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Former SCI-Greene inmate sues over alleged assault

2 min read
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A former inmate at SCI-Greene has filed a federal lawsuit against various prison officials claiming his requests for help were ignored as he was beaten by his cellmate last August.

Through his attorney, Daniel J. Preziosi, 31, of Northampton County, alleged corrections officers did not respond for 20 to 30 minutes when he pushed the emergency button in his cell, and he and other inmates in his cellblock shouted for help.

During that time, attorney Leticia C. Chavez-Freed contended, Preziosi’s cellmate beat him with a metal padlock, choked him and swung a razor at him.

The suit alleged that when guards responded, they left to get Mace to stop Preziosi’s cellmate.

Before he was assaulted, Chavez-Freed wrote, Preziosi repeatedly talked to prison officials about his concerns about his cellmate, who was identified as having “significant emotional and/or mental issues” in the lawsuit.

When guards took the cellmate into custody, Preziosi was “bleeding profusely” and taken to the facility’s infirmary where his wounds were stapled or stitched shut, according to court paperwork.

The suit contended, “There was so much blood in (the) cell after the attack that one person remarked that it ‘looked like someone dragged a dead animal’ through there.” The suit alleged prison officials failed to protect Preziosi, calling the time it took for guards to respond “excessive, unreasonable and indefensible.”

The suit names SCI-Greene facility manager David Mansberry, psychological services associate Kelley Falcione, Lt. Alan Morris, Corrections Officer Charles Fowler, a guard only identified as “Johnson” and other prison employees identified as John or Jane Doe.

Preziosi is currently incarcerated at SCI-Mahanoy in Frackville, Schuylkill County, according to Department of Corrections records. DOC officials said they do not comment on matters of litigation.

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