appointed to the federal bench in 1985 said, "This is the largest graft operation that certainly I have seen, and I have seen a lot." Wingate cited the Flowood incident as the reason why he gave a sentence that was longer than the 13 years recommended by prosecutors. By July 2017 Epps was moved to Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville in Seagoville, Texas. Although Epps' sentencing was delayed, Wingate had set sentencing for his co-defendant, McCrory, for Dec. 21–22. On December 21, 2016, Judge Wingate rejected McCrory's request to withdraw his plea, and set a new date for sentencing. The FBI had testified that McCrory had admitted in their first interview with him to laundering $40,000 in cash for Epps, and that he began wearing a recording device for his conversations with Epps. McCrory was free on bail, and was sentenced to years in prison on February 2, 2017. As of December 17, 2017, McCrory was being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega, Alabama, with an anticipated release date of April 24, 2025. In mid-June 2016, in the face of declining prison populations and the removal of juveniles to more suitable facilities, the state announced it would close the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility. That was accomplished on September 16, 2016. It was anticipated to have a devastating effect on the local rural and small-town economy. Arizona State Prison – Kingman: On January 19, 2015, 23-year-old inmate Neil Early died in a hospital in Las Vegas after being sexually and fatally assaulted in the MTC-operated prison located in Golden Valley, Arizona. A search there found numerous weapons, illegal cell phones, and a quantity of heroin. A guard working a 16-hour shift had been supervising 200 inmates at the time of the attack on Early. Early's parents filed suit for millions against the state, MTC, and a prison medical provider, alleging medical intervention had been delayed after Early was found beaten and sexually assaulted. Willacy County Correctional Center "tent" prison in Willacy County, Texas: On February 21, 2015, nearly 2,000 inmates rioted over issues such as poor medical care. The prison was rendered "uninhabitable" according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which had contracted with MTC to manage 2,800 inmates. Intervention by federal, state and local law enforcement was required to suppress the riot. The Federal Bureau of Prisons soon removed some 570 inmates. MTC informed the state that all its employees