BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON - A state investigation shows Warden Anthony Brigano did nothing wrong when he allowed Warren Correctional Institution inmates to do cleanup work at the county fairgrounds where he stables his horse and serves as fair board treasurer.
A report issued this week from the office of Ohio Inspector General (OIG) Thomas P. Charles does say there was "an overall appearance of impropriety" because of Mr. Brigano's position with the fair board and his personal use of a stable for his racing horse.
However, the report says there was nothing inappropriate about the fair board's treating inmates to pizza and meals at the fairgrounds' track kitchen, where the inmates mingled with the public.
OIG investigators did make some minor procedural recommendations, but they found no reason to refer the matter to a prosecutor or other oversight agency.
"I feel good about the report," Mr. Brigano said Friday. "I feel I've been exonerated and it's time to move on."
Prison employee Doug Hunter and ex-employee Leo Sampson think otherwise.
The pair, who have spent more than a year compiling documents and complaining about the situation, vowed to continue airing their concerns until more action is taken. They say Mr. Brigano or other private citizens may have improperly benefited from use of inmate labor at taxpayers' expense, despite what the OIG report says.
Inmates were supposed to clean out stalls, clean up trash, cut weeds and perform other maintenance work around the time of the county fair in July. But the OIG found trips to the fairgrounds "totaling 90 work days" between January 1996 and March 1997.
During non-fair time, the inmates performed work that benefited the general public, fair employees told the OIG. The OIG said the prison's "work-site plan" should have been changed to reflect the expansion of the project. It also should have included restrictions that would bar the inmates from doing work that benefited Mr. Brigano or the two clubs that lease the fairgrounds for harness racing.
Mr. Brigano says he verbally warned inmates' supervisors to avoid doing any work that would benefit him or the clubs. He also denied being a member of either club.
In interviews with an OIG investigator, guards and inmates denied the prisoners ever cleaned stables for Mr. Brigano or for club members.
However, a guard in June signed a typewritten statement prepared by Mr. Hunter, stating that "inmates were used . . . on a regular basis to clean personal stalls."
When the OIG questioned that guard, he retracted his statement. The guard said he should have read the three-sentence statement more carefully before signing it. "He was not fully aware of what Mr. Hunter included in the statement," the report said.
That turnaround shows the guard felt intimidated and feared retaliation - especially in light of what Mr. Hunter has faced, Mr. Sampson said.
Mr. Hunter, 32, has worked at Warren Correctional since 1995 and had worked at neighboring Lebanon Correctional for three years before that. Work records previously viewed by The Cincinnati Enquirer showed he had been a model employee.
However, since Mr. Hunter went public with his concerns in the past year, "I've been moved to a less-desirable job and I've been investigated 10 times for discipline - and before that, I had zero investigations," he said.
Mr. Brigano denies retaliating against Mr. Hunter because of his complaints.
Rather, Mr. Brigano has said Mr. Hunter became disgruntled after being passed over for a promotion in the summer of 1997, and his work performance changed.
Mr. Hunter said he may be considered a disgruntled employee, "but disgruntled employees can also tell the truth."
A prison union representative is convinced that Mr. Hunter faced retaliation because of his complaint to the OIG's office, said Peter Wray, spokesman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association. A grievance is expected to go to a mediator next month, Mr. Wray said.
As for his complaints about Mr. Brigano, Mr. Hunter said, "I'll kick this political football until the air's all out of it." 'I feel good about the report. I feel I've been exonerated and it's time to move on.' - Anthony Brigano, Warren Correctional Institution warden
