HOUSTON, March 31 -- The former head of the Texas prison system has been indicted on conspiracy, bribery and money laundering charges stemming from the purchase of a soy-based meat substitute for state prisons. A federal grand jury in Houston returned the indictments against James A. 'Andy' Collins, who resigned the $120,000-a-year prison job in October 1995 after the $33.6 million contract with VitoPro Foods Inc. came to light.
The grand jury also returned six indictments on the same charges against Yank Barry, president and chief executive officer of the Quebec- based company. The indictments allege that VitaPro paid Collins at least $20,000 while he was head of the prison system in exchange for giving Barry a five-year contract extension to purchase the foodstuff and for giving Barry access to Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities. They also allege that Collins and Barry conspired to conceal the payments by funneling them through Certified Technology Consultants Inc. , a company set up by Collins. Collins could not be reached for comment, but attorney William A. White of Austin told The Houston Chronicle today that they had 'no ink- ling' that indictments were to be returned. White said, 'This is a shock. Why now? Why 2 1/2 years later, after they have had this same information for 2 1/2 years?' Prisoners complained that VitaPro caused diarrhea, boils and a host of other ailments, and some employees complained they were forced to serve the soy product daily to inmates. The Chronicle said the indictments were returned in January but were kept secret until they were unsealed Monday. ---
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