Results tagged “prison”

Disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik was released from jail last night on $1.5 million bond and placed under house arrest as he awaits his February sentencing on various federal crimes. For the next few months, Kerik must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and is not allowed to set foot outside his $2.5 million home in Franklin Lakes, N.J., except to visit lawyers, his church, and a hospital emergency room, if necessary. He's also allowed to meet with accountants fixing his fraudulent tax returns, but yesterday a judge denied Kerik's request to walk his children to school, telling him, "This is not home confinement with morning strolls and afternoon strolls."

First, he was making friends with the gay inmates. Next, he's got into a fight with another old inmate. Now, in the latest installment from the unofficial Post series "The Prison Life and Times of Bernard Madoff," we learn that the Ponzi king "now shares a cell with a 21-year-old inmate convicted of drug crimes...sleeps in the lower bunk and he eats pizza cooked by an inmate convicted of child molestation" and his "recreation consists of walking around the prison track at night."

The 30-year-old fake livery cab driver who raped one woman, and attempted to rape another last February, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars yesterday. Make that 15 years and 30 days. Torkieh Sadagheh reportedly cried upon hearing his sentence, but when that got him no sympathy, he went the outburst route — which got him an extra month in the slammer for contempt of court.

The Post has another story about Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's life at the Butner Correctional Complex! Unlike its earlier report that the 71-year-old was making friends with the homosexual inmates, participating in Native American sweat lodge ceremonies, and dying of cancer, this one says Madoff got physical...over the stock market.

Two weeks into Plaxico Burress's stay at an upstate prison and word is that Plax is (1) always looking around him, (2) scared of his fellow prisoners, (3) hangs around another fellow high-profile inmate and (4) can't make microwave popcorn, according to the Post reporter who visited him and spoke to others at Oneida Correctional Facility.

Ronald Tackman, the man who escaped from custody at Criminal Court thanks to his nice suit, was captured last night at 175th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights. A tipster told cops that he was taking a city bus and they were there to arrest him.

Well, who wouldn't visit a convicted kidnapper and sex attacker to visit him in prison?! The Daily News' Jane Ridley says of her visit to see Peter Braunstein, "I went, though I really don't care what he has to say. I went because he's this Hannibal Lechter-style creep you just have to see - and stare at in the way we look at car accidents we pass on the highway." Good reason—pass the fava beans and Chianti!

Today, the NY Post reported that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was "dying of cancer"—according to its sources. And now the federal Bureau of Prisons says the Post's sources are wrong, with a spokeswoman saying, "While the NY Post story is full of inaccuracies, and we can’t specifically address all of them, we can tell you that Bernie Madoff is not terminally ill, and has not been diagnosed with cancer.." However, the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog spoke with a source "familiar with the situation...who reiterated that Madoff does, in fact, have a 'serious' form of cancer, though the source could not confirm that it was life threatening." Of course, the WSJ and Post are both owned by News Corp., so who knows? And now we are left to wonder if the BOP's statement is also referring to Madoff befriending the Native American inmates and visiting the sweat lodge shirtless and hanging out with the "homosexual posse."

The NY Post reports that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff is "dying of cancer"—at least according to its sources—and that's why he took the blame for the $65 billion fraud that landed him a 150 year prison sentence. One inmate claims, "He's been taking about 20 pills a day for his cancer. He talks about it all the time. He's not doing very well," but Madoff's lawyer or his wife's lawyer haven't commented. Additionally, prison sources say that he's "participating in Native American religious purification ceremonies held at an on-grounds 'sweat lodge'" (while shirtless!), "making new friends at the prison complex through another unlikely clique -- the homosexual posse, although the relationships are purely platonic," and being recruited to various gangs at Butner Correctional Complex. Still, one inmate questioned some of Madoff's thinking, "In prison, you stick to your own kind, but he's doing the exact opposite by hanging with the Indians and [homosexuals] -- so who is going to have his back?"

Plaxico Burress is getting ready to for his two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to gun charges by hiring a consultant to help him maximize his time while under medium-security supervision. His lawyer Benjamin Brafman yesterday told the Post, "We are consulting with an expert in the field who will address and advise us, Mr. Burress and his family, on what to expect while incarcerated, and how to use his period of confinement as productively as possible." Michael Vick recently said he was in "the best shape of my life" after being released from two years behind bars and signing with the Eagles. A Corrections spokeswoman said, "Due to his notoriety, there is a potential that he would be placed in protective custody. And those guys are held in single cells, with the exception of a shower, a visit, a medical visit. You're only out of your cell for eight hours a day." Corrections officials will likely be reminding their guards (and chaplains) to avoid any "Foxy Brown-style" celebrity treatment for Plax. Yesterday on his radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said he was satisfied to hear that the football star will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

A New Jersey woman has admitted she fabricated an allegation of rape against a man who's now serving a 20-year-sentence for the alleged assault. William McCaffrey, 31, was sentenced in 2006 after Biurny Peguero Gonzalez testified that he and two other men raped her at knife point in a van parked in Upper Manhattan in September 2005. But she now says she made the whole thing up, to cover for a fight with some of her women friends. Last year, new scientific developments enabled investigators to retest the DNA from bites on Gonzalez's arm; no "Y" chromosome was found, meaning the bites could not have come from a man.

Sigh. As unemployment benefits will be drying up by the end of the year, we get this news: Eleven NY State prisoners managed to collect $30,000 in unemployment insurance. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced that after an audit, the payments were discovered and his office was able to stop another $18,000 to the "unemployed" inmates. The Daily News reports, "In some cases, inmates were using the names and Social Security numbers of people on the outside to get benefits." DiNapoli states the obvious, "Convicted criminals should not be collecting unemployment benefits when they are in jail. Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for this kind of outrageous scam. The Department of Labor and the Department of Corrections took immediate action when our audit findings were brought to their attention and are fully cooperating with us to ensure this does not happen again." The investigation is continuing, but DiNapoli suggested the labor and corrections departments work together to make sure there isn't any overlap with inmate and unemployment lists.

Here's another update about Bernard Madoff's condition in federal prison, courtesy of the lawyers representing the investment faker's victims. Only this update paints a less rosy picture; while attorney Joseph Cotchett told ABC News, "[Madoff] looked pretty good and seems to be working out. He looked a lot better than he has in some months since I've seen photographs of him," today Cotchett told the CBS Early Show, "Look, it's a prison. He's suffering the immediate throes of being thrust into this. It's a new world to him. It's not pleasant, as it shouldn't be. The man is distraught." That sounds about right, but Madoff has time to adjust.

The Post goes inside North Carolina's Butner Federal Correction Complex to get a sense of how infamous inmate Bernard Madoff is doing. Unsurprisingly, one source says, "Some of the guys were talking about smacking him around a little, just to get the notoriety of it." However, the source said Madoff has his admirers: "He got a lot of respect from other inmates because he didn't tell on anybody, he didn't take everybody down with him." Other tidbits: Madoff said that his wife was mad at him because the paparazzi won't leave her alone, he's working in the desk and door nameplate engraving shop, he's wearing t-shirts and sweats, and he's horrified about the state of his hair (Madoff allegedly said, "When I finally looked in the mirror, I scared myself, because I haven't seen myself in four months, and my hair was everywhere"). The source said, "He blends in. He's a regular dude. He's a really good guy, he's nice."

So, Bernard Madoff, the man behind the $65 billion Ponzi scheme, is headed to a federal prison in Butner, N.C.—according to unnamed prison officials—but he's currently in Georgia. Bloomberg News has the best angle: "Conman Bernard Madoff was moved to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, the same facility where Charles Ponzi was incarcerated, to begin serving his 150-year sentence." The prison has medium-security detention center for "holdover inmates" in transit. It's unclear when Madoff will head to N.C., but the AP listed his famous future fellow inmates: Adelphia Communications' John Rigas and his son, Tim who were "convicted on multiple charges of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud," Jonathan Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel more than two decades ago," and "Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as the blind sheik, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for his role in a plot to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and blow up New York City landmarks, including the United Nations." You can keep tabs on Madoff's whereabouts by using the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator—it lists his release date as "11-14-2139."

Bernard Madoff's epic Ponzi scheme, which is still be investigated by federal prosecutors and securities regulators, has resulted in far more claims from victims than expected. 8,800 claims had been filed by victims by the start of last month, but the finally tally of claims is actually 15,400, according to an interim report [pdf] filed yesterday by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff’s estate. The trustee tells the Times he's "unearthed a labyrinth of international funds, institutions and entities of almost unparalleled complexity." The claims include 258 applications to the trustee’s hardship program, which is supposed to fast-track reimbursement to victims who are elderly, bankrupt, or unable to pay for basic living expenses or medical needs. (152 of those claims have been approved.) Meanwhile, Madoff's lawyers have announced that he won't appeal the 150-year sentence, which means he'll almost certainly die behind bars. But every six months he can look forward to a big shipment of letters from his irate victims; the website Madoff Mail is now accepting hate mail and e-mail, and promises to deliver them to the phony financier twice a year.

John Gotti Jr. is in "excruciating pain" from infected kidney stones, and his lawyers say the prison's refusal to provide him with proper medical treatment amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment." His attorneys have been trying to get him out on bail before the start of his September racketeering trial, and in court papers obtained by the Daily News, they assert, "It is common knowledge that the pain associated with kidney stones is worse than childbirth." To back up their claim, they link to a medical website with testimonials from women who've endured both; one says, "Childbirth has nothing on kidney stones. When you are in labor the pain is like a wave. With a kidney stone it is constant. I would have 10 births before ever wanting to go through the pain of a stone." So given the choice, which would you prefer, a kidney stone or a kid? The former isn't very cute, but at least it never grows up and makes you take it to Hannah Montana.

In a courtroom packed with several hundred spectators—some of them his ruined victims—Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. In the courtroom, Madoff told Chin, federal prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." He added that he lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night. He did turn to face his victims briefly and said:

"I'm sorry; I know that doesn't help you. I cannot offer you an excuse for my behavior. "How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors who entrusted me with their life savings? How do you excuse deceiving 200 employees who spent most of their working life with me? How do you excuse lying to a brother and two sons who spent their entire lives helping to build a successful business? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by you for 50 years?"

Finally, Foxy Brown is talking about the eight months of time she served, and completed last April, after assaulting two nail salon employees in 2006 and then violating parole. Of course, her chattiness might have been prompted by the NY Post cover story on the star treatment she received at Rikers. The paper spoke to Brown, who insisted, "It was incarceration, not vacation." But it wasn't all riches to rags behind bars: She admitted, "I only wore the designer clothing I was allowed to have." Not only were her prison clothes accessorized with Fendi scarves, but the paper reiterates that correction officials fawned over her and became her entourage! "Chaplains hung out in her cell, delivered her meals and makeup, and gave her unlimited TV and phone access." Brown insists she was treated equally, however, and refers to it as "the worst period in my life." Surely she has plenty of pity party material for her autobiography.

Apparently Orthodox Jews weren't the only ones getting preferential treatment while inside the city's prison walls. It appears that the Department of Corrections might have a systematic breakdown going on according to reports in today's Post about the way that various prison officials pampered rap star Foxy Brown while she was doing time at Riker's Island until her release last April.

A man who pitched a tent in prison for over two days straight is suing the infirmary nurse for "cruel and uncivilized conduct" because she didn't help his erection go away. Dawud Yaduallah, 43, was doing time for assault at the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill in March 2006 when his daily dosage of Seroquel was boosted by 25 percent. The anti-psychotic medication can cause side-effects such as "persistent and painful erections," and after 14 hours of wood, Yaduallah went to see the nurse, whose name is Judith Lovelace, tee hee. She told him to ice his rod and sent him back to his cell, but that didn't help and the two-day erection (this is where it's not so funny) left him with "severe damage to his penis, including erectile dysfunction, inability to ejaculate and pain during sexual intercourse." His lawyer blames Lovelace, telling the Post, "The medical literature is clear that if you see a doctor within 24 hours, you generally won't have any permanent damage. He didn't see a doctor for over two days." He's since been, uh, fully released from prison, but now his marriage is on the rocks and he needs a prosthesis "to possibly restore some sexual function."

A Pakistani man residing on Staten Island has pleaded guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by broadcasting a Hezbollah television channel to New York customers. Reuters reports that 45-year-old Javed Iqbal, who moved to the U.S. more than 25 years ago, faces up to 15 years in prison, but according to the Post Iqbal agreed to serve a six and a half year bid as part of a plea deal. The FBI busted Iqbal in August 2006 and accused him of providing customers with a satellite TV package that included Al Manar (pictured), which the feds call "a terrorist organization masquerading as a TV channel." The NYCLU had argued that Iqbal was being wrongfully prosecuted under a statute that "includes a First Amendment exemption that prevents the government from punishing people for importing news communications."

So how many years should a police officer spend in jail for sodomizing a handcuffed suspect with a broomstick? Justin Volpe, the cop who was convicted of torturing Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in a Brooklyn precinct in 1997 and who has been behind bars in a federal prison for nearly 12 years without any chance of parole, is petitioning the Justice Department for a reduced sentence. He's currently sentenced to 30 years, but letters from family, friends, and a priest pleading for leniency have been sent with his petition. (In 2004, GQ tagged along with Volpe's father, a retired NYPD cop, during depressing visits with his son.)

If you were appalled by previous accounts of serial rapist John Hamlett and his ruthless cross-examination of one of his distraught victims during his trial, you'll be pleased to know that he was sentenced to 154 years in prison yesterday. Hamlett, whose decision to act his own lawyer during witness testimony backfired spectacularly, was convicted on all 12 counts for repeatedly breaking into the same building on East Third Street and Avenue B and sexually assaulting his victims at knife point. In giving Hamlett the maximum sentence yesterday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley regretted that he could only incarcerate him for the rest of his life: "The sentence you deserve is beyond my ability to impose, so state prison will have to do."

Yesterday, Robert Chambers was sentenced to 19 years in prison, after accepting a deal to plead guilty to selling cocaine and assaulting a police officer last October. This is four years longer than he was sentenced to for the 1986 killing of Jennifer Levin in Central Park, which was later dubbed the Preppie Murder. Police had also arrested Chambers's girlfriend Shawn Kovell, who was released shortly after pleading guilty. Prosecutors were unhappy the loyal Kovell (she waited for him to be released from previous prison stints) showed up at Chambers's sentencing; ADA Dan Rather Jr. said, "She's apparently wandering around the city without an escort."

The Daily News takes a look at Mark David Chapman's time behind bars at New York's Attica Correctional Facility; the man who killed John Lennon is up for parole for a fifth time this week. In 2000, Yoko Ono wrote a letter to the parole board, referring to Chapman only as "the subject" and asking that he not be released because "With his one act of violence in those few seconds, [he] managed to change my whole life, devastate his sons, and bring deep sorrow and fear to the world." She recently reiterated those sentiments, and fears that his release would leave her family unsafe--the board has also received around 50 letters from Lennon fans this time around.

Today, a judge sentenced Robert Williams to life in prison for the brutal rape and torture of a Columbia graduate student. Williams was convicted last month, with a jury finding him guilty of 44 counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery, assault, rape and sodomy. The attack occurred in April 2007, after Williams had gained access to the victim's Hamilton Heights apartment building, followed her to her floor and forced his way into her apartment.

Earlier this week it was announced that Foxy Brown would be released from prison after serving a drama-filled eight months behind bars. The first stop on her own personal freedom (publicity) tour, she said, was church, where "I've got to get on my knees." But what really came first was shopping in Harlem, followed by a trip to her mother's home in Prospect Heights.

The family of a possibly insane killer who butchered a doctor now wants him to be reexamined. Last week, a lawyer for David Tarloff, who killed a psychiatrist in her Upper East Side office and attacked her colleague with a variety of knives in February, mentioned his client's problems and now a motion reveals their extent.

Cordell Lochin is a bit of an enigma. The well-connected scenester, subject of an indulgent profile in the Observer last spring, presented himself as a partner in the obnoxiously affected nightspots La Esquina and The Box. Now the other entitled owners are distancing themselves from Lochin and the enigma will soon be wrapped inside a prison cell; Guest of a Guest has news that Lochin’s gotten sent up on a 3-year bid for involvement in a cross-border marijuana smuggling ring.