A 26-year state corrections and law enforcement veteran is Florida's new prison chief. Gov. Rick Scott today named Michael D. Crews as secretary of corrections to replace Ken Tucker, who is retiring.
Crews has been deputy secretary since last year. He began his career as a probation and parole officer. Later he worked as a correctional officer and had various jobs in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The new secretary inherits a department in the midst of a legal dispute over privatizing prison health care. A judge rejected the agency's plans to privatize health care outside of South Florida. The state is appealing.
Scott again has turned to an insider after initially appointing people without Florida government experience to key posts when he took office last year.
