Prison Consultant?

[Dgstan]

WTF???? This guy gets some say in the matter? Unbelievable.
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Bernard Madoff has hired a veteran prison consultant to help him to find the best possible jail in which to serve his 150-year sentence for Wall Street’s biggest fraud.

After his sentencing this week Madoff, now Prisoner No 1727-054, met Herb Hoelter, of the National Center for Institutions and Alternatives, whose previous clients include the jailed Sotheby’s chairman Alfred Taubman and the financiers Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530007,00.html

[CapeCodDoug]

He doesn't really get a say in the matter. Even the judge in federal cases does not sentence an inmate to a particular facility. The final say goes to the Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Dept. of Justice, answerable ultimately to the attorney general and the president.

That said, in the heyday of the federal sentencing guidelines, a thriving post conviction practice niche emerged. (Allan Ellis in Phiadelphia is another one of the well known consultants). These attorneys offer a variety of services from trying to vacate guilty pleas to lobbying BOP for favorable placements.

Keep in mind: although the judge can't dictate placement, he can make a recommendation, and it is BOP policy to honor those in most circumstances. So a reasonable strategy might be to wait a while for the furor to die down, hopefully Madoff behaves himself in the meantime, then go in later and ask the judge to amend the judgment to include a specific favorable placement recommendation.