Congress investigates misconduct at prison

A House committee launched an investigation into the federal Bureau of Prisons’ handling of “egregious” misconduct at the largest government- run detention facility — where the warden and other officials were awarded thousands of dollars in bonuses despite female staffers’ persistent allegations of sexual harassment.

In letters to the BOP and the FBI, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz, RUtah, highlighted the case of Antwon Pitt, who “repeatedly harassed and threatened staffers that he would rape and kill them” while he served a 24- month sentence for robbery at the U. S. Penitentiary in Coleman, Fla.

Pitt was never prosecuted for his actions against prison staffers. After his release in 2015, he was convicted of raping a Washington woman. It is unclear, Chaffetz said in his letter late Wednesday, whether the BOP informed Washington officials about his misconduct as an inmate. Chaffetz’s letters cite reporting by

The Washington Post, which highlighted Pitt’s case last year, and by USA TODAY, which reported last month that the BOP paid more than $ 2 million in bonuses to top administrators during the past three years. That included tens of thousands of dollars to four executives who held senior leadership posts at the Coleman prison.

The payments — including a $ 34,000 bonus to Coleman’s warden, Tamyra Jarvis — spanned the time of Pitt’s incarceration and a sexual harassment lawsuit involving hundreds of current and former staffers, who alleged that prison managers repeatedly failed to protect them.

Jarvis was recently appointed corrections director in Escambia, Fla.

A $ 20 million settlement is pending before a federal judge.

BOP spokesman Justin Long said the bonuses were authorized by Office of Personnel Management guidelines.