United States Penitentiary, Allenwood

The United States Penitentiary, Allenwood (USP Allenwood) is a maximum security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Allenwood) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

United States Penitentiary, Allenwood
LocationGregg Township, Union County, near Allenwood, Pennsylvania
StatusOperational
Security classMaximum security
Population306 (as of September 2023)
Opened1993
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons
WardenHerman Quay
Street addressRT 15, 2 MI N of Allenwood
CityAllenwood
CountyUnion County
State/provincePennsylvania
ZIP Code17810
CountryUnited States of America
Websitehttps://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/alp/

FCC Allenwood is located on US Route 15 in Gregg Township, Union County,[1] near White Deer. It is approximately halfway between the cities of Williamsport and Lewisburg and approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state capital.[2]

Facility and programs

USP Allenwood has four two-level housing units each of which consists of four 16-cell ranges around a central dayroom where inmates can congregate during the times they are allowed outside their cells. Most cells house two inmates each. Recreational and counseling facilities are located adjacent to the housing units. The outer perimeter is secured by a double line of fencing with rolled barbed wire on the ground in between the fences. The inner fence is equipped with a perimeter intrusion detection system and a road for patrol vehicles runs along the outer fence. Correction officers man six guard towers at each corner of the security fence and a seventh within the fence.[3][4]

Educational programs include GED, ESL, adult continuing education, vocational training, correspondence classes, and evening college classes. Inmates work in a UNICOR upholstery factory and institutional maintenance jobs such as food service and building repair. Medical, psychological and drug treatment services are also available.[5]

Notable incidents

1996 murder

In April 1996, USP Allenwood inmate David Paul Hammer allegedly strangled fellow inmate Andrew Hunt Marti to death with a piece of homemade cord. Hammer and Marti were cellmates in the Special Housing Unit, where especially violent inmates are held. Writing on a website dedicated to his case in 2001, Hammer could not ‘attribute any motive’ to his actions. Hammer, a career criminal who was serving a 1,200-year sentence for crimes including larceny, shooting with intent to kill, kidnapping and making bomb threats, subsequently pleaded guilty to Marti's murder and was sentenced to death by the electric chair.[6]

The death sentence was vacated in 2006 after a federal judge found that prosecutors withheld evidence during the penalty phase that would have bolstered Hammer's claim that he and Marti were having consensual sex. In July 2014, another federal judge concurred, ruling that a life sentence was appropriate based upon multiple circumstances, including Hammer's acceptance of responsibility and remorsefulness, his extended family history of dysfunction, abuse and mental illness, his mental and emotional impairments and his self-improvement, specifically citing Hammer's writing to at-risk children and counseling them against engaging in criminal conduct.[7]

2005 murder

On September 28, 2005, USP Allenwood inmates Ritz Williams (47085-008) and Shawn Cooya (48896-008) stabbed a fellow inmate, 50-year-old Alvin Allery, ten times with a homemade knife and repeatedly kicked him in the head and torso, causing Allery's death. Williams and Cooya were already serving lengthy sentences, Williams for murder and Cooya for weapons violations. A subsequent investigation revealed that Williams and Cooya planned the attack in advance. In 2013, Williams and Cooya pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.[8][9] As of March 2022, Williams is currently incarcerated at USP Victorville and Cooya is at ADX Florence.

2020 attack

On December 7, 2020, two correctional officers were injured after one was stabbed in the neck and eye by Abdulrahman el Bahnasawy (75868-054), a Canadian convicted of terrorism-related offenses in 2016. Both officers were taken via ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and survived, with one losing an eye.[10][11][12][13] In April 2021, El Bahnasawy was transferred to ADX Florence.

Notable inmates (current and former)

Organized crime
Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Howard Mason 24651-053 Serving life sentence. Convicted in 1989 of racketeering charges in connection with his leadership of "The Bebos," a violent drug cartel in Queens, New York; ordered the 1988 murder of New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne.[14]
Louis Daidone 39065-053[15] Serving life sentence; currently at USP Coleman. Former Acting Boss of the Lucchese Crime Family in New York City; convicted in 2004 of murder, murder conspiracy, racketeering, and loansharking.[16]
Vyacheslav Ivankov 30219-048 Released in July 2004 for extradition. Convicted in January 1997.
Salvador Magluta 26012-037 Scheduled release date in 2165. Convicted of falsifying documents (1996) and bribery, money laundering (2002). Sentenced to (1996) 9 years in prison,[17] plus (2002) 195 years.[18] His sentence was reduced to 195 years, from 205 years on appeal.[19] He was initially transferred to the supermax federal prison facility in Florence, Colorado.[20]

Other crimes
Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Mohamud Salad Ali 77992-083 Serving life sentence. Currently at USP Atwater. Somali pirate leader; pleaded guilty in 2011 to piracy in connection with the 2011 hijacking of the civilian yacht Quest, during which four US citizens were killed; Nine other pirates are serving life sentences at other federal facilities.[21][22]
Esteban Santiago-Ruiz 15500-104 Schizophrenic serving five life sentences plus 120 years. Transferred to USP Tucson. Mass murderer pleaded guilty to the 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting.
Jorge A. Martinez 39798-060 Died June 7, 2023, while serving a life sentence.[23] Physician; convicted in 2006 of submitting $60 million in claims for unnecessary procedures in the first prosecution in US history involving a charge of health care fraud resulting in death; the story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[24][25]
John Knock 11150-017 Released in January 2021 after President Donald Trump commuted his life sentence. Convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy in 2000 for attempting to orchestrate the importation of thousands of tons of illegal marijuana into the US from Pakistan and Lebanon; received the longest sentence for a nonviolent marijuana crime in US history.
Auburn Calloway 14601-076 Serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Currently at USP McCreary. Flight engineer, convicted of Attempted Aircraft Piracy Interference With Flight Crew Members and Attempted Terrorism in the attempted hijacking of a Federal Express McDonnell Douglas DC-10 flight from Memphis, Tennessee to San Jose, California. The flight crew managed to land the aircraft safely back at Memphis.
Christopher Jeburk 09029-021 Currently serving a life sentence. Bank robber and former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive; kidnapped bank teller Amy Shaw and her family, then escaped from prison twice before he could be sentenced for his crimes.[26][27]

Terrorists
Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
El Sayyid Nosair 35074-054 Serving a life sentence. Transferred to USP Big Sandy. Egyptian-born American citizen, convicted of involvement in the 1993 New York City landmark bomb plot. He had earlier been tried for, but acquitted of, the 1990 New York City assassination of Meir Kahane, a Jewish religious figure and far-right Israeli politician. He later admitted to have committed this assassination as well.
James Eagan Holmes 02350-122 Serving 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without parole. Mass murderer responsible for the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting in which he killed 12 people and injured 70 others (62 directly and eight indirectly) at a Century 16 movie theater on July 20, 2012. He also rigged his apartment with homemade explosives in an attempt to destroy his apartment complex.[28] The apartment held more than 30 homemade grenades, wired to a control box in the kitchen and filled with at least 30 US gal (110 L) of gasoline.[29]
Ahmed Ajaj 40637-053 Serving a 114-year sentence scheduled for release in 2091. Now at USP Coleman Convicted of participating in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
James Alex Fields Jr. 22239-084 Serving a life sentence. White supremacist, pleaded guilty in 2019 of 29 federal hate crime charges using his car to harm counter-protestors during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring up to 19 more. Transferred to Allenwood from USP Hazleton in November 2020.
Paul Anthony Ciancia 67089-112 Serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole plus 60 years. Currently at USP Coleman. Pleaded guilty in 2016 for the 2013 LAX Shooting.
Hosam Smadi 39482-177 Scheduled release in 2031. Pleaded guilty in 2010 to the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction for plotting to destroy the 60-story Fountain Place office building in Dallas, Texas with a truck bomb in 2009.[30][31]

See also

References
  1. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Gregg township, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-08-14. Allenwood Federal Correctional Complx
  2. "USP Allenwood". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  3. Bosworth, Mary (2002). The US Federal Prison System. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. pp. 375. ISBN 9780761923046.
  4. Spens, Iona (1994). The Architecture of Incarceration. London: Academy Editions. p. 128. ISBN 9781854903587.
  5. Bosworth, Mary (2002). The US Federal Prison System. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. pp. 375. ISBN 9780761923046.
  6. "DAVID PAUL HAMMER, PETITIONER V. JOHN D. ASHCROFT, ET AL" (PDF). US Department of Justice.
  7. Beauge, John (July 17, 2014). "Admitted murderer of Allenwood cell mate no longer facing execution". Penn Live. PA Media Group. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. Walker, R.A. (February 15, 2008). "Two indicted for 2005 killing at Allenwood prison complex". Williamsport Sun-Gazette (PA). Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  9. "Pennsylvania Inmate Sentenced To Life In Prison For Violent Murder Of Fellow Inmate". US Department of Justice. May 15, 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  10. "Injured Allenwood prison guard to observe a belated Christmas with his family". 2021-01-14.
  11. Farenish, Melissa (8 December 2020). "Corrections officer at Allenwood federal prison in critical condition after inmate stabbed him in eye". NorthcentralPA.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  12. "Inmate accused of attacking prison staff in Union County". wnep.com. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  13. "It's 'like an attack on all us,' union official says about stabbing of veteran prison guard, HS coach". 11 December 2020.
  14. Fried, Joseph P. (1994-01-09). "Drug Dealer Is Sentenced to Life For Ordering Killing of Officer". The New York Times.
  15. "The Quick 10: 10 Intriguing Mobster Nicknames". mental_floss. 2015 Mental Floss, Inc. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  16. Preston, Julia (July 1, 2004). "Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Mob Chief Sentenced". The New York Times.
  17. Lebowitz, Larry (December 23, 1997). "9 Years for Man Who Fled Court". Sun Sentinel.
  18. BarM-s Diaz, Madeline (January 23, 2003). "Reputed Drug Kingpin Gets Life". Sun Sentinel.
  19. "#FreeSalMagluta: Cocaine Cowboy Seeks Compassionate Release from Federal Prison".
  20. "Inside The Cartels Of The Real "Miami Vice"". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  21. Nasaw, Daniel (October 3, 2011). "Somali pirates face hard time in US prison". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  22. "Two More Somalis Plead Guilty To Charges Relating To Piracy Of Quest". US Department of Justice. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  23. "JORGE A. MARTINEZ, Petitioner, v. WARDEN L. U. ODDO, Respondent". Leagle. 2015 Leagle, Inc. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  24. "Financial Crimes Report to the Public - Fiscal Year 2006". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  25. "American Greed: Medical Scams: Dr. Martinez". CNBC. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  26. "A Fugitive's on the Loose - New York Daily News". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. Eligon, John; Santora, Mark (July 21, 2012). "Police at Home of Colorado Suspect Disarm Major Threats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  29. Harlow, Poppy; Payne, Ed (July 24, 2012). "Official: Trap in Colorado suspect's home had 30 homemade grenades, gasoline". CNN. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  30. Associated Press (18 October 2010). "Jordanian Man Faces Sentencing in Plot to Blow Up Dallas Skyscraper". Fox News. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  31. "Jordanian man sentenced to 24 years in undercover bomb plot". CNN. October 19, 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2013.

41.131°N 76.927°W / 41.131; -76.927

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