St. Louis halfway house for federal prisoners turns into cash cow for family that runs it

[Sherman A1]

ST. LOUIS — The oldest halfway house in America was founded on a simple premise, to “provide assistance to the downtrodden and other victims of misfortune ….”

These days, the Dismas House of St. Louis is run like a family business, and a lucrative one at that.

Founded as a nonprofit in 1959 by a colorful Jesuit priest and a lawyer for the mob, Dismas House serves as the last stop for some federal prisoners before they go on probation and reenter society. Long considered a religious ministry, the organization currently has no apparent connection to either the Missouri Jesuit Province or the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Since 2006, the board has been controlled by John Flatley and his sister, Vivienne Bess, and the two siblings have turned the nonprofit’s contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons into their personal piggy bank.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/st-louis-halfway-house-for-federal-prisoners-turns-into-cash/article_9cbabc3e-a1de-589e-81ab-439a1ae7565b.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-2

[KT2000]

1. in the NW it is a real estate move

people buy crappy houses to be halfway houses. They leave them to rot while they rake in the gov. money. I know this because a relative who is a cop has had to go in many of them. Some don't have running water, electricity, and are unsafe. No one wants to do anything about it because it is out of sight, out of mind. Also - real estate is near and dear to a lot of politicians.