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As the federal government investigates Mississippi prisons over reports of violence, the state auditor found officials have misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars on staff perks.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections bought Himalayan salt lamps and massage chairs for personnel while inmates live in dangerously unsanitary conditions, according to the audit report.
The findings have been sent to investigators at the auditor s office and federal authorities.
An audit of the Mississippi prison system showed that the Department of Corrections had misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars on travel, luxury items, and buyouts.
The inappropriate purchases included $17,545.25 on 20 massage chairs, $18,004.04 for items like decorative lamps, rugs, art, signs, Himalayan salt lamps, boom boxes, and CDs for staff stress reduction rooms , the report said. During one wellness day for staff and their families in Octobe
3 arrested, 1 sentenced in undercover child exploitation operation (Source: Gray News) By WLBT Digital | December 20, 2020 at 9:20 AM CST - Updated December 20 at 4:06 PM
GULF COAST, Miss. (WLBT) - The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office announced that three men were arrested, and another was sentenced, for child exploitation in an effort known as “Operation Bad Santa.”
The AG’s Office said the Mississippi Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and its partners used this operation to find individuals attempting to lure children for sex or child pornography.
Operation Bad Santa led to the arrest of three men, and the sentencing of another man, on charges related to the sexual exploitation or enticement of minors.
Six child predators sentenced across Mississippi, AG Fitch announces
All six will be required to register as sex offenders Share Updated: 2:17 PM CST Dec 18, 2020
All six will be required to register as sex offenders Share Updated: 2:17 PM CST Dec 18, 2020 Six child predators have been sentenced and put behind bars by Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s Cyber Crime Division. Robert Michael Lundstrom II, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of child exploitation and was sentenced by Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Robert T. “Bo” Bailey to eight years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He will be subject to five years post-release supervision and was ordered to pay $3,000 in fees, including $1,000 to the Mississippi Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund and $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund, as well as all court costs. William Wood, 22, entered an open plea to one count of child exploitation and was sentenced by Hinds Cou
Dec 18, 2020 The Mississippi State Parole Board is defending one of its members, a Meridian resident, after a state auditorâs report said she was reimbursed more than $47,000 for travel expenses that are not meant to be reimbursable.
The Office of the State Auditor said in a report released on Thursday that Mississippi Parole Board member Betty Lou Jones was reimbursed $47,321 for travel expenses that are not reimbursable.
Jones
This finding is part of a larger report which documents widespread misspending by the Mississippi Department of Corrections from July 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2019.Â
Logan Reeves, a spokesperson for the auditor s office, said the report states that there are audit findings of illegal expenditures that made their way to Jones, but that does not mean that those expenditures are criminal.