Federal Correctional Institution, Miami

The Federal Correctional Institution, Miami (FCI Miami) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Florida. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice. The institution also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security male offenders.[1]

Federal Correctional Institution, Miami
LocationMiami-Dade County,
near South Miami Heights, Florida
StatusOperational
Security classLow-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population1,000 (400 in prison camp)
Opened1976
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons

FCI Miami is located in southwest unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida,[2] about 30 miles (48 km) from Downtown Miami.

A significant portion of the inmates held at FCI Miami have been convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

History

In 1976, FCI Miami served as a center for youth offenders which explains its campus-like architecture and the presence of a lake in the middle of its compound (the only BOP facility with such landscape feature). In the late 1970s, and in response to Haitian and Cuban immigration patterns, the facility changed missions and became an immigration detention center. It is estimated that between 1977 - 1981, more than 70,000 Haitians (possibly up to 200,000)[3] and as many as 125,000 Cubans (Mariel Boatlift) "Marielitos" migrated to South Florida with many of them being detained at the facility until their legal status was clarified. The facility did not have nearly enough capacity to hold even a significant portion of the refugees, so the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with the assistance of the military and other federal agencies, created detention camps inside and outside Florida to house them.

In the late 1980s, and in response to the drug wars that gripped Miami, the facility changed missions and became an "administrative detention center" for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, housing many of those suspected of participating in the drug wars. With the new mission came a new name and the facility became known as the Metropolitan Correctional Center - Miami (MCC-Miami). The vast majority of those individuals charged would eventually be found guilty of participating in the illicit drug trade at which time they would be transferred to another federal facility to serve their sentences.

While the institution was still an administrative facility and called MCC - Miami, some notable inmates served their time there. Such as Lou Pearlman, Manuel Noriega, and Yahweh ben Yahweh.

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, born Hulon Mitchell, Jr., joined the Nation of Islam in the 1960s only to leave it some time later and become a faith-healing Christian preacher. Some in his congregation believed he had a direct line to God, while others believed he was God. In 1978, he moved his congregation to Liberty City, Florida where he brought together the city's Black Hebrew Israelite congregations and founded the Nation of Yahweh. The Nation of Yahweh became active in its new city and engaged in charitable activities and multiple business ventures. All of these activities won them praise around the city and on October 7, 1990, the mayor of Miami, Xavier Suárez, declared it to be "Yahweh ben Yahweh Day."[4] This award ceremony took place a month before Yahweh ben Yahweh and his organization were indicted and charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Between 1990 and 2001, he and others from his congregation served eleven years of an eighteen-year sentence on a RICO conviction for conspiracy for their role in more than a dozen murders.

In 2000, the facility changed missions once again and became known as the Federal Correctional Institution - Miami (FCI-Miami). It no longer would house inmates waiting for their cases to be heard in court but would instead detain inmates serving their sentences. At times the facility has been considered a "low security facility" and other times a "medium security facility." It is presently considered to be a "low security" facility.

Extraordinary Incidents

In 1986, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) thwarted a daring escape planned by two inmates at MCC- Miami. Gary Wayne Betzner and Terry Jackson Briceno planned to be in the recreation area of their housing unit when a helicopter would fly overhead, drop a rope ladder, and help them escape. Instead, once the helicopter flew over them they spotted three FBI agents in the helicopter and several others on the grounds.[5]

In 1989, another inmate, Benjamin "Barry" Kramer attempted to escape by helicopter. Once again, this attempt failed when the helicopter struck a recreation fence and crashed.[6]

On October 24, 1992 MCC - Miami was struck by Hurricane Andrew[7] effectively rendering it inoperable for one year. The BOP's minimum security facility (the "Camp") which had been located in Homestead, Florida and also destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, was transferred to MCC Miami's extensive grounds during that year. In 1993 both facilities were re-opened.

Notable inmates (current and former)
Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Manuel Noriega 38699-079 Extradited to France in 2010 to face money laundering charges after serving 20 years. Former dictator of Panama; convicted of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering in 1990 for turning Panama into a transshipment point for Colombian traffickers smuggling cocaine into the US.[8][9][10]
Bill Campbell 56204-019 Released from custody in 2008 after serving 2 years. Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1994 to 2002; convicted of tax evasion in 2006 for failing to report over $160,000 in income on three tax returns.[11][12]
Lou Pearlman 02775-093 Died in 2016 while serving a 25-year sentence. Former impresario for the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC; pleaded guilty in 2008 to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme which caused investors and banks who invested to lose $300 million; the story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[13]
Tim Gionet 25906-509 Was serving a 60 day sentence; released on March 31, 2023. Participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
Mark Myrie 86700-004 Served a 10-year sentence. Released on December 7, 2018.[14] Reggae artist known as Buju Banton; convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics for arranging the purchase of 5 kilos of cocaine in 2009.[15]
Milton Balkany 55427-054 Released from custody in 2014 after serving 4 years. Rabbi and former Dean of the Bais Yaakov school; convicted in 2010 of extortion and blackmail for threatening to fabricate an insider trading scheme at SAC Capital Advisors unless he was paid $4 million.[16]
Sanjay Kumar 71321-053 Initially sentenced to 12 years in 2007; was released on January 25, 2017. Former CEO of the software company CA Technologies; pleaded guilty in 2006 to securities fraud for orchestrating a $2.2 billion accounting fraud at the company.[17]
Darren Sharper 34209-034 Serving a 18-year sentence, scheduled for release in 2028. Former NFL player convicted of rape and drug abuse.
Michael Conahan 15009-067 Serving a 17-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2025.[18] Currently in custody of RRM Miami. Former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania juvenile court judge involved in the Kids for Cash scandal; convicted of racketeering in 2011 of taking money from the developer of two for-profit prisons in return for sentencing juveniles to serve time in those prisons.[19]
Matthew Martoma 01138-104 Released from custody in 2021 after serving a nine-year sentence Portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors convicted of insider trading.

See also

References
  1. "FCI Miami". Bop.gov. 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  2. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Miami-Dade County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 62 (PDF p. 63/154). Retrieved 2022-08-13. Miami Federal Correctional Instn
  3. Zéphir, Flore (2013-06-11). "Haitian Americans". Encyclopedia of Social Work. NASW Press and Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.169. ISBN 978-0-19-997583-9. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  4. "Yahweh ben Yahweh Day 2020 History of Miami Cult Leader". October 7, 1990. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  5. "FBI Grounds Helicopter Escape Plan". Sun-Sentinel. October 10, 1986.
  6. "Copter Crash Foils Daring Prison Escape". Sun-Sentinel. April 18, 1989.
  7. "Hurricane Andrew (1992) (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  8. Rohter, Larry (1992-04-10). "The Noriega Verdict - U.S. Jury Convicts Noriega Of Drug-Trafficking Role As The Leader Of Panama". NYTimes.com. Panama; United States. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  9. "Noriega Transferred to Federal Prison Near Miami - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  10. "Manuel Noriega - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  11. "Atlanta's former mayor sentenced to prison - CNN". Archived from the original on 19 January 2013.
  12. "Former Mayor To Report To Prison Today". Wsbtv.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  13. Associated Press (May 21, 2008). "Boy Band Mogul Lou Pearlman Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison". Fox News. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  14. "Buju Banton On The Move, Being Transferred To New Location". Ablazin Radio. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  15. Sean Michaels (24 June 2011). "Buju Banton sentenced to 10 years in prison for cocaine trafficking | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  16. "Rabbi Is Sentenced in Plot to Shake Down SAC Capital". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  17. "Ex-Leader of Computer Associates Gets 12-Year Sentence and Fine". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  18. Janoski, Dave (November 17, 2011). "Conahan Sent to Florida Prison". citizensvoice.com. The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  19. Staff Report (September 9, 2011). "Former Luzerne judge Conahan sentenced to 17.5 years - News". The Times-Tribune. Retrieved July 15, 2012.

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