Federal Prison Camp, Duluth Explained

Prison Name:Federal Prison Camp, Duluth
Location:Saint Louis County, Minnesota
Coordinates:46.835°N -92.195°W
Pushpin Map:USA#Minnesota
Pushpin Relief:1
Status:Operational
Classification:Minimum-security
Population:510 (April 2024)[1]
Managed By:Federal Bureau of Prisons
Director:J. E. Krueger
Website:bop.gov/locations/institutions/dth/
Prisoners:Jerry Koosman, Stu Voigt

The Federal Prison Camp, Duluth (FPC Duluth) is a minimum-security federal prison in the north central United States, located in Minnesota for male offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

FPC Duluth is located on the former Duluth Air Force Base near the southwestern tip of Lake Superior, halfway between Minneapolis–St. Paul and the Canada–United States border, and 7miles north of Duluth.[2]

Inmate life

On March 29, 2011, a reporter from a CBS affiliate station in Minnesota interviewed Denny Hecker (15080-041), an inmate at FPC Duluth. Hecker, who made millions of dollars as the owner of car dealerships, was serving a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud in 2010. The reporter, Esme Murphy, described the interview:

He was dressed in surplus army fatigues from the 1960s, the uniform of all inmates.. . . He described a life that to some might not sound so bad. He works out every day with weights in a fully equipped prison gym. He says the food is good. There is a salad bar and at times fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. There is a prison movie theater he can go to. The former auto mogul sleeps in a bunk bed in a room with three other men in a residential dorm-like building. Now he said "the minutes are like hours, the hours like days." Sometimes he spends hours looking at the planes fly overhead to the nearby Air Force base. In prison, he had his first job interview in more than 30 years. He wanted to teach business to other inmates, instead he was assigned to wash floors.[3]

Hecker has since been transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, a low-security facility in Pennsylvania with an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp.[4] He was released July 3, 2018.

Notable inmates (current and former)

width=11%Inmate Namewidth=8%Register Numberwidth=27%Statuswidth=54%Details
Joshua Bellamy73821-018Released from custody in June 2023; served 17 months. Former National Football League wide receiver who played 8 seasons in the league; pleaded guilty in 2021 to fraudulently receiving coronavirus relief loans.
Jerry Koosman06864-090Released from custody in June 2010; served 6 months.Former Major League Baseball pitcher; pleaded guilty in 2009 to federal tax charges.
Stuart Levine17852-424Released from custody in August 2016; served 5 years.Major campaign contributor for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich; pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering in 2012; testified for the prosecution at the trials of Blagojevich, Tony Rezko and William Cellini.[5] [6]
Tony Silva06402-424Released from custody in May 2002; served 7 years.World-renowned expert on rare birds; convicted of conspiracy to commit wildlife smuggling and filing a false tax return.[7]
Stu Voigt18531-041Released from custody in May 2017; served 6 months.Former tight end with the Minnesota Vikings; in February 2016, a jury found Voigt guilty of aiding and abetting bank fraud.[8] [9] [10] [11]
Walter Jack White12368-046Released from custody in May 2022; served 8 years.Methamphetamine cook charged with drug possession and firearms violations. Known for sharing name with fictional drug cook from Breaking Bad.[12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/dth/
  2. Web site: FPC Duluth . Bop.gov . 2015-03-30 . 2015-10-11.
  3. Web site: Behind Bars: Denny Hecker's Life In Prison « CBS Minnesota . Minnesota.cbslocal.com . 2011-05-15 . 2015-10-11.
  4. Web site: Inmate Locator . Bop.gov . 2015-10-11.
  5. Web site: Blagojevich insider, key witness, gets 5 1/2 years in prison - tribunedigital-chicagotribune . Articles.chicagotribune.com . 2012-07-19 . 2015-10-11.
  6. Web site: https://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/indict/2005/us_v_levine_02.pdf . February 9, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115054017/http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/indict/2005/us_v_levine_02.pdf . January 15, 2013 .
  7. Web site: Smuggler Of Birds Sentenced (Published 1996) . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417044559/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/19/science/smuggler-of-birds-sentenced.html . 2023-04-17 . live .
  8. News: Ex-Viking Stu Voigt found guilty in one bank fraud count . Minneapolis Star-Tribune . Montemayor . Stephen . February 6, 2016 . April 28, 2018.
  9. News: Ex-Viking Stu Voigt sentenced to six months in prison for role in fraud scheme . Minneapolis Star-Tribune . Serres . Chris . October 14, 2016 . April 28, 2018.
  10. News: Ex-Vikings TE Stu Voigt gets 6 months in prison in fraud scheme . ESPN . Associated Press . October 13, 2016. April 28, 2018.
  11. News: Former Viking Stu Voigt ready to 'pay it forward' after release from prison . Twin Cities Pioneer Press . Sansavere . Bob . June 16, 2017 . April 28, 2018.
  12. News: Walter White gets 12 years for dealing meth. Billings Gazette. December 16, 2013. November 20, 2018.