William Best, the masonry contractor who built much of the Smithfield state prison in Huntingdon in Central Pennsylvania has produced compelling evidence that the prison is a death-trap which threatens to collapse at any time. Not wanting to be implicated in a catastrophe, Mr. Best has repeatedly informed officials both at the prison and at the Department of Corrections of the very real dangers and of the graft and corruption in the construction of the prison cellblocks which has resulted in the dangers. Officials at both the state and local levels have refused to investigate Mr. Best's well documented assertions. They have failed to call in inspectors to ascertain the cause for the cracking, settling and flooding of the cellblocks. Most troubling, they've worked to hide the problems from the staff and the public as well as from the almost 1000 prisoners who spend everyday in the deadly buildings. Neither the guard force or its union has been advised of the extent of the problem. Neither the civilian staff, or the prison visitors have been warned that the place may collapse from the serious construction flaws. The state Department of Labor and Industry employs inspectors and investigators who could examine the growing problems. Federal inspectors from OSHA have the authority to investigate and inspect, and even to close the prison if warranted. We believe that the only safe course is to close the prison completely. Even private engineering firms could investigate and inspect the buildings and recommend remedies if any exist. At the very least, state employees and the state's imprisoned wards should be warned of the dangers and of measures they might be able to take to save their lives in case of an emergency. This serious danger was caused by graft and corruption. Officials who were entrusted to protect the public interests and the taxpayers, took bribes to let the contractor omit essential but costly parts of the structures. Every man, woman and child in Pennsylvania contributed $10 apiece to build the prison. How much of that was kicked back as bribes? We know who likely got some of the bribes, but perhaps higher-ups and even elected officials got a piece of the action, "contributions!" There must be some reason that prison officials have worked so diligently to keep the dangers and the facts a secret. They may not want to face the very real prospect of having the death- trap closed. They may not want to face the burden of having to continue to pay the hundreds of member of staff who would be entitled to wages if their jobs were loss through official fraud. For some officials, there may also be other, more personal and financial reasons. It's time that the cover-up was stopped!