FDOC AC Clark at the Armory Party

The host was the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency, a nonprofit agency that says it promotes "high professional standards for criminal justice agencies." Many of those in attendance were corrections officials in town for a softball tournament the council sponsored.

At the center of the fracas: Allen W. Clark, the corrections officer then in charge of all North Florida prisons and now the target of a criminal investigation.

Federal officials in Jacksonville are investigating Clark's ties to several former corrections officers arrested for importing steroids used by guards to beef up their appearance as well as allegations that some prison officials pocketed recycling money and misused money in an employee fund.

A description of the armory incident is in reports compiled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Tallahassee police as part of that investigation.

The altercation began, investigators say, when James Edward O'Bryan, 38, a former prison officer married to Corrections Maj. Cathi O'Bryan, slipped in a puddle of vomit and beer. As he fell, O'Bryan says he reached out for the only person nearby - Barbara Durrance, another corrections employee.

They both fell to the floor. Seconds later Clark was straddling O'Bryan and slugging him in the face while two other officers, Col. Richard Frye and Capt. James A. Bowen, kicked and slugged him.

The party ended with O'Bryan's wife and friends helping a bleeding O'Bryan to a hotel where the officers were staying.

No internal investigation was done by the Department of Corrections and no one has been charged. Details emerged when FDLE agents began questioning witnesses in mid April. It was reported to police in mid June by the FDLE.

Taped interviews with several witnesses indicate Clark and Corrections Secretary James Crosby are at the center of a statewide grand jury probe and a related federal investigation. Clark recently resigned after 16 years with the department.

During an interview with O'Bryan, FDLE agents questioned whether Crosby was present at the armory and urged O'Bryan to pursue criminal charges against Clark.

Crosby refused to comment on the incident. He said he had been at the armory party earlier but was was not present when trouble broke out.

O'Bryan, who works for a concrete company, repeatedly expressed fear for his wife's job, saying she was summoned by Clark to discuss the incident the Monday after it occurred and could easily be fired or transferred to South Florida.

"Everybody was scared to say anything," O'Bryan told investigators. He said he later learned that the woman who fell with him worked for Clark and had accompanied him to the event.

"We know about the intimidation," FDLE Agent Tim Westveer told O'Bryan. "We don't want to get anyone else hurt ... this is part of a bigger puzzle."

Investigators told O'Bryan the incident was part of a larger statewide grand jury investigation because it stretches across several jurisdictions in North Florida.

"We've got to get Clark stopped," Westveer told O'Bryan on April 13. "Things go higher than Clark, but we've got to get him out of the system or at least try so other people will step up."

Clark, a protege and close friend of Crosby's, resigned last month as the investigation escalated.

State and federal officials have declined to discuss the nature of the investigations involving Clark, who supervised operations at 18 North Florida prisons.

The federal investigations apparently arose after several prison guards were indicted for importing steroids for use by prison officials, and others were charged with embezzling recycling money. Two former guards have pleaded guilty, admitting they funneled steroids to other prison guards.

Some of the allegations against Clark involve the misuse of an employee fund that raises money from vending machines and inmate car washes. Some of the employee money was used last year to help guards who lost their houses in hurricanes.

Tallahassee police say O'Bryan refused to pursue criminal charges against Clark because he did not want to jeopardize his wife's job.

Clark's lawyer, Stephen Dobson of Tallahassee, said he will not discuss the allegations.

Clark is no stranger to problems. In 1999 an internal investigation found that he improperly used prison labor and supplies to renovate his garage by adding a bar. Clark was among dozens of prison officials who paid less than $50 a month to live in state houses around Florida State Prison.

At the time, internal investigators looked at the way Clark handled employee club funds as well as his use of prison radios while working as a volunteer at Gov. Jeb Bush's inauguration.

Clark was transferred to another prison after the investigation but apparently not disciplined.

In 2001 Clark was appointed by the governor to serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission that selects judges to serve in six North Florida counties.

Staff Writer Steve Bousquet and researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. [Last modified September 16, 2005, 01:35:22]

In Crosby’s first or second year as secretary, he allegedly “knocked out” a CO at a BBQ or party of some sort at Tomoka CI. This CO allegedly made a pass at Crosby’s wife…..and Crosby allegedly “sucker punched” him on the jaw, knocking him down and out. Do you know anyone from TCI who might verify?

If you have any information on this incident, please contact me,
Kay Lee at kaylee1@charter.net
I can keep you anonymous.