Frank Prewitt

Prewitt died on September 7, 2020. He was survived by his wife, V Rae, son Jason, daughters Tara Horton and Kelly Preston.

Two of the early private prisons venture partners were caught up in the ongoing Alaska political corruption probe leading to blogger and press speculation that Prewitt's service to the federal government may have been the result of a secret plea agreement although no formal charges were placed. Prewitt contends his participation with the FBI began after he was cleared. He wore a wire to record conversations in meetings with probe targets. Court documents filed on March 22, 2010 in a criminal appeal indicated that Prewitt had been paid $200,000 for his assistance.

On October 10, 2007 the Anchorage Daily News reported, "After court on Thursday, prosecutor Joe Bottini took the unusual step of singling out prosecution witness Frank Prewitt, who has been working undercover for the FBI since 2004…his work helped investigators get the evidence they needed for wiretaps and bugs in Suite 604 of (Juneau's) Baranof Hotel. Bottini said that Prewitt has done a 'tremendous job' for the government, 'we owe him a lot, frankly'."

Allvest faced two lawsuits that allege its board of directors defrauded plaintiffs in two 2001 court judgments that held the private corporation responsible for wrongful actions. Attorneys Tim Dooley and Brett von Gemmingen alleged that Allvest owner Weimar sold Allvest assets valued at more than $17 million and distributed most of those funds to himself, with the transfer approved by the Allvest board of directors which was composed of Weimar, Prewitt, and Robert Cronen. "These transfers were made with the intent to evade just obligations," Dooley allege(d) in his lawsuit ... Prewitt also acknowledged making an improper campaign contribution in 2002 that could have resulted in a civil fine or written warning if the violation had come to the attention of the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). The issue had become moot because fines or warnings for Alaska campaign contribution violations could only be issued within twelve months of the alleged violation (Alaska Statutes 15.56.130). The defense used both incidents as an attempt to question Prewitt's motives and truthfulness before the jury. The defense was unsuccessful and on July 9, 2007 Thomas Anderson was convicted on all seven counts of criminal extortion, bribery, and money laundering. On October 15, 2007 Anderson was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Weimar subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption and was also sentenced to federal prison. After his release, Weimar was also accused of sexual assault of a minor in Florida, having been returned to the U.S. from Cancun, Mexico by the Mexican National Police.

From 2004 to 2007, Prewitt worked with undercover investigators as an FBI confidential source, exposing Alaska's sub-culture of political corruption.

From 1998 to 2004 Prewitt was the consulting government affairs and corrections expert for corporate partnerships proposing construction and operation of for-profit correctional facilities in Alaska, Oregon and Washington. The venture rotated through a succession of corporate principals including Allvest Inc, GEO Group (formerly Wackenhut), Cornell Corrections, Chugach Alaska Corporation (Alaska Native Regional Corporation), VECO International, Inc, Kenai Native Association, Neeser Construction and the architectural firms of Koonce Pfeffer Bettis and Livingston-Slone.

In 1995 Prewitt established a private consulting and lobbying practice advising and representing human service organizations pursuing business partnerships, outsourcing opportunity, funding, statutory and regulatory changes with Alaska state and local government.

Under cross-examination during the criminal trial of former Alaska Representative Tom Anderson, Prewitt testified that he accepted a $30,000 loan from Bill Weimar in 1994, four months before the end of his term as Commissioner of Corrections. He testified it was a personal loan offered during a family emergency that he gratefully accepted and repaid by providing six months of legal consulting work for Allvest, Incorporated from February 1995 to July 1995. He testified that Bill Weimar had a contract to provide halfway house services to Corrections. Neither the prosecution nor defense offered evidence that the loan was accepted in exchange for official acts, special interest favors, or was related in any way to a specific impropriety.

During graduate school Frank served as a Trooper with the Oregon State Police (OSP). In his final semester of law school he was appointed legal extern to retired United States District Court Judge James Singleton and during the 1970s and 1980s taught justice courses as adjunct faculty for Anchorage Community College.

James Franklin Prewitt (January 31, 1949 - September 7, 2020) was an American attorney and government affairs consultant. He was a confidential source upon whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) relied to help prosecute "Operation Polar Pen," the Alaska political corruption probe that eventually ensnared United States Senator Ted Stevens. Prewitt was the author of Last Bridge to Nowhere, a creative non-fiction book that describes his involvement as an FBI source.

James Franklin Prewitt, also known as Frank, was born in Berkeley, California on January 31, 1949. He was the youngest of three children born to Catherine and James Prewitt, co-founder of Western Baptist College (now Corban University) in Salem, Oregon. He attended public and international schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and Israel and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Corban College, a Master of Science degree from the University of Oregon and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law.