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Texas county says ‘abysmal mismanagement’ led to prison riot

The prison was subsequently closed and about 400 employees were laid off

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Law enforcement officials from a wide variety of agencies converge on the Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville, Texas on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 in response to a prisoner uprising at the private immigration detention center.

AP Photo/Valley Morning Star, David Pike

Associated Press

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — 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 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.