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(CBS) Bernie Madoff's new digs are no country club, but they are a huge improvement from his New York City jail, the disgraced investor's prison consultant says in an exclusive interview with CBS' "The Early Show".
"Prison is prison," Herb Hoelter said Wednesday, "but he'll have a normal routine."
And for those wondering if Madoff is a likely target for prison violence, Hoelter says think again, calling his 150-year sentence a "badge of honor" of sorts that gives him credibility among the inmates.
Hoelter is the co-founder and CEO of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, a group that aims to influence sentencing and the eventual destination of criminals.
On Tuesday, Madoff arrived at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina to begin serving his 150-year sentence for a fraud conviction connected to his billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Until Nov. 14, 2139, Madoff will be known as inmate number 61727-054.
Saying Butner is a "well-run facility," Hoelter said of Madoff "his life dramatically improves" from the conditions at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he was in a cell 23 hours a day. At Butner, Madoff gets 300 minutes a month (15 minutes at a time) of phone privileges. "Same as any inmate," Hoelter said.
Other well-known criminals at Butner include John Rigas, also convicted of fraud; Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of spying for Israel; and Omar Abdel-Rahman, sentenced to life for his role in plotting to blow up the United Nations.
View the video from CBS The Early Show.
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