OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV found out about a new investigation into the problem-plagued Osceola County jail. A new report shows problems with a former jail manager and the people he was hiring.
An employee accused a jail manager of hiring his friends and giving them extra money. Those allegations led to his resignation.
Former Osceola County Deputy Chief Raul Banacso is one of the latest jail managers to resign after a list of problems was revealed at the Osceola County jail this year. Chief Greg Futch resigned earlier this year after two inmates escaped from the facility with two weeks of each other.
Banasco just resigned after he was accused of discrimination and unprofessional behavior.
In a document WFTV obtained, a memo stated allegations were made that he manipulated the hiring process to show favoritism; he was accused of employing individuals even though background checks were not made; he manipulated promotion lists, and may have given higher salaries to some employees.
Oscleoa County told WFTV it was in the process of looking into the allegations, but could not validate them because Banasco resigned and never responded to the accusations
In the meantime, an FDLE audit looked at personnel files of officers who had been hired within the past years. It found there were problems with background checks and, out of 227 files, 82 had missing or incomplete documentation, with 13 of the files needing further review due to the severity of the findings.
The county says it's still in the process of reviewing personnel files and the new chief will be reviewing all positions and salaries.
WFTV
