Prison Warden Indicted

WARDEN OF VICTORVILLE FEDERAL PRISON INDICTED FOR MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS

March 4, 2010 - RIVERSIDE, California – The warden of a federal prison in Adelanto was indicted today on federal charges for allegedly lying to federal investigators and allegedly disclosing confidential information related to ongoing criminal investigations.

Scott A. Holencik, 45, the warden at the United States Bureau of Prisons facility called the Federal Correctional Institution I Victorville, was named in a six-count indictment returned this morning by a federal grand jury.

The indictment accuses Holencik of lying to special agents of the United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, when he was interviewed in November 2009 in connection with an investigation into Internet postings that disclosed confidential government information. The indictment charges Holencik with two felony counts of making false statements when he denied making posts to www.prisonofficer.org. Holencik allegedly made multiple posts to the website that contained sensitive information concerning criminal investigations at the prison.

Holencik was also indicted on four misdemeanor counts of disclosing confidential government information. These counts allege that Holencik disclosed confidential government information concerning a Bureau of Prisons employee who was suspected of being involved with an inmate gambling scheme, as well as facts related to a homicide that occurred at the prison in August 2009.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.

Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Holencik will be summoned to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court in Riverside on April 21.

If Holencik is convicted of the five counts in the indictment, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 14 years in federal prison.

The Federal Correctional Institution I Victorville is a medium-security facility that houses approximately 1,500 federal prisoners and is located in Adelanto, which is approximately 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

The case against Holencik was investigated by the United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, which investigates allegations of criminal wrongdoing and misconduct committed by Justice Department employees.