County Gives Reason For 2015 Texas Prison Riot

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas county says "abysmal mismanagement" led to a 2015 prison riot that destroyed much of the facility.

Willacy County says in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that in the weeks after the riot at Willacy County Correctional Center, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons cancelled its management contract with Utah-based Management & Training Corp.

The federal lawsuit says the prison was subsequently closed and about 400 employees were laid off.

The Valley Morning Star reports (http://bit.ly/2gi62Z4 ) that the prison generated about $2.7 million a year for the rural county.

Much of the 3,000-bed facility, which was comprised of tent-like domes, was destroyed in the Feb. 20, 2015, riot.

Management & Training has denied the allegations.