Madoff's Prison Described As 'Camp Fluffy': Exclusive Clips From New CNBC Special (VIDEO)

When Bernie Madoff applied to run the budget of the Butner Prison's landscaping crew, he didn't get the job. "Yeah right I'd hire him as a clerk," remarked the inmate in charge of the crew. "All our money'd be missing!"

Nicknamed "Camp Fluffy" for its commodious environs, Madoff's prison even features a soundproof music room -- and periodic "special treats" like popcorn and cotton candy.

Sentenced to 150 years at the Butner Federal Corrections Complex in North Carolina, Madoff apparently spends his time reading law books, John Grisham, and Dean Koontz--when he's not working his job in the prison cafeteria.

This is one of many stories from a new episode of CNBC's "American Greed," which offers an exclusive look into the infamous Ponzi-schemer's life of incarceration. The episode, titled "Madoff Behind Bars," will premiere tonight at 9pm.

"Madoff Behind Bars" features interviews with past and current inmates who interacted with the financial scammer while in jail.

Watch the new clips for "Madoff Behind Bars" below!

WATCH:

Comments

[Paul Rainwater]

01:39 PM on 10/01/2010

He should be placed in a much more strict prison until he tells where he stashed all the funds and secret bank accounts that still remain and they are returned to the victims.

[tgiovanni]

10:40 AM on 08/26/2010

Madoff is not suffering enough. His victims suffer/ed more than he does. Some of his victims committed suicide; the families of his victims have been traumatized. If it were up to me, I'd put Madoff in solitary confinement for the rest of his miserable life.

[1murillo]

03:48 AM on 08/26/2010

Once a person is convicted and inprisoned, posts about that person properly belong in the "Lawbreaker" column on HuPo [if there were one], not in the "Business" section, or the "Sports" section (or whatever the case might be).

[Guitarsandmore]

12:30 PM on 08/26/2010

Perhaps the "I hate business as usual" section.

[1murillo]

06:03 PM on 08/26/2010

Or, the "Celebrity for Reasons other than His Profession" section. We'd have politicians, actors, sportsplayers, businesspeople, etc in there. It would be a very large section.

[markas214]

12:44 AM on 08/26/2010

So when you steal a pack of hotdogs because you're hungry you get imprisoned with murderers. Steal 50 billion dollars and go to Camp Fluffy. This guy should be doing hard time, not retiring to one of the cushiest federal prisons in the country.

[Tiggy]

12:02 AM on 08/26/2010

With retreats like this no wonder our prison system is over populated. Chain gang anyone?

[Andra Claudia Garcia]

10:44 PM on 08/25/2010

Forget these student loans...I'm going to camp fluffy. FREE popcorn and cotton candy!! WOOO

[tobadgop]

10:04 PM on 08/25/2010

A Jew doing manual labor and eating Ribs?

[dbrett480]

09:03 PM on 08/25/2010

Good to see that for once Madoff is putting in an honest day's work, even if it is in the prison cafeteria. What would be even better is if we can see him outside working in his orange jumpsuit former Congressman Cunningham.

[Steven Hebert]

09:02 PM on 08/25/2010

Editors: "All our money'd be messed up!" not "All our money'd be missing!"

[gnomic]

09:02 PM on 08/25/2010

Hopefully Bernie is a fluffer and Camp Fluffy.

[Faraja]

08:16 PM on 08/25/2010

I can't wait to watch this! 45 minutes to go! Uncle Ben is still the King!

[Elisabeth80]

07:22 PM on 08/25/2010

Poor Madoff.. what did he do that was so bad.. bilk very wealthy people out of their $$.. boo hoo..

[chaupper]

07:13 PM on 08/25/2010

Abolish the prison system.. convert all prisons to hospitals.. Banish all prisoners sentenced beyond 1 year to Camp Alaska and let them work out their own pecking order for survival. Annex the territory and make sure its a one way ticket.

Sentences < 1 year send to correctional colleges with a mandatory work program. Abolish settlements and plea deals. Incarceration doesn't fix anything and breeds more problems being a college of crooks and gangs.

[tobiasaurusrex]

08:37 PM on 08/25/2010

Um, yeah, Escape From New York, and all that. Hoo. Rah?

The US has a 98% prison return rate, Japan has a 2% return rate, should we really make an entire state a prison, or study how another nation is doing it right?

[angrymanspokane]

07:04 PM on 08/25/2010

I bet Amricans would like to see him much more uncomfortable than that. Too bad the name of prison wasn't a bit more literal...

[GirlUsingBrain]

06:19 PM on 08/25/2010

This prison does not seem like a prison to me. His victims are suffering more than he is.