Coyote TV - High Desert Advocate

Lt. Richard Daniel Falge was cited for bravery by then Nevada Governor Bob Miller.

        A highly decorated Correctional officer at the Ely State Prison challenged his termination in a hearing Tuesday and was told to come back on September 11.
    “We had the hearing yesterday,” said Lt. Richard Daniel Falge. “But they ran out of time and rescheduled to September 11th.”
was fired while mother was dying.  
    Falge a 22 year veteran officer with Nevada Department of  Corrections, most of it at ESP, was terminated from state service in November after Associate Warden of  Operations Debra Brooks charged him with falsifying state documents,  According to prison authorities, Lt. Falge falsified up  inspection reports and later lied about it.  Lt. Falge denies the charges and has countered that the Maximum Security Institution authorities have themselves misrepresented the  facts of the case.  Lt. Falge has worked at ESP Since April of 1990, with prior service at NNCC in Carson City.  While he did not open the prison in 1989, he was there within one year of opening.
      According to his attorney Andy Boles of Reno, Lt. Falge has always been rated as a superior employee,  is the recipient of numerous awards including a Governor’s award for bravery, and has been lauded for his exemplary service.
    In 1994, the then senior officer thwarted an escape attempt by two convicts from death row.  The convicted murderers attacked the officer stabbing him seven times.   Before he was rescued, he fought off the killers for several minutes and thereby allowed the nurses in the infirmary to flee from the armed convicts. He survived the attack after being medically transferred to a Utah hospital.
    Lt. Falge is one of the longest serving officers at ESP and still remains a resident of Ely.   He is currently seeking reinstatement and hopes to stay a resident of the town where his three children were born.  His wife Angela was born in Baker Nevada and works at the local middle school. 
     The situation that lead to the firing of the decorated officer took place in June  of 07 while Falge was getting ready to leave the next day to be at his dying mother’s side.   Although, Falge admitted to a clerical error,  he was terminated for dishonesty.  His representative from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees, Dennis Mallory believes that the incident should merit no more than a letter of instruction, the least serious level of discipline.  Mallory has said that such a valued employee should not be treated so callously given the importance of keeping good employees in rural Nevada.
    The State Prison in Ely has often been the target of lawsuits and has seen a recent rash of disciplinary actions overturned after hearings.  According to Mallory,  approximately ten employees of ESP had their discipline overturned or decreased in the recent years.  Mallory said that members have reported that Associate Warden of Operations Debra Brooks has bragged about the large number of officers she has brought up on charges.  Currently NDOC lists ESP as having fifty open positions that were frozen as a result of budget concerns. In addition, ESP has replaced twenty four sworn correctional officers with correctional assistants who are not trained nor qualified to perform correctional staff duties.  Mallory stated that members of the Association are concerned because the assistants are neither trained nor qualified to deal with violent inmates.  He went on to say that, in the event of a riot or escape attempt, these assistants would not be qualified to use weapons or to restrain inmates.
      Falge is currently waiting for his day before a hearing officer and hopes to be back on the job by summer.  If he is returned to work, the state will have to repay him for back wages and benefits.