Pubdate: Tue, 09 Jul 2002 Source: Blade, The (OH) Copyright: 2002 The Blade Contact: http://www.toledoblade.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48 Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48 Author: Robin Erb, Blade staff writer TROUBLES DEEPEN AT NEW PRISON IN TOLEDO Drug Find Is Latest In Series Of Problems At least one inmate at Toledo's new state prison may have been able to buy more than candy bars and greeting cards at the commissary. In a supply locker, investigators recently found two sandwich bags of suspected marijuana. It's part of the most recent allegations of wrongdoing at the Toledo Correctional Institution - from the presence of marijuana contraband to sexual contact between staff and inmates. At least two managers are under investigation at the two-year-old prison. Warden Khelleh Konteh said most of his staff is "excellent," and wrongdoing will not be tolerated. "This is a new place, [and] it takes a while for people to realize what can be tolerated and not to be tolerated," he added. "A couple of bad apples should not put a blemish on other employees." In one of the most recent cases of misconduct, investigators found 97 grams - - about 3.5 ounces - of suspected marijuana in a supply locker in a restroom of the prison's commissary office June 25. The restroom was locked with limited access to the keys, said Cassandra Brewster, a trooper with the Ohio Highway Patrol. At least one manager has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Investigators believe the manager knew about the marijuana, but it is unclear if she was involved with the alleged drug transaction. On the street, that quantity of marijuana would be worth about $485, but inside the facility, it could be sold to inmates for three to five times that amount. One inmate has emerged as a primary suspect in the case, though the investigation continues, the trooper said. It was unclear how far-reaching the suspected operation was or how the inmate would have obtained cash. Caroline Haack, the warden's assistant, said inmates can have money sent to them or can earn money working inside the prison, but all money must go into a debit system operated by the prison. "They shouldn't have access to cash, but they got it anyhow," Trooper Brewster said. Charges have not yet been filed. That probe then led to unrelated allegations of sexual contact between inmates and at least two female staff members, the trooper said. She declined to give details, but said charges are pending in that case. In a third investigation, a unit manager who oversees a block of inmates is accused of using a prison computer to download a video of musician R. Kelly, who is accused of producing and distributing child pornography. The video is the source of a pending criminal case against the performer in Chicago. Trooper Brewster, who is assigned criminal investigations inside Toledo Correctional Institute, said the manager also is being investigated for allegedly sending personal e-mails and making long-distance personal phone calls. The allegations are not unique to the facility, said Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Rogols. "What Toledo is going through happens elsewhere," he said, adding that Toledo's problems are most likely more high profile because it is new and still in the public eye. Meanwhile, TCI employee Lois K. Serfozo, 42, of 907 West Broadway, Maumee, pleaded no contest to dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor. A corrections officer found Ms. Serfozo partly clothed with a food-service inmate. She was referred to a first-offender program run by the court. If she completes the program successfully, the case will be dismissed and her record cleared. Ms. Serfozo resigned from the $37,600-a-year job Dec. 16. Still pending is a case in which several employees are accused of setting up a fight between inmates and a case in which a guard is charged with punching another in the thigh during roll call. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens