THOMSON, Ill. — The staff union at USP Thomson has confirmed Warden Thomas Bergami 'abruptly' left his office at the prison in early July.
According to the union, Bergami and several of his top staffers cleared out their offices overnight. There was no warning given to union leadership or members.
This appears to end nearly a year and a half of turmoil between the staff union and Bergami, who took over at USP Thomson in March 2022.
News 8 followed Bergami throughout his time at the prison, documenting repeated calls by the union to lawmakers and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to remove Bergami from his position.
One of the alleged claims is that the then-warden purposefully removed protective covering meant to shield employees from repeated sexual attacks and lewd exposures by inmates. There were claims of a female staff member asking not to work certain blocks and sections of the prison to avoid such harassment. The union says Bergami and his office did nothing, leading to attacks on that same staff member a few hours later.
For months, the union petitioned officials and legislators, asking for the warden's immediate removal.
When it did finally appear to happen in early July, union president Jon Zumkehr said it was almost unbelievable.
"It was a shock. It happened pretty much overnight," Zumkehr said. "We weren't given a reason. We had the leadership team just abruptly leave and they put temporary leadership in."
There is no word from the BOP on what prompted the absence.
Now, temporary leadership is in place at USP Thomson. Zumkehr says the change has already helped boost staff morale.
"The temporary leadership is going good!" Zumkehr said. "We're working hand in hand, the communication has definitely improved and it's night and day. The staff morale is through the roof. It's good to have competent leadership here."
Since taking over in early July, the union says the temporary leadership has held staff appreciation lunches, employee training and launched new programs for the inmate population.
"Stuff we've been trying to do for a while," Zumkehr said. "Starting new programs to keep inmates busy, doing events for morale for staff, it's actually going really good."
USP Thomson is currently housing 1,334 low-security inmates.
The union says there are 60 direct hire spots available in a continuous hiring manner, meaning applicants may stop by Thomson Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
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