Former Polk County Jail Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charges

JOSHUA DAVID LOWE, 25, of Aragon, Georgia, a former sergeant at the Polk County Jail, pleaded guilty August 6 in federal court to a civil rights charge of using excessive force against an inmate in his custody.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “We recognize that detention officers have a difficult job as they guard inmates in our jails and prisons. The vast majority of officers serve with honor and courage. But under no circumstances can we allow a detention officer to abuse his authority to commit an unnecessary and violent assault on an inmate. We are committed to investigating and prosecuting any law enforcement officer who engages in such criminal conduct.”

Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “We would like to thank Polk County Sheriff Kelly McClendon and his administration for not only recognizing the seriousness of the crime committed by Detention Officer Lowe but also in bringing it to the attention of the FBI. It is this type of leadership within law enforcement that brings credit to the entire criminal justice system.”

Polk County Sheriff Kelly McClendon said, “We in law enforcement are held to a high standard. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure to the people we protect that whatever circumstances we face that our training and oath as law enforcement officers are held to the laws given to us by the Constitution of the United States and the State of Georgia.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information in court: LOWE admitted during the guilty plea hearing that he abused his authority as a law enforcement officer on February 7, 2009, when he unnecessarily and repeatedly struck an inmate in his head and face while the inmate was strapped in a restraint chair. LOWE agreed that his conduct resulted in bodily injury to the inmate and violated federal law and the constitutional right of the Polk County inmate not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law.

A number of LOWE's fellow detention officers witnessed the incident and came forward to report that LOWE had gone too far with his use of force against the inmate. One of the detention officers who witnessed the assault told federal authorities that he "saw blood everywhere" and that the inmate was “spewing blood” after he was attacked by LOWE. Another detention officer told an FBI agent that LOWE's assault on the inmate was unjustified and “horrible.”

LOWE is scheduled to be sentenced in Rome by Senior United States District Court Judge Robert L. Vining, Jr. on October 15, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. LOWE faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

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Georgia Temp Company and Its Owner/President Agree to Plead Guilty to Making a False Statement to the U.S. Small Business Administration

/PRNewswire/ -- A Georgia temporary staffing company and its owner/president have agreed to plead guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Justice announced today.

Patriot Services Inc. and its owner/president, Stephanie Blackmon, have each agreed to plead guilty to a one-count charge of making a false statement to the SBA, which was filed today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. Patriot supplies temporary staffing services to various agencies and departments of the U.S. government at various locations throughout the United States. Under the separate plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, Patriot and Blackmon have agreed to cooperate with the Department's ongoing investigation.

Blackmon admitted to providing false information to the SBA so that Patriot could qualify for certification under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, a designation given to businesses owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged persons. Specifically, Blackmon concealed the involvement of her former employer, who was not a socially and economically disadvantaged person, in the management and operations of Patriot because revealing his involvement would have compromised Patriot's chances of receiving 8(a) certification. By securing 8(a) certification, Patriot qualified for government contracts specifically set aside for 8(a) companies.

According to court documents, Blackmon purchased and became the president of Patriot in November 2003. Although Blackmon was the actual owner/president of Patriot, she was primarily a figurehead whose status as an African-American was used to obtain 8(a) certification for Patriot, thereby enabling Patriot, and her former employer, to obtain government 8(a) set-aside contracts. In fact, Patriot was actually controlled and operated by her former employer and others, who operated another temporary staffing company that was not eligible for the 8(a) program. Blackmon's status as a service-disabled veteran also was used by Patriot to try to secure government contracts.

Although Blackmon knew that her former employer and others were actually running Patriot, she concealed their involvement so that the company could secure 8(a) certification. SBA regulations prohibit a former employer of any disadvantaged owner of an 8(a) applicant company from being involved in the management of the applicant company unless the SBA determines that the former employer does not have actual control of the applicant company or the potential to control the applicant company. Based in part on Blackmon's misrepresentations, the SBA granted Patriot 8(a) status in November 2006. Shortly thereafter, Patriot entered into three 8(a) contracts to provide temporary staffing services to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) in Leavenworth, Kan., one of seven such VA pharmacies throughout the nation that process and distribute medical prescriptions to veterans. Those contracts were valued at approximately $5.4 million.

Blackmon faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of $5,000 for the false statement charge and Patriot faces a maximum fine of $5,000.

Today's charges stem from an ongoing investigation into fraudulent conduct involving contract operations at CMOPs in Hines, Ill., and Leavenworth, Kan. On July 24, 2008, Joel M. Gostomelsky, the director of the Hines CMOP, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to accepting illegal gratuities in connection with awarding temporary staffing and supply contracts. On May 5, 2009, the associate director of the Hines CMOP, William J. Brandt, his wife, Esperana A. Brandt, and her company, Pronto Staffing Inc. each pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the VA and the SBA. William Brandt also pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Today's charges reflect the Department's commitment to protecting U.S. taxpayers from procurement fraud through its creation of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force. The National Procurement Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2006, is designed to promote the early detection, prosecution and prevention of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.

The ongoing investigation into fraudulent conduct involving the VA's CMOPs is conducted jointly by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division's Chicago Field Office and the VA's Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the SBA's Office of Inspector General; the Department of Defense, Criminal Investigative Service; and the U.S. Secret Service.

Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, fraud, kickbacks, bribery or other crimes relating to violations of federal procurement laws meant to foster competition concerning any of the VA CMOPs should contact the Chicago Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 312-353-7530 or the VA's Office of Inspector General at 1-800-488-8244. Anyone with information about fraud in any SBA program should contact the SBA's Office of Inspector General at 1-800- 767-0385 or www.sba.gov/ig/.

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