Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Cohen's Prison Reality: A Bunk Bed in Barrack-Style Hall
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 3, 2019

Share

NEW YORK — “The Situation” and the Fyre Festival fraudster are already there. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, is up next.

Tucked in the lush countryside south of the Catskill Mountains, Otisville is actually two federal facilities with a total of about 800 inmates: a medium-security prison where former NFL star Darren Sharper is serving a 20-year rape sentence, and a satellite camp for non-violent offenders like Cohen.

It’s not reality TV. It’s a federal prison 70 miles from New York City where white-collar and D-list scoundrels can do time while playing bocce ball and noshing on rugelach.

Cohen, 53, is due to report Monday to the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville to start a three-year sentence for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes.

Tucked in the lush countryside south of the Catskill Mountains, Otisville is actually two federal facilities with a total of about 800 inmates: a medium-security prison where former NFL star Darren Sharper is serving a 20-year rape sentence, and a satellite camp for non-violent offenders like Cohen.

There, he’ll be serving his sentence with the likes of “Jersey Shore” star-turned-tax fraud convict Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino and Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which runs the federal prison system, has been tight-lipped about Cohen’s placement. The agency denied a reporter’s request to tour the Otisville facility and declined to comment for this article.

The camp does have its allure. About 115 inmates sleep in bunks lined up in barrack-style halls, instead of individual or two-man cells like in higher-security facilities. There are lockers to store personal belongings, washers and dryers for laundry, microwaves to heat up food and ice machines to keep cool.

One of America’s 10 Cushiest Prisons

Alums include accountant Kenneth Starr, who was accused of bilking celebrities like Uma Thurman with bad investments, and former Cendant chairman Walter Forbes and ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland. New York Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff wanted to go to Otisville, but the Bureau of Prisons sent him to North Carolina instead.

“Prison is disrespectful. It’s impersonal. He’s never going to get any sleep because there’s always lights on, there’s always inmates snoring. There are officers walking around jingling keys. You shower out in the open. It’s very demeaning.” former Otisville case manager Jack Donson

Otisville is also known as a favorite among prison-bound Jews for its Kosher meals and Shabbat services.

Add in recreational amenities like tennis courts, horseshoes and cardio equipment, and it sounds like the closest thing the federal prison system has to sleepaway camp.

Forbes once ranked Otisville as one of “America’s 10 Cushiest Prisons,” but former employees and inmates say it’s hardly “Club Fed.” Inmates are still doing time and they’re still separated from their families and friends — save for occasional visits.

“Prison is disrespectful. It’s impersonal,” said former Otisville case manager Jack Donson. “He’s never going to get any sleep because there’s always lights on, there’s always inmates snoring. There are officers walking around jingling keys. You shower out in the open. It’s very demeaning.”

Cohen could also be a target of bullying, harassment or worse for his cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and other probes, and that could make him a candidate for the prison’s protective housing unit, said Donson. Trump himself has branded Cohen a “rat.”

Cohen’s First Stop at Otisville Will Be Admission and Orientation

Factor in the camp’s design — off a secluded two-lane road, without much fencing or security — and Cohen could find himself easily harassed by paparazzi or ambushed by someone looking to do harm, said Donson.

“He’s not a good fit,” said Donson.

Cameron Lindsay, a retired warden who oversaw Otisville as deputy regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said he would “think long and hard about placing Cohen in a general population, at least in the beginning,” given the “intense media coverage and extreme type of support the president receives from some of his supporters.”

A prison handbook advises inmates to carry themselves in a “confident manner at all times,” to trust their instincts and to “choose your associates wisely.”

Cohen’s first stop at Otisville will be admission and orientation.

He’ll undergo medical and mental health screenings and be assigned a job. He’ll also get a set of clothing, trading in his sport coats and zip ups for khaki shirts and pants, and a set of bedding and towels.

Within a month, he’ll be classified and given recommendations for prison programs. Some inmates go to drug education or take classes to earn a high school-equivalent diploma.

As for a typical day: During the week, it’s lights on at 6 a.m., followed by breakfast. Work duties, such as mowing the grounds or cleaning up the prison, are performed from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a break for lunch at 11. Dinner is served beginning at 4:15 p.m. It’s lights out at 11:30 p.m.

Photo of Otisville Correctional Institution
In this May 1, 2019 photo, a sign marks the entrance to the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville in Mount Hope, N.Y. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, is due to report to the facility on Monday, May 6, 2019, to begin serving a three year sentence for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The Commissary Sells More Than 100 Kosher Items

On the weekend, inmates get to sleep in. Lights on isn’t until 7 a.m.

“It really makes a difference if you’re Jewish because a lot of guys want to say certain prayers you can only say with 10 Jewish men. You have Sabbath services on Friday night, and the prison even allows inmates to bring in food from the outside.” — Lawrence Dressler, a former Otisville prisoner

Otisville, within 35 miles of the Orthodox Jewish communities of Kiryas Joel and Monsey, is “definitely sought out by Jewish offenders,” said Matthew Perry, executive director of Jewish Prisoner Services International.

The commissary sells more than 100 kosher items, more than most federal prisons. (Matzo goes for $3.15 and gefilte fish costs $5.15. Need a yarmulke? It’s $6). A rabbi on staff full-time leads the chaplainry. At Passover, the prison puts on an elaborate Seder.

“It really makes a difference if you’re Jewish because a lot of guys want to say certain prayers you can only say with 10 Jewish men,” said Lawrence Dressler, a former Otisville prisoner who served 18 months for mortgage fraud, referring to the Jewish quorum known as a minyan. “You have Sabbath services on Friday night, and the prison even allows inmates to bring in food from the outside.”

All Jewish holidays are observed, Dressler said, including Hanukkah, when men gather in the chapel to sing. “Everyone had their own menorah,” he said.

Dressler, who like Cohen was a lawyer before his conviction, predicted Cohen will largely be left alone at Otisville — unless he’s seen as a rat.

“He’ll make a few friends,” Dressler said. “Everyone ends up having a couple of good friends.”

DON'T MISS

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

DON'T MISS

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

DON'T MISS

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

DON'T MISS

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

DON'T MISS

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

DON'T MISS

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

DON'T MISS

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

DON'T MISS

9-Year-Old Among 5 Killed in Christmas Market Attack in Germany

DON'T MISS

Biden Signs Bill That Averts Government Shutdown, and Brings a Close to Days of Washington Upheaval

UP NEXT

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

UP NEXT

US Deportations Surge to Highest Level in a Decade Before Trump Takes Office

UP NEXT

White House Pushes to Find American Journalist Abducted in Syria

UP NEXT

Liberal Donors Plot to Overturn Republican House Majority in 2026

UP NEXT

The ‘Murder Hornet’ Has Been Eradicated From US, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments Over the Law That Could Ban TikTok

UP NEXT

Trump’s Picks for Top Health Jobs Not Just Team of Rivals but ‘Team of Opponents’

UP NEXT

Most US Teens Are Abstaining From Drinking, Smoking and Marijuana, Survey Says

UP NEXT

Mystery Drone Sightings Continue in New Jersey and Across the US. Here’s What We Know

UP NEXT

Drone Sightings Lead to Airspace Shutdown at Ohio Military Base, Arrests Near Boston Airport

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

13 hours ago

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

13 hours ago

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

14 hours ago

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

14 hours ago

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

14 hours ago

9-Year-Old Among 5 Killed in Christmas Market Attack in Germany

14 hours ago

Biden Signs Bill That Averts Government Shutdown, and Brings a Close to Days of Washington Upheaval

15 hours ago

This French Bulldog Is So Fetch: Meet Toaster Strudel

16 hours ago

The Fed Expects to Cut Rates More Slowly in 2025. What That Could Mean for Mortgages, Debt and More

19 hours ago

New California Voter ID Ban Puts Conservative Cities at Odds With State

20 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

In a recent interview, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs outlined his concerns about the possibility of war with Iran, framing it as the culm...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

12 hours ago

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

13 hours ago

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

13 hours ago

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

13 hours ago

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

14 hours ago

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

14 hours ago

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

14 hours ago

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend