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"NEW YORK'S OWN ABU GHRAIB"MALIKI SHAKUR LATINE'S OPEN LETTER TO NY GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON:
Hon. Governor David A Paterson November 3, 2008 Dear Governor, I am compelled to write this very urgent complaint and request for your officeıs intervention, investigation and that I be interviewed regarding the serious violations, problems and possibly criminal actions by the correctional staff towards the inmate population here at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility. Such violations and problems have existed and continued to both escalate and intensify since my arrival here on August 31st 2001. Only recently (during this past June ı08) have I managed to be elected to represent the general inmate population on the Inmate Liaison Committee, in which, my sole intent and purpose was to present, address and to resolve the pressing problems and urgent concerns with the facilityıs Executive Team, in hopes of agreeing to some immediate and progressive solutions. Concerning this please refer to ILC Secretaryıs July 24th 2008 letter to Superintendent Rock, enclosed herewith. And, almost immediately following the Inmate Liaison Committee emergency meeting with the facilityıs Executive Team to discuss the inmate population concerns involving violations and abuses by the security staff, the security staff initiated a series of efforts to hinder, harass, prevent and if necessary, intimidate and/or assault the members of the Inmate Liaison Committee (hereafter: ILC) in the staffıs efforts to suppress any exposure and change in the unofficial, illegal, and oppressive treatment to the inmates by security staff was presented in the ILCıs agenda for the August emergency security meeting with the facilityıs Executive Team. Concerning this please refer to ILC Secretaryıs August 7th 2008 letter to Superintendent Rock, enclosed herewith. On September 27, 2008 during the facilityıs special Family Day event, items for the event ordered by ILC were wrongly seized and distributed by civilian cooks (Mr. Herringshaw and Mr. Bull) without approval from the Superintendent nor with the knowledge and consent by the ILC; said items were distributed to the inmate kitchen workers. Because of this unofficial and problematic practice of the civilian cooks taking upon themselves to seizing food items purchased and intended for the participants (inmates and their family guests) attending the Family Day event, the ILC is responsible and accountable to the inmate population and, therefore, must give an explanation to both the inmate and his guest as to why an item which the inmate and his guest actually paid for is not being provided. Therefore, I, as the ILC Secretary, along with Sergeant Darin Williams, the security supervisor for the event, we both went to address the matter with the civilian cooks when they arrived to deliver the main meal for the event. However, what followed our approximately 3-minute conversation is rather typical of the staff whenever they are exposed they resort to the only thing they have become accustomed to lying and to lie their way out of profound guilt and humiliation! Enclosed please refer to the falsified Tier 3 Misbehavior Report, my appeal to the report, the Hearing Officerıs disposition, ect. For your Honorıs review and further requested investigation. My constitutional right to call and have a witness testify in my defense was denied by the Hearing Officer and he was very biased throughout the entire hearing, which led to only one conclusion, namely, the hearing was staged. The purpose of orchestrating the Misbehavior Report was to cover up and avoid having to submit a written explanation (to the Facility Executive Team) as to why and how the purchased items, which were supposed to be secured in the facility kitchen, happened to come up missing at the morning of the Family Day event? The civilian cooks would have would have to submit a report (even after admitting to Sergeant Williams and myself that they distributed the missing items to the kitchen workers); then, Sergeant Williams as Security Supervisor would be required to submit a report concerning the complaints about the missing items, then, the civilian Coordinator for Special Events, Mr. Jason Hoagland who initially escorted the event inmate workers to the kitchen to receive and bring the purchased items to the event, examined the items and observed that the items were missing and, that he would be required to submit a report concerning these observations. Finally as the ILC Secretary and ILC Coordinator of the Family Day event, I am responsible for submitting a full report of every aspect of the event, but especially the missing items. Thus, to prevent these reports from being written and submitted to the Facility Executive Team and, hereby preventing the civilian cooks from enjoying their historical practice of seizing items (as if they were imposing a tax) purchased by the ILC, the civilian cooks (with this ³cloak-and-dagger² assistance and encouragement of Sergeant Matthew Sabo) decided (after first failing to lure me to be sent to the kitchen where I would have been assaulted by staff) to protect their own self-serving interest (along with the interest of Sergeant Williams and Mr. J. Hoagland) by simply falsifying the Misbehavior Report in order to effectuate having me removed from the equation altogether. But the urgent need for an investigation by your Honorıs office doesnıt stop here. The facility of Great Meadow needs to be ³audited² immediately involving all of itıs financial areas: Commissary, Inmates Account, Inmate Click-Click Program (i.e. Inmate Benefit Fund), Inmate Liaison Committee Account (i.e. Inmate Occupational Therapy Fund Account), the State Allocations Funds for the Renovation/ Construction of a new visiting room. The ILC has discovered several financial irregularities (embezzlement) involving the financial records of both the ILC and Click-Click accounts. It is estimated that approximately $35,000 is unaccounted for in the ILC account during a period of 4-5 years according to ILC monthly financial statements/records and, those records/statements unaccounted for where did the money go? When the ILC questioned both Deputy Supervisor for Programs Ms. LaPolt along with Facility Steward Mr. Thomas Forbes about the financial irregularities, neither one of them could provide an intelligent answer and, for our inquiry, Deputy LePolt refused to answer any letters from the ILC about the financial questions nor to meet with the ILC to the finances, for more than a month! Accordingly, I am requesting that the Office of the State Comptroller be instructed to audit Great Meadow Correctional Facility and all of its financial areas referred to above. Finally, there is my dietary and medical needs which DOCS, since 2000, refuses to address and resolve in accordance with my dietary history. Enclosed please find copies of my dietary/medical requirements as far back as to 1983 (documents from Dr. James A. Phills); 1986 (DOCS Memorandum from Assistant Director Elizabeth Vandewal); 1987 (prescribed menu for the Holy Month of Ramadan from Dr. Dailey) 1987-1993 (standard daily menu); 1996 (Memorandum from Mr. McCloud, in which I was provided food to which I prepared myself successfully and without any pr9oblems): 1999 (allergy evaluation from Dr. Jocelyn Celestin); 2000 (Interdepartmental Communication from Mr. McCloud requesting to FDS Annetts that I be transferred) . I was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility (even though I had asked to be transferred to Downstate or Sing Sing Correctional Facilities); three (3) weeks later I was transferred to Auburn Correctional Facility (even though I had asked to be transferred to Downstate or Sing Sing Correctional Facilities cadre program); after six (6) months I was transferred to Great Meadow Correctional Facility in 2001 and since being here the facility has adamantly refused to provide me with the enclosed dietary menu, although attempts have been made (Interdepartmental Communication from Dr. Paolano, dated 9/28/01, 11/20/01) but his efforts were to no avail GMCF simply does whatever it so chooses to do, even if it means defying every specialist and doctorıs orders! Food Service Manager James Pagano ³dictatesı what a doctor can prescribe/order and, this dictatorial practice has been both supported and upheld by Deputy Commissioner Lucien J Leclair Jr. (his letter to me 11/29/01, 6/6/07, 8/28/07/ my responses: 9/20/07, 9/24/07, 10/11/07, 10/19/07; and Dr. Lester N. Wright dated 11/13/07). Of course, there have been quite a few letters exchanged between myself and DOCS in 2008 concerning my request to be transferred to the downstate hub, like Downstateıs cadre or Sing Sing cadre programs. But it seems as if Deputy Commissioner LeClaire is personally denying my transfer to such programs as well as denying me to receive my diet. Both facilities could provide me with the required diet and offer programs in preparation for possible parole in 2010 after nearly 30 years of being confined in Western, Northern, and Central NY in facilities wherein the security staff are highly racist and vindictive for no apparent reason except that DOCS permits them to be so. I am also enclosing a diet order which was falsely claimed to be in accordance with my dietary requirements; actually itıs a ³diabetic diet² and I am clearly not diabetic. I have complained to the medical staff, sick- call nurse and I have written three (3) grievances, and still no correction. Therefore, I am requesting that I be interviewed by your Honorıs office and that a full investigation be conducted by your Honorıs office concerning the complaints and contents of this letter, along with the enclosed documents. I have also included a partial list of those staff personnel being referred to throughout this complaint; also enclosed is the 1990 Court of Claims Decision involving my being assaulted by Attica staff. I thank your Honor in advance for your time and consideration in this urgent matter.
Duly submitted, |