This post originally appeared at https://www.bootsandsabers.com/2024/03/07/state-doc-in-collapse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=state-doc-in-collapse

It’s almost tiresome to say, but if this was the Walker Administration, the reaction from the media and various pro-criminal interest groups would be quite different.

MADISON – The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into an alleged conspiracy within Waupun Correctional Institution to bring in cell phones, illegal drugs and other contraband — a probe that has resulted in the suspension of nearly a dozen prison employees.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and state Department of Corrections officials in June asked federal authorities to conduct an investigation into potential criminal activities inside the Waupun prison after a DOC sweep of multiple housing units uncovered prohibited items, according to Evers’ spokeswoman Britt Cudaback.

Cudaback said the initial DOC probe “revealed allegations of potential employee involvement in those illegal activities, including information suggesting financial crimes may have occurred.”

[…]

The investigation is under way as DOC’s top administrator is set to leave his post. Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr announced last week he would be retiring from the Evers administration at the end of this week. Evers told reporters this week that he did not ask Carr to resign. His successor has yet to be named.

Eleven Waupun employees were placed on administrative leave by DOC officials between May 2023 and March 2024, some with pay and some without, according to the department.