criminal justice

February 12 2021

CT Mirror: Blame for Coronavirus Spread in Prisons Belongs to Guards who Don’t Wear Masks, By Chandra Bozelko

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Chandra Bozelko writes the award-winning blog Prison Diaries. You can follow her on Twitter at @ChandraBozelko and email her at [email protected]. She is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. – Jeff

By Chandra Bozelko

Reprinted from The Connecticut Mirror, Feb. 12, 2021

Columns share an author’s personal perspective.

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In April, former Commissioner of Department of Correction (DOC) Rollin Cook issued a department-wide memorandum requiring staff “to wear protective face-masks while on duty whenever social distancing is not possible.”

Chandra Bozelko

Corrections officers in Connecticut aren’t obeying this instruction. They’re not wearing masks, at least not properly and definitely not consistently. That’s what’s caused the precipitous rise in the number of infections and deaths of incarcerated people. As of February 5, 3,816 inmates had tested positive and 19 of them have died from COVID-19 complications; six passed away inside of a month. But none had died between May 26 and November 18, and the positivity rate during that time was around 1%. This spread is a more recent phenomenon.

There are only three ways the virus can reliably enter a correctional facility: visits, new admissions and/or staff. The realities of prison life during COVID-19 take the first two options out of contention. It’s most likely that the staff who’s spreading the disease.

Visits can’t be the cause of the spread because in-person visits that allow contact have been suspended since March; the resumption of visits in October limited them to non-contact, which means the inmate and the visitor don’t even breathe the same air.

New admissions aren’t causing the spread, either. Incoming inmates are kept in quarantine for two weeks, more than enough time to assure that they’re not infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It’s the lack of masks on the staff that’s causing the spread. That’s where the evidence points.

While it’s been hard to connect with inmates because of a lockdown imposed to slow the virus’s spread, a few prisoners have reported the non-use of masks to family and friends.

A relative of a model inmate at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution reports that he’s witnessed prisoners asking officers to fix their masks or put them on, only to be told to mind their own business. According to this relative, repercussions are sure to follow — like mail tampering — if anyone complains about their not wearing masks.

Another woman took pictures of guards when she retrieved her cell phone from the lockers outside the visiting room at the same prison, MacDougall-Walker CI. One officer wasn’t wearing a mask at all and another had it slung around his chin.

A female inmate at York Correctional Institution, the state’s only women’s prison, that went without a single infection until September 2020, says guards aren’t wearing masks and she witnessed one maskless guard ask where he could get a COVID test.

It’s not just the staff’s refusal to wear masks. Another man who spent a month at Bridgeport Correctional Center said that inmates who make their own masks are often punished for it. While a shirt or a sheet fashioned into a mask can, in theory, be considered contraband, the wisdom of punishing an attempt to protect one’s own health, and others’, is questionable.

But the most damning evidence that staff isn’t wearing masks is an official report by the Monitoring Panel — a group of five people (two chosen by the ACLU, two chosen by the DOC and a fifth chosen by the original four — established through the settlement with the state in the suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Connecticut in April 2020, captioned McPherson v. Lamont, to protect incarcerated people from the novel coronavirus. When provided the opportunity to prove their obedience to the rules, correctional staff blew it. The Monitoring Panel conducted two site visits where they reported that “most” of the officers and inmates observed were wearing masks when they toured.

Site visits to prisons rarely meet their expectations for oversight. When I was incarcerated at York CI, I watched last minute scrambles to throw fresh paint over dirty walls and to make the facility appear clean and in compliance when it probably wasn’t.

I would expect that all staff would have donned a mask, if only for the moments that the Monitoring Panel passed through. If they didn’t all have them on while these outsiders peered over the facility, then staff is wearing them even less frequently when overseers aren’t around. The DOC knows this; its current Commissioner, Angel Quiros, admitted that the mask directive was only “mostly” followed.

Elana Bildner, an attorney with the ACLU of Connecticut and one of two lawyers who represented plaintiffs in the McPherson suit, says that her office receives numerous complaints that identify the date, time and place within the prison where staff members don’t have masks on.

Bildner confronted the DOC’s counsel, the Attorney General’s office, about it, only to be advised that there’s no way to review security camera footage because an agreement with the state’s unions, AFSCME Council 4’s Local 1565 and Service Employee International Union’s Connecticut State Employees Association (CSEA) Local 760, prohibits it. “They cannot be disciplined for not wearing masks based on video footage,” Bildner said she’s been told.

But that doesn’t seem to be true. Neither the collective bargaining agreements for AFSCME Local 1565 nor CSEA 760 mention the ability to review surveillance cameras. When asked for comment, David Glidden, Executive Director of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001, and Jody Barr, Executive Director, AFSCME Council 4, issued a joint statement. They couldn’t confirm that any such provision existed and also didn’t deny that staff wasn’t wearing masks, instead noting that “the unions with members at DOC have been pushing hard for appropriate PPE” and have been “outspoken and united in their advocacy for the maximum safety precautions.”

An email requesting clarification wasn’t answered by the Assistant Attorney General who acts as lead counsel for DOC in the McPherson v. Lamont litigation, Terrence O’Neill.

There’s no reason why the DOC can’t find the anti-masker employees as identified to the ACLU and order them wear masks — and do so properly. It doesn’t necessarily entail punishing them; after all, the department supposedly specializes in correction. But Commissioner Quiros admitted that he hadn’t reached the discipline level of enforcement. Maybe with 19 people dead, it’s time to start.

It’s not as if these same officers aren’t subject to rules about what they wear to work. In fact, DOC’s Administrative Directive 2.13 contains uniform and appearance requirements that are even more obtrusive. It includes rules on how long mustaches can be. It bans female officers from painting their nails with purple, blue or gold nail polish and none of them can wear white socks. If the officers can abide by those restrictions then surely they can follow the departmental rule that would save lives.

To be fair, the original mask memo was written when health experts didn’t know as much about the spread of the virus. It directed that masks were necessary when social distance of six feet was impossible. Now we know masks are necessary regardless of the stretch of space between two people.

I predict that guards will shift blame to the poor ventilation systems in prisons. The problem with that explanation is that there’s no epidemiological evidence supporting the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is spread through heating and cooling ducts. The much more likely source of spread is contact with an infected person who isn’t wearing a mask.

Masks’ efficacy in reducing the spread of the virus — and even the resulting death rate — has been proven over and over again. And masking advice has changed and updated itself since the initial memo from former Commissioner Cook, even advancing to a direction to wear two masks now.

Correction officers’ refusal to wear masks is poised only to get worse. As of February 1, guards are getting vaccinated and even less fearful of the virus and Governor Lamont’s isn’t honoring his promise to include all inmates in Phase 1b of vaccination, at least not as advocates envisioned. The McPherson settlement agreement that exerted some control on internal processes expired on December 31, 2020 so the Monitoring Panel that found most staff masked won’t be going back in, not without another judicial intervention.

It’s becoming clear that Commissioner Quiros must pen another memo, post haste, that explains that a mask across a guard’s face — nose and mouth — is part of their uniform, at least for the duration of the pandemic, regardless of distance from the inmates. Then he must subject them to discipline if they don’t comply. More people will die if he doesn’t.

Chandra Bozelko writes the award-winning blog Prison Diaries. You can follow her on Twitter at @ChandraBozelko and email her at [email protected].

Bozelko Column: Prisons More Secure than the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 8, 2021

Bozelko Column: 2020 Through the Lens of My Inbox, Dec. 24, 2020

Boston Globe: I Cut the Prison Phone Cord, But Not Intentionally, Nov. 17, 2020

Bozelko Column: Trump’s Not Your Man on Criminal Justice, Oct. 31, 2020

Bozelko column: CARES Act payments to prisoners problematic, Oct. 23, 2020

Bozelko column: SCOTUS nominee’s dissent on guns for felons deserves more attention, Oct. 16, 2020

February 10 2021

Criminal Justice Cafe Podcast: Jacqueline Polverari Interviews Holli Houghton, of Pink Lady Prison Consultants

Jeff Grant Blog criminal justice, criminal justice cafe, Federal prison, Holli Coulton, holli houghton, incarceration, jacqueline polverari, jacqueline purcell, pink lady prison consultants, podcast, prison, prison coach, prison consultant, redemption, second chance, wall street prison consultants, white collar week, white collar week podcast, white collar week with jeff grant

Congratulations to our friend and colleague, Jacqueline Polverari, on her new podcast Criminal Justice Cafe. In this episode, Jacquie has a discussion with Holli Houghton, Executive Director of Pink Lady Prison Consultants, about women feeling isolated and alone while incarcerated as their families and loved ones live their lives on the outside.

Jacquie is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, and is a multiple time guest on White Collar Week. Holli Houghton is a past guest on White Collar Week.

Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.

Watch on YouTube:

Holli Coulman

Holli Coulman a college-educated professional spent the better part of her career carving out a name for herself in highly competitive corporate arenas. While in her well-earned role at a strategic tech company, Holli’s integrity became compromised as she soon would become the target of a federal investigation. Coming under direct fire for financial fraud-related charges, she was forced to accept a guilty plea and subsequently, was convicted of one count of wire fraud. She spent the next 15 months in the Women’s Camp at FCC Victorville, California, 2 months in the Solitary Housing Unit (SHU) at the San Bernardino County Jail, and the final 3 months at a Halfway House.

Though steeped in a whirlwind of life-altering change and hardship, Holli did not spend her time unwisely. She earned her American Bar Association Paralegal Certification and in April of 2017 was given the opportunity to work for a reputable law firm, and is now working at the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office. Finding power in the written word, Holli started a popular blog on big issues such as women’s safety while incarcerated and related subject matter. This act of civil advocacy resulted in a Bureau of Prisons retaliatory- based punishment of two months in solitary confinement. These and other experiences will be chronicled in her much-anticipated book debut, “True Injustice” that will be published in December 2020.

Presently, Holli Coulman is one of the most notable and respected Women’s Prison Consultants. Through various prison consultancy platforms, she navigates families and individuals through the difficulty of incarceration. Her services stretch far beyond education and awareness. Holli’s services include prison pre-and-post release strategies, clemency procedures, appeals, coursework, and compassionate releases. Known for leading the dialogue for women’s prison reform, Holli is often requested to be a speaker at many leading women’s conferences. Holli maintains an active presence in organizations that champion her causes, including the WPA, and also the Voice of Women.

Websites:

Wall Street Prison Consultants

Pink Lady Prison Consultants

Podcasts:

Lions of Liberty Podcast

The Quicky Podcast

Media:

https://www.insideedition.com/prison-guards-will-try-to-rattle-felicity-huffman-says-former-inmate-55973

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/12/it-was-horrifying-ex-inmates-describe-fate-that-may-await-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-other-parents-in-college-scandal/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/15/felicity-huffmans-first-day-in-federal-prison-strip-search-resentment-from-some-inmates-likely/

Jacqueline Polverari:

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.

Jacqueline has over 25 years’ experience as a professional with proven successes in business leadership, mentoring and therapeutic environments. Her experience working with trauma culminated after spending almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women and observing the trauma women experience related to being incarcerated. She has since dedicated herself to Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry services with a special focus on trauma and reentry services for women relating to incarceration. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, JustLeadershipUSA and #Cut50 and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country. She most recently designed and hosted the first retreat for women convicted of a white-collar crime in the country in October 2019. Jacqueline is working diligently to continue her education and has returned to school to obtain her Doctoral Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Criminal Justice.

For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].

February 5 2021

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg

Jeff Grant Media, Podcasts, Recent/Upcoming Events & Appearances, Videos bob katzberg, business podcast, criminal defense, criminal justice, Federal prison, JEFF GRANT, legal podcast, podcast, prisonist.org, progressive prison ministries, robert katzberg, the vanishing trial, trial attorney, trial penalty, walt pavlo, white collar, white collar week, white collar week podcast, white collar week with jeff grant, white-collar crime, white-collar support group

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

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Podcast Ep. 23, Guest: The Vanishing Trial, with Robert Katzberg

Today on the podcast we have Bob Katzberg, a dean of the White Collar Bar who has seen it all as both a federal prosecutor in the EDNY and as a criminal defense trial lawyer.

I was so taken with Bob’s book, The Vanishing Trial, that I sent it to every single one of our White Collar Support Group members currently serving in prison. In it, Bob explains how and why the Federal criminal justice system went from 10% of all cases being tried before juries to less than 2% of all cases now being tried before juries. And how the cards are now stacked against defendants, forcing them into plea bargains.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are being prosecuted for a white collar crime, or any crime, this episode is a must-watch or listen-to.

So, coming up. Bob Katzberg. The Vanishing Trial. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

Watch on YouTube:

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If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

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Guests on this Episode:

Robert Katzberg

Robert Katzberg, a cum laude graduate of George Washington University Law School and a member of its Law Review, began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Oliver Gasch on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where his prosecution of political corruption and financial crimes earned him the coveted Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award. For the next four decades, as a partner in Kaplan & Katzberg, a white collar criminal law boutique, he defended clients in high-profile cases in New York City and throughout the country. A Southern District of New York federal prosecutor described him as “the best cross-examiner” he had ever seen, and as a “formidable adversary” who “commands the courtroom.” Mr. Katzberg is now consulting counsel to Holland & Knight, an international law firm. He and his wife, Leslie, now live in Southern California.

Contact Information:

Purchase The Vanishing Trial on Amazon, link here.

[email protected]

https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/k/katzberg-robert

Also, Forbes: Walt Pavlo’s review of Bob’s book, The Vanishing Trial. Link here.

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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

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Click image for interview

Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.

Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.

Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here .

Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.

Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.

Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.

Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.

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Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

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All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy

Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

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Jeff Grant

What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

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Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

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Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

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Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! [email protected]

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Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Production: Chloe Coppola

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

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It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

February 3 2021

USA Today: Ex-offenders Struggle to Find Jobs Amid Pandemic, feat. Our Friends Bill Livolsi & Richard Bronson

Jeff Grant Blog 70millionjobs.com, bill livolsi, commissary.club, crime, criminal justice, Federal prison, fraud, incarceration, JEFF GRANT, prisonist.org, progressive prison ministries, richard bronson, USA Today, white collar, white collar week, white collar week podcast, white collar week with jeff grant, white-collar crime, white-collar support group

Congratulations to our friends Bill Livolsi and Richard Bronson on being featured in this article in USA Today. Bill is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings. Richard was a recent guest on our podcast, White Collar Week. PS Nice “mug shot” Bill! – Jeff

“You just want to … have a chance.”

Reprinted from USA Today, by Charisse Jones, Feb. 3, 2021

Back in 2015, Bill Livolsi Jr. had no trouble finding work even though he’d been convicted of wire fraud and was upfront with potential employers about his crime.

But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am applying to jobs left, right and sideways, ” says Livolsi, who has been looking for work since April when he was released from federal prison after serving a 13-month sentence for the crime. “It is extremely difficult … They’re picking the cream of the crop when there are opportunities.”

Almost 1 in 3 adults in the United States has a criminal record, and finding a job when you have a past arrest or conviction has never been easy. But it’s become even more difficult in the midst of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 health crisis that has left millions of Americans unemployed and significantly increased the competition for jobs, public policy experts say.

“Because of COVID-19 … everybody is having a harder time, and that would be exacerbated for people who are being released from prison,” says Kristen Broady, policy director for the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, which focuses on economic policy.

Low-wage positions, a lifeline for those with limited prospects, are in high demand and short supply. Restaurants and other industries that offer lower-paying jobs have struggled amid shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. And with a national unemployment rate of 6.7%, employers who have their pick of applicants may be less inclined to hire someone with a record, Broady and others say.

The hiring dip threatens to slow the progress led by a growing number of states and municipalities to restore the rights of ex-offenders. They are passing laws that wipe criminal records clean, allow some who’ve committed felonies to vote, and bar employers from asking about criminal histories early in the hiring process.

Most urgently, the hiring slowdown may make it harder for the 620,000 men and women released from prison each year to get a fresh start and contribute to their communities, advocates and ex-offenders say.

“Meaningful employment is crucial,” says Livolsi, 61, who lives in Owasso, Oklahoma. “It’s crucial to rebuild your self-esteem, to rebuild your ties with your family, and just to be able to put food on the table.’’

COVID makes hiring harder

The jobless rate for those who’ve been incarcerated has typically been much higher than the general population. A Brookings report published in March 2018 found that 45% of those released from prison did not have any reported pay in the first calendar year after they returned home.

The current jobless rate for those who’ve been incarcerated is unclear, but placement services that work with ex-offenders believe it’s risen during a pandemic that has caused unemployment to soar across the board.

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), which provides transitional employment, coaching and job placement for those released from prison, made 368 placements in April 2019. But in April 2020, near the start of the COVID-19 health crisis, only 140 of its applicants were able to find work.

Similarly, for the period between July 1 and December 31, 2019, CEO found jobs for 1,793 of its applicants, but placements dropped by half, to 900, during that same period last year.

“We already know that in hiring, people with convictions face tremendous hurdles and I think COVID has just exacerbated those situations,” says Chris Watler, CEO’s chief external affairs officer.

70 Million Jobs, an employment agency for those with criminal records, says it was particularly successful in finding former offenders jobs in shipping, warehouses and food processing plants. But as the pandemic took hold, “business dropped almost overnight, by 90%,” says its founder Richard Bronson.

“We were doing very well and then we were virtually out of business,” says Bronson, a former financial services executive who started the agency after he served time in prison.

Will they commit more crimes?

Job seekers who are ex-offenders have to overcome stigma and suspicions that they can’t be trusted and may be prone to commit another crime, Bronson says. But historically low unemployment rates before the pandemic, which left tens of thousands of jobs unfilled, made employers more receptive to applicants who’d been incarcerated.

The need for workers also boosted efforts by organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management to get employers to commit to giving qualified applicants with a criminal record an equal chance to be hired.

But barriers to employment have remained steep. A majority of employers still check to see if job applicants have past convictions, and a host of laws prohibit people convicted of a felony from getting licenses necessary to work in various higher-paying fields such as health care or cosmetology.

Those obstacles have ramifications for not only the individuals who struggle to find work, but the economy as a whole, social justice experts say. ·

“There is a public safety angle if people can’t find jobs when released from prison,” says Ames Grawert, senior counsel for the Justice Program at New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice. “It’s more likely they’ll return to crime which no one wants. And there’s research that homelessness is more likely and deep poverty… Even those who do find jobs earn shockingly less than their peers.”

The economy suffers

The broader labor market suffers as well. When those with felony convictions or who’ve been incarcerated struggle to find jobs, the economy loses out on roughly 1.7 to 1.9 million workers, and between $78 billion and $87 billion in gross domestic product, according to a paper by the Center for Economic and Policy research (CEPR), released in June, 2016, that examined 2014 data.

Having a job can help reduce the chance ex-offenders will commit new crimes, though the quality of the position and the ability to earn higher wages is key to success as well, research shows

Getting Out And Staying Out (GOSO), a New York area re-entry program, says that recidivism rates for its participants who’ve gone to school, undergone training, received mentorship or gotten jobs in the previous 90 days are 15% or lower, compared with 67% for young men in a similar age group nationwide. The recidivism rates for its participants dropped as low as 10% early on in the pandemic, says Sonya Shields, GOSO’s Chief Operating Officer.

Eager to use new skills in jobs

Chauncey Floyd, who returned home last year after serving nearly 16 years in prison, says that like him, many former offenders just want to move on from their pasts and provide for themselves and their families.

Floyd says he was eager to find a job using the computer programming skills he learned while incarcerated. But conversations with potential employers usually end when he tells them he has a record.

“I was … trying to find a career, not necessarily trying to grab a job just to have one,’’ says Floyd, 46, who is living with family members in South Carolina.

He’s now looking for more manual positions and hopes to eventually start his own business. “You just want to basically have a chance,’’ Floyd says. “Me, going to prison, I don’t want to pay for it for the rest of my life … Some people actually just want to do better.’’

Don’t ask about criminal records in job interviews

While hiring has slowed, larger efforts to give ex-offenders more opportunities continue, advocates and public policy experts say.

Twenty-six states and Washington D.C. have passed legislation that bar employers in the public or private sectors from asking early in the hiring process if an applicant has a criminal record, says Michael Hartman of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Civil & Criminal Justice Program.

And several states, including Pennsylvania, California, North Carolina, and Utah, have passed or are considering “clean slate” laws that automatically clear the records of some offenders after a certain amount of time, according to a compilation of research on reentry hurdles and initiatives by the Center for American Progress, National Employment Law Project and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

On the federal level, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the “Clean Slate Act” in December which would automatically seal the federal records of those arrested for simple drug possession. Those convicted of such offenses would have their records sealed after they finish their sentence. And the legislation would also create a framework for ex-offenders to request the sealing of records for other nonviolent crimes.

“That was a real breakthrough,” Grawert said of the bipartisan bill, which if passed will make it easier for people who’ve been arrested or convicted to find work without answering questions about their past.

Promises after George Floyd death

Promises by many businesses to address systemic racism in the wake of the protests that followed the killings of George Floyd and other African Americans could also open up opportunities for the formerly incarcerated, who are disproportionately Black and Latino, advocates say.

“I’m hopeful because I see in the job seekers that I work with a real passion to work, to contribute, to grow,” says Watler. “And increasingly I’m seeing employers … waking up to the fact that their practices have to evolve.”

February 3 2021

USA Today: Ex-offenders Struggle to Find Jobs Amid Pandemic, feat. Our Friends Bill Livolsi & Richard Bronson

Congratulations to our friends Bill Livolsi and Richard Bronson on being featured in this article in USA Today. Bill is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings. Richard was a recent guest on our podcast, White Collar Week. PS Nice “mug shot” Bill! – Jeff

“You just want to … have a chance.”

Reprinted from USA Today, by Charisse Jones, Feb. 3, 2021

Back in 2015, Bill Livolsi Jr. had no trouble finding work even though he’d been convicted of wire fraud and was upfront with potential employers about his crime.

But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am applying to jobs left, right and sideways, ” says Livolsi, who has been looking for work since April when he was released from federal prison after serving a 13-month sentence for the crime. “It is extremely difficult … They’re picking the cream of the crop when there are opportunities.”

Almost 1 in 3 adults in the United States has a criminal record, and finding a job when you have a past arrest or conviction has never been easy. But it’s become even more difficult in the midst of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 health crisis that has left millions of Americans unemployed and significantly increased the competition for jobs, public policy experts say.

“Because of COVID-19 … everybody is having a harder time, and that would be exacerbated for people who are being released from prison,” says Kristen Broady, policy director for the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, which focuses on economic policy.

Low-wage positions, a lifeline for those with limited prospects, are in high demand and short supply. Restaurants and other industries that offer lower-paying jobs have struggled amid shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. And with a national unemployment rate of 6.7%, employers who have their pick of applicants may be less inclined to hire someone with a record, Broady and others say.

The hiring dip threatens to slow the progress led by a growing number of states and municipalities to restore the rights of ex-offenders. They are passing laws that wipe criminal records clean, allow some who’ve committed felonies to vote, and bar employers from asking about criminal histories early in the hiring process.

Most urgently, the hiring slowdown may make it harder for the 620,000 men and women released from prison each year to get a fresh start and contribute to their communities, advocates and ex-offenders say.

“Meaningful employment is crucial,” says Livolsi, 61, who lives in Owasso, Oklahoma. “It’s crucial to rebuild your self-esteem, to rebuild your ties with your family, and just to be able to put food on the table.’’

COVID makes hiring harder

The jobless rate for those who’ve been incarcerated has typically been much higher than the general population. A Brookings report published in March 2018 found that 45% of those released from prison did not have any reported pay in the first calendar year after they returned home.

The current jobless rate for those who’ve been incarcerated is unclear, but placement services that work with ex-offenders believe it’s risen during a pandemic that has caused unemployment to soar across the board.

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), which provides transitional employment, coaching and job placement for those released from prison, made 368 placements in April 2019. But in April 2020, near the start of the COVID-19 health crisis, only 140 of its applicants were able to find work.

Similarly, for the period between July 1 and December 31, 2019, CEO found jobs for 1,793 of its applicants, but placements dropped by half, to 900, during that same period last year.

“We already know that in hiring, people with convictions face tremendous hurdles and I think COVID has just exacerbated those situations,” says Chris Watler, CEO’s chief external affairs officer.

70 Million Jobs, an employment agency for those with criminal records, says it was particularly successful in finding former offenders jobs in shipping, warehouses and food processing plants. But as the pandemic took hold, “business dropped almost overnight, by 90%,” says its founder Richard Bronson.

“We were doing very well and then we were virtually out of business,” says Bronson, a former financial services executive who started the agency after he served time in prison.

Will they commit more crimes?

Job seekers who are ex-offenders have to overcome stigma and suspicions that they can’t be trusted and may be prone to commit another crime, Bronson says. But historically low unemployment rates before the pandemic, which left tens of thousands of jobs unfilled, made employers more receptive to applicants who’d been incarcerated.

The need for workers also boosted efforts by organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management to get employers to commit to giving qualified applicants with a criminal record an equal chance to be hired.

But barriers to employment have remained steep. A majority of employers still check to see if job applicants have past convictions, and a host of laws prohibit people convicted of a felony from getting licenses necessary to work in various higher-paying fields such as health care or cosmetology.

Those obstacles have ramifications for not only the individuals who struggle to find work, but the economy as a whole, social justice experts say. ·

“There is a public safety angle if people can’t find jobs when released from prison,” says Ames Grawert, senior counsel for the Justice Program at New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice. “It’s more likely they’ll return to crime which no one wants. And there’s research that homelessness is more likely and deep poverty… Even those who do find jobs earn shockingly less than their peers.”

The economy suffers

The broader labor market suffers as well. When those with felony convictions or who’ve been incarcerated struggle to find jobs, the economy loses out on roughly 1.7 to 1.9 million workers, and between $78 billion and $87 billion in gross domestic product, according to a paper by the Center for Economic and Policy research (CEPR), released in June, 2016, that examined 2014 data.

Having a job can help reduce the chance ex-offenders will commit new crimes, though the quality of the position and the ability to earn higher wages is key to success as well, research shows

Getting Out And Staying Out (GOSO), a New York area re-entry program, says that recidivism rates for its participants who’ve gone to school, undergone training, received mentorship or gotten jobs in the previous 90 days are 15% or lower, compared with 67% for young men in a similar age group nationwide. The recidivism rates for its participants dropped as low as 10% early on in the pandemic, says Sonya Shields, GOSO’s Chief Operating Officer.

Eager to use new skills in jobs

Chauncey Floyd, who returned home last year after serving nearly 16 years in prison, says that like him, many former offenders just want to move on from their pasts and provide for themselves and their families.

Floyd says he was eager to find a job using the computer programming skills he learned while incarcerated. But conversations with potential employers usually end when he tells them he has a record.

“I was … trying to find a career, not necessarily trying to grab a job just to have one,’’ says Floyd, 46, who is living with family members in South Carolina.

He’s now looking for more manual positions and hopes to eventually start his own business. “You just want to basically have a chance,’’ Floyd says. “Me, going to prison, I don’t want to pay for it for the rest of my life … Some people actually just want to do better.’’

Don’t ask about criminal records in job interviews

While hiring has slowed, larger efforts to give ex-offenders more opportunities continue, advocates and public policy experts say.

Twenty-six states and Washington D.C. have passed legislation that bar employers in the public or private sectors from asking early in the hiring process if an applicant has a criminal record, says Michael Hartman of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Civil & Criminal Justice Program.

And several states, including Pennsylvania, California, North Carolina, and Utah, have passed or are considering “clean slate” laws that automatically clear the records of some offenders after a certain amount of time, according to a compilation of research on reentry hurdles and initiatives by the Center for American Progress, National Employment Law Project and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

On the federal level, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the “Clean Slate Act” in December which would automatically seal the federal records of those arrested for simple drug possession. Those convicted of such offenses would have their records sealed after they finish their sentence. And the legislation would also create a framework for ex-offenders to request the sealing of records for other nonviolent crimes.

“That was a real breakthrough,” Grawert said of the bipartisan bill, which if passed will make it easier for people who’ve been arrested or convicted to find work without answering questions about their past.

Promises after George Floyd death

Promises by many businesses to address systemic racism in the wake of the protests that followed the killings of George Floyd and other African Americans could also open up opportunities for the formerly incarcerated, who are disproportionately Black and Latino, advocates say.

“I’m hopeful because I see in the job seekers that I work with a real passion to work, to contribute, to grow,” says Watler. “And increasingly I’m seeing employers … waking up to the fact that their practices have to evolve.”

February 1 2021

The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant, with Guest: Robyn Porter, CT Representative, Fri., Feb. 5, 2021 at 9 am ET

Jeff Grant Media, Podcasts, Recent/Upcoming Events & Appearances alpha sigma lambda, babz rawls ivy, community foundation for greater new haven, connecticut, criminal justice, criminal justice insider, criminal justice insider with babz rawls ivy and jeff grant, criminal justice reform, ct state legislature, ct state representative, incarceration, JEFF GRANT, new haven, new haven independent, phi theta kappa, prison, prisoner reentry, robyn porter, second chance, wnhh

Join us on Friday, February 5th at 9 am EST, Connecticut State Representative Robyn Porter will be our guest on the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant – Live on WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, rebroadcast at 5 pm. Live-streamed on Facebook Live. On podcast platforms 24/7 everywhere. The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast is sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

Listen on SoundCloud:

Robyn Porter

State Representative Robyn Porter was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in April 2014 following a special election. Since winning the 94th Assembly District seat, Porter has championed legislation that has provided fair wages and work spaces for Connecticut’s workers, reformed the state’s criminal justice system and increased protections for domestic violence victims.

Porter has been a member of the both the Appropriations and Judiciary committees. She has authored and sponsored legislation that restores respect, dignity and fairer treatment for incarcerated women, prohibits a judge from setting bail for those charged with misdemeanors, outlaws the solitary confinement of minors, requires more data from prosecutors and strengthens transparency between law enforcement and the public.

At the beginning of her second full term in January 2017, Porter was named House chairwoman of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. Under her leadership, Connecticut workers have benefited from tremendous progress in the workplace. Representative Porter has:

Championed legislation that strengthened gender pay equity laws, which had not been updated since 1963
Led a 14-hour debate in the House to raise the minimum hourly wage to $15 an hour by 2023
Led a nearly 8-hour debate that establishes the Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Program, the most generous paid leave program in the country to date
Led the creation of the Council on the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record
Expanded Workers’ Compensation Benefits to firefighters and police officers diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

In her role as the co-chair of the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force, Porter has worked tirelessly on legislation to ensure that school boards employ at least 250 new minority teachers and administrators across Connecticut, and also helped to champion the passage of African- American and Latino studies in the public school curriculum.

Porter graduated from Gateway Community College with an Associate’s Degree and later obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Charter Oak State College. She completed both programs with honors and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa International and the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Societies.

She was employed by the Communication Workers of America from 2001 to 2017, is a longtime community activist who served as co-chairwoman of the Steering Committee for the Newhallville Community Resilience Team (NCRT). During her tenure at NCRT, the committee focused on increasing public safety by building social cohesion.

Porter is the proud parent of two adult children, Akeem and Aminah, and the spirited grandmother of Alana and Amir. She is a native New Yorker who has resided in New Haven, CT since the summer of 2000 and proudly calls it home.

Bio from https://www.housedems.ct.gov/Porter/Biography

Facebook

Contact

____________________

Please tell your friends, colleagues and clients:

The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant is broadcast live at 9 am ET on the first and third Friday of each month from the WNHH 103.5 FM studios in New Haven. It is rebroadcast on WNHH at 5 pm ET the same day.

Our Web Page: prisonist.org/criminal-justice-insider

Our Facebook Page:

facebook.com/criminaljusticeinsider

Our Twitter handle: @insidercj

Our Instagram handle: @criminaljusticeinsider

The show is live-streamed and podcasted anytime/anywhere at:

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http://newhavenindependent.org

Facebook Live:

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The show is also archived at:

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/new-haven-independent/sets/criminal-justice-insider

Community Foundation of Greater New Haven website:

https://www.cfgnh.org/LeadingOnIssues/IncarcerationandReentry/CriminalJusticeInsiderRadioArchives.aspx

An article about each show is published a few days later in the New Haven Independent (newhavenindependent.org).

Please “like” us on Facebook!

More info here.

Contact us: [email protected]

Criminal Justice Insider Sponsored by:

January 29 2021

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 22, Guest: The Goddess, Babz Rawls Ivy

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White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 22, Guest: The Goddess, Babz Rawls Ivy

Today on the podcast we have my dear friend, The Goddess, Babz Rawls Ivy. Many of you know Babz as she is my co-host on our radio show and podcast, Criminal Justice Insider. We are in our fourth season of Criminal Justice Insider, still the only regularly scheduled criminal justice radio program in Connecticut, although we have many national justice-related guests, as well.

Trigger alert: in this episode, we go deep into Babz’s story of childhood abuse and trafficking. We also discuss Babz’s incredible life since, from attending Barber-Scotia College, a historically Black college in the South, voter registration with Andrew Young and Rev. Jesse Jackson, earning a Master of Public Administration at Baruch College in New York City, rape crisis counseling, and then as an Alderman in New Haven, where she ran afoul with the law. After serving time in Danbury Federal Prison, Babz went on to be lifted up and serve as Editor of the Inner City News in New Haven, radio show host of her talk show, LoveBabz LoveTalk, and board member of many arts and justice non-profits in New Haven, CT.

So coming up, The Goddess. Babz Rawls Ivy. On White Collar Week. We hope you will join us. – Jeff

Babz is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

Watch on YouTube:

______________________________

If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

______________________________

Guests on this Episode:

Babz Rawls Ivy

Babz Ivy Rawls, brilliant, charismatic, tireless, multi-talented, fixture of the New Haven and Connecticut community. A few of her roles include being a mother and interviewer of everyone from politicians to formerly incarcerated people to practitioners to academics about prison industrial complex issues on the Criminal Justice Insider radio show. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Inner-City News, “a 29-year Black-owned print publication working to hold the stories and images of local and global Black people sacred.” Babz embodies the triumph made in spite of experiencing challenges faced by many other formerly incarcerated women. She uses her vibrant voice to inform and influence people about her causes and her community.

Contact Information:

203-645-9278
[email protected]

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.

Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.

Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here .

Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.

Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.

Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.

Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.

______________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

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Jeff Grant

What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! [email protected]

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Production: Chloe Coppola

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

January 28 2021

CFO Dive: Jeff Grant: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman

Jeff Grant Blog cfo dive, corona, coronavirus, covid-19, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, eidl, Federal prison, JEFF GRANT, PPP, PPP2, redemption, robert freedman, SBA, sbaloan, white collar, white collar week, white collar week podcast, white collar week with jeff grant, white-collar support group

Taking money hastily can create more problems than it solves if the additional resources aren’t tethered to need.

Screen grab/CFO Dive, data from White Collar Week

Huge thanks to Robert Freedman for writing and publishing this article that appears on CFO Dive this morning.

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Reprinted from CFODive.com, Author: Robert Freedman @RobertFreedman, Published, Jan. 27, 2021

Taking a paycheck protection program (PPP) loan or other federally backed assistance to get through the pandemic will make your problem worse if you don’t have a realistic plan for the money, a former business owner convicted of federal loan fraud says in a White Collar Week podcast.

Jeff Grant, whose 20-person law firm was struggling when the federal government made emergency loans available after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said he rushed to get the money without thinking through how best to use it. The result was a 13-month jail stint.

“It was raw desperation,” said Grant, who today focuses on helping other white collar criminals navigate a post-crime life. “At that point I was losing my business. I would have done anything for any gasp of air to try to save my business.”

EIDL loan

Grant applied for a $250,000 loan under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, a resource that, along with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the federal government has once more made available, this time for pandemic-hit businesses.

To increase his chances of getting the money, he said on his application that his business was located across the street from Ground Zero in Manhattan, when it wasn’t — a form of wire fraud — and he used the money to pay off his personal debt — a form of money laundering, because the program’s debt covenants restricted the money for use only in the business.

“I had run up [my credit card debt] in the months prior [to 9/11], trying to save my business,” he said. “I was paying 24% interest on the credit cards. The EIDL loan was about 3%. It seemed to make sense: replace the 24% money with 3% money.”

For two years afterward, Grant said, he had no idea he was being investigated.

“Risk of an audit never entered my mind,” he said. “It was immediately after 9/11: a huge problem for the nation. I was just this little guy who was never going to have to account for anything.”

In addition to his business struggles, Grant was wrestling with personal problems that had jeopardized his law license. Facts emerging from bar association proceedings related to his practice may have led the government to investigate him, he said.

“I just got a phone call from two federal agents who told me there was a warrant out for my arrest,” he said.

Rather than fight the charges, he admitted his crime.

“Just like a business decision, you work from the end-result back,” he said. “I knew I had done something wrong. I wanted to pay for my crime. I made full restitution. A lot of people spend a lot of time and money trying to wriggle out of it, but we’re in a world where over 95% of criminal prosecutions result in plea bargains. There are virtually no trials. The government gives you a disincentive to defend yourself at trial and an incentive to resolve it quickly.”

Vast sums of money

Against the pandemic backdrop, Grant said, the kind of fraud he committed after 9/11 is probably much greater today, with hundreds of billions of federal loan funds available to struggling businesses, essentially on an honor system, since applicants simply check a box to certify their eligibility.

“One of my concerns is, people are just kind of wading in [to these programs],” he said.

Unlike EIDL loans, PPP loans don’t have to be paid back if the proceeds are used for eligible purposes, like payroll and operating expenses.

The government is making almost $300 billion in PPP assistance available under the latest funding round, enacted in December. Applications close at the end of the first quarter. Prior to this latest round, the program had made some $500 billion available, so more than $800 billion could be circulating by the end of the first quarter.

Grant advises against using the funds, even though they’re easy to access, to shore up a business that was either struggling before the pandemic or doesn’t have a realistic plan for getting through it, because the cash infusion can’t solve a systemic problem.

“You fall prey to magical thinking,” he said. “Money usually exacerbates problems without a good plan.”

He later worked with a nonprofit that, to attract customers, charged less than it recouped to provide services. As a result, the more services it provided, the more money it lost. It took out a $1 million state grant.

“Without fixing the business model, it blew through the $1 million in 18 months,” he said.

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.

Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here .

Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here .

Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.

Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.

Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.

January 24 2021

Criminal Justice Cafe Podcast: Jacqueline Polverari Interviews Craig Stanland About His Upcoming Book, Blank Canvas: How I Reinvented My Life After Prison

Jeff Grant Blog blank canvas, craig stanland, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, evolution reentry, evolution reentry services, Federal prison, incarceration, jacqueline polverari, prison, TEDx, white collar, white-collar crime, white-collar support group

Congratulations to our friend and colleague, Jacqueline Polverari, on her new podcast Criminal Justice Cafe. In this episode, Jacquie interviews our friend and colleague, Craig Stanland, Author of the upcoming book, Blank Canvas: How I Reinvented My Life After Prison.

Both Jacquie and Craig are members of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.

Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.

Watch on YouTube:

Craig Stanland:

After hitting rock bottom, Craig Stanland was forced to make a choice: give up or rebuild. He thought he had “it all” until he lost sight of what’s truly important and made the worst decision of his life, losing everything along the way, including his own self-worth. Through the painful, terrifying process of starting over, Craig ultimately discovered that when you have nothing, anything is possible.

Today, Craig is an author, speaker, and Reinvention Architect. He specializes in working with people whose lives have fallen apart, helping them reinvent themselves by showing them how to rebuild their self-worth and create the extraordinary lives they’ve always wanted.

You can reach Craig at: craigstanland.com

Craig Stanland on The James Altucher Show: How to climb back up from the Rock Bottom! https://thejamesaltuchershow.com/618-craig-stanland-how-to-climb-back-up-from-the-rock-bottom/

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas with Guest: Craig Stanland: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-podcast-ep-11-the-blank-canvas-with-guest-craig-stanland/

TEDxNorthAdams: Craig Stanland: How I Learned My Greatest Worth in Prison, A White Collar Story: https://prisonist.org/tedx-northadams-craig-stanland-how-i-learned-my-greatest-worth-in-prison/

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, feat. Craig Stanland: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-podcast-episode-01-16-free-from-prison-an-evening-with-our-white-collar-support-group/

Jacqueline Polverari:

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.

Jacqueline has over 25 years’ experience as a professional with proven successes in business leadership, mentoring and therapeutic environments. Her experience working with trauma culminated after spending almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women and observing the trauma women experience related to being incarcerated. She has since dedicated herself to Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry services with a special focus on trauma and reentry services for women relating to incarceration. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, JustLeadershipUSA and #Cut50 and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country. She most recently designed and hosted the first retreat for women convicted of a white-collar crime in the country in October 2019. Jacqueline is working diligently to continue her education and has returned to school to obtain her Doctoral Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Criminal Justice.

For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].

January 24 2021

NBC Think: One of Joe Biden’s First Steps Should be to Fix Donald Trump’s Broken Criminal Justice Reform, by Chandra Bozelko & Ryan Lo

Jeff Grant Blog chandra bozelko, criminal justice, criminal justice reform, first step act, incarceration, JEFF GRANT, joe biden, national society of newspaper columnists, nbc think, President, prison, prison diaries, ryan lo, trump, unlabeled digital media, white-collar support group

Chandra Bozelko writes the award-winning blog Prison Diaries. You can follow her on Twitter at @ChandraBozelko and email her at [email protected]. She is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. Ryan Lo is a friend of our ministry who has been helpful in our outreach. – Jeff

After the photo ops ended, the former president’s vaunted First Step Act was barely implemented. The new administration must change that.

President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

By Chandra Bozelko, vice president, National Society of Newspaper Columnists and Ryan Lo, founder, Unlabeled Digital Media

Reprinted from NBCnews.com, Jan. 21, 2021

In its outgoing announcement of then-President Donald Trump’s accomplishments, the White House listed the First Step Act as “the first landmark criminal justice reform legislation ever passed to reduce recidivism and help former inmates successfully rejoin society.”

Anyone who wants to attribute any positive accomplishments to Trump shouldn’t include the First Step Act among them. The Trump administration followed neither the letter nor the spirit of the law.

Implementation of the law is where it would have had a demonstrable effect on the people it was meant to help; it’s also the part the executive branch is wholly responsible for, and the part the Trump administration has repeatedly failed at, causing many inmates to have to resort to court intervention.

As one might expect, whatever Trump giveth with one hand, he taketh away with the other.

It’s now up to President Joe Biden to implement the First Step Act as it was written — even though Trump is claiming credit for it.

Plenty of smart people have fallen for Trump’s tale: Last September, The New York Times published a “Fact-Checked List of Trump Accomplishments” and called the law a success; fully five of the 123 listed successes dealt with the law. Heck, even we begrudgingly credited Trump with doing something moral because of his support for the bill.

The law has two main objectives; to provide reductions in some federal sentences; and to incentivize people’s participation in rehabilitative programming. Like so much that is Trump, the law is inherently transactional: In exchange for 54 days off in “earned time credits” for every year of their sentence, federal inmates must complete classes and work at their prison jobs.

But the federal government isn’t giving inmates the credits they’ve earned: The process of granting credits was supposed to start last January, but inmates are already getting stiffed.

It’s now up to President Joe Biden to implement the First Step Act as it was written.

Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen has become a case study in exactly how Trump failed to implement his own signature prison reform. Last month, he filed two petitions: one seeking his earned time credits, which would mean he could be free in May — approximately one year early; and another to make sure that the Bureau of Prisons orders the credits be issued, which will help those who remain inside get the credits they too have earned.

If he wins his second petition, Cohen will have done more to force the implementation of the First Step Act than his former client did.

Cohen is not the only person facing this broken promise. His lawyer, Danya Perry — who represented Cohen last summer when he was re-incarcerated as retaliation for publishing his memoir, “Disloyal” — also represented the first petitioner to convince a court to grant him the time credits the Bureau of Prisons owed him under the law. Perry says her office is now receiving calls from all over the country from other incarcerated people who are trying to force the bureau to acknowledge the credits they have earned so that they aren’t unlawfully imprisoned past the date the statute says they can leave.

Glen Adkins Jr., an inmate at FCI Terminal Island, is among those fighting to assure that the Bureau of Prisons obeys the law. His petition notes that Trump’s Bureau of Prisons distributed an approved programs guide in October that changed the rules of the earned time credits program to limit the number of days that a person can shave off their sentence. That guide was issued without congressional approval, and directly contradicts the plain language of the First Step Act.

So far, the executive branch’s execution of the First Step Act has been replete with bad faith.

And while the criminal justice reform law contained a clause that said that these credits didn’t have to be implemented until 2022, that itself shows that Trump didn’t intend to provide relief to inmates who take their reform seriously. Allowing Trump to delay the implementation of his signature justice reform, while still taking credit for achieving it, amounts to taking another swig of Trump lies — something we’ve sworn off. Besides, the inmates have kept their part of the First Step Act bargain. So should he.

And the earned time credits aren’t the only part of the First Step Act that has been half-heartedly administered: amid a pandemic that has taken the lives of 204 federal inmates as of January 12 — some of whom might have been home before they were infected if the law had been followed — wardens denied 98 percent of compassionate release requests from coronavirus-infected inmates as of last May, even though the First Step Act expanded the criteria under which inmates could get some relief.

Biden can and should correct all of this immediately: Article II of the Constitution says that the president “shall take care that all laws are faithfully executed.” So far, the executive branch’s execution of the First Step Act has been replete with bad faith, though the judicial branch has offered some relief. The new president can and must reverse that by directing — via an executive order, if necessary — that all inmates receive their earned credits immediately and that wardens start giving real weight to compassionate release requests while the Covid-19 pandemic continues. It’s the perfect addition to Biden’s corrective agenda on Trump mistakes.

Meanwhile, we should all recognize that what everyone hailed as a historic change by the Trump administration was really just much of the same con as ever: a deal he made for the photo op with Kim Kardashian and the ability to stick it to his detractors. Don’t continue to give him credit for championing justice reform now that he’s gone; given how he chose not to honor the promise of this law for two years, the First Step Act so far has been more stumble than stride.

criminal justice

Chandra Bozelko writes the award-winning blog Prison Diaries. You can follow her on Twitter at @ChandraBozelko and email her at [email protected]. She is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. – Jeff

By Chandra Bozelko

Reprinted from The Connecticut Mirror, Feb. 12, 2021

Columns share an author’s personal perspective.

In April, former Commissioner of Department of Correction (DOC) Rollin Cook issued a department-wide memorandum requiring staff “to wear protective face-masks while on duty whenever social distancing is not possible.”

There are only three ways the virus can reliably enter a correctional facility: visits, new admissions and/or staff. The realities of prison life during COVID-19 take the first two options out of contention. It’s most likely that the staff who’s spreading the disease.

Visits can’t be the cause of the spread because in-person visits that allow contact have been suspended since March; the resumption of visits in October limited them to non-contact, which means the inmate and the visitor don’t even breathe the same air.

New admissions aren’t causing the spread, either. Incoming inmates are kept in quarantine for two weeks, more than enough time to assure that they’re not infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It’s the lack of masks on the staff that’s causing the spread. That’s where the evidence points.

While it’s been hard to connect with inmates because of a lockdown imposed to slow the virus’s spread, a few prisoners have reported the non-use of masks to family and friends.

Another woman took pictures of guards when she retrieved her cell phone from the lockers outside the visiting room at the same prison, MacDougall-Walker CI. One officer wasn’t wearing a mask at all and another had it slung around his chin.

A female inmate at York Correctional Institution, the state’s only women’s prison, that went without a single infection until September 2020, says guards aren’t wearing masks and she witnessed one maskless guard ask where he could get a COVID test.

Site visits to prisons rarely meet their expectations for oversight. When I was incarcerated at York CI, I watched last minute scrambles to throw fresh paint over dirty walls and to make the facility appear clean and in compliance when it probably wasn’t.

Elana Bildner, an attorney with the ACLU of Connecticut and one of two lawyers who represented plaintiffs in the McPherson suit, says that her office receives numerous complaints that identify the date, time and place within the prison where staff members don’t have masks on.

An email requesting clarification wasn’t answered by the Assistant Attorney General who acts as lead counsel for DOC in the McPherson v. Lamont litigation, Terrence O’Neill.

To be fair, the original mask memo was written when health experts didn’t know as much about the spread of the virus. It directed that masks were necessary when social distance of six feet was impossible. Now we know masks are necessary regardless of the stretch of space between two people.

Masks’ efficacy in reducing the spread of the virus — and even the resulting death rate — has been proven over and over again. And masking advice has changed and updated itself since the initial memo from former Commissioner Cook, even advancing to a direction to wear two masks now.

Chandra Bozelko writes the award-winning blog Prison Diaries. You can follow her on Twitter at @ChandraBozelko and email her at [email protected].

More from Chandra Bozelko:

Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.

Watch on YouTube:

Holli Coulman

Websites:

Podcasts:

Media:

Jacqueline Polverari:

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.

For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Podcast Ep. 23, Guest: The Vanishing Trial, with Robert Katzberg

Today on the podcast we have Bob Katzberg, a dean of the White Collar Bar who has seen it all as both a federal prosecutor in the EDNY and as a criminal defense trial lawyer.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are being prosecuted for a white collar crime, or any crime, this episode is a must-watch or listen-to.

So, coming up. Bob Katzberg. The Vanishing Trial. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

Watch on YouTube:

If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

Guests on this Episode:

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-9255" data-tf-not-load src="https://grantlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Robert-Katzberg.jpg" alt="" width="305" height="347" />

Robert Katzberg

Contact Information:

Also, Forbes: Walt Pavlo’s review of Bob’s book, The Vanishing Trial. Link here.

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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.

Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.

Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here.

Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.

Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.

Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.

Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.

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Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

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All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy

Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here .