Audit: California prison contract wasted $3.2 million on paperwork

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. --

An audit says California's prison health care operator cost taxpayers $3 million by paying a contractor just to do paperwork.

The state auditor on Thursday said Correctional Health Care Services paid $17 million to upgrade electrical systems in state prisons beginning in 2011.

But the audit says the work was unlawfully done by a contractor under an existing agreement rather than being put out to bid.

Auditors also say the deal paid for goods and services that weren't delivered for nearly a year, and wasted $3.2 million that the contractor received just to process invoices from a subcontractor.

The audit says Correctional Health Care Services has upgraded its training and procedures to make sure it's handling contracts properly and getting the goods and services it paid for.