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<p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/576826/another-luzerne-county-prison-worker-charged-for-alleged-wrongdoing-in-work-release-program" target="_blank">In the wake of a second drug-related arrest of a prison employee</a>, new Luzerne County Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich said he&#8217;s preparing to reactivate random drug testing of workers.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m 110 percent in support of random drug testing for all prison employees, from myself on down. I think it&#8217;s a great idea,&#8221; said Rockovich, a veteran county prison worker who took over as corrections overseer in July.</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/552258/former-prison-counselor-louis-elmy-to-plead-to-extortion-weapons-charges" target="_blank">Former prison counselor Louis Elmy entered a guilty plea last month on charges of extortion</a> and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and federal investigators this week charged a second county prison employee &#8212; correctional officer John Stachokus &#8212; with extortion for allegedly granting unauthorized leave to work-release inmates in exchange for cash and other items.</p><p>Prosecutors allege an inmate helped both employees access drugs &#8212; cocaine for Stachokus and crack cocaine for Elmy. They described Elmy as a &#8220;habitual drug user&#8221; and alleged he resorted to selling guns to drug dealers to feed his increasingly costly crack addiction.</p><p>Both extortion schemes continued from November 2013 until Elmy was charged in February, prosecutors alleged.</p><p>Random drug testing stopped at the prison several years ago under a prior administration due to budgetary challenges, county officials said in February.</p><p>County officials had touted creation of the progressive random testing policy in 2006, saying it resulted from more than a year of negotiations with union officials launched after two employees allegedly came to work under the influence of alcohol.</p><p>Rockovich said he is in the process of securing prices from drug testing companies.</p><p>He wants to complete the testing as often as possible under the county&#8217;s fiscal constraints. The policy does not limit the frequency of drug testing.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to do the testing several times a year if it&#8217;s not too expensive,&#8221; Rockovich said.</p><p>The prison system employs about 300 people and costs $34.1 million a year &#8212; the largest single department expense in the county&#8217;s budget.</p><p>When the prison began drug testing in 2006, officials hired an outside company that charged $75 per test. The company used a computer program involving Social Security numbers to randomly select who would be tested in each batch, with roughly half of the employees tested annually.</p><p>The policy says the prison must make &#8220;every reasonable attempt&#8221; to detect drug and alcohol abuse.</p><p>&#8220;Given the public safety and security concerns inherent in the operation of a prison, the county has a compelling obligation to eliminate illegal drug use and alcohol abuse from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility workplace,&#8221; it says.</p><p>The policy says employees will be tested for alcohol and the following drugs: marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, Phencyclidine (PCP) and prescribed drugs that are commonly abused, such as barbiturates and other sedatives, tranquilizers, depressants and inhalants.</p><p>Employees are subject to disciplinary action, including possible termination, if they test positive for unauthorized drugs or alcohol and don&#8217;t admit they have an addiction problem and seek access to treatment.</p><p>In 2007, less than a year into the program, seven employees had tested positive for drugs and were required to sign a &#8220;last chance&#8221; agreement and undergo counseling to return to work. The administration could not locate statistics on subsequent test results.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri said the administration is discussing possible random drug testing of all employees.</p><p>The only employees currently randomly tested are those with commercial driver&#8217;s licenses and in some human service branches, he has said.</p><p>The administration also is reviewing all work release program protocols and making adjustments, Pedri said.</p><p>For example, management signatures and other documentation have been added for the tracking of instances when work release inmates leave prison grounds for work or college classes.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rockovich </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_rockovich.jpeg.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rockovich </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County prison to resume employee drug testing, division head says