Here's how federal inmates made an Alabama sheriff $1.5 million [View all]

Towering high above the streets of Gadsden, the Etowah County Detention Center is an outsized presence in the small northeast Alabama town.

As one of the largest buildings downtown, the facility seems too big to house only the county’s thieves, drug dealers and other accused and convicted criminals.

Indeed, the jail serves an additional purpose.

The detention center has a federal contract to incarcerate hundreds of undocumented immigrants who face lengthy legal battles over their immigration status and alleged crimes.

Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin runs that jail. And he makes a lot of money doing it.

Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2018/12/heres-how-federal-inmates-made-an-alabama-sheriff-15-million.html