Bernard Madoff—Prisoner #61727-054—Are You Really Ready?

July 19, 2009 - PRLog -- I had just boarded a plane in Fort Lauderdale to fly to Michigan to confer with an attorney when my cell phone rang. It was the Fox News Network. They wanted me to be in their studio in Miami the next morning at 7:00 AM to comment on the sentencing of the worst criminal in United States history. The date was Monday, June 29, 2009—Bernard Madoff at age 71 had just been sentenced to 150 years in federal prison!

Since his sentencing I have read many articles from various sources about Bernard Madoff and the extent of his betrayal and deception and the calamitous effects on both his clients and so called friends. His investment ponzi scheme wiped out thousands of investors and ruined a multitude of charities. One article cited his prison coach as saying that “the disgraced financier was not afraid before starting his term at a federal penitentiary in North Carolina.” That was apparently four days prior to sentencing when Madoff thought he may only receive the 12 year sentence proposed by his legal team and be incarcerated in FCI Otisville, a medium security facility housing male offenders which is situated in the southeastern part of New York State. It is near the Pennsylvania and New Jersey border and is only 70 miles northwest of New York City. FCI Otisville also has a minimum security satellite prison camp, but even if Madoff had been designated to FCI Otisville, he would never have seen the insides of the prison camp.

Now with reality setting in, Madoff should be thinking about the scores of murders, rapists, drug dealers, and gangs—especially the Jew hating members of the white supremacist gangs just waiting for him to arrive. Believe me, they have all been watching the media spectacle on television and listening to the radio talk shows. They know he is coming. Mr. Madoff, I think you may have a change of heart and be very concerned when you discover who is waiting for you.

Bernard Madoff already had a glimpse of what is in store for him when he was moved from his New York lockup to the holdover facility in the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. I stayed there; I know what it was like. A United States Penitentiary (USP) is the most secure of all Bureau of Prison’s facilities and the USP in Atlanta is one of the worst. It has large concrete walls on its outermost perimeter and electrified and/or motion detector sensitive fencing with razor wire on the innermost perimeter. Inmates in a USP are high security inmates and have maximum custody. This type of facility is the most secure of all facilities in the Bureau of Prisons system. The ratio of BOP staff to inmates is the highest of any of the BOP institutions. The Atlanta USP has gun towers, motion detector fencing, internal security devices, a Special Housing Unit (SHU), and controlled movement. The holdover section of this Atlanta facility where Madoff was held has a 23 hour per day lockdown policy. He will be locked in a cell with two bunks although up to 4 or more inmates may be confined to this 5’ by 9’ totally enclosed concrete cell. He will be released one hour per day to either attempt making a phone call, take a shower, get a change of clothing, or walk in an outdoor cage for exercise. The cell itself is damp, dark, and cold. The toilet is metal, old, caked with rust, and very unsanitary. He will get one blanket, one sheet, no pillow, and one small towel if he is lucky. If he is not lucky he will get an old shirt to use as a towel to dry with after a shower. This is the life in the Atlanta holdover facility. Then he was moved to FCI Butner, in North Carolina, where everyone was anticipating his arrival and waiting for him.


FCI Butner has two medium security facilities—one houses 733 inmates and the other houses 1530 inmates. Madoff is initially imprisoned in the facility housing 733 inmates. Normally, to be designated to a medium security facility an inmate must have at least a minimum sentence of at least 20 years or more.


Madoff isn’t the only celebrity in Butner. Omar Ahmad-Rahman—inmate #34892-054 who masterminded the plot to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and blow up various New York City landmarks was sentenced to life in prison and resides at Butner. He is also known as the blind sheik.


Adelphia Communications founder, John Rigas—inmate #53983-054 is also at Butner and isn’t scheduled to be released until January 23, 2018. He is currently 84 years old. His son, Tim—inmate #53982-054, was the company’s Chief Financial Officer and is also at Butner and due to be released on June 3, 2022. He is currently 53 years old.


Jonathan Pollard— inmate #09185-016 is incarcerated in the same Butner facility as Madoff. Pollard is currently 54 years old. Pollard is a former United States Naval civilian intelligence analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel. He received a life sentence in 1987 with a recommendation against parole. He was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois in solitary confinement for seven years then transferred to Butner. He is now scheduled to be released on November 21, 2015 after serving 28 years. Maybe Madoff thinks there is hope, but for now his scheduled release date is November 14, 2139, that is if he gets Good Conduct Time credit. He will be 201 years old. Bernard, are you still not afraid of serving your federal sentence?

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Michael Frantz is a leading Federal Prison Consultant with Jail Time Consulting (JTC) in South Florida. The staff of JTC provides sentence reduction strategies, research, and many pre- and post-sentencing services for their clients. Michael has authored a bestselling book on federal prison titled, “Jail Time, What you need to know…Before you go to federal prison!” He has also authored over thirty-five JT Special Reports© on various federal prison issues affecting both the inmate and his/her family. They are available on the website. He writes a daily blog on the JTC website http://prisonconsultinggroup.com answering readers’ questions and comments. He is a nationally recognized authority on federal prison and has published over 40 articles nationwide. He has been contacted by ABC’s 20/20, the Oprah Winfrey network, the Fox News Network, as well as many radio and TV stations nationwide. He can be reached at 954-522-2254, 800-804-4686, or at mike@jailtimeconsulting.com.