A Carroll County supervisor said the board is more than “dissatisfied” that businessman Irb Benjamin has been indicted in connection with alleged payments to former Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps.
Benjamin was one of two people charged on Friday with paying kickbacks and bribes to Epps to secure contracts for his company, Mississippi Correctional Management, with three regional jails. Benjamin pleaded not guilty.
Benjamin has done consulting work regarding the Carroll-Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility in Vai-den, and the Carroll County supervisors extended MCM’s contract in January. That facility was not linked to the allegations against Benjamin.
Carroll County Sheriff Jerry Carver previously asked the supervisors to allow his office to manage the jail, but after the state added 150 new audit standards, he requested that MCM be rehired for a fourth year. The board voted 3-2 to extend the $30,000 contract.
According to District 1 Supervisor Terry Herbert, who voted against the extension, the board will not discuss its contract with Benjamin until its Aug. 31 meeting unless a special session is called. “To say the board is dissatisfied with its connection to him would probably be an understatement,” he said.
Herbert said the board was unaware of Benjamin’s charges when it met Friday.
Kevin Horan, attorney for the Carroll County board, was unavailable for comment Friday.
Carver, who was defeated in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, said he thinks the Sheriff’s Department could manage the facility until he steps down at the end of the year but was unsure what would happen after that.
<li>Contact Nick Rogers at 581-7235 or nrogers@gwcommonwealth.com.
