Tale from jail: medical scam costing taxpayers
TODAY I’m going to share with you a letter I got from a retired New York state corrections officer. It explains an ingenious way prisoners are gaming the system so they can be eligible for wonderful benefits upon their release from jail. Taxpayers ought to know. I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I’ll let him tell the story in his words. I’m keeping the writer anonymous for his own protection, although I have spoken with him and have checked his credentials. Dear John Crudele: I recently retired from a long career as a New York State Corrections officer. I worked in Sing-Sing, Mid-Orange and did my last 10 years at Fishkill Corrections Facility — a prison with a large regional medical unit.
I’m not exactly a brave whistleblower as I waited to retire to write this letter. As an officer you’re not allowed to talk to the media without permission. Gov. Cuomo and the [State Department of Corrections] would not like this scam coming to light.
I estimate this scam has cost the taxpayers of New York millions and millions of dollars and growing every day. It is called by the inmate “building a case” and it works like this.
Inmates go to the medical [unit], complaining of mental issues until they get an appointment with an O.M.H. [Office of Mental Health] doctor. There, they say they can’t sleep, hear voices, are suicidal etc.
The inmates trade stories and know the words that will trigger a script [prescription] for drugs. The problem is that only crazy people take these drugs and these guys are only crazy like a fox. The inmates go to the medwindow where the nurse gives them the pills. They have to open their mouth and show the nurse or an officer that they swallowed it. [But] they don’t swallow. They “cheek the meds,” hiding the pill or pills under gums or the side of mouth.
They leave the medical building to return to their housing unit and spit the meds out the first chance they get. Millions of dollars worth of drugs [are] littering lawns outside every medical building in every prison in the state.
They do this for years. This is a long con and very expensive for taxpayers. Why do this for years?
The inmates know their conditional release or parole dates years in advance. The object is to leave prison with a medical file the size of the novel “War and Peace.”
This information follows the inmate to the parole office. Now arrangements have to be made to continue the drugs and, of course, the nature of the mental illness and drug treatment makes it hard to work and function as a normal person.
You know where this is going: work waivers, disability payments, various forms of government benefits and all the goodies an enlightened society bestows on our unfortunate citizens. [That’s the] end game for the con.
I know you can’t do anything about this story. I just thought you would appreciate a story of fraud and waste against the taxpayers of New York. Don’t let up on exposing fraud and waste at all levels of government.
Signed, Anonymous
Who says I can’t do anything about this! I can put it in my column, and, I’m sure, prison officials will rush to end this scam. Not likely.
I could also have gotten myself arrested and seen this for myself while undercover. But summer is coming, and I’d prefer being near the Jersey Shore rather than in lockup.