Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I looked
out the window and saw the Miami Metro Zoo entrance on S.W. 252
Street, and less than two minutes later we were at the gates of the
Miami Metro Correctional Center, affectionately known as "MCC'" by it's
some 800 residents and as "the country club" by it's veterans roaming free
again on the streets.
There was no mistaking the place as a prison from the outside by it's
twelve foot high double perimeter chain-link fences topped with neverending spirals of razor wire.
was just how close I had lived to this place and never even knew it was
here. Indeed my condo at the Kenlands was only about three miles away.
I was hustled out of the car by the two Marshals who ushered me inside
as I hobbled along in both leg and handcuffs, both of which I thought were
extreme overkill for anyone but the most violent people on Earth. Soon I
was between a double-door entrance and a closed circuit TV announce
our arrival.
paperwork and the Marshals were gone in less than five minutes after
removing my shackles and placing me in a small holding cell.
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walked into view in front of the cell that was walled off on three sides. "All
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new prisoners are stripped searched for drugs and weapons" she said
matter-of-factly.
me and decided I would get naked as soon as she left the area.
The
problem is, she just stood there chewing her gum with her arms crossed.
"I haven't got all day" she remarked.
She then ran me through a two minute drill that had me running my fingers
through my hair, looking in my mouth, between my toes, and then asked
me to turn around, bend over, and spread the cheeks of my butt to her. I
never felt so humiliated in my life and let her know it. "Is this your first time
to prison?" she asked "Yes ma'am".
because you'll go through this same routine every time you get a visit,
leave the compound, or go to court. Now hurry up and spread those
cheeks for me so we can get this over with." I complied reluctantly with
a frown.
their rectums with balloons full of drugs to be smuggled inside and sold for
hefty profits. The fact that I had zero history of drug use didn't seem to
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This i s the front entrance to MCC Miami which is now called FCI Miami
After the search I was given an allowance of clothing to last a week which
is to say, two pairs of boxer shorts, two tee shirts, two pairs of socks, a
pair of blue sneakers and an flaming orange jump suit. For someone who
changed socks and underwear on a daily basis, the idea of having to make
all this last a week was pretty repulsive to me. The woman must have been
reading my mind and offered some relief "There's a washer and dryer in
every unit".
Within the next hour, I was photographed and fingerprinted and told to
wait for a nurse. Two hours later the nurse appeared to screen me for a
number of diseases ranging from Hepatitis, to TB and HIV. She took a
small blood and urine sample. "You'll be held in E unit until all your test
results come back.
general population." I knew I was healthy, and didn't like the fact that I
would have to be held in a unit that was generally a quarantine unit where
God knows what diseases where floating through the air.
Indeed, when I
arrived to E unit, I met not one but two guys who admitted they lived
permanently in E unit because they had TB! There were about eighty men
housed in E unit - two per cell and a large common area in the center
occupied by ten or so stainless steel tables and benches for feeding and
card-playing. So the days went very slow in E unit and I avoided contact
with most everyone and used the rest rooms with great caution, being sure
not to have skin contact with any common surface.
coughing, and spitting of flem in this unit kept me in my cell most of the day.
I don't suffer from a germ phobia, but this unit would make any health care
professional cringe especially since no disinfecting was done at all in the
unit.
The only cleaning was a sweeping and mopping of the floor twice a
day. I managed to locate a can of clorox cleanser and used it to scrub the
dickens out of the sink and toilet in my cell, the only one I'd use from then
on.
But fortunately after about ten days, my name was called and I was told
to gather
population. I was elated. As I approached the door, the guard simply said,
find your way to B unit and report into the unit guard there. They know
you're coming. When he opened the door, I was amazed by what I saw
and for a brief moment, felt like Dorothy must have felt when she awoke
in the land of Oz.
prison. There was a big circular lake surrounded by a walkway with what
looked like very modern townhomes placed about fifty yards back from
the lake. I didn't see any bars nor guards. What I did see was dozens of
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The
landscaping was incredible with palms and other tropical trees swaying in
the breeze. In the distance I could ee some prisoners
playing soccer
I had to look real hard to see the perimeter fences I saw when I first
arrived to MCC Miami. I Iooked for the guard towers that you always
see in the movies but found none.
groomed park
or
day
camp.
The
peaceful
like a well
environment
was
on a p.a. system
benches made it almost look like a retreat or sanctuary. But the all male
strollers dressed in orange brings one back to reality right quick.
or Hispanics?
"Not particularly
- why?"
I responded.
"Because we've got a full house here and I need to place you in a cell
with either a black guy or a Latino, which do you prefer?"
one doesn't smoke." was my choice.
"Whichever
named R u i Martinez from Brazil, who at the time was not in the
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cell.
next eleven
months.
After
to do now"?
crazy and replied, "It's Saturday man, do whatever you want. Just be
sure you're back here in your cell by 4:00pm for count".
That gave
me just about two hours to kill so I decided I would explore the prison
grounds and hope I didn't stroll into some restricted area.
The prison compound was about ten acres by my estimate with about
three of that being wooded areas of pines and scrub.
five housing units there were some other large buildings which I soon
discovered
included
administration
large
cafeteria,
public
works
building,
bout 2,500 square feet, and education building, and something called
a "segregation" building.
I apologized a nd
explained
and wanted
it
was
my
first
day
and
there
no
problems.
I then discovered
field, which
I was genuinely
the
area
where
all
the
barbells
and
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exercise equipment
was
kept.
guard monitoring
the
activity.
Every
recreational
They
had
only
with
armed
This after all, was a federal prison and its occupants were
prosecuted
criminals
were
facility
dealers.
embezzlers,
Violent
crimes
and lots of
were
mostly
those few were kept under scrutiny and often kept in a special unit I
was told.
As
walked
compound
to
where
prisoners
around the
was
drawn
most
of
the
were
mingling
building.
and saw
small
classrooms
maybe twenty
chairs
of
per class area.
was delighted to find a small library and was told by another prisoner
that current reading material would have to be gotten from the mobile
library that visited the prison once a
County.
When
week,
compliments
of
Dade
old,
I knew what
he meant.
It was a
small library inside the library and when I walked into browse, it was
by far the quietest spot at MCC. I was told it was
The law books
wasn't
what
caught
my attention,
the
law library.
but rather the
be writing
of my conviction
a lot
and maybe a
made sure to check the hours of availability for the law library before I
left to continue my little expedition.
It was now 3:45pm and I noticed everyone was headed back to their
units so I decided it would be prudent to do the same.
As I left the
Upon
hearing about UNICOR, I had to laugh to myself a bit. For just a few days
earlier I was watching a news clip of President Reagan lambasting the
Chinese government for
here at MCC didn't seem to mind working the ten hour shifts. Most of the
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UNICOR prisoners were from Latin America and enjoyed the extra
spending money they were able to earn behind sewing machines.
Back at B unit I found my new cell and met Ruy Martinez, a jovial guy who
wasted no time in taking me under his wing with a few tips to stay out
of trouble and make time pass quicker. Ruy, it seemed was convicted as
the master-mind behind the great Eastern Airlines drug ring that had
been importing tons of cocaine from South American secreted
the
structural
panels
of
inside
successfully running this operation for ten years when someone slipped
and got caught.
prison staff would count all the prisoners to ensure nobody decided to
leave. I didn't know it yet, but before I left MCC, I would get to watch two
escape attempts, and watch a friend get caught in a third.
Counts
After the count, Ruy told me that our unit would be released for dinner in a
matter of minutes and all I needed to bring was an appetite, which by
now I already had. Sure enough the guard hollered "Chow time!" and
our unit emptied in an orderly fashion and I walked with Ruy to the
cafeteria I had seen earlier.
and
I was
again,
I had to admit
impressed
with
selection
of decent food,
Prisoners themselves
of
the operation.
all the older Italian mobsters ran the kitchen. My first meal behind
bars was roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas & carrots, a salad and
some garlic bread.
coffee.
well and again, couldn't get over the quality of this prison food.
I ate
It was
Ruy
told me how lucky I was to have guidelines of 11-13 months and how
most of the guys here would
give
their
testicles
right
arms
and
As it turned out, MCC Miami was not a real prison per se, but rather
an intake facility, a processing center where prisoners pending trials,
or awaiting
sentencing
temporary warehouse
It was a
If something happened to you in a two man cell your cellmate would be held
accountable legally and charged with new crimes if you are injured. It was
this false sense of security that would almost cost me my life. One does not
expect to get raped or attacked in a federal prison where most of the
prisoners are either drug smugglers or white collar criminals. So it easy to
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be caught off guard here, and other minimum or even medium security
facilities
As I said, most people do not serve sentences here at MCC Miami. But
there were exceptions
area and who
Prisoners facing such little time could in fact serve their entire time at
MCC Miami and these were first offenders like myself. In all there,
must have been about two dozen of us that fell into this category.
General Noriega would be another such exception. Yeah, Ruy and some
others kept telling me how "lucky" I was.
of the crime I was convicted and now jailed for, I couldn't buy into the
"Lucky" theory, no matter how hard I tried. Below is MCC Miami
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The following day I was assigned to a work detail in the kitchen and
was told to report to Joe Kuhn the supervisor.
down-to-earth guy who treated me and all the others with respect and
dignity.
wash pots and pans, or work on the serving line. I asked him what the
difference w a s .
work in the bakery but I could come in at 9:00am to do the pots and
pans and leave whenever I finished. The serving line he told me paid only
$19 a month and I'd get $38 if I did the pots and pans. I chose the pots
and pans detail and Joe spent about 30 minutes showing me where all the
cleaning fluids and scrub brushes were and where to put the clean pans
when I was done with them.
conditioned kitchen and I only had four hours of work a day, which gave
me four more free hours than most everyone else.
laden water was playing havoc with the skin on my hands which turned a
weird shade of
next day he brought be a think pair of rubber gloves and a jar of aloevera gel. Like I said, he was a real decent guy.
With those four extra hours every day, I started hanging out in the
education building reading old magazines and preparing the drafts of the
letters I needed to write to the Chief Judge, my congressman, and the
American and Florida Bar Associations.
the
education
building was teaching all the Latin American prisoners how to speak
English. This made absolutely no sense to me especially considering that
all these Latinos would be deported upon the completion of their
sentences!
spent to teach foreigners how to speak English, knowing full well they
could never become U.S. residents with
American
citizens
who
were
jailed
their
convictions.
received
nothing
All the
that
even
I was floored by
this absence of rehab and soon realized that U.S. prisons were only
warehousing
MCC Miami $280 a day to house, feed, and provide rehabilitative services.
By my calculations, this was a lot of money (about $200,000 per day) and I
have no idea where all this money was going to. (Todays costs are roughly
$350 per day per prisoner) At MCC Miami, I learned that some private
company was earning $79 a day per inmate for educational servic es yet I
never saw any class being held. What I did see was a latin civilian male in
his 30s handing out a pack of cigarettes to anyone who would sign an
attendance sheet every day.
A drug
smuggler sentenced to fifteen years will upon his release revert back to
smuggling with a vengeance in even bigger volumes to make up for all the
lost time and income missed during their confinement period.
Their
drugs" was being fought on the wrong front. To the smugglers, they were
just businessmen trying to satisfy a huge demand for consumer drugs.
Instead of trying so hard to eradicate the shifting supply chain of drugs,
perhaps more progress would be realized if we could reduce the demand
for drugs on our streets. If the demand for drugs could be eliminated, the
supply would dry up. I also learned that those involved in the drug trade
all seemed to have inside help on a
major scale,
and the
major
Many of
these guys had contingency plans in place and even expected a prison
stay or two.
Take Renee Benitez for example. Once the head of the Cali cocaine
cartel who
shot
dared to
hunt
him down
in
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Other federal prisons for women are also scattered around America and this photo show s
a typical two per cell very similar to the one I shared with Ruy Martinez and later Rene
Benitez, and then George Morales when I was not in solitary confinement.
General Manuel Noriega of Panama would share some of the very same prison cells a s I
did at MCC Miami less than 10 years after I left. I never dreamed I would meet hi s family
nor accept hi s collect call s from pri son. In 1994-1996. Some of hi s former be st friends
were also my friends, and our mutual enemies as it would turn out.
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I guess what I really want to say about the prison system is that if they
put all that money to work in social rehab programs, counseling and
therapy, the system would make a positive impact on at least half of the
prison population, and we'd all see a genuine drop in crime on the streets.
I realize I wasn't sent to prison to analyze the system, but with all that time
on my hands, I couldn't help myself. Sure, the food was great, the cells
were clean, but the opportunity to change lives for the better was grossly
neglected and lost.
Although I met some really nice prison staff members who treated me like a
real human being (like Joe Kuhn, Oscar Solars, Mr. Browning, etc). too
many of the staff have an authority complex that compels them to act in
mean, cruel and provocative ways.
detail in other chapters, let me suffice it to say now that many prison staff
members actually think its part of their job description to antagonize
prisoners in any way that can make their lives even more miserable.
For
example, I've seen guards assign prisoners to clean a latrine and rather
than give them the proper brushes and mops that are readily available,
they'll hand them a couple of toothbrushes. They weren't being punished
for misconduct mind you, they were simply being antagonized, and when
one of
the prisoners
balked,
he
was
promptly
sent
to
solitary
confinement for two weeks. These sort of attacks on their dignity are too
common in prison and only serve to polarize that "Us versus Them"
mentality.
If one were to evaluate prisons only by visual inspection, they would walk
away just as impressed as I was 'during my first week at MCC Miami.
But the quality of prison life is determined by the quality of its staff and
317
how that staff interacts with prisoners on a daily basis. Prisoners that
are
passive
and
let themselves
be
subjected
to humiliations and
I had the
strength,
I stood
Therefore as
time would pass, I would endure two punishments - the sentence Judge
Hastings ordered, and the extra 27 months
decided
to
impose
upon
the
prison
system
t ha t i t w a s p la nne d f ro m m y a r ri va l t ha t I c o uld no t be
re le a se d unti l a fte r the 1 9 88 e lec tio ns , I ha d no c lue
tha t
in
t hi s
fairly
tra nq ui l
p ri so n
camp,
s o me
t hi nk
f a c i li t y.
a he a d
co uld
p o s si b ly
Ind e e d ,
lo oks
for
me
was
he ll
wi tne ss
ca n
on
be
m ur d e rs
de ce i vi ng .
E a rth.
in
such
Wha t
A cco rdi ng
to
lay
my
s e nt e nc i ng g ui de l i ne s I w a s su ppo s ed t o b e r e le a sed
w i t h in 11 - 1 3 m on t hs . I n re a l i t y I w o u ld be de t a i n ed
i l l e g a l l y fo r 38 m on t hs .
Yes,
prison w a s
d e f i n i t e l y a learning experience
for me in
prison stay, I might still be just as naive, ignorant, and gullible as too
many
of
my fellow Americans
remain
today.
Despite
all the
Eventually I learned more about life and people in prison than I did at
university. But the calm before any storm can be so cruelly assuring that I
was not prepared for the coming test of my sanity.
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