Colorado state Rep. Buffie McFadyen on Monday called on the state to cancel a private-prison agreement after auditors found that a former top prison official was working on behalf of the company selected to build the prison.
Auditors said the former official launched a prison-consulting business five months before he retired from the department.
McFadyen – one of the legislature’s leading critics of state contracts with private prisons – also assailed Geo Group Inc. for seeking a guarantee that the state fill a set number of the 1,500 beds in its proposed facility in Ault.
The Democrat from Pueblo West announced in a news conference at the Capitol that she had sent a letter to Ari Zavaras, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, airing her concerns.
She was joined by two advocacy groups – the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government.
“The minute the ink was dry on the contract they started demanding both bed guarantees and public financing for the Ault construction,” said Christie Donner, executive director of the reform coalition. “That is not negotiating in good faith as far as we’re concerned.”
The calls for rescinding the contract stem from a November 2006 state auditor’s report. At that time, auditors concluded that Nolin Renfrow helped Geo Group prepare its bid to construct and operate the Ault prison.
The audit said Renfrow, the state’s former director of prisons, had private business activities that “arguably present a conflict of interest and result in a breach of his fiduciary duty and the public trust.”
Chantell Taylor, director of Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government, said Renfrow took paid sick leave – earning $14,000 – to pursue his private business work on behalf of Geo Group. According to the auditor’s report, Renfrow’s company could earn as much as $1 million if Geo Group builds the prison.
If the state paid to build a 1,500-bed prison for general-population prisoners, the cost would be about $187.5 million. Private prisons have lower construction costs because they can spread total costs among multiple facilities.
The company would make its money from the state based on the number of prisoners housed. The state pays $52 per prisoner per day.
At that rate, if 90 percent of the prison beds were filled, the state would pay Geo Group about $25.6 million a year.
Renfrow and officials with Geo Group could not be reached for comment Monday.
Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said the auditor’s findings have been referred to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Pete Mang, deputy director of the CBI, confirmed that the bureau is reviewing the matter.
With regard to McFadyen’s letter, Morgan said Zavaras has not had a chance to read it.
“He looks forward to an opportunity to review Rep. McFad yen’s concerns … and to … sit down and talk with her,” Morgan said.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-954-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
