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From:

The Florida Times-Union
October 14, 2007

Georgia inmates reportedly did work out of state

By Paul Pinkham, The Times-Union
WOODBINE - Camden County Sheriff Bill Smith took jail inmates out of state to work at his ex-wife's house and repeatedly used inmate labor in the county at his girlfriend's home and on his properties the past several years, former inmates and other witnesses told the Times-Union. -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
At least three prisoners were carted to South Carolina to perform kitchen and bathroom renovations at his former wife's house, according to former inmates and an electrician who worked on the property this year.
They also described work they did at his girlfriend's St. Marys home and properties owned by Smith.
The sheriff used proceeds from federal drug forfeitures to pay the trusties $50 a week, according to inmates and records obtained by the Times-Union under Georgia's Open Records Act. Federal guidelines say the money can be used only for law enforcement purposes such as training or equipment.
And under Georgia law, using inmate labor for personal gain is a felony violation of a sheriff's oath of office. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into Smith's use of inmate labor.
Smith refused to answer specific questions but defended his trusty program in a statement issued Thursday through his spokesman.
"Over the years the program has proven to be cost effective and is a tremendous benefit to the citizens of Camden County," Smith said. " ... There are many success stories of inmates who have used their work experience as trusties as a springboard to making a better life for themselves."
But a former federal prosecutor said the use of inmates for private labor raises liability, exploitation and tax issues if payroll taxes aren't withheld from the inmates' pay.
"The whole thing reeks," said attorney Samuel Jacobson of Jacksonville. "Suppose one of these guys got loose and sexually assaulted a child. Think of the liability to the county."
Christopher Murphy, 31, said he worked before his 2005 escape at the sheriff's wooded hunting camp in northern Camden County and at a secluded property known as the Ponderosa south of Woodbine. Murphy, now in prison for the escape and stealing an unmarked patrol vehicle, said he was unaware of the GBI probe.
But other inmates and their families and St. Marys electrician Ray Dyals said they have been interviewed recently by GBI agents. Dyals said he also told the GBI he was warned about a possible bogus arrest after Smith learned of his cooperation.
District Attorney Stephen Kelley requested the GBI investigation in July after Times-Union reporters observed Camden inmates building a structure without a permit on private property at Cumberland Island National Seashore.
The probe has expanded since then, according to those who have spoken to investigators.
In the past, Smith has said he sees nothing wrong with working inmates on private property as long as they are paid. Smith also has said questions about his spending practices are "politically motivated."
He used identical language after he was charged with six counts of illegally using inmate labor following a GBI investigation in 1991. Those charges were dropped, and Smith agreed with the Georgia Attorney General's Office that he would no longer work inmates on private property.
County Commission Chairman Preston Rhodes questioned why Smith broke that promise and said the information "needs to be pursued to the full extent of the law."
Across state lines
Dyals said he thought nothing of it when the sheriff asked him to accompany him and inmate Rodney Mullis to Charleston to prepare Smith's former wife's kitchen for new cabinets.
"He said I'll have somebody there to work with us, but I need you there to oversee it," said Dyals, a friend of the sheriff's for 30 years. "We'd done it that way before."
Dyals said Mullis, who was being held on cocaine charges, dressed in street clothes and worked unsupervised with Dyals while Smith napped in another room of the Charleston house.
Mullis couldn't be reached, but his father said Mullis told him he spoke to the GBI.
Another former inmate said he also detailed for GBI agents two trips he took to Smith's ex-wife's house in 2003 to do plumbing work. The Times-Union interviewed him in the St. Marys office of his lawyer, J. Robert Morgan, under the condition he not be named because he fears retaliation from the sheriff.
In 2003, he said, he was in jail for stealing tires when the sheriff wanted him and another inmate to build a handicap-accessible shower and sink for his son at the Charleston home. The first time he went, he said, a deputy drove him to the state line, where Smith met them.
He said he and other inmates were grateful to be paid for their work. Morgan said outstanding warrants against his client were dismissed after he cooperated with the GBI.
Lavinia Smith, the sheriff's former wife, didn't want to talk about the work done at her home.
"I have no knowledge of that," she said.
Local work
Back in Camden County, the sheriff's girlfriend had an identical reaction.
"I have no knowledge of that," Sandra Addy said.
None of the former inmates interviewed by the Times-Union recalled working at Addy's St. Mary's home. But Dyals, a neighbor, said he told GBI agents he saw several inmates fixing an outdoor light and changing a garden pump there this summer.
Former inmates did recall working at Smith's hunting camp and at the Ponderosa, the sheriff's getaway south of Woodbine.
Murphy remembered being transported to the hunting camp with other inmates.
"We were clearing a bunch of land," he said. "He [Smith] said this is ... his little hunting ground."
Murphy also recalled chopping wood and feeding Smith's hogs at the Ponderosa. He said he was surprised when inmate workers occasionally were left unsupervised and when Smith paid them. But he didn't ask questions.
"I didn't want to go back inside," Murphy said.
Morgan's client said he did plumbing and tile work unsupervised at the Ponderosa. He said deputies also drove him and another inmate to Jacksonville to buy supplies for the project.
"I was out there every day for about three months," he said. "We'd call if we needed something."
He recalled Smith calling him at the jail and asking: "Have you fed my hogs yet? They can't go to McDonald's like you and me."
Another former inmate who records show was paid from forfeited assets denied that he or other inmates worked on private property. Eugene Marr said he worked around the jail while incarcerated on disorderly conduct charges in 2005 and 2006 and only worked at the Ponderosa after his release. He recalled seeing one trusty, methamphetamine manufacturer William Murrell, accompanied by deputies at the property, but nobody else.
"There was no leaving going on," Marr said. "It was jail."
But both Dyals and Morgan's client said they felt threatened by the sheriff after talking with GBI agents. Dyals said he was warned Smith wanted him pulled over and arrested after learning of his cooperation.
Morgan's client played for the Times-Union a message Smith left on his cell phone in August after learning of his cooperation with the GBI. Smith left his cell phone number.
"Just wanted to chat with you," the message says. "I think I already know what's happening, but give me a call."
The man said he hadn't spoken to Smith in years.
"I was freaked out," he said.
Losing patience
This isn't the first time Smith's use of inmate labor has been investigated. A 1991 GBI probe began after an inmate took a joy ride in a deputy's personal vehicle he was washing, started drinking and injured two Marines in a crash.
The sheriff was indicted in 1992, but the attorney general didn't prosecute.
Smith contended the investigation was instigated to disrupt his re-election campaign. He later testified that inmates took bricks and a fireplace insert to his residence at Harrietts Bluff and polished floors at a former girlfriend's house.
"I don't see anything wrong with that," Smith testified in 1997 in a lawsuit brought by a deputy who said he was fired for cooperating with the GBI.
Attorney Jacobson said the sheriff could be accused of involuntary servitude or forced labor or violating federal tax and wage and hour laws. Though Jacobson has no connection to Camden County, he said commissioners have a right to be upset.
"The county was feeding these people and housing these people, and here they were working for somebody's benefit," Jacobson said. "It's improper gain and compensation for the sheriff. He's appropriating something that isn't really his. He's exploiting his position for personal enrichment either for himself or for the benefit of someone he cares about."
The sense of deja vu has frustrated county commissioners, who cut Smith's budget and sued him in August over control of the confiscated drug money. Because the sheriff is a constitutional officer, the only authority commissioners have over him is budgetary.
"Every taxpayer is put at risk by Bill Smith's foolishness," Commissioner Steve Berry said. "While he profits, the taxpayer takes the risk. It's win-win for him and lose-lose for us."
Smith said commissioners rejected his offer to allow them input into the trusty program.
But Berry and Commissioner Katherine Zell said the sheriff has violated the public's trust.
"A lot has gone on that has been swept under the rug," Zell said. "It just goes on and on."

Times-Union writer Gordon Jackson contributed to this report. paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4107

SHERiFF'S STATEMENT Camden County Sheriff Bill Smith's statement to the Times-Union on inmate labor: I cannot comment on specifics but I would like to say that I feel the trusty program to be a worthwhile, viable program. Over the years the program has proven to be cost effective and is a tremendous benefit to the citizens of Camden County. The Board of Commissioners was given the opportunity to have input into how the Trusty program should operate and they rejected the offer out of hand. Nevertheless, I welcome any constructive input or guidance they may provide. My philosophy has always been that it is far better to let the trusties wear out serving the community than to rust out sitting in jail. As I have stated many times in the past, we do not have the luxury of locking inmates up and pretending they no longer exist. There is no out of sight out of mind. We have to see them as individuals, individuals with the potential for improvement. There are many success stories of inmates who have used their work experience as trusties as a springboard to making a better life for themselves. Despite the naysayers I will continue to operate the trusty program fairly and impartially.


This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/101407/met_208183322.shtml.