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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1

                                 EVERCOM, INC.
                              8201 Tristar Drive
                              Irving, Texas 75063

Main:  972/988-3737                                           Fax:  972/988-3774
================================================================================

April 7, 2000

Mr. Terry Matlack
8700 Monrivia
Suite 205
Lenexa, Kansas 66215

Dear Terry:

Evercom, Inc. ("Evercom") is pleased to offer you the position of interim Chief
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Executive Officer for Evercom, beginning April 4, 2000.

1.   Term.  It is anticipated that the Term of your employment will last between
     ----
     3 and 12 months, depending on the length of time required for the Board to
     hire a full-time CEO.  During this period, this position will be your
     primary employment activity (initially, full-time, reducing if possible to
     65-75% of time in later months).  Evercom acknowledges that you will
     continue providing services to Greenstreet Capital, Inc. and its affiliates
     and that you will continue investigating and pursuing other business
     activities, and that you may do so as long as those services and activities
     do not materially adversely affect your services to Evercom.

     Evercom understands that the services and activities described in the
     previous sentence may involve other telecommunications businesses (which
     will not be competitive with Evercom's services in the telecommunications
     business) and you will be free to pursue these opportunities.

2.   Relocation.  You will not be required to relocate to Dallas.  However, it
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     is anticipated that you will initially spend three to five days per week in
     Dallas at the Evercom office or traveling in connection with Evercom-
     related business.

3.   Compensation.  Compensation for this position will consist of salary, bonus
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     and stock options.

     (a) Salary.  The base salary is $210,000 per year.
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<PAGE>

Mr. Terry Matlack
April 7, 2000
Page 2

     (b)  Bonus.  You will be entitled to a Bonus of $50,000, payable on the
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          hiring of a new, full-time Chief Executive Officer, during or within
          30 days after the end of your employment.  You will also be entitled
          to a severance payment equal to 3 months' of base salary, payable in
          monthly installments, beginning on the termination of your employment
          with Evercom.  In addition, you will be entitled to Performance
          Bonuses, if you are still employed as Chief Executive Officer of the
          Company for at least 6 months after the date of this agreement, as
          follows:

          (i)   $100,000, if the Revenues set forth on Exhibit A to this
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                Agreement are met for the 12 month-period ended December 31,
                2000; and

          (ii)  $200,000, if the EBITDA of the Company set forth on Exhibit A to
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                this Agreement is met for the 12 month-period ended December 31,
                2000; and

          (iii) $100,000, at the sole discretion of the Board for the 12
                month-period ended December 31, 2000.

          In the event of an extraordinary transaction, Exhibit A may be revised
                                                        ---------
          by the Board of Directors if such transaction is consummated during
          the Term and your Performance Bonuses with regard to Revenues and
          EBITDA will then be measured by reference to the revised Exhibit A,
                                                                   ---------
          and not the attached Exhibit A. The revised Exhibit A shall show the
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          Revenues and EBITDA in the revised budget or projections approved by
          the Board in connection with such transaction.

     (c)  Options.  You will receive options to acquire up to 500 shares of
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          Evercom stock, at $2,000 per share, with vesting to occur as follows:

          200 at April 4, 2000
          100 at the end of 6 months thereafter
          100 at the end of 9 months thereafter
          100 at the end of 12 months thereafter
          ---
          500 total

          Your options are not being issued pursuant to the Company's stock
          option plan. Your vested options may be exercised up to five years
          from April 4, 2000. All of your options will become automatically
          vested upon the sale of substantially all of the Company's assets or
          the merger of the Company into an acquiring entity which is not
          controlled by the Company's current shareholders.
<PAGE>

Mr. Terry Matlack
April 7, 2000
Page 3

4.   Greenstreet.  Upon the signing of this Agreement, the Company will pay
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     Greenstreet Capital, Inc. $50,000, in order to compensate Greenstreet in
     connection with your services to Evercom.

I am pleased about you joining the Evercom team and know that you will
contribute to the success of the Company.  Please sign below to indicate your
acceptance of this offer.

Sincerely,

EVERCOM, INC.

/s/ DONALD B. VAELLO
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Name: DONALD B. VAELLO
     -----------------------
Title: Chief Operating Officer
      ------------------------

ACCEPTED AND AGREED:

/s/ TERRY MATLACK
----------------------------
TERRY MATLACK
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                                   Exhibit A

                                      to

                    Agreement, dated April 4, 2000, between

                        Evercom, Inc. and Terry Matlack
                        -------------------------------

     The Company's budget for the 12 month period ended December 31, 2000, is

proposed to be adopted at its next Board of Director's meeting.  The year 2000

budgeted Revenues and EBITDA will be attached as Exhibit A upon approval by the

Board of Directors.<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.2

                                AMENDMENT NO. 1
                                      TO
                             EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
                             --------------------

     This Amendment No. 1 to Employment Agreement (the "Amendment") is made and
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entered into effective as of April 5, 2000 (the "Effective Date") by and between
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Evercom, Inc., a Delaware corporation (previously known as Talton Holdings,
Inc.) (the "Company") and Donald B. Vaello (the "Executive").
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                                R E C I T A L S

     WHEREAS, the Company and Executive entered into an Employment Agreement,
dated as of June 26, 1998 (the "Agreement"); and
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     WHEREAS, the Company and Executive wish to amend the Agreement;

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual agreements set
forth below, the parties hereby agree as follows.  All terms defined in the
Agreement will have the same meaning in this Amendment.

     1.  EMPLOYMENT PERIOD.  The date set forth on the first sentence of Section
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2 shall be "March 31, 2003."  The date set forth in the second sentence of
Section 2 shall be "April 1, 2003."

     2.  POSITION AND DUTIES.  Section 3 of the Agreement shall be amended to
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add the following sentence at the end of Section 3:

     The Executive shall be the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer,
     unless and until his title and duties are changed by the Company's Board of
     Directors.

     3.  COMPENSATION AND RELATED MATTERS.
         --------------------------------

          (a) Section 4(a), (b) and (c), relating to the Executive's Base
     Salary, Bonus and Options, are hereby amended in their entirety as set
     forth on Exhibit A attached to this Amendment.
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          (b) Section 4(e) is hereby amended in its entirety as follows:

               (e) RELOCATION.  The Executive shall relocate his primary
          residence to the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area if, and within a
          reasonable

                                     - 1 -
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          time after, Employee has been elected to the position of the Company's
          Chief Executive Officer. Upon termination of the Executive's
          employment for any reason, the Executive shall be reimbursed for
          reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (not including the cost of housing)
          incurred by the Executive in relocating his primary residence to the
          San Antonio, Texas area (or to another area of reasonably similar
          distance from the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area).

     4.   TERMINATION.  The second sentence of Section 5(b) shall be amended in
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its entirety as follows:

     If the Company terminates the Executive's employment without Cause prior to
     the expiration of the Employment Period, of if either party gives a notice
     not to extend this Agreement for a Renewal Period, the Company's liability
     to the Executive is limited to an amount equal to the Executive's annual
     Base Salary (the "Severance Payment").
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     5.   This Agreement, as amended by this Amendment, is ratified and
confirmed.

     6.   This Amendment shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of
the parties hereto, their heirs, personal representatives, successors and
assigns.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amendment as of the date
first written above.

COMPANY:                                        EXECUTIVE:
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Evercom, Inc.,
a Delaware corporation                          /s/ DONALD B. VAELLO
                                                -------------------------
                                                DONALD B. VAELLO
By: /s/ TERRY MATLACK
   ---------------------------
Name: TERRY MATLACK
Title: Chief Executive Officer

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                                   EXHIBIT A
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(a)  Base Salary:  $275,000 per year.
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(b)  Bonus:        Bonus program to be established whereby Executive could earn
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                   an additional amount up to 100% of Base Salary based upon
                   achieving performance objectives to be determined and may be
                   increased to as much as 200% of Base Salary in the event such
                   objectives are exceeded.

(c)  Options:      Executive will be eligible to participate in the Company's
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                   stock option program, and subject to Board approval, will be
                   awarded options to purchase the equivalent to 300 common
                   shares of Company stock (being an increase of 100 shares over
                   the number set forth in the Agreement), having a strike price
                   equal to the fair market value of the Company's common stock
                   on the date of issuance of the options. Such options shall be
                   subject to such vesting requirements as are established by
                   the Board.

                            EXHIBIT A - Page 1 of 1
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