Getting Into The Top Prisons: Madoff Didn't Get His First Choice

Wall Street Journal:

The federal judge overseeing the trial of Bernard Madoff said he would recommend the man who pulled off the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history serve out his sentence in the Northeast. Instead, Mr. Madoff landed in a prison nearly 500 miles away from his New York home, in North Carolina.

How Mr. Madoff ended up in a medium-security facility at Butner Federal Correctional Center could remain a mystery. The Bureau of Prisons won't discuss the placement of specific inmates, and even veteran attorneys are often left to scratch their heads at why their clients wind up in particular facilities.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[gcallaghan]

To get into one of the better prisons is there some sort prep school one could enroll his or her kids in early to fasttrack their applications? Will they reserve a space? Do good SATs get taken into account?

[olddognewtrick]

150 Years! Yikes? That's 7800 weekends at Bernies. Do federal prisons have conjugal visits? There is a rumor going around that Bernie already has $2,300.000.000.00 on his canteen account.

[GerryS]

why in the world does someone CONVICTED of these crimes get a choice in where he gets incarcerated?

[fabricnthreads]

So sad for Bernie.

PG 13 and lower shows, no Internet, and the family is 500 miles away. On the bright side, it is probably the best place, personal security-wise, for him, and he can get a job to keep him busy (prison store accounts receivable­/payable?)­.

So I am guessing the kids and grandkids won't be coming for the holidays.

[Cheryl2]

I do not understand why he and his wife were able to keep any assets when he stripped so many others of theirs. His wife and family should be living on the streets begging for food, not left with millions of dollars.

[quindy]

I don't understand it either. On the other hand if they were left with nothing, we the tax payers, would have to pay for them. But, they definitely got way too much to keep.

[2bad]

I understand why some criminals should be segregated via the appropriate institutions for the crime, but there's another, almost infuriating question to be asked. Why do these people get ANY choice or say as to the facility in which they do time?

[CR46]

To a certain extent, maybe they should be placed--if there is room--closer to family for visiting purposes. Example tried and convicted in the midwest--put in a prison in the midwest. But why is ANYONE with a 150 yr sentence- put in minimum security white collar crime or not. He has NO REASON NOT to try and escape.

[quindy]

He is at medium security.

[Patriot til Death]

For those that think Butner is a "country club" prison, you're wrong. I live very close by and have toured the medium security prison as a courtesy to the locals by the prison.

Everything is concrete and steel. It resembles living in a cave, no plush comfort of any kind. They have thin mattresses to sleep on, something you could roll-up and carry on your shoulder. There is no privacy. Guards stations are located directly across from the showers with a door that only covers the mid-section of your body. Security looks more like maximum security than medium. The guards aren't friendly, however, they are professional. He will have a huge psychological adjustment to make.

The weather down here is not warm and sunny, more like hot and humid in the summer and plenty cold in the winter.

This is not how you want to spend your golden years. It's no picnic.

[formerprosecutor]

Thanks for the truth; I too have toured many state and federal prisons. I have never the mythical "country club". Whe I read the comments below, I just wonder how people can make such "sure" , authoritative comments on something they have no actual knowledge about.

[Poboy]

Your post is disingenious.

No "jail" is a country club, given that a prisoner is locked in a cage.

But the issue is one of relativity.

Compare that prison to prisons all around the country.

If you look at "Lock-up" on MSNBC or any of their numerous prison shows, there is a big difference between living in a safe-prison, where your safety is never in doubt, and the prison where you could be killed at any moment.

Your post failed to note the difference, which makes your "experience" moot.

[totaldisbelief]

was there ever really any doubt that this would be the outcome?...after all Bernie is "special" in oh so many ways.

[Poboy]

Yet another case of "separate but equal."

[phoenixtoo]

Do those with only access to public defense lawyers get to hire these specialists and do the poorly paid and often incompetent public lawyers have the access, competence, concern to designate a preferred prison? I don't know the answer, but would like to. My apologies to any public defenders who are competent or give a damn, but they probably know that many are not.

[formerprosecutor]

Federal Public Defenders are the best of the best, of criminal defense attorneys.

Are you aware that Federal Court appointed attorneys "serve" only if the judge feels they are competent? You have to be a very , very experienced criminal defense attorney to be court appointed by a federal judge. And, if the judge does not feel the attorney is competent: out they go. Many attorneys have been struck for the "list".

I heard one federal judge, during the trial, state: You just cost your client 5 years through your incompetence"; she was not allowed to take any other cases (as court appointed)

Be assured, that the above information about that attorney spread like wildfire through the jail. It destroyed her career. Clients fled like deer before a wildfire. Just so you know.

[ShakeYourComplacency]

I had no idea all that behind the scenes stuff happens to get offenders into nice prisons, and that judges are lobbied to remove information from files. (Gee, wonder what THAT process entails). The article said there are people with whole careers based upon this kind of consulting work. Welcome to the new american economy, where there are no real jobs, just opportunities in the financial, legal, political and military fields which only the well-educated and well-connected can take advantage of.

If anyone wants to REALLY understand what happened to this economy they need to look at that big picture, not just the housing bubble. The complete elimination of the middle class, and middle class jobs. People got buy with credit cards and cheap bank loans. Meanwhile, prices of homes, cars and other products continued to climb.

One thing about Madoff, he knew to feed off the rich. He knew where the money was. We didn't have any money, but the wealthy making investments in this fantasy economy were ripe for the picking.

[totaldisbelief]

are you suggesting that our system is corrupt?

[quindy]

Isn't that a total disbelief?

[nirek]

I think there is a prison way up in Northern Maine where the weather is nasty. Seems to me he aught to be someplace like that and NOT in a nice climate like NC.

[BlackMagicWoman]

Hey B - Don't drop the soap dog!

[barrycourage]

Nothing wrong with dropping the soap, dog.

[tlgeiger62]

And they say Ruth is making arrangements to "move closer to her husband".

Of course he's at a country club prison. Did anyone REALLY think he end up anywhere else?

He'll probably have better healthcare than Congress.

[formerprosecutor]

You have no idea what you are talking about.

[Tom95134]

Looks like Madoff got sent to a real nice "country club" facility?