Madoff, Prisoner 61727-054, Arrives At North Carolina Prison

Photograph of the bus that Madoff took to Butner, NC from the Raleigh News Observer/AP; inset photograph of prison sign from the AP

Bernard Madoff took a prison bus from the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia to the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina. It's about 45 miles from Raleigh and has a number of different facilities, including a medical center and minimum security area, but Madoff will be in the medium-security lockup.

Madoff's lawyer Ira Sorkin had requested that his 71-year-old client, who started his 150 year sentence, be transferred to a federal prison in Otisville, NY, just 77 miles away from the city; Butner is an 8 hour drive from New York. (The Wall Street Journal says Sorkin did not respond to comment.) A lawyer for John Rigas and his son Tim (the Rigases, who ran Adelphia, were convicted of corporate fraud) said of the prison, "It’s one of the better ones. It’s one of the new ones in the federal system. The staff is very good there. But it’s still prison."

The Bureau of Prisons says Madoff will be assigned to "dormitory-style housing" and, if healthy enough, will be given a job. (Madoff's secretary has said his health seemed to decline before his December 11 arrest.) The AP reports adds that Madoff "will likely have a cell mate who could be a convict sentenced for a similar white-collar crime or something violent," and a prison spokesman said, "I wouldn't describe any of the facilities here as a nice place.