Ohio prison inmates pirated movies and built computers from spare parts

[Wilhelm]

Ohio prison inmates pirated movies and built computers from spare parts, inspector general finds

 

In 2017, the Ohio inspector general found inmates at Marion Correctional Institution hid computers in the ceiling and used them to access inmate information and apply for credit and debit cards. A follow-up investigation released Tuesday found more abuse of the prison's computers.(Ohio Inspector General)

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Inmates at Ohio's Marion Correctional Institution assembled several dozen computers from various parts, pirated software and illegally copied movies to broadcast on the prison movie network, an investigation from the state inspector general has found.

The findings, released in a report Tuesday, stemmed from a previous 2017 investigation that found inmates hacked into the prison network, stole fellow prisoners' personal information and applied for credit cards in their names.

Both investigations found inmates were allowed to refurbish computers, illegally download files and access data-wiping software as late as 2016. Inspector General Randall Meyer referred Tuesday's report to the state auditor. The Ohio State Highway Patrol referred its investigation to the Marion County prosecutor for possible criminal charges.

The three employees mentioned in Tuesday's report, including then-Warden Jason Bunting, are no longer employed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, an agency spokeswoman said.

Inmates working for the Ohio Penal Industries' Prison News Network told investigators in August 2016 they copied movies rented by prison employees to computers, according to the report. The movies were then shown on the prison movie channel, which violated copyright law and the prison's contracts with two film distributing companies.

Cleveland nonprofit RET3 had contracted with Marion Correctional to disassemble and recycle donated computers. A former inmate who worked for RET3 after leaving prison smuggled a one-terabyte hard drive into the prison through an IT worker named Carl "Gene" Brady, according to the report.

The hard drive was stored in a printer in the Ohio Penal Industries area. State investigators found illegal software on the hard drive, as well as photos and videos.

Inmates told investigators that Brady and other prison staff allowed them to rebuild computers, which contained personal information of the devices' previous owners.

"But everybody was just putting their own computers together -- I'm telling you this place was wide open for 10 years," inmate Kevin Kingle told investigators. "There were hard drives everywhere. I mean it was just like we were on the streets."

Another inmate, who flagged the contraband hard drive for prison officials after he faced punishment for possessing contraband of his own, said he saw individuals' business records and credit card information on the computers.

"I have had people's last will and testaments on the computer," David Dean told investigators. "We get fully loaded computers that people unplug and donate. We read everything. We took anything we wanted off these computers."

Investigators counted 28 computers of different brands in the Prison News Network space that were not properly identified with serial numbers. Prison officials couldn't vouch for buying the various computer parts, and investigators concluded several state information technology rules were violated.

State prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said the agency has implemented many of the inspector general's recommendations and will take any additional steps necessary to prevent such actions in the future.

"It is important that safeguards are in place regarding inmate access to technology, while still providing opportunities for meaningful and rehabilitative programming," Smith said.