He earned his Ph.D. in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1995. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D., he worked as a probation officer in New York State. Previous publications include articles appearing in the Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Federal Probation, The Criminologist, the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, The Prison Journal, Corrections Compendium, and Criminal Justice Studies. He served as principal investigator of a research project funded by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania that examined the economic impact and community satisfaction levels of selected state prisons located within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.