake's Strawhun said the contract was put up for bid about six years ago.
"We were not the low bidder. The other firms were national for-profit entities, and they were remarkably lower. However, one of the firms said they would provide 24-hour medical coverage through a 1-800 number where they would have a medical doctor in another state who would respond."
He said Ivan Bodensteiner, who represented inmates in the court mandate over the jail, put the county on notice he would seek court sanctions if health care services declined.
"They sent the contract out a second time with modification, and we were the second-lowest bidder, but only modestly so. They decided to continue the contract with us.
"Faces changed again and institutional memories were lost, and there has been this call again. What is prompting it is that commissioners received advice unsolicited from the Fromm group," Strawhun said.
Fromm said her firm has provided substance abuse counseling to Lake Superior Court, County Division, and several city courts. For a time she was serving County Jail inmates, serving short sentences for minor crimes, at County Sheriff John Buncich's adjacent work-release center.
Fromm said, "I had the work-release (service contract). I approached John Buncich and worked for a year, basically free. If they could pay $5 they did, and if they couldn't, they didn't have to.
"Then we went to the commissioners about three or four years ago in 1997, and we said, 'Can you pay for these guys?' They did, but then politics happened and we got thrown out, and Wayne Isailovich (partner and counselor at Addiction and Behavioral Counseling Services in Merrillville) got put in."
Buncich couldn't be reached for comment. Isailovich confirmed his company serves the work-release center. He declined to address Fromm's comments.
Strawhun said he is skeptical about claims the bidding process will produce significant savings.
"I could cut expenses, but actually meeting internal criteria and national standards, I don't know how anybody could do it for much less than we are doing it," he said.
He said other firms could win a contract with a low bid and then come back asking for more money at a later date, eating up any savings taxpayers might have gained.
"I know $1.6 million is a ton of money, but if you go back over the last three to five years in which there were no increases, the county has not lost a lawsuit and they have been able to maintain their accreditation," Strawhun said.
He added he is concerned the County Jail could lose its accreditation, which is up for renewal this summer, if health care declines in the name of cutting costs.
County Commissioner Frances DuPey, D-Hammond, said she is keeping a wary eye on the process.
"I want to see an actual spec developed so that other people can bid on it," she said. "I think this is something commissioners have to be very, very cautious about."
Lake County has a storied history
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 18, 2002
Lake County has a storied history of elected officials being convicted on various charges involving public corruption.
The major cases are:
* 1961 -- Following a U.S. Senate investigation into organized crime's link to public corruption, Lake County Prosecutor Metro Holovachka was sentenced to three years for evading income taxes.
* 1963: Gary Mayor George Chacharis fell victim to the same investigation and got three years for tax evasion.
* Early 1970s: East Chicago Mayor John Nicosia was convicted for his role in a city sewer construction scandal.
* Early 1980s: The period marked the Operation Bar-Tab investigation in the fixing of drunken driving tickets.
The probe led to a host of convictions, including County Division Judges Orval Anderson and Steven Bielak and county Clerk Edward Lukawski.
* 1985: When former County Commissioner and Sheriff Rudy Bartolomei pleaded guilty to racketeering, he said there were kickbacks involved in 85 percent of all contracts handled by county commissioners.
Bartolomei turned government witness and entered the federal witness protection program. His testimony brought down several officials.
* 1993: Gary City Councilman Clemmons Allen was sentenced to 18 months for providing protection to bar owners in exchange for the purchase of fund-raising tickets.
* 1998: Gary City Councilman Gerald Hayes was convicted for taking kickbacks on landfill contracts.
* 2002: Lake Station Councilwoman Roseann Johnson will be sentenced next month for misuse of public funds.
