CENTRAL FALLS — The governing board that oversees the troubled Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility has spent more than $435,000 in legal, accounting and consulting fees through Nov. 18, about half of what was paid for similar services last year, records show.

Bill Fischer, spokesman for the Central Falls Detention Facility Board, said that board members followed through on their promise last winter to drastically reduce costs at the jail following a decision by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove about 150 federal detainees from the jail.

The removal of the detainees was in response to the death of Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng, a Chinese national who died while in custody in August 2008. Ng suffered from terminal cancer that went undiagnosed until the final days of his life. The loss of the detainees cost the privately-run jail about $100,000 a week.

“Given the financial condition of the Wyatt, the board made it a priority to reduce costs and to look at consultants that had been retained by previous management and figure out whether it was worth keeping them on retainer,” Fischer said. “They made a decision to reduce consultants in general. It’s no secret that we are struggling financially.”

The board approved $886, 781 in expenditures last year; versus $435,497 through last week.

In February, the detention board fired its longtime legal counsel, Christopher M. Orton, of Warwick, during a major shakeup at the jail that later resulted in the termination of Anthony Ventetuolo Jr., the jail’s executive director, and his firm, Avcorr Management, that oversaw the jail.

The Journal filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details on the jail’s payments to Orton. He was paid more than $300,000 in 2008 and 2007 for a variety of responsibilities including labor issues, research and drafting correspondence to legislators and news reporters.

The Journal also reported that consulting expenses for 2008 reached $579,000.

Last week, The Journal made a request for legal and consulting fees for the past 11 months. Those records show that Margaret “Peg” Lynch-Gadaleta, who was named general legal counsel in early February, has earned $45,950. Lynch-Gadaleta, is the Pawtucket city solicitor and sister of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch. She was paid $200 an hour for her work.

Lynch-Gadaleta also has a private law practice in East Providence.

Another lawyer, Terence M. Fracassa, of the law firm, Lepizzera Laprocina & DePalo, of Warwick, has been paid $42,861 so far this year. He serves as special counsel to the detention center. Another significant legal bill was paid to Fulbright & Jaworski, an international firm that serves as the jail’s bond counsel. Its lawyers, who earn $760 per hour, were paid $27,372 this year, up from $15,741 last year.

The issue of paying off the bonds has been big at Wyatt.

The government reimburses the jail $101.76 per prisoner per day; more prisoners housed there means more money for the facility. On Wednesday, the jail’s population was 580, down about 100 from last year when the immigrant detainees were housed there.

The money is needed to pay the bondholders who financed the $106.3-million jail and its recent expansion. Twice a year, the jail makes bond payments of $4.4 million. The next payment is due on Jan. 15 and the bond payment schedule runs through 2035.

Michael V. Fair, principal of MVF Consulting LLC, of Middleton, Mass., was hired last summer at the urging of the bondholders to complete a review of the operational and administrative workings at the jail. The report is expected to be released next week. Fair is being paid $44,000 in consulting fees.

Others who have been paid for consulting work are Fischer, the detention board spokesman. His firm, True North Communications, of Providence, has been paid $24,500 this year. The accounting firm of Batchelor, Frechette, McCrory, Michael & Co., of Providence, was paid $19,683, slightly less than the $23,750 in 2008; and $25,167 in 2007.

bmalinow@projo.com