Check out the Auburn Citizen ( New York ) newspaper for July 7, 2005. The FBI FINALLY went in undercover to investigate the abuse and brutality that is so common in this facility. Of course, DOC's spokepeople will have "no comment" since the dopey idiots didn't even know it was going on ! I hope they arrest and charge every dirty CO and staff of DOC's who perpetrated, condoned and encouraged the kind of horrors that was occurring there.

if only they make a trend of that........... that would rule! :thumbsup:

NY had the chance to do something at Auburn and did not. There is good and bad on both sides of the coin. I just hope that it does not jeopardize anyone, priviledges, and potentially make things worse. My husband is in Auburn. If interested keep watching The Citizen they will run articles regularly.

Hey there!I posted in the NY "Shout Out" thread about where I can read the article(s) about this!My Baby is there also!Does the Auburn Citizen have a website?I know my local paper does.I really want to know what's going on there!I'm a little concerned for my man.I mean he seems fine when I talk to him & doesn't mention anything in his letters either.Thanks!Take Care,B

The FBI was in Auburn investigating the numerous civil rights violations of the inmates !!! Although this is unconfirmed - the story has it that 1/3 of the corrections staff or approximately 30 + CO's have been suspended. I don't know how true that is but I do know that the numerous complaints of brutality and abuse to the Justice Dept prompted the FBI to go in there undercover. The only reason the news article in the Auburn Citizen is so vague is that the news media got wind of the investigation and blew the undercover operation. However, from what I understand, it was CORRECTIONS staff they were investigating, not the inmates. The website for the Citizen is auburnpub.com and so into search for the archives for Juky 7, 2005.

Thank You!I'm going to check it out tonight!Take Care,B

Husband says that only a couple CO's seem to be gone. Medical treatment is an area that I know has been looked at in Auburn in the past and recently again. As a NYer with personal interest I will be watching.

Me too Ken'sWife!I'm wondering how it'll affect my Baby's time there!So far he hasn't said anything about stuff happening.So I guess no news is good news!Take Care,B

I will post if I hear anything new or The Citizen does another article.

FBI looks into ACF

By Louise Hoffman Broach / The Citizen AUBURN - The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Police are conducting an ongoing civil rights investigation involving several individuals connected to the Auburn Correctional Facility.

Corrections officers have been interviewed in connection with the investigation, a union representative said.

Darren Semprebon, a special agent in the FBI's Albany office, confirmed the investigation Tuesday and that it involved alleged civil rights violations. He said the inquiry has been going on for several months.

State police declined to answer questions regarding their role in the investigation and referred all questions to Steuben County District Attorney John Tunney, who was appointed special prosecutor in the matter in late 2004 in Cayuga County Court.

"It's not something I'm prepared to go into at this time," Tunney said. "I am simply not in a position to discuss it. Presumably, there will become a time when it can be discussed, but this is not that moment." James Flateau, a spokesman for the state Commission of Correction, declined to comment.

"We wouldn't comment on an FBI investigation," Flateau said. "We wouldn't comment on what we are investigating ourselves unless the investigation leads to a result."

The FBI is involved in the matter, Semprebon said, because it has jurisdiction over civil rights issues.

The FBI is the primary federal agency responsible for investigating all allegations regarding violations of federal civil rights laws.

"And if it's against law enforcement, we would be involved anyway," he said.

It is a crime for anyone acting under the "color of law" to willfully deprive or conspire to deprive another person of any right protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, according to the FBI's Web site. "Color of law" means that the person doing the act is using power given by a federal, state or local governmental agency.

While the federal authority to investigate color of law violations extends to any official, the vast majority of the allegations are against the law enforcement community.

Bill Golderman, an attorney for the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, Inc., the union that represents the corrections officers, said that corrections officers have been questioned.

"NYSCOPBA is aware of the investigation," he said.

"NYSCOPBA will assure the rights of its members are protected. At this time, it's only an investigation. No criminal charges have been brought against any member."

Local News

Probe involves former inmates


By Louise Hoffman Broach / The Citizen
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 9:49 AM EDT

AUBURN - The Federal Bureau of Investigation's civil rights inquiry at Auburn Correctional Facility involves two inmates, in seemingly unrelated matters.

Rochester attorney Gary Muldoon said Tuesday his client Dino Carocelli has been questioned by FBI officials within the past two months. Carocelli, now serving time in Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, was convicted of a 2002 assault against two corrections officers in ACF. Carocelli's wife, Anna Horan, of Florida, filed a complaint with the FBI in Washington, D.C. in relation to the assault, in which Carocelli and the officers were injured. Horan has accused the corrections officers of using excessive force.

Carocelli was in ACF at the time of the assault, serving 35 years to life for a 1992 bank robbery in Brooklyn.

The second part of the FBI inquiry involves Virgil Owens, a state prisoner who was accused of killing a fellow ACF inmate in 2003. In June, the indictment charging Owens with killing Shane Hotmer was dismissed because Owens did not have an opportunity to testify at grand jury proceedings, although he had requested to do so.

"It's my understanding the FBI wants to chat with him," said Auburn attorney Michael Bass, who represents Owens. Bass would not disclose why the FBI was interested in Owens, but he did say it was not related to the Carocelli matter. So far, agents have not met with his client, Bass said.

Bass said that Owens' case will be re-presented to a grand jury in August. Steuben County District Attorney John Tunney is the special prosecutor in the matter. Tunney is also the special prosecutor in the FBI inquiry, being conducted in conjunction with the state police.

Owens is serving a 100-years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree assault. He will be eligible for parole in 2095. He has been moved to the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County.

The FBI confirmed last week it is conducting a civil rights inquiry at ACF. A spokesman for the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association said corrections officers have been questioned in connection with the investigation, although no charges have been brought.

Law enforcement officials have acknowledged Carocelli and Owens are the focus, but would make no further comment regarding the investigation.

Horan, reached at her home in Florida Tuesday, said she complained to the FBI because of Carocelli's injuries, which she said were more serious than those of the corrections officers.

"They are paid with our money, our tax money, and they do this," she said. "This is wrong. They can't do this."

She said her husband accused the officers of setting him up with "dirty" urine and starting the fight. Carocelli was treated for a broken leg, a broken hand, broken fingers and facial injuries.

During the trial, Carocelli's then-attorney, Doug Bates, said the incident unfolded when his client had been confined to his cell as a result of a urine test. Carocelli suspected an officer of setting him up with "dirty urine" and had told other inmates. Bates said the officer then slammed his client's head repeatedly against the wall and Carocelli fought back.

One of the corrections officers suffered a bite to his face that required stitches and the other officer received broken fingers. When Carocelli was sentenced in February 2004, Cayuga County Court Judge Mark Fandrich discounted Carocelli's contention he was a victim and not the assault's instigator.

Sgt. Anthony Volpe, the officer who suffered the facial injury, said at sentencing that without help from his fellow officers, he believed Carocelli would have killed him.

Horan wrote the letter to the FBI after the sentencing, she said. She received a reply back a few months later that indicated there would be an investigation, but then heard nothing.

Her husband told her late this spring that FBI agents had recently visited him and asked questions about the incident. She said her husband also notified Muldoon about the meeting.

Muldoon said he is handling Carocelli's appeal of his assault conviction to the state Appellate Division. While he is aware of the civil rights complaint, Muldoon said he does not represent Carocelli in the matter. Carocelli, 48, was sentenced to an additional 30 years to life for the assault conviction. He will be eligible for parole in 2057.

Staff writer Louise Hoffman Broach can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or louise.hoffman@lee.net (louise.hoffman@lee.net)