ACCION AMERICA TARGETS "GOUGING" JAIL COMMISSARY CONTRACT

By Juan Montoya
For years the jail commissary contract has been wielded by Cameron County sheriffs as a plum to reward their political supporters.
While some sheriffs have chosen to perform the commissary duties in-house and shoulder the costs and profits themselves, others like former sheriff Conrado Cantu opted to award it instead to close political associates.
But now, as the money generated by the burgeoning inmate population now nearing 1,500 approaches the $1 million level, questions are arising on whether it makes any fiscal or political sense that a full three-quarters of the cash generated should end up in the pockets of private vendors.
Following years of media reports indicating that prices for basic items used by inmates were being jacked up to boost vendor profits and gouging the inmates with the general fund county coffers receiving nothing in return, a community organizing group is urging the commissioners court and Sheriff Omar Lucio to reconsider the arrangement.
Accion America president Carlols Quintanilla told county commissioners Thursday to review the contract with Snakre Vending LLC who he said was "gouging" the prisoners and the taxpayers through its "disparate" contract with the shertiff's department to rake in more than $750,000 each year from the purchasers of the 1400+ prisoners held at the three detention centers.
Snakery is owned by local attorney Rick Zayas and Ruben Cortez. Both were defeated recently in their bid for re-election to the Brownsville Independent School District. The duo was awarded the contract after their bid was picked by a county committee.
The original term of the contract with Snakery was from January 2005 through January 2007. It was amended December 2006 to expire January 2009. The auditor's office found no contract in effect after January 2009 to January 2010. On November 2009, new requests for proposals were opened and awarded to Snakery which will run through December 2012.
"Annual commissary sales for the fiscal year 2009 were $925,512, including sales taxes collected," the audit report prepared by the Cameron County Auditor states. "Payments to the commissary vendor was $765,732, consisting of reimbursed sales tax collections of $43,665; reimbursed costs of goods sold of $348,767; and $373,300 or 70% of net sales. The available balance, plus interest earned, was available to expend on behalf of inmates."
In short, Snakery kept $781,542 as its share of the $925, 512. The sheriff's department's share was $159,780, with this money going to fund operations and inmate services. Of this, Quintanilla figured that only a small amount, perhaps $52,000 went directly to inmate services.
"Something is seriously wrong when the commissary audit shows that only about $40 is spent per prisoner and more than $240 annually is spent feeding each of the 20 goats and two mules they have out there for the prisoners' therapeutic benefit," he said.
Quintanilla and relatives of some inmates say that the operation of the commissary under Snakery amounts to a "sweetheart" contract that gives the bulk of the profits to the vendor while putting nothing into the general fund. They maintain that if the contract was more evenhanded, commissioners would not have to make at least a $500,000 outlay to the department.
"Prisoners aren't the only ones getting gouged," Quintanilla said. "Taxpayers are, too."
As has been pointed out previously, many relatives and inmates say that the contract gives a free hand to the vendor to set prices for the prisoners, who are not allowed to bring in any supplies save prescription medicine, from the outside. A pair of plain white (the only color sold or allowed) boxer shorts will cost $4.50. A set of three shorts at Wal-Mart will cost about the same, or less.
And at wholesale, those same shorts probably cost less than $1.
A thermal top, a critical item inside where temperatures are kept very cold, is listed at $8.30, more than twice or three times the cost at a store on the outside. A woman's plain sport bra (no metal parts) will cost a female inmate $9.00. Panties are $2.70 each. A travel pack of Femtex Tampons cost $3.00
And a serving of Ramen or Maruchan noodles you can buy at HEB or Wal-Mart for 15 cents go for 65 cents apiece. A small bar of Baby Ruth or Snickers candy is $1. A bag of off-brand tortilla chips that would cost less than $2 sells for $3.25.
While saying that under state law the sheriff had sole discretion over the operations of the commissary and his implementation of the commissary contract, Cascos said that he would invite Sheriff Omar Lucio to sit with the commissioners and the concerned families and their representatives to see whether something could done about the issues.
One of the clauses in the contract states that the vendor cannot raise prices until the end of the contract. However, the sheriff does not have the authority to tell the vendor what prices they can charge for their wares.
While Cascos said that without knowing the details of the costs and overhead associated with the commissary's operations, he said that after conferring with Quintanilla earlier in the day and going over the figures, his initial impression from seeing the auditor's reports was that something could be done to structure the contract differently in favor of the county.
"Unless we know who decided to structure the agreement this way it's difficult to say why things are the way they are," he said. "State law doesn't allow for the transferring of commissary funds with the general fund, but hopefully we all get together we can find out if there is something we can do about it.
"Could there be a better deal cut? Probably so," he said.
Quintanilla welcomed the invitation to meet with the court and sheriff's representatives in the near future and told commissioners during his presentation that the county faced potential civil liabilities because it approves the agreements implemented by the sheriff.
"I think the county and the sheriff have an opportunity to bring about something positive to assists the families of the inmates, many of who are poor, but also of helping the county taxpayers in these times of fiscal austerity," he said.