By Les Zaitz
Oregon Live
Ore. -- The prison industries chief who blew the whistle on questionable hiring and spending practices at the state Department of Corrections was fired Thursday.
Rob Killgore, administrator of Oregon Corrections Enterprises, learned it was his last day as he left a graduation ceremony for inmate trainees at the women’s prison in Wilsonville.
DOC director Colette Peters acted before her agency finished reviewing Killgore’s allegations. She named Gary Kilmer, a veteran prison executive and a deputy administrator at OCE, to take over.
Killgore’s concerns touched off an investigation last October by the state Justice Department. Investigators found no criminal conduct but did find a pattern of corrections officials turning to Corrections Enterprises for favors ranging from furniture to donations to their charities.
“I have no doubt this is retaliation for turning in the original information,” Killgore told The Oregonian on Thursday. He noted that his allegations also concerned conduct by Peters.
Full story: Whistle-blowing Oregon prison exec fired, sees retaliation