Disabled men put to work at Iowa plant for decades

State officials say 21 mentally disabled men lived for 20 years or more in an old building with boarded-up windows and nothing but space heaters for heat.

It wasn't some neglectful group home - it was the bunkhouse for Henry's Turkey Service.

The plight of the company's meat-processing workers went unnoticed for decades by the state until Thursday, when a tipster called a Department of Health Services hot line.
Governor Chet Culver said local officials were going to court to allow the state to take guardianship of the men and would launch an investigation of how the situation in Muscatine County was allowed to continue for 20 years.

"It's too soon to know the extent of the potential criminal and civil penalties and fines," Culver said at a Statehouse news conference.
"This is going to be a very extensive and thorough legal process."

The 21 men were all from Texas but had lived in Iowa for 20 years or more while working at the plant.
They lived in a 106-year-old house on a hilltop in nearby Atalissa, a town of about 300 people about 20 miles east of Iowa City.

Department of Human Services director Gene Gessow said it's clear that money was being deducted from Social Security checks the men received.
"We will have a lot more to say as we discover any more violations," Culver said.
"What we do know is that money was deducted from their paychecks for housing and other services."
Henry's Turkey Service apparently acted as the men's employer, landlord and caregiver.

Relatives showed payroll records showing that in January the company deducted $487 from one worker, Keith Brown, to pay for room and board, then another $572 for "kind care."
Keith Brown's sister Sherri Brown said her brother has $80 in savings after decades of work at Henry's.

The house was closed Saturday night.

Gessow said all 21 of the men have been placed under a protective status and in temporary housing.
Most of the men removed from the bunkhouse were in their 50s and 60s, officials said.
The issue is complicated because the men are all dependent adults.
Many have families, but those families must take legal action to become guardians of dependent adults, Gessow said.

The governor said there are indications that local officials had some knowledge of the situation.
"There are a lot of very good questions about how we got to this point," he said.
Culver said several state agencies will investigate the matter and whether other similar arrangements are operating in Iowa.
If there are, he said, "We are going to find you and shut you down."
The governor also said he probably will ask the Legislature to approve tougher penalties if such situations arise in the future.

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Some one should be in jail for this already! Tar and feathers is not a bad idea either!