In recent weeks I have been writing of the ongoing story involving dozens of Alabama sheriffs who have pocketing money from tax-funded accounts that were intended to feed inmates at local county jails throughout the state.
The story became more interesting when a witness who provided information about these crimes to the media was hunted down and arrested by police just days after making a statement. As I reported earlier this week, the witness, Matt Qualls was released from prison amid a massive public outcry that was sparked by many viral stories about the incident.
Qualls was arrested at a friend’s house while they were making cannabis butter. The police say that a neighbor called in an anonymous tip, and the timing was merely a coincidence, but police also carried out searches at multiple other addresses that were connected to Qualls, which seems excessive in a case that would otherwise be trivial. Even though there was just a small amount of cannabis found at the scene, the Etowah County Sheriff’s office wanted to charge him with trafficking, since the weight of the butter was over 2 pounds, even though most of that weight came from the butter, not the cannabis.The case against these sheriffs began to materialize a few months ago when it was discovered that Monroe County Sheriff Thomas Tate pocketed at least $110,000 from the prison food fund.
When lawyers and media began to investigate the story, they came across Matt Qualls, a local landscaper who cut grass for another Alabama sheriff, Todd Entrekin of Etowah County. Qualls said that Entrekin paid him $10 an hour to mow his lawn using checks that were labeled “Sheriff Todd Entrekin Food Provision Account.”
At the time when Quall's statement was published, Sheriff Tate with his $110,000 was the main focus of the investigation and the lawsuits against the sheriffs, however, once Entrekin was exposed, it was quickly revealed that he was an even worse offender, spending over a million dollars of various properties on a salary that is under 100,000 each year. With the level of his corruption being so extreme, it makes sense that he would go after a witness in the way that he did.
The Southern Center for Human Rights and the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice have been investigating this issue and were forced to file a lawsuit to gain access to the financial records of prisons and police departments throughout the state. The organizations sued 49 Alabama county sheriffs over their “refusal to produce public records showing whether, and if so by how much, they have personally profited from funds allocated for feeding people in their jails,” according to a statement they released last month.
A study last year found that incarcerated people are six times more likely to contract food-borne illnesses than the rest of the population.
Additional sources: http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/03/etowah_sheriff_pocketed_over_7.htmlTHIS WAS A STEEMIT EXCLUSIVE!!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
My name is John Vibes and I am an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. I write for numerous alternative media websites, including The Free Thought Project @tftproject and The Mind Unleashed. In addition to my first book, Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance, I have also co-authored three books with Derrick Broze @dbroze : The Conscious Resistance: Reflections on Anarchy and Spirituality, Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion and Manifesto of the Free Humans
I just won a 3-year-long battle with cancer, and will be working to help others through my experience, if you wish to contribute to my medical bills, consider subscribing to my podcast on Patreon.
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FIRSTLY...
Let me firstly thank you for covering and breaking this to our awesome community...
This sort of corruption and essentially "embezzlement" (technically legal or otherwise) STINKS.
BUT, does it surprise anybody here, reading this? i seriously doubt it!
Most of the abuse in current life is created by the very people who are "supposed" to protect and/or serve us. No matter what your views on prisoners are, this is wholeheartedly WRONG. Why should "so called" public servants be allowed to rape the system, mismanage OUR money and give less than WE DEMAND of them?
I am zero% surprised at the plight of Qualls, this is unsurprising and actually characteristic and indicative of what happens when you stand up, speak out and say NO!
I applaud your efforts and research and work on bringing this "despicable" story to the community and can i just say that the words...
"STEEMIT EXCLUSIVE"
Made me incredibly proud to be here and sharing the platform with people such as yourself.
With regard to the recent struggle you have had with your health, may I send love and best wishes for the future :)
On the above matter, do you use wheatgrass? have you researched it?
If not , please do as it will help to replenish your immune system to where it needs to be, so you can bring us more groundbreaking exclusives!!!
Keep on, keeping on, this sort of work and research is invaluable on holding the scum of society to account, may your journey be one filled with good health, joy and fulfillment :)
Excellent article and very good investigative journalism , at no small risk to yourself. There are so many people who need people like you .I take my hat off to you sir and keep it up .
Great blog post dude! Upvoted and followed
Perfect post
He can eat his own dog food.
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I look for quality content to upvote, and this hit the nail on the head!
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