Fired prison guard, accused of selling contraband to inmates, wins jobless benefits

An Iowa prison guard fired for allegedly selling contraband to inmates is entitled to collect unemployment benefits, an administrative law judge has ruled.

State records indicate Robert W. Goodner was employed by the Iowa Department of Corrections as a full-time corrections officer in the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility from February 2022 until he was fired on Aug. 18, 2023.

According to corrections officials who testified at Goodner’s recent unemployment-benefits hearing, in May of this year the department discovered information indicating Goodner might be providing some unspecified form of “contraband” to Fort Dodge inmates.

Goodner was suspended with pay pending an investigation, and in the weeks that followed, state officials subpoenaed cellphone records and cash-app records that allegedly showed Goodner had been collecting payments from former inmates and from family members of current inmates.

On July 28, 2023, investigators interviewed Goodner and questioned him about the transactions. According to the department, Goodner denied knowing any former inmates and denied having received any payments from former inmates or relatives of current inmates.

On Aug. 18, 2023, the DOC fired Goodner for allegedly selling contraband to inmates.

At his subsequent hearing for unemployment benefits, none of the records that were subpoenaed — which would likely reveal the full scope of any alleged sales or the precise nature of any contraband — were offered into evidence by the Department of Corrections. In addition, none of the DOC employees directly involved in the investigation testified at the hearing.

As a result, Administrative Law Judge Patrick Thomas ruled that Goodner was eligible for unemployment benefits.

“The employer did not provide any records to corroborate its allegations, did not provide a report of the investigation, and none of the individuals directly involved in the investigation testified at the hearing,” Thomas noted in his ruling. “Absent a more detailed account of the incident or any evidence corroborating the employer’s allegations, the administrative law judge concludes the employer has not met the burden of proof to establish (Goodner) committed the alleged misconduct.”

Asked why the DOC didn’t present any records at the hearing, Fort Dodge Correctional Facility Deputy Warden Don Harris said Friday it’s unclear what information the DOC should share with others since the matter is the focus of a criminal investigation.

“I don’t know, since that’s part of an investigation for criminal prosecution, that the information should be put out there for anyone else,” Harris told the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Court records indicate no criminal charges have been filed in the case.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.