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Federal Correctional Institution Otisville Madoff's New Home?
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by Tina Kells | June 29, 2009 at 10:01 am
1506 views | 24 Recommendations | 1 comment
US District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff, 71, to 150 years in prison on June 29, 2009, but it is still unclear where that sentence will be served. One likely candidate for Madoff's new home is the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York.
Bernie Madoff, a former Nasdaq chairman, plead guilty to 11 counts including, securities fraud, money laundering, and felony perjury, in March 2009. The Madoff defense team, headed by Ponzi scheme victim Ira Sorkin, had been seeking a 12 year sentence. The defense was stunned by Judge Chin's decision to give the maximum 150 years, 12.5 times more than had been requested.
"Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years," wrote Sorkin. "A prison term of 12 years -- just short of an effective life sentence -- will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law."
In his letter, Sorkin described Madoff as "non-violent," noted his "voluntary surrender" to authorities and complained about the "desire for a type of mob vengeance" in the victims' impact letters.
From a Manhattan penthouse to a state federal prison, Bernie Madoff will live out his last years in a type of discomfort he has likely never known. Since his March 2009 confession Bernie Madoff has made his home at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, but a pre-sentencing facility is a far cry from a prison.
Bernie Madoff will most likely be transferred to a medium security prison in or near New York. He is not a violent offender so he won't go to a maximum security prison and the length of his sentence will make him ineligible for a minimum security prison or prison camp.
Alan Ellis, author of the Federal Prison Guidebook has made an educated guess that Bernie Madoff will go to one of four Northeast Division facilities: Federal Correctional Institute Otisville in upstate New York; Federal Correctional Institute Ray Brook, also in upstate New York; Federal Correctional Institute Fairton in New Jersey; or Federal Correctional Institute McKean in Pennsylvania. Alan Ellis thinks that the Federal Correctional Institute Otisville is the strongest candidate.
Wherever Bernie Madoff ends up his final years will be very different than the previous 71. Madoff will no longer live in the lap of luxury, he will now live in the iron grip of the state penal system without the creature comforts he has enjoyed for more than half a century.
Although Madoff will likely have air conditioning when the weather demands it, nearly all of the perks of the high-life he's accustomed to will disappear, regardless of whether he is sent to a low or medium security prison.
On arrival at the federal lock-up, Madoff will quickly see for himself that designer soaps aren't among the items included in his prison-issued hygiene kit. Instead, he'll get a tiny bar of soap, a tooth brush, a comb and a razor.
"This bar of soap is like the size of a matchbook," said Larry Levine, the founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, who spent 10 years in federal prison. "The razor -- you can barely shave with it."
The food will toe the line of edible, and his outdoor time will amount to pacing in an outdoor cage. His prison-issued khaki wardrobe won't make a fashion statement.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 17:42 on June 29th, 2009
He should be send to a stone pit and break stones there for the rest of his life along with all other Wall Street CEO and Execs.
Prison is to good for them.