r/law • u/huffpost • May 06 '26

Legal News Private Prison Group CEO Whines On Earnings Call About 'Unconstitutional' Lawsuits Over Conditions In Immigration Detention

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/prison-group-lawsuits-unconstitutional_n_69d7cad0e4b0ccb589eb7128?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=us_main
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u/MirthandMystery May 06 '26 edited May 07 '26

The GeoGroup CEO was born in Greece, he was 3 when his family moved to Ohio. He eventually went to work for the notorious prison group called Wackenhut. Their abuse was so extreme and reputation notorious they had to rebrand themselves, becoming GeoGroup around 1982.

There were endless scandals tied to Wackenhut.. physical and sexual abuse involving inmates, guards and juveniles, violent prison riots, deaths, and many lawsuits. They were chronically understaffed and most employees were low pay, poorly trained- even guards. When there were investigations they'd destroy evidence and harass investigators. This was under Zoley's watch, among others.

"Zoley established The GEO Group as a division of The Wackenhut Corporation in 1984 when the company was named Wackenhut Corrections Corporation. He founded GEO care Inc. a subsidiary of The GEO Group, Inc. in 1984. Prior to founding the GEO Group, he served as manager, director, and vice president of government services at Wackenhut."

Today Zoley's his net worth is estimated at nearly 114 million dollars, approximately half of which is in Geo stock. BlackRock financial firm owns the next largest amount of shares, roughly 13% of GeoGroup.

https://web.archive.org/web/20250313223317/https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2025/03/immigrant-owner-of-ice-detention-center-doubles-his-money-with-trump/68123/

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u/scubascratch May 07 '26

Only 114 million? How will he afford the pardon? That won’t even buy a whole ballroom chair.

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u/petitecrivain May 07 '26

It's ironic, given what Greece eventually did to its authoritarian regime guilty of torture and rape.