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Fayette County Prison warden sues prison board members over unjustified suspension

By Susy Kelly skelly@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read
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Miller

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Zimmerlink

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Brownfield

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Zapotosky

The warden of the Fayette County Prison is suing the county and the members of the prison board who voted for his suspension in January, claiming his support for the construction of a new prison is what motivated the suspension.

Brian Miller, represented by attorney Joel Sansone, filed the civil complaint in federal western district court, claiming Fayette County Commissioners Angela Zimmerlink and Vince Zapotosky, Sheriff Gary Brownfield and then-Acting Controller Jeanine Wrona all had political reasons for suspending him for three days without pay.

According to the suit, in the month prior to his suspension, which was later found to be unjustified, Zimmerlink and Zapotosky removed Miller from a prison working group meeting to “discuss an unrelated matter.”

“After the conversation was concluded, defendant Zapotosky and/or defendant Zimmerlink told (Miller) that the new prison ‘would never be built,” Sansone wrote. “(Miller) then stated that he did not want to be part of defendants Zapotosky and Zimmerlink’s ‘political games.'”

Less than a week after that alleged conversation, two inmate assaults occurred in the county jail, one on Dec. 23 and another two days later. Miller was not on duty, the suit states, and in his stead, prison staff contacted Uniontown City Police to investigate the incidents, per prison policy.

On Jan. 8, Dominick Carnicella, then the director of human resources for the county, began an investigation into the assaults. Miller was notified that he was under investigation “for failure to comply with a Prison Board of Inspectors’ policy that mandated immediate notification to the board of any inmate assaults.”

At that time, Sansone contended, no such policy existed.

At a prison board meeting held four days later, Miller was ordered by Zapotosky to leave the meeting prior to the board’s vote on his punishment, Sansone wrote. “This order was against board policy, and prevented (Miller) from presenting his own defense.”

Zapotosky, Zimmerlink, Brownfield and Wrona voted to suspend Miller for three days without pay while the remaining members, Commissioner Alfred Ambrosini and District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr., voted against the suspension, the suit states.

On March 25, board voted to reverse the disciplinary action after Carnicella reported there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on Miller’s part regarding the inmate assaults. Miller did not receive his back pay for those three days, nor was the suspension expunged from this record until June.

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