Federal_Correctional_Institution,_Otisville

Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville

Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville

Medium-security federal prison for male inmates located near Otisville, New York


The Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville (FCI Otisville) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates located near Otisville, New York. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders. It is known for its relatively high number of Jewish inmates.

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Location

FCI Otisville is located in southeastern New York State, near the Pennsylvania and New Jersey borders, and 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City. It is 14 mile (400 m) from the Otisville Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison.[1] It is 22 miles (35 km) from Monticello, New York, 28 miles (45 km) from Kiryas Joel, and 51 miles (82 km) from Monsey.[2]

Jewish demographics

Aleph Institute's prison outreach director, Rabbi Menachem Katz, stated that the BOP "kind of unofficially designated it to meet the needs of Orthodox Jews" due to the proximity to the Jewish population of New York City.[3] Circa 2008 the warden of the prison stated 58 prisoners were Jewish, while Jewish Prisoner Services International chairman Gary Friedman stated that about 120 prisoners were Jewish. FCI Otisville offers Passover Seders, done in the prison cafeteria. Until other prisons began offering seders, prisoners at those institutions took buses to Otisville to partake in seders. Peter Hyman of New York magazine wrote "Otisville still offers one of the more traditional Seders in the prison system."[3] Religious Jewish inmates request assignment to FCI Otisville for these reasons.[4]

Notable incidents

On August 11, 2009, former correction officer Hope Spinato (assigned to FCI Otisville) was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to aiding and assisting an inmate serving a 17-year drug trafficking sentence, in briefly escaping the facility. An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Spinato became involved in a relationship with the inmate (not identified by the Bureau of Prisons) and drove the inmate between the facility and her home, on several occasions.[5]

George Jung, the basis for the 2001 film Blow, served time at FCI Otisville, but was later transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey, before being released in 2017.

In the Spike Lee film 25th Hour, the protagonist Montgomery "Monty" Brogan spends his final day commiserating with friends and family before reporting to Otisville for a seven-year sentence.

In the opening of the 2010, film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to the 1987 film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, is released after serving an eight-year sentence for insider trading and securities fraud for his actions as a corporate raider in the first movie. Although the scene was actually shot at Sing Sing state prison, Gekko mentions in the film that he served his sentence at FCI Otisville.

In The Mindy Project, nurse Morgan refers to his time in Otisville for the theft of cars with his cousin.

In 2019, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, who is famous from the MTV show Jersey Shore, was sentenced to 8 months for tax fraud.

In Season 3 Episode 4 of Succession, Tom Wambsgans mentions Otisville as "the Jewish jail" while looking through a list of prisons where he will potentially be incarcerated.[6]

Notable inmates (current and former)

Current

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Former

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See also


References

  1. "FCI Otisville". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  2. Tannenbaum (Rabbi), Gershon (December 24, 2014). "Jews in Prison". Five Towns Jewish Times. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  3. Hyman, Peter (April 13, 2008). "Medium-Security Seder". New York magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2017. "Even so, it's a big deal among the unfree at the medium-security federal prison in Otisville,[...]" (making it clear that this is the federal, not state, prison)
  4. Hawkins, Asher (July 13, 2009). "In Pictures: America's 10 Cushiest Prisons". Forbes. Retrieved October 24, 2017. It is often requested as a destination by observant Jewish cons, thanks to its full-time rabbi and availability of kosher food.
  5. "Former Correctional Officer Sentenced to Eight Months in Federal Prison for Aiding and Assisting Escape". Federal Bureau of Investigation. August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  6. Tobias, Scott (November 8, 2021). "Succession Recap: Sgt. Pepper of Broken Corporate America". Vulture. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  7. "Sharper sentenced to 20 years in Louisiana rape case". USA Today. August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  8. 'Italian financier draws 25 years for bank fraud'; The Globe and Mail, June 14, 1980, p. 12
  9. Firstman, Richard C.; 'He Lived As He Died: An Enigma'; Newsday, March 23, 1986, p. 03
  10. 'Michele Sindona Gets Life Imprisonment In Murder Conspiracy'; The Wall Street Journal, March 19, 1986, p. 1
  11. "American Greed: The Slaughterhouse". CNBC. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  12. Pitt, David E. (April 18, 1987). "Hijacker of '76 T.W.A. Flight Burrows Out of Federal Prison". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  13. "Terrorist in NYC hijacking, bombing granted parole". Usatoday.Com. July 19, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  14. "US Concedes Amnesty to Zvonko Busic After 32 Years - Current Events - Croatia". Dalje.com. July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  15. "Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Officially Booked into Prison". TMZ. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  16. "Ex-Cendant Chairman Sentenced for Fraud". The New York Times. January 18, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  17. Roberts, Daniel (July 7, 2014). "Orange is the New White-Collar". Fortune. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  18. "Corrupt Ex-Pol Now Doing Time In New York". Queens Politics. March 26, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  19. "Ken Starr, Hollywood's Madoff, Gets Sentenced". Huffingtonpost.com. March 3, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  20. "American Greed: Celebrity Scam Artist". CNBC. January 24, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  21. Scannell, Kara. "Michael Cohen will be released from prison due to pandemic". CNN. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  22. cbsnews.com/amp/news/michael-cohen-released-again/
  23. Cohen, Michel (2020). "Appendix". Disloyal: A Memoir. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 369. ISBN 978-1510764699. The Court finds that [the government's] purpose....was retaliatory in response to Cohen's desiring to exercise his First Amendment rights... [Citing Judge Hellerstein's Order].
  24. Sisak, Michael; Mustian, Jim (May 3, 2019). "Cohen's prison reality: A bunk bed in barrack-style hall". AP. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  25. Sisak, Michael R.; Mustian, Jim (May 3, 2019). "Here's a look at Michael Cohen's upcoming prison life". Boston.com. Associated Press.
  26. "Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen jailed for 36 months". BBC News. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  27. "BOP: Federal Inmates By Name". www.bop.gov. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  28. Ormseth, Matthew (February 7, 2020). "Ex-CEO of investment giant Pimco given longest sentence to date in college admissions scandal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  29. Weiser, Benjamin; McKinley, Jesse (July 20, 2020). "Sheldon Silver, Former N.Y. Assembly Speaker, Will Finally Go to Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  30. Alvarez, Edgar (October 11, 2018). "Creator of doomed Fyre Festival gets six-year prison sentence". Yahoo News. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  31. Weiser, Benjamin; Wang, Vivian (October 25, 2018). "Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, Gets 4 Years and 3 Months in Prison". The New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  32. Fuller, Nicole (January 8, 2019). "Dean and Adam Skelos report to federal prison, officials say". Newsday. Retrieved January 14, 2019.

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