State officials are investigating whether the former state prison director violated state laws when he set up a prison consulting business while still employed by the state and helped a private prison company land a $100 million contract.
The state auditors refused to identify the official but state Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, identified him as Nolin Renfrow, former director of prisons. The auditors did say that Renfrow told them he stood to earn $1 million if the company he represented got the contract.
Auditors also recommended that the Department of Corrections investigate whether any laws were violated when Renfrow claimed $14,000 in sick leave before he retired in January, five months after he filed incorporation papers with the Secretary of State for a prison consulting business and went to work for GEO Group, a company that builds private prisons.
McFadyen said Renfrow went to work for GEO Group, a company that auditors said failed to perform on previous state contracts and is embroiled in a dispute with the state over its demands that the state guarantee funding on another project.
McFadyen said the state should cancel plans to pay GEO Group to build a new 1,500 bed facility in Ault and rebid the contract because the company had an unfair bidding advantage with help from Renfrow. She said the company also failed to honor a 2003 agreement to build and manage a 500-bed pre-parole facility, demanding that the state guarantee funding that wasn’t included in the original bid.
“There’s no question we’re being held hostage by GEO Group when there are other contractors willing to bid on these projects,” she said.
Pablo Paez, director of communications for GEO Group, was out sick today and did not return calls seeking comment. The company said it had no contact number for Renfrow.
Gary Golder, who took over as director of prisons, told state lawmakers that he has asked the department’s inspector general to investigate and turn over any evidence of wrongdoing to prosecutors. He said state employees are allowed to accept outside work and use sick leave when they retire if they get permission.
State lawmakers said the state should cancel the bid Renfrow worked on and rebid the project.
“It feels tainted,” said Rep. Fran Coleman, D-Denver.
Golder said even if the state takes action against GEO Group for not performing on the 2003 contract, auditors said it won’t affect the 2005 agreement for the facility in Ault.
“They said there was no fault with the process, it was within state statutes,” Golder said.
