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State Corrections officials tried to discipline three Salinas Valley State Prison internal investigators allegedly tied to the "Green Wall," a gang-like organization of rogue guards who intimidated inmates and fellow employees, public records show.
But the discipline was overturned by the State Personnel Board, which rejects more than 60 percent of cases brought by the Department of Corrections and California Youth Authority. Senators leading an oversight hearing Monday say the repeated reversals "can chill the work environment if employees believe 'a few bad actors' have escaped punishment."
Corrections officials say the three internal affairs officers badly botched a cell search, triggering a fight in which the inmate and one of the three was injured.
In a lawsuit against the department and a whistleblower complaint to the Inspector General, former internal affairs officer Donald J. Vodicka alleges three of the four guards involved in the cell search repeatedly roughed up inmates -- in one case for ogling a female secretary.
The union attorney who represented the three guards referred calls to California Correctional Peace Officers Association Vice President Lance Corcoran. He said no one could comment on Vodicka's allegations because of the pending suit, but defended the personnel board's rejection of the departmental charges.
Vodicka and a current Salinas Valley guard who spoke on condition of anonymity said they personally observed the aftermath of several of the incidents in which the inmates required medical treatment, but not the alleged beatings themselves.
The four internal affairs officers were retaliating against a reputed gang leader after a March 2001 altercation between his gang and black inmates, Vodicka alleged.
The gang leader "was talking a bunch of trash to those guys, making them look bad" as they investigated the gang battle, Vodicka said. "They went to visit his cell to make a point."
Disciplinary records obtained by The Associated Press show the investigators claimed to have information the inmate had drugs in his cell, but never documented that claim as required.
They found gang materials but no drugs during the April 3, 2001, search, though the inmate allegedly flushed something down the toilet. They did find the makings of a crude knife, but failed to remove or report those items.
They also failed to handcuff the inmate as required. A fight ensued, with the inmate subsequently complaining of pain to his head and ankle. One of the officers, Michael Lashkoff, also was injured when the inmate punched him in the face.
Lashkoff, Fernando O. Chavez and Walter Faulkner were each charged with "inexcusable neglect of duty" and bringing discredit to the department. Chavez and Faulkner also were charged with dishonesty, and Faulkner with improperly taking home inmates' handkerchiefs and drawings.
The fourth guard was not charged, though Vodicka names him as a member of the Green Wall. Vodicka's internal complaint and subsequent lawsuit do not name Chavez as being involved, but allege Lashkoff kept a Green Wall insignia on the back of his motorcycle.
In a confidential report obtained earlier by the AP, the inspector general verified that Salinas Valley guards formed the Green Wall, also known as the "Code of Silence," after several guards were injured on Thanksgiving Day 1998.
Members repeatedly vandalized prison property with Green Wall markings, had a secret hand signal, and held parties featuring green beer. The internal investigators smuggled into the prison an engraved green-handled knife as a promotion gift for a sergeant.
Based mainly on the guards' testimony they acted properly, the personnel board ruled Dec. 17, 2002, that the charges lacked sufficient evidence.
More than half the Personnel Board's appeals come from the adult or youth prison systems, with most employees represented by the powerful guards' union. More than 60 percent of the discipline imposed by Corrections or Youth Authority officials is then modified or overturned.
Former Youth Authority Director Jerry Harper complained in an earlier Senate hearing that his efforts to clean up the troubled authority were thwarted because the board hired back most of people he fired.
That's largely because the correctional agencies do a poor job of pursuing disciplinary cases -- then the agencies and the personnel board wind up suing each other and costing taxpayers millions, said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, who is chairing Monday's hearing. The agencies also have disproportionately retaliated against whistleblowers themselves, which Speier called "a huge problem."
Union spokesman Corcoran said prison guards face too many discipline charges. Guard face a one-in-four chance of being disciplined during their career, he said, while charges are brought against one of 12 other state employees.
"Most cases where the employee is obviously guilty never got to the State Personnel Board," Corcoran said. "Only when the case is contested does it go to appeal."
Charges must be brought against guards within one year, instead of three years for non-peace officers. The process is so complex that 43 percent of cases fail for lack of timeliness, the inspector general found. More than half of completed cases are appealed, and the board must act within six months or the discipline is automatically reversed, under a court ruling obtained by the guards' union.
The Corrections Department "loses almost every case it takes to the State Personnel Board. Furthermore, in almost every case, the loss is caused by something that could and should have been prevented," a federal court-appointed overseer concluded this month in a report on the department's handling of internal investigations and discipline.
New Corrections Director Jeanne S. Woodford told the AP the department is working to streamline oversight of the disciplinary cases, including appointing a single attorney to see them through.
Vodicka alleged retaliation by prison officials after he reported the Green Wall's activities in 2001. He wore a bulletproof vest to testify before an earlier Senate hearing, and said he still fears for his life.
Within 12 days, the personnel board rejected his complaint for lack of evidence.
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