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| Ohio Gov. asks federal government to buy Youngstown prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/07/2001 |
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Gov. Bob Taft asked the federal government recently to buy a Youngstown private prison that is slated to close in August. Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, announced this week that it was closing the Youngstown facility Aug. 18, affecting 500 jobs. The prison, which opened in May 1997, houses inmates from the District of Columbia. Nashville-based CCA said it decided to close NOCC after it lost its contract with the District of Columbia. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is about to take over jurisdiction of the DC prison system and plans to use other prisons. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Taft asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the DC prison system to consider buying NOCC. 'It occurs to me that the acquisition of the NOCC by the Federal Bureau of Prisons would quickly assist in alleviating crowding in the federal prison system and utilize a trained work force familiar with an existing prison operation,' Taft said. Closure of NOCC, the state's only privately run, privately owned prison, would have a 'serious economic impact on Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley community,' Taft said. NOCC is one of the largest employers in Youngstown, which is still trying to recover from the loss of thousands of steel jobs more than 20 years ago. The prison has an annual payroll of about $11 million and paid the city $250,000 in income tax last year. CCA has said it will reopen the prison if it wins a new contract to house inmates. The 2,016-bed facility currently houses 350 inmates. |
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