The Keefe Group has put their kiosks in prisons around the United States. They have worked hard to make sure that they are doing the right thing in prisons and this has led to them becoming the number one prison provider in the country. It has allowed them the chance to get into various areas around the country.

When they first started, they were a commissary kiosk. They wanted to help the people who were in prison to get what they needed or wanted while they were there. This meant that they needed to get their system set up to work with the prison payment system and with the way that family members could send money in. They used this opportunity to expand into a payment company for people who are in prison. They have been able to further expand that into handling the payroll for the prisoners who do jobs in the prison.

Within the kiosks, inmates can also communicate with people on the outside. The kiosks allow the inmates to communicate with their loved ones by phone in almost all locations. Some locations have email communication for inmates and people on the outside which makes things much easier for the inmates and the administration who monitors this communication. It is easy for inmates to make sure that they are talking to the right loved ones because of the way that they system is set up for them to be able to make calls and to even send emails.

While The Keefe Group is in a lot of places around the United States, there are still some places that they are not in. They are hoping to work with the administrators in these prisons to be able to provide them with the kiosks in the prisons. This will allow them the chance to make a difference in even more prisons. The ultimate goal of the Keefe Group is to be in every prison across the United States and to eventually expand to other prisons that are in other countries around the world aside from the United States prison systems. For the full company profile, visit corrections.com.

• http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2014/11/prisoners-are-money-keefe-404-million-g.html

I guess some companies just want to profit off of prisoners. I always thought that prisoners should have a chance to improve themselves and not be taken advantage of, but Keefe Group has a different idea. Keefe is a company founded in 1975 in St. Louis that offers food, clothing, electronics, and more to correctional facilities in over ten states in the U.S.
Apparently, they were involved in a big bribery scandal. Two men from Gainsville Florida called Joseph Deese and Edward Dugger just pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kickbacks associated with two high ranking officials in the prison system and Keefe Group. The two men apparently met Allen Clark and James Crosby, who introduced them to prison guard groups and allowed them access to participate in vending businesses. This was also after Crosby introduced the couple to the former president of Keefe Group, Jack Donnelly. Keefe virtually owns all the prison services and makes huge profit off of them.

However, this story appears to be one of pure greed. Dugger and Deese were able to offer canteen services to all Florida prison visitors, which got them $1.5 million per year. They offered bribes for that opportunity though. They gave Clark and Allen about $14k each month and a whopping $250k per year to Donnelly. Learn more about Keefe on corrections.com.

However, here’s where it gets even more messed up. Clark and Crosby stepped down from their posts and served their prison terms. It’s been five years since that happened. And Dugger and Deese finally made a plea deal, admitting to their wrongdoing after prosecutors produced evidence in the form of taped phone conversations. However, Keefe Group has not been charged with anything. The reason is because they are too well connected with politicians, according to some sources. I have to agree, it’s just unfair that they get away with it.

Related Links:
cdispatch.com

http://www.prisoncensorship.info/article/fight-keefe-food-group-corruption/

Global Tel-Link is considered a prison profiteer. It is a prison calling system that many facilities use to allow inmates to call home so that they can talk to family and friends. If you think that you’re phone company charges too much money for a long distance call, try using Global Tel. The company easily makes millions each year from families who don’t really have the money to spend on the calls. However, the company offers kickbacks to the facilities, which means that the jail or prison gets a boost from every call that is made.
The facility doesn’t really care about the high price that is associated with each call and according to Bloomberg, Global Tel doesn’t care because the company is making money. It knows that people will pay the money if they really want to talk to someone who is behind bars. It’s taking advantage of families with children who want to talk to a parent who isn’t in the home. Some families aren’t able to go visit their family members, and the phone is the only way that they can talk. It doesn’t mean that Global Tel should charge an outrageous amount just to stay in touch with the people they love. For more info, read the review made by mythreecents.com on Global-tel-link.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-tellink-expresses-grave-concern-with-proposed-fcc-decision-on-inmate-calling-services-300164830.html

I have a tendency to trust people, even big corporations. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, it seems one big company in the communications industry has been acting badly. Global Tel-Link is one of the largest inmate communications company, which is something I just learned. I have never seen a company act so childish and illusive. I found out that they have been launching a smear campaign against their biggest competitor, Securus. There is nothing wrong with a little competition, especially because it helps maintain the market and keep prices reasonable, but what Global Tel-Link is doing is something else completely.
The company attempted to show that Securus had been stealing technology and passing it off as their own. Securus came in and immediately proved the accusation to be wrong. It was a clear attempt to besmirch the company and one that was poorly thought out since there was no evidence of such a violation. This means that the company deliberately made up a lie just to make another company look bad, which is something that I would only expect from a misbehaving child.

The issues (watch this YouTube video) surrounding this company do not stop there because they are also undergoing an investigation. Apparently, this company and others have been fraudulently making money off of inmates and their families. For one, the amount of money that the people were charged to make a phone call was 89 cents per minute, which is already robbery. This company was also charging hidden fees to most of their users, not to mention adding minutes that were not used to jack up the final amount that would be owed to them.

Companies like Global Tel-Link definitely deserve to be taught a lesson because the people of this country deserve a lot better than them. Visit ACLU.org to leasrn more.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/us/steep-costs-of-inmate-phone-calls-are-under-scrutiny.html?_r=0
http://www.globaltellinkreviews.com/

Falling right in line with today’s discoveries of widespread corruption on various fronts, one area that has until more recently remained relatively unscathed is the corruption found within many of the correctional institutions and leading businesses of our nation. Quite honestly, I wonder sometimes if our correctional system has the right people behind bars.
Some Background Information

In particular, one such corruption discovery involved a leading St. Louis-based business entity known as the Keefe Group and two Gainesville, FL businessmen. Specializing in lucrative correctional enterprises with affiliated divisions such as IC Solutions since 1975, the Keefe Group, and the Keefe Commissary Network in particular, are mega suppliers of food, personal care and clothing items for prisons. Apparently, that’s not all they’ve been dabbling in. View the full Keefe profile on corrections.com.

For one thing, IC Solutions in Arizona has been charging inmates and their families $50 for 15-minute guaranteed calls, yet they routinely rig the calls to drop after five or ten minutes. According to many insiders, Keefe and IC Solutions are attributed as being the biggest corrupt non-bid vendors in the nation.

How This Corruption Works

As I understand it, the prisoners are paying up to 60 percent higher for personal items than if they were bought outside the system or through other vendors who bid for Federal Department of Corrections (FDOC) contracts.

According to one Tampa Bay News item that I read, two Gainesville businessmen confessed to offering to pay bribes to state prison officials and Keefe Commissary Network officials.

One of the men, an Allstate Insurance agency owner, supported one of the former prison officials before the official received a 2003 appointment by then Governor Jeb Bush. Shortly thereafter, the businessman began selling insurance within the prison system.

It Gets Messier Yet

Both businessmen agreed to pay two former high-ranking prison officials between $1,000 and $14,000 monthly. Another agreement was made to pay a former Keefe Commissary president and Keefe executive about $260,000 from $1.5 million of their expected earnings.

The Outcome So Far

Five years have gone by, and no charges at all have been brought against Keefe Commissary officials or any other Keefe affiliated company such as IC Solutions. Evidently, the tentacles of Keefe extend into dozens of other states, and its political connections reach even further. More facts about Keefe can be found on cdispatch.com and http://www.prisoncensorship.info/article/fight-keefe-food-group-corruption/.

Keeping in touch with your loved ones has taken a back seat for far too long and Global Tel-Link has created many technological features that are designed to give you clarity and save you money. Global Tel-Link has been around for over ten years keeping many families connected when they have a loved one in jail. Their services are affordable and reliable for a fraction of the cost of their competitors. A recent merger with JPay Services has created endless opportunities for more calling features that provides better service quality. Global Tel-Link has had a successful fourth quarter that was reported in a recent PR News article.
Features Available For Global Tel-Link Customers

Inmate Voicemail

There is a great voicemail feature for inmates that allows them to retrieve messages when they have access to the telephone. This is quality feature that still provides government mandated monitoring and surveillance. You can use this feature if you need an inmate to call you at a certain time and never miss a call from your loved ones.

Video Calling

You can use the video chat feature to talk to your loved ones for a fraction of the cost of an actual inmate call. It also provides access to a visitation feature that lets inmates and their families to talk over the internet. This feature first became popular when the courts decided to use it to save money on the cost of transporting an inmate to a hearing.

Global Tel-Link would like to invite the millions of people worldwide to their website to explore more features and details. You get quality services that save you time and eliminate the need to find an authorized agent. Inmates and their families can stay connected with the industry leaders Global Tel-Link today. Visit Consumerist.com for additional information about Global tel link.

Sources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9leDabb7wBI
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/us/steep-costs-of-inmate-phone-calls-are-under-scrutiny.html?_r=0