State senators call for Carrion’s resignation
‘Social’ at juvenile prison turns into taxpayer-funded sex party?
By DEBORAH A. MILES State Senator Catherine Young, R- Olean, held a press conference May 26 in Albany and called for the immediate resignation of state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Commissioner Gladys Carrion. Young told reporters
Carrion sanctioned a social for juvenile offenders at the Goshen Secure Center in Orange County that turned into a state-taxpayer-funded sex party. Carrion, who was
CARRION
appointed to head OCFS by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has been
on PEF’s radar. She has downsized state facilities and transferred youths to ill-equipped, privately run community-based programs. Her tenure has been marked by a dramatic increase in the number of assaults on staff and a breakdown in youth discipline. News broke about the sex party after
a Goshen youth development aide, Tony Collado, went public. He was ordered to drive two women to a dance in a state car from a street corner in Albany to Goshen and back, a 230-mile round trip. One was a 15-year-old girl, and the other woman was in her 20s. They were taken to Goshen and performed lap dances and sexual acts on the boys, some of whom were murderers, according to Collado. Video surveillance captured some of the interactions. Young was flanked by several state
Republican senators and union representatives at the press conference who also said Carrion should be shown the door.
Shocking, outrageous “I didn’t think anything could shock
me anymore, but the story about this sex party at Goshen left me stunned,” said PEF Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe, who also addressed the dozen reporters at the press conference.
www.pef.org
OUTRAGED—PEF Secretary-TreasurerArlea Igoe joinsTony Collado, a youth development aide at Goshen Secure Center, and state Senators John Bonacic and CatherineYoung at a press conference inAlbany to hold OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion accountable for an X-rated party for juvenile offenders.
—Photo by DeborahMiles “This is unconscionable and
misguided behavior of an appointed official who showed extraordinarily bad judgment by allowing a party for juveniles who have been confined for criminal offenses. It is shocking and outrageous that teenage girls are being escorted at the taxpayers’ expense into juvenile justice facilities. The sex party is the last straw and Carrion must be held accountable,” Igoe said. “These are gang members and
hardened criminals convicted for violent crimes such as rape, murder and armed robbery. They are being rewarded by having girls brought to them for their personal entertainment,” Young said. It’s not the first time young women
were invited into a juvenile justice facility. Last summer, Young paid an unannounced visit to a “social” at the Brookwood Secure Center for youths in Columbia County where she was shocked to find the youth offenders dancing with young women.
Excuses, excuses After the press conference, the
governor rejected calls for the immediate resignation of Carrion and said, “I think she has actually done an excellent job.” An OCFS spokesman, Edward
Borges, was quoted in the Albany Times Union saying the social was an experiment to reward good behavior. “Some staff in facilities don’t know
how to supervise an event. Some people witnessed it and didn’t do their jobs,” he said. PEF President Ken Brynien said it’s
not surprising Carrion will once again point the finger at members of her own staff, rather than take responsibility for her actions. The allegations are being
investigated by the state inspector general who also is checking for incorrect conduct by Carrion’s office and by the state Commission on Corrections.
The Communicator July-August 2010—Page 9
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