R. Allen Stanford complains about heat in Conroe cell Stanford feels the heat in Conroe cell

Lawyers for R. Allen Stanford want him moved from a private prison in Montgomery County because there's no air conditioning, and at times no lighting, in the cell he shares with up to 10 other inmates.

The head of Stanford Financial Group has been held at Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe since he was arrested and brought to Texas from Virginia last month. He and other Stanford executives are accused of running a multibillion dollar fraud through an offshore bank and a Houston financial services firm. He has pleaded not guilty.

Although other defendants are free on bail, a Houston federal judge ordered that Stanford remain in custody, saying he is a flight risk.

In court filings, attorney Dick DeGuerin says the cell Stanford shares was without power for part of last week when temperatures topped 100 degrees and “has been without air conditioning for at least a week. There are no windows for light or ventilation and the conditions are intolerable.”

DeGuerin also noted without elaborating that the Corley facility's rules against the use of electronics on site interfere with Stanford's ability to work with lawyers to prepare his defense.

The detention facility is run by Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO Group. Company spokesman Pablo Paez declined comment on the jail's conditions.

DeGuerin is asking that Stanford be moved to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Houston, which is run by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

tom.fowler@chron.com