Critical consultant named Wyatt director

CENTRAL FALLS – A consultant who issued a highly critical report on the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility was voted in as the facility’s interim director, The Associated Press reported last week.
Michael Fair, the former commissioner of the Mass. Department of Corrections, released an audit last week that said the quasi-public Central Falls jail, which housed immigration detainees, was plagued by dysfunctional leadership and a lack of transparency.
Wyatt spokesman Bill Fischer said that Fair was appointed last week. The appointment will last 90 days, he said.
Fischer said Fair’s audit showed “that we are lacking executive management oversight and that’s something that needs to be put in place immediately.” The AP report did not say if Fair would be a candidate to serve as director after the interim appointment ends.
The facility has been in turmoil since the August 2008 death of a Chinese immigrant who was detained there for allegedly overstaying a visa.
Federal immigration authorities concluded that Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng, a 34-year-old computer engineer from New York City, was neglected and denied appropriate medical care before dying of advanced liver cancer.
After his death, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials faulted the prison for mistreating Ng, removed its 153 immigrant prisoners and terminated its contract with the jail. His family has also sued. &#8226