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"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."
No hard time for them; they'll get sent to a Club Fed
There are several federal prisons known as Club Feds, where white collar criminals play bridge and tennis and have the run of well-manicured grounds with cozy cottage type buildings. I visited one at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to take the deposition of a convicted felon/ex major law firm partner, whose grandfather had been editor of Harvard Law Review. He had a different self-help group meeting to attend nearly every night. There was gamblers anonymous, alcoholics anonymous, etc. His bridge partner was former West Virginia governor, Arch Moore. No longer there was John Mitchell, convicted while Attorney General of the U.S., and sentenced to 19 months at Maxwell. I understand now they have a health spa. A more recent resident at a Florida Club Fed is a Baltimore Ravens football player convicted on a drug charge. The mix at these prisons is about 30% white collar criminals and 70% drug offenders. Here are two links. I'm having trouble getting the first one, to the St. Petersburg Times to work, but if you google "Maxwell Air Force Base" and "Club Fed", you can get it.
www.sptimes.com/2005/05/07/Hillsborough/_Club_Fed_or_re... 'Club Fed' or real hard time? Three convicted in a Tampa housing scheme will spend time in federal prisons. By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer Published May 7, 2005
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Chester M. Luney, the former executive director at the Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan who also was convicted in the bribery trial, also has reported to prison.Luney, 60, arrived at the Federal Prison Camp at Montgomery, Ala., on April 29 to begin serving a two-year, nine-month sentence. An Air Force veteran who also worked as an $80,279-a-year Veterans Affairs psychologist, Luney requested the Montgomery facility, which is on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base.
The prison camps in Pensacola and Montgomery are classified as minimum-security facilities. They are without walls or gun towers, and house a mix of inmates, about 70 percent drug offenders and 30 percent white-collar criminals.
The Baltimore Ravens' $5.8-million-a-year running back Jamal Lewis began serving a four-month sentence at the Pensacola prison in February on charges arising from his use of a cell phone to set up a cocaine deal. Joe Paulus, a former Wisconsin district attorney who pleaded guilty to taking bribes in 22 cases he prosecuted in Winnebago County, is serving a 58-month sentence there.
At both prisons, inmates take weekends off. After daily work details wrap up, they may watch TV or use recreational facilities. At Montgomery, that includes softball fields, basketball courts, pool tables, weight rooms, a library and a room for playing acoustical musical instruments. Inmates must wear institutional green pants and numbered shirts and work boots. They share communal toilets and showers. Their three meals a day consist of food that costs the government $2.60 a day per inmate.
www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/8458.html?112279...
A DIFFERENT KIND OF GATED COMMUNITY The New Orleans Times-Picayune 23 July 2000
If Edwin Edwards fails to convince the courts to let him stay free during the appeal of his racketeering and fraud convictions, he will be assigned to a federal prison after his sentencing, which is expected this fall. Soon-to-be inmates can request a prison, but the final call is up to the Bureau of Prisons. Here are some of the prisons where convicted Louisiana political figures have served time and where Edwards could eventually be assigned:
1. EGLIN (Fla.) FEDERAL PRISON CAMP Vital statistics: 884 inmates. Opened in 1962. Advantages: Eglin is the federal prison most often associated with the "Club Fed" legend of country club-like accommodations for white- collar criminals. The well-manicured grounds feature a tennis court and a secluded bay inlet for sunbathing. Visitors can stay at nearby beach resorts in Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Disadvantages: The prison camp is on the sprawling Eglin Air Force Base, so inmates must put up with hearing fighter jets roaring overhead.
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