But at Dismas House, board members from the same family have been paid three or four times more than that.

Bureau of Prisons officials refused to comment on the pay of Dismas House board members and executives. The Post-Dispatch filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the contract between the bureau and Dismas House, but the government indicated the request could take up to a year to process.

Howard said he couldn’t find a copy of the contract to share with a reporter.

He said the salaries that show up on the tax records are a surprise to him. Howard is on the board of Forward Assist, and the tax records say the board members viewed and approved the 990s before they were filed. Howard said he never saw them.

“I don’t think they were paid that much,” Howard said in an interview. “If that’s the case, I need a raise.”

He later viewed the IRS 990s himself and verified to the Post-Dispatch that its interpretation of the Dismas House salaries was accurate.