United States Penitentiary, Atlanta
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Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, is a high-security prison for men in Atlanta, Georgia. For many years it has been a notorious part of the U.S. federal prison system. It also has a detention center for pre-trial and holdover inmates and a camp for minimum security male inmates. The prison is located in southeast Atlanta at the junction of Boulevard and McDonough Boulevard. Its population as of July 6, 2006 is 1909 in the penitentiary and 554 in the camp.
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[edit] History
It was used as a detention center for Cuban refugees from the Mariel Boatlift who were found to be actual, rather than political, criminals or who were otherwise ineligible for release into American society. In 1987, the Cuban detainees, tired of indefinite confinment, rioted and burned down a substantial portion of the facitilty including the Industrial Buildings.
[edit] The Prison
[edit] Notable Inmates
- Farouk Abdel-Muhti - Palestinian activist.
- Jimmy Burke - New York mobster on whom the fictional Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas was based.
- Al Capone - best known for other supposed offenses but imprisoned for tax evasion prior to being transferred to Alcatraz.
- Eugene V. Debs Socialist Party 1920 presidential candidate, received 919,799 votes while an inmate at the Atlanta Penitentiary.
- Phil Driscoll Gospel Entertainer, Trumpet player, now serving a year and a day at the camp.
- Marcus Garvey , black nationalist had been imprisoned here for offenses allegedly growing out of his operation of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and its subsidiary, Black Star Lines.
- John Gotti - organized crime boss.
- Harry Golden author of Only in America.
- Charles Harrelson - father of actor Woody Harrelson - transferred to ADX Florence following an escape attempt
- Julian Hawthorne - novelist and son of literary icon Nathaniel Hawthorne, convicted of mail fraud.
- Denny McLain - baseball pitcher , the last pitcher to win thirty games in a season, served a sentence there for fraud.
- Vincent Papa
- Carlo Ponzi of Ponzi scheme fame.
- Ted Tofelston - worker gone wrong.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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