A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by a former prison officer who claimed he was retaliated against after exposing gladiator-style fights at the facility.
After an inmate was fatally shot in April 1994, Lt. Steve Rigg of Corcoran State Prison and fellow whistle-blower Richard Caruso went to the FBI with allegations that led to a trial against eight correctional officers.
The officers were accused of violating the rights of inmates by allegedly pitting them against each other. A jury acquitted the officers in June.
Judge David Levi recently found that Rigg failed to show any evidence that corrections officials ignored his complaints and created a hostile work environment. Rigg said he would appeal the decision.
Caruso was awarded $1.7 million last year in a civil rights suit charging retaliation at work. Caruso was able to establish that an internal investigation of him was pursued by the corrections department after he went to the FBI.
Prison authorities granted Rigg a job transfer to another state prison after he filed complaints about his work environment at Corcoran.