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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 53
3 February 2008
After I gave testimony in camera, describing the circuitous path my clients' narcotics profits took, ultimately ending up in Switzerland when the clients themselves, seeking to hide the final destination from even yours truly, quietly moved their wealth there, the government advised that it had other plans for me. I was to be moved to another institution, with a number of other inmates, this time located in Central Florida. The new location would turn out to be much more user-friendly than I anticipated. It all started when I asked a more experienced inmate about the jail conditions at my destination. His answer, which led me to believe that he was suffering from some sort of mental condition, was "when you get to the county jail at xxx, you won't want to leave." Was he crazy? What prison inmate actually likes the place where he is confined? It sounded like extended incarceration had affected his mind. Whilst enjoyable conditions, if that term can ever be described in connection with serving time, might be portrayed in such Hollywood movies as "Goodfellas", they certainly do not exist in real life. Or do they?
This was, by far, the most unusual phase of my time in prison:
Next Week: All "good things" must come to an end.
- We were transported by the US Marshals to a very small county jail, in a rural Florida county where the tiny country seat, Trenton, (centre of local government) was surrounded by wetlands and lowland swamp, the county itself having been the newest one in the state, carved out of a larger entity in the 1920s. I immediately had visions of a television situation comedy set in a sheriff's office in the South; it was that sort of place, rustic and rural.
- The jail had only eighteen beds, and was evenly divided between an area where Federal prisoners were housed, and a section where locals were imprisoned. When there is no Federal Prison in the area, inmates are temporarily assigned to county jails. Since the per diem rate paid by the US to the county was a handsome sum by local standards, the jail had become a regular stop for the Deputy Marshals serving the local US District Court in Gainesville, encouraged by the local sheriff.
- When we arrived at the tiny building, I immediately noticed that this place did not exactly conform to Florida's traditional notion of a correctional facility. The desk sergeant was a small woman (shorter than 5 feet) in civilian clothes, because there were no guard uniforms in her size. Amazingly, we were told we could wear our civilian clothes, and that additional clothes could be sent in to the property room. I immediately asked my sister to send in some suits and accessories for anticipated trips to the US Attorney's office.
- The lieutenant advised us that we could keep a certain amount of money on our person, to be used to purchase items at the jail (see below) and I later negotiated an increase in the cash we could possess. Sometimes those old lawyer skills came in handy.
- The way that the jail earned additional revenue from the federal prisoners was by adding 25% to the cost of anything they bought. The first night, the trustees, the experienced federal prisoners trusted to serve the inmates in various ways, came around with a cart brimming with hamburgers and assorted fast food.
- Other times, they would send a jailer to the local pharmacy with our lists, to return with toiletries and over-the-counter items. The trustees not only cleaned up around the jail, they actually drove a truck to town, on "official business", to pick up things that were needed to operate the jail. Though these were long-term federal inmates with no violence in their cases, I am sure that the Bureau of Prisons would have been very unhappy to learn about this little detail.
- The term custody was very loosely interpreted there; if you received a call from someone in law enforcement, they didn't throw a telephone into the cell, they brought you out, to the counter where the desk sergeant sat, and she handed you her phone.
- The trustees went weekly to the town supermarket, to purchase fruits and vegetables for us. Understandably, all this service made my stay there much pleasant than it has been at my previous institutions. I was beginning to see why the strange inmate at my last address had made that obtuse claim that I would not want to leave.
- When I got there I saw that the inmates had many, many video tapes. The jail had a rooftop antenna, and access to the Home Box Office channel. The guys were taping the first-run movies, and mailing them out to their friends and relatives. I wonder how many were making money on that activity.
- Out behind the jail, we had a weight-training area better than those at most apartments buildings in the US, for some of the cash profits were used to purchase state-of-the-art recreational equipment for us. It was a nice way to get exercise, being outside each day, using the weights.
- On Sundays, the jail allowed not only contact visits, but allowed visiting relatives to actually bring in any sort of food that they wanted to share it with the persons being visited. Good seafood was always being shares amongst those who did not receive visits.
- I received an order from my sentencing judge, reducing my sentence from four years to a mere two. To say that I was extremely happy is an understatement. I was elated that two years of my life were being given back to me. The next question I had was: could I get it reduced even more?
Next Week: All "good things" must come to an end.
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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