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CONFESSIONS OF A
MONEY LAUNDERER by Kenneth Rijock
MONEY LAUNDERER by Kenneth Rijock
Financial Crime Consultant, for World-Check
Confessions of a Money Launderer - Part 51
20 January 2008
Serving a long four years in a Federal Prison Camp was a very unattractive reality. Could my sentence be trimmed under Rule 35, which allows the US Attorney to move the court to reduce the sentence for what the law calls "Substantial Assistance," delivering information to the prosecutor or to law enforcement, that will result in the arrest of additional individuals, or the recovery of criminally-derived assets by the government? Whilst every inmate dreams of a sentence reduction, either through some magical feat of his or her lawyer, or through cooperation, obtaining one is purely at the discretion of federal prosecutors, who alone can file such a motion. Remember, I was in prison precisely because I did not cooperate in years past, when my stubbornness and misplaced sense of loyalty to clients who failed to reciprocate, resulted in my eventual imprisonment. Could I switch sides, and return to the legitimate society, which I had left a decade before? The clients had certainly abandoned me, and I was on my own, and no longer bound by my perverse interpretation of the attorney-client privilege.
Here is how it happened:
Next Week: the Swiss Magistrate.
- Not wanting to involve my lawyer in the process, as the case was over, and he had other clients going to trial in other matters which required his immediate attention, I enlisted the assistance of someone on the outside, who contacted the US Marshal's Service, the federal police agency that is responsible for the custody of arrested defendants prior to trial, transport them to court, and handle their transit between prisons or prison camps.
- A Deputy US Marshal in the Tallahassee office who was aware that the US Attorney was involved in the first US-Swiss cooperative investigation into lawyers and bankers in Switzerland that aided and abetted American drug traffickers seeking a safe haven for their criminal profits, was contacted.
- The deputy was advised by us that many of my clients in a particular organisation had subequently moved a large portion of their cash into Switzerland, and that I might be of assistance in the investigation then pending.
- Thus, one day, they picked me up at Eglin, manacled me like I was a mass murderer (standard operating procedure), and transported me, along with a number of other prisoners, to the Federal Prison in Tallahassee, and old, foreboding place that reminded me of a POW camp I saw once whilst serving in Vietnam. Guard towers, concertina wire, and an imposing facade that suggested all the prison movies you've ever seen. The difference was, I wasn't in a theatere, and free to leave after the show. I was going into this dark place.
- The reason I was not being housed at a more hospitable facility is that some of my former clients who testified against me before the Grand Jury, and who were therefore responsible for my indictment, were also at the local county jail, where they also kept federal inmates in transit, and Bureau of Prison rules forbid placing people who testify against you, in with you, to avoid possible violence against those who testified.
- FCI Tallahassee, as it is technically known, was basically a place at that time where inmates with five to ten years to serve, and who did not qualify for mimimum security, were sent to serve time. If you were not a citizen, and were scheduled for likely deportation after your sentence, you would end up at a place like this.
- The place had what is known as Controlled Movement, meaning that one could only walk to another part of the facility during rigidly specified times during each hour. Otherwise, you were bound to remain where you were. There are cells there, not the dormitory style I had at Eglin.
- Of course, I saw little of this whilst I was there, because I was quickly placed in a cell in the appropriately-named Specially Housing Unit, or SHU, which is administrative segregation from the general inmate population. This measure insures that no new arrival can pass information along to other inmates, or interact with them in any manner.
- The cell was a bleak lime-green room, with a combination stainless-steel toilet and sink, and a bunk bed; all this was bolted to the floor, probably to prevent any of it from being used as a weapon against the guards, or as an aid in escape. The windows were small vertical slits placed in the thick wall, again as an escape preventative.
- The only interior window was a small square security opening into the hallway, which allows the guards to check on the prisoner, but only provided a small view , which was very restricted. You could see the cell door opposite you, but not much more. This was where I was to spend 23 hours, or more, a day for the next month or so. When you only get out of the cell for a shower & shave three times a week, it is easier to grow a full beard, so I did. They did let us out for one hour of solitary recreation inside a closed basketball court from time to time, but it was not often enough.
- Once a day, they would push a telephone through the slot used to deliver food trays, which gave you a ten-minute collect call, your only window into the outside world. Was the environment sterile and harsh? You bet it was, though my prior military service served me in good stead. I knew what it was like to be confined for long period of time, under strict orders, so whilst it was extremely boring, it was not frightening. I made sure my bed had military corners, and that the small cell was shipshape at all time, as a matter of personal choice. We wore mispatched Army surplus olive drab and khaki uniform elements, which I found amusing in a wierd sort of way.
- I did hear some of the other SHU inhabitants causing disturbances from time to time, screaming and yelling. Obviously, they had trouble coping. Every morning, some mental health professional checked me out through the hall window, asking me what my my condition was, so I gather there were problems there with some people who could not cope.
Next Week: the Swiss Magistrate.
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
Read more in this exciting series
8 March 2010
8 February 2010
24 January 2010
6 December 2009
27 September 2009
9 August 2009
3 August 2009
30 March 2009
9 March 2009
2 March 2009
22 February 2009
18 February 2009
26 January 2009
18 January 2009
11 January 2009
5 January 2009
29 November 2008
24 November 2008
17 November 2008
8 November 2008
3 November 2008
27 October 2008
20 October 2008
13 October 2008
4 October 2008
28 September 2008
20 September 2008
15 September 2008
15 June 2008
8 June 2008
1 June 2008
26 May 2008
19 May 2008
12 May 2008
4 May 2008
27 April 2008
20 April 2008
13 April 2008
31 March 2008
18 March 2008
4 March 2008
25 February 2008
16 February 2008
10 February 2008
3 February 2008
27 January 2008
20 January 2008
14 January 2008
6 January 2008
16 December 2007
9 December 2007
1 December 2007
25 November 2007
18 November 2007
11 November 2007
3 November 2007
27 October 2007
21 October 2007
14 October 2007
7 October 2007
1 October 2007
23 September 2007
16 September 2007
3 June 2007
27 May 2007
21 May 2007
6 May 2007
30 April 2007
22 April 2007
15 April 2007
8 April 2007
2 April 2007
24 March 2007
19 March 2007
12 March 2007
5 March 2007
25 February 2007
19 February 2007
12 February 2007
4 February 2007
28 January 2007
22 January 2007
15 January 2007
7 January 2007
2 January 2007
16 December 2006
10 December 2006
3 December 2006
27 November 2006
19 November 2006
11 November 2006
5 November 2006
29 October 2006
22 October 2006
16 October 2006
9 October 2006
2 October 2006
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