Sunday, June 9, 1996

Officials Involved in Prison Food Deal Later Got Raises

By Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Within about a year of their approval of a controversial prison food purchase, three high-ranking prison officials each received annual pay raises exceeding $14,000, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.

The $33.6 million purchase of VitaPro, a soy-based meat substitute, is now the subject of a state-federal probe.

State payroll records show the salaries of three of the officials who signed off on the deal were increased 13 months later, the newspaper said.

In addition, William McCray, the top financial officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, received a one-time $9,200 bonus in that same time period.

But on Friday, two days after the Chronicle filed an open records request for information about the payment, McCray agreed to repay it.

The bonus and all of the pay raises were authorized by James A. "Andy" Collins, the former TDCJ director who resigned last December amid allegations of conflicts of interest and influence peddling.

A short time later, it was revealed that Collins - who had insisted that VitaPro be purchased and served daily to inmates - had gone to work for the company as a $1,000-a-day consultant, a position he no longer holds.

TDCJ spokesman Larry Todd said Friday there was nothing improper about the pay raises or McCray's bonus. He said the raises were tied to Collins' reorganization of the department and were among 27 pay increases granted that year.

The decision to buy VitaPro was made in November 1994. McCray and three other prison officials signed a "decision memorandum" to bypass formal bidding processes and purchase VitaPro, which spurred the probe into TDCJ buying and contracting practices.

Last October, director of prison industries Larry Kyle got a $14,481 annual pay raise that brought his base salary to $75,748, according to payroll records. Kyle has been suspended with pay during the VitaPro investigation.

The next month, McCray received the $9,200 bonus as retroactive compensation for additional duties he assumed when the position of data services director was vacant, records show.

Then, in December, McCray was promoted from deputy director to a newly created position of director of administrative services and got a $14,581 annual raise that boosted his base pay to $90,000.

David McNutt, the No. 2 financial officer, was promoted from assistant director to a newly created position of deputy director of administrative services. He got an $18,733 raise that brought his base salary to $80,000.

Caldwell Prejean, assistant director for purchasing and utilities, was the only one of the four who did not get a raise.

TDCJ documents show that the raises for McCray, McNutt and Kyle were by far the largest dollar raises granted under the department's reorganization.

The Chronicle said documents obtained from the governor's office show that Collins tried to give McCray and McNutt even fatter pay increases than what Gov. George W. Bush authorized.

In contrast, prison guards have not had a pay raise since 1991, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that represents some state guards.

Last month, Texas Comptroller John Sharp questioned the legality of the payment to McCray.

In a letter to Allan Polunsky, chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, Sharp said the amount paid "exceeds the authorized monthly rate of pay for the director of data services position."

"This means that the payment may have been for multiple months, which indicates there may have been a retroactive salary payment. Retroactive salary payments are prohibited by the Texas Constitution," Sharp wrote.

Wayne Scott, who succeeded Collins at the helm of TDCJ, responded about a week later that he had begun an investigation.