Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix Explained

Prison Name:Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix
Location:Fort Dix, New Jersey
Status:Operational
Classification:Low-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population:4,070 (328 in prison camp)
Managed By:Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix (FCI Fort Dix) is a low-security United States federal prison for male offenders in New Jersey. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male inmates.

FCI Fort Dix is located in Burlington County on the ASA Fort Dix entity of Joint base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. It is approximately 40miles from Philadelphia.[1] The prison is in the Fort Dix census-designated place,[2] and also within New Hanover Township, New Jersey.[3]

Fort Dix is the largest single federal prison in the United States in the number of inmates housed there.[4]

It is divided up into three compounds: The separate East and West Compounds (both low-level, each constituting a single prison in its own right) and a camp between the two.

Notable incidents

Identity theft ring

In early 2010, a joint FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigation found that Dimorio McDowell (50711-019), an inmate at FCI Fort Dix, was operating a major identity theft ring from the prison. Eight co-conspirators, with whom McDowell communicated by telephone, were also arrested. The ring targeted credit cards issued by major chain stores such as Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes and others. McDowell and his co-conspirators obtained the personal information of credit card holders through customer service departments and added themselves as authorized users. When McDowell's co-conspirators went to make purchases, they showed false identification or provided the last four digits of the cardholder's Social Security number and charged high-end items such as a John Deere tractor, big-screen televisions, snow blowers and stoves. The companies that issued the cards, including Citigroup Financial, HSBC and GE Capital, lost between $500,000 and $1 million.[5]

McDowell subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and was sentenced to 14 additional years in prison on January 18, 2011.[6] McDowell is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, which has a Communication Management Unit, where inmate contact with the outside world is severely restricted and tightly monitored. He is scheduled for release in 2028.[7]

Notable inmates (current and former)

High-profile inmates

width=13%Inmate namewidth=10%Register numberwidth=28%Statuswidth=49%Details
Christopher Coke02257-748Serving a 23 year sentence; scheduled for release in 2029.Leader of the Jamaican drug gang Shower Posse.
Martin Shkreli87850-053Released in 2022Convicted of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud.[8]
Matthew Guglielmetti Jr.10270-014Released from custody in 2014; served 10 years.[9] Reputed New England crime boss of the Patriarca crime family; pled guilty to drug trafficking charges.
George Jung19225-004 Released from custody in 2014; served 19 years.[10] Drug trafficker and former partner of drug kingpin Carlos Lehder; directed the shipment of thousands of tons of narcotics into the US in the 1970s and 1980s; pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 1995; portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2001 film Blow.[11] [12]

Politicians

width=13%width=10%Register numberwidth=28%Statuswidth=49%Details
Buddy Cianci05000-070Released from custody in 2007; served 4 years.[13] Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, from 1975 to 1984 and 1991 to 2002; convicted in 2002 of racketeering for accepting bribes in exchange for city jobs from 1991 to 1999.[14] [15]
Kwame Kilpatrick44678-039Served a 28-year sentence; transferred to Oakdale. Sentence commuted by Donald Trump on his last day in office.[16] Former mayor of Detroit from 2002-2008, convicted in 2013 of racketeering, fraud, bribery and extortion.
Joe Ganim14466-014Released from custody in July 2010; Served 7 yearsMayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, from 1991-2003 and 2015–present. Convicted in 2003 of 16 federal counts that include racketeering, extortion, racketeering conspiracy, bribery, bribery conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax fraud.
Rob Walker90668-053Was serving an 18-month sentence; released from custody on January 24, 2023.Former Chief Deputy County Executive of Nassau County, New York from 2010-2018 convicted for obstruction of justice.[17]
Bobby Henon77029-066Serving a 3.5-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2026.Former majority leader and member of Philadelphia City Council. Convicted in November 2021 for political corruption involving former Philadelphia labor leader John Dougherty.[18]

Fraudsters

width=13%Inmate namewidth=10%Register numberwidth=28%Statuswidth=49%Details
Martin Frankel14142-014Released October 27, 2016; served 17 years.Pleaded guilty in 2002 to racketeering and fraud for siphoning over $200 million from insurance premiums paid to companies he controlled in the 1990s; Frankel's story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[19] [20] [21]
Edward Porta18862-058Released October 1, 2019; served 38 months.Pleaded guilty in 2005 for defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture of more than $400,000
Steven Hoffenberg35601-054Served 18 years of a twenty-year sentence; released on October 11, 2013Former associate of Jeffrey Epstein convicted in 1997 for investment fraud
Hushpuppi54313-424Serving a 135-month sentence; scheduled for release in 2029.Former Instagram influencer convicted for conspiracy to launder money from business email compromise frauds and other scams

Child pornography

width=13%Inmate namewidth=10%Register numberwidth=28%Statuswidth=49%Details
Richard Goldberg14321-052 Transferred to FMC Devens; released on May 24, 2024.Serial child molester and FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive until his capture in 2007; pleaded guilty in 2007 to producing child pornography, including images of himself engaging in sexual acts with underage girls.[22] [23]
Mike Lombardo19900-052Served a 5-year sentence; released on August 16, 2018.Former musician pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.
Eric Justin Toth32508-016Serving a 25-year sentence; scheduled for release on August 8, 2034.Former Washington, D.C. elementary school teacher and FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive; apprehended in Nicaragua in 2013 after five years on the run; pleaded guilty in 2013 to production of child pornography.[24] [25]

Other

Inmate nameRegister numberStatusDetails
Casey Fury07480-036Serving a 17-year sentence; scheduled for release on August 19, 2027.Former worker at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine; pleaded guilty to arson for setting fire to the nuclear submarine USS Miami in 2012, injuring five firefighters and two sailors and causing $400 million in damage.[26]
David Headley (a.k.a. Daood Sayed Gilani)01783-265In another prison for a different crime (released from federal prison on March 5, 1992)After serving a drug sentence at Dix, he conspired in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[27]
Lee Mroszak (a.k.a. Crazy Cabbie)71424-053Released on January 26, 2006.Was a regular guest on the Howard Stern Show. During the November 9, 2004, live broadcast he admitted that he had not filed or paid taxes for several years, an Internal Revenue Service employee happened to be listening to the show and reported Mroszak to their superiors at the IRS. He was sentenced to serve one year in FCI Fort Dix and pay his outstanding back taxes. On June 29, 2005, Mroszak was moved from FCI Fort Dix to the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.
Matthew Weigman26937-038Released on October 20, 2018.Blind phreaker, sentenced to 11 years and 3 months for his part in a swatting conspiracy.
Paul Nicholas Miller32607-509Served a three-year and five-month sentence; released on July 3, 2023. American far-right political commentator and streamer, known online as 'GypsyCrusader'. Miller is best known for his cosplays of various characters, most notably Joker. Miller was indicted on charges of possessing a firearm as convicted felon and possession of unregistered rifle on February 25, 2021, stemming from an incident that took place in January 2018.[28]
Michael Parnell96286-020Transferred to FCI Butner. Serving a 20-year sentence; scheduled for release on October 1, 2031.Former Peanut Broker convicted of conspiracy, fraud and other federal charges.[29] [30]
Tyler King57919-177Serving a six-year and six-month sentence; scheduled for release on June 26, 2024.Tech CEO convicted of conspiracy to access a protected computer system. Also founder of A Voice From Prison, the first nonprofit of its kind which advocates for criminal justice from inside Federal prison.[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BOP: FCI Fort Dix . Board of Prisons . 2012-07-12.
  2. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Fort Dix CDP, NJ. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-07-18. Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix.
  3. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): New Hanover township, NJ. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-07-18. 1 (PDF p. 2/3). Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix.
  4. News: Fort Dix May Become Federal Prison . The New York Times . Robert . Hanley . 1992-08-30.
  5. News: Cruz. Alicia. Dimorio McDowell accused of running major credit card scam from New Jersey prison cell. newjerseynewsroom.com . April 3, 2010 . April 15, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20100405073524/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/dimorio-mcdowell-accused-of-running-major-credit-card-scam-from-new-jersey-prison-cell. April 5, 2010. dead.
  6. Web site: Inmate Who Ran a Quarter-Million-Dollar Identity Theft Ring from Inside Federal Prison Receives an Additional 14.5 Years in Prison. Federal Bureau of Investigation . January 18, 2011 . April 15, 2013.
  7. Web site: Inmate Locator: Dimorio McDowell. Federal Bureau of Prisons. April 15, 2013.
  8. News: Pharma bro Martin Shkreli is denied minimum security camp and sent to federal prison in New Jersey . Mangan . Dan . 2018-04-18 . CNBC . 2018-04-18.
  9. News: White. Tim. Reputed mobster released from prison. WPRI. June 16, 2014. January 3, 2017. July 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714153609/http://wpri.com/2014/06/16/reputed-mobster-released-from-prison/. dead.
  10. News: Associated Press. Drug informant George Jung, portrayed in 'Blow,' released from prison. Fox News . June 5, 2014 . June 30, 2014.
  11. Web site: Drug Enforcement Administration: 1975-1980. Drug Enforcement Administration. March 17, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130704130415/http://www.justice.gov/dea/about/history/1975-1980.pdf. July 4, 2013. dead.
  12. Web site: Woodford. Ryan. George Jung. Free Info Society. March 17, 2013. July 1, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110701074953/http://www.freeinfosociety.com/article.php?id=298. dead.
  13. News: Ex-mayor Buddy Cianci leaves prison. December 11, 2015. USA Today. May 30, 2007.
  14. News: Pam Belluck . A Sentence for Corruption Ends an Era in Providence . The New York Times . 2002-09-07 . 2012-11-01.
  15. News: Zezima . Katherine . National Briefing | New England: Rhode Island: Providence Mayor's Plea Rejected . The New York Times . 2002-11-28 . 2012-11-01.
  16. Web site: Baldas. Tresa. Kwame Kilpatrick vowed a comeback. Trump made it happen. 2021-02-11. Detroit Free Press. en-US.
  17. News: Murphy. Bridget. Former Mangano deputy Rob Walker starts federal prison sentence. Newsday. February 7, 2022.
  18. Web site: Roebuck . Jeremy . 2023-04-18 . Former Philly Councilmember Bobby Henon reports to prison . 2023-04-18 . . en.
  19. News: PAUL ZIELBAUER. Published: May 16, 2002 . After Years of High Life, Swindler Pleads Guilty . The New York Times . 2002-05-16 . 2012-07-12.
  20. News: Alison Leigh Cowan . Onetime Fugitive Gets 17 Years for Looting Insurers . The New York Times . 2004-12-11 . 2012-11-01.
  21. News: American Greed - The Martin Frankel Case . CNBC . 2008-01-16 . 2012-11-01.
  22. News: May 13, 2007 . Tip snares alleged child molester on FBI top 10 list . CNN . August 1, 2015.
  23. News: Glover . Scott . December 11, 2007 . Ex-fugitive gets 20 years in molestation . Los Angeles Times . August 1, 2015.
  24. Web site: Nelson . Steven . April 23, 2013 . Eric Justin Toth, Alleged Child Pornographer and FBI 'Most Wanted' Fugitive, Caught in Nicaragua . 30 April 2014 . U.S. News & World Report.
  25. Web site: March 11, 2014 . Former Teacher Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Other Charges . 30 April 2014 . Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  26. News: Boyette. Chris. Shipyard worker sentenced to 17 years for $400 million submarine fire. CNN . March 16, 2013 . April 15, 2013.
  27. News: The Making of a Terrorist . The Daily Beast . Gerald Posner . December 8, 2009.
  28. Web site: 2021-09-28. Florida Man Who Called for Race-Based Civil War Sentenced on Multiple Firearms Offenses. 2021-11-05. www.justice.gov. en.
  29. Web site: Vaccines but no 'compassionate release' for Parnell brothers prior to May hearings. April 12, 2021.
  30. Web site: Parnell brothers are also asking for 'compassionate release'. March 3, 2021.
  31. Web site: 2020-08-13 . Texas Man Sentenced to 57 Months for Computer Hacking and Aggravated Identity Theft . 2022-08-14 . www.justice.gov . en.