Justice Dept. denies claim in Illinois inmate’s death

CHAMPAIGN — The U.S. Department of Justice has denied a wrongful death and personal injury claim filed by the family of a New Mexico man who died in a federal prison in Illinois. An autopsy found he likely died in agony, and other prisoners said his pleas for help went unanswered in the two days before his death.

The department said in a one-page response issued May 19 that it found no evidence that Adam Montoya, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was injured through negligence on the part of prison staff before his death on Nov. 13, 2009. Montoya suffered from cancer, hepatitis and HIV, and bled to death when his spleen ruptured, according to his autopsy.

The denial leaves Montoya’s family waiting for the results of a state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation investigation into the actions of medical staff before deciding whether to file a lawsuit in federal court, Ron Hanna, the Peoria attorney who represents the family, said Monday. He wasn’t optimistic a lawsuit would achieve much.

“We can’t prove that he died because of negligence; we can prove he suffered. But what’s that worth?” Hanna asked. “The real question is, is it economically feasible to file a lawsuit in federal court when the recoverable damages are this guy’s suffering?”

The claim sought $2 million — $1 million for wrongful death and another million for personal injury.

Montoya’s father said his family wasn’t surprised the claim was turned down.

“I told them all this was something to be expected, you know,” said Juan Montoya, 68, who lives in Albuquerque.

A Justice Department spokeswoman did not return calls from The Associated Press. The denial letter simply says its “investigation did not reveal a personal injury as a result of negligent acts or omissions of Bureau of Prisons employees acting within the scope of their employment.”

The denial says the family has six months to decide whether to file a lawsuit.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the agency doesn’t confirm whether someone is being investigated or discuss investigations in progress.

Adam Montoya pleaded guilty in May 2009 to counterfeiting commercial checks, credit cards and gift cards. He was diagnosed with HIV a month later.

Montoya was sentenced to two years and three months in prison and arrived at the federal prison in Pekin on Oct. 26, 2009. The town is about seven miles south of Peoria.

Inmates around him say he spent much of the 18 days before his death asking for medical help. Records from the Tazewell County Coroner’s office indicate he was found dead, sitting up on his bunk, in the morning.

Montoya’s autopsy turned up only a small amount of Tylenol in his system, meaning he hadn’t been given any strong pain medication, nor had he received the anti-HIV drugs his father says he was taking before heading to Pekin.

Bureau of Prisons records cited in the claim indicate prison medical staff told Montoya on Nov. 10 that he had the flu and nothing could be done for that.

The FBI said last June that it had investigated Montoya’s death and turned its results over to the Justice Department. An FBI spokesman in Springfield did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Tuesday.