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Bollea's Birthday Gift Will Be Transfer To Adult Section Of Jail

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

Michael McKinney

LARGO - Nick Bollea turns 18 on Sunday, and as a result he will be transferred from his juvenile quarters at the Pinellas County Jail to an adult section, said Pinellas Sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha.

Bollea is serving an 8-month sentence in a car wreck that left his passenger, Iraq war veteran John Graziano, in a semi-conscious state with brain damage.

Since early June, Bollea has been housed in a six-bed cell with other juveniles that opens up into a common area where he has interacted with still additional juveniles.

Now he's heading toward a so-called direct-supervision housing unit that accommodates up to 71 adult inmates, Pasha said. All of the inmates there agree to abide by special rules. They must agree, for instance, to help keep the unit clean and make their bed a particular way. But they also get special privileges, such as the use of a microwave oven, the ability to do their own laundry, and their own recreation center.

"Everyone has to behave," she said.

Bollea's new quarters will be much bigger and more open that his quarters housing juveniles.

One detention deputy is inside the unit – and not separated by bars from the inmates – around the clock, Pasha said. The inmates there are not considered serious offenders or behavioral problems, she said.

Bollea will keep his job assignment in inmate property and his video visitation days will remain the same, Pasha said. If an inmate in direct supervision is found incapable of abiding by the special rules, he is put in another adult section where he might have to interact with someone who is a behavioral problem, she said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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