A Plea to the Populace: Keefe Commisary and the Department of Corruption

by Sehu-Kessa-Saa Tabansi

We the incarcerated citizens of Pennsylvania desire the public's scrutiny and intervention into the degree of collaboration between the state of Pennsylvania and the National conglomerate Keefe group. 

At present, under the subordinate agency Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) there is a hidden contract with Keefe group.  This contract does not benefit Pennsylvania taxpayers or local businesses. 

What is known is that Keefe group has a monopoly over Pennsylvania Department of Corrections institutions commisary. 

No Pennsylvania businesses have been able to do business with the Pennsylvania DOC because Keefe Group has been the sole beneficiary of that no-bid contract. 

The incarcerated citizens of Pennsylvania believe that PA taxpayers and local businesses have an interest in the capital being pulled out of PA's economy and distributed to Keefe. 

Keefe is not only making record profits but it is price gouging during times of an economic crisis which is directly affecting Pennsylvania families that are supporting incarcerated citizens as well as local businesses that are suffering in sales. 

Revenue going to Keefe group does not benefit the people of Pennsylvania, since Keefe distributes its products from St. Louis Missouri. 

(We) incarcerated citizens of Pennsylvania believe that the DOC should make this process more transparent.  The public and the prisoners should have free access to the 338 pages of the Keefe contract in public and prison libraries as public information. 

Currently the PA DOC charges a $15.00 search and retrieval fee for the contract which sits in a cabinet with an additional fee of one dollar for the first page and 25 cents per additional page. 

It is unknown how much income Keefe has generated through its state and federal enterprises. 

One common ground that transcends the divide between prisoners and the public is the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  It appears that elected officials in PA that represent all citizens free and incarcerated have not made transparent whether these elected officials have personally profited from this contract with Keefe. 

At the center of this issue is plain and simple old capitalist exploitation through price gouging against an incarcerated class of citizens at a rate that far surpasses the sale price of these products to the general public.  We submit this plea to the masses to show solidarity in crippling this corporate extortion by complaints, grievances, phone calls, faxes and emails to: 

1. PA governor's office.  (Edward G Rendell  225 capitol building Harrisburg PA 17129)
2. PA legislators' offices 
3. PA attorney general's offices (Thomas Corbett – strawberry sq. #16 harrisburgh PA 17120--0001)

To confront Keefe group directly,

Keefe Group
10880 Lin Page Place
St. Louis Missouri, 63132

phone 1800 848 5545 or online at www.keefegroup.com

We especially solicit the support of journalists to seek out the Keefe group contract and quarterly earnings as well as assistance from students, legal aides / paralegals and peoples' attorneys. 

Sehu-Kessa-Saa Tabansi
aka Alfonso Percey Pew #BT-7263
Box A  Bellefonte PA 16823-0820

The mosaic
c/o clarissa rogers
A-space 4722 baltimore ave
philadelphia pa 19143 

the_mosaic@verizon.net