In 2019, one former warden, Cameron Lindsay said that "The M.D.C. was one of the most troubled, if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons."[2]
History
MDC Brooklyn occupies land that was originally part of Bush Terminal (now Industry City), a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex.[3] The Federal Bureau of Prisons initially proposed converting two buildings at Industry City into a federal jail in 1988, due to overcrowding at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York.[4] There was large opposition from members of the local community, who feared that traffic congestion in the area would rise.[5] Critics feared that the facility, with its staff, inmates, visitors, and supply deliveries, would overburden neighborhood traffic and water and sewer systems.[6][7] To make room for MDC Brooklyn, one of the original Bush Terminal loft buildings—Federal Building No. 1, formerly occupied by the United States Coast Guard—was demolished in a controlled explosion in August 1993.[8]
In 1999, a second facility was opened adjacent to the original complex to house inmates who have already been sentenced and are awaiting transfer to a permanent facility. This brought the total number of inmates to close to 3,000 and made MDC Brooklyn the largest detention center in the United States.
In June 2015, a lawsuit filed in 2002 against high-ranking officials of George W. Bush's presidential administration, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft and former F.B.I. Director Robert S. Mueller III, brought by eight, mostly Muslim immigrant detainees, was allowed to go forward by a three-judge federal panel. It alleged that the plaintiffs were subject to chronic arbitrary abuses including beatings, strip searches and solitary confinement. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision included one dissent.[11]
Notable incidents
Inmate assault
On June 29, 2009, Ronald Atkinson (62416-054), an inmate at MDC Brooklyn who had been arrested in connection with six bank robberies twelve days earlier, committed an allegedly unprovoked assault on a correctional officer, punching him in the head multiple times until he was restrained by correctional officers. As a result of the assault, the officer, whom the Bureau of Prisons did not identify, suffered serious injuries, including a broken nose, broken facial bones, a fractured eye socket, a laceration requiring stitches and two slipped discs in his neck. An 18-year veteran of the Bureau of Prisons, the officer was forced to take a medical retirement as a result of his injuries.[12]
Atkinson was subsequently sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for the bank robberies. On July 19, 2013, he was sentenced to an additional 12 years in prison in connection with the assault. Atkinson is scheduled for release in 2031.[13] Atkinson is currently housed at USP Victorville.
Ronell Wilson
On February 5, 2013, New York media outlets reported that Nancy Gonzalez, a former federal correction officer, had engaged in a sexual relationship with Ronell Wilson, an inmate at MDC Brooklyn, and that Gonzalez was carrying Wilson's child. Wilson, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 for the 2003 murders of NYPD Detectives Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin, was awaiting a resentencing hearing in Brooklyn federal court after his original death sentence was overturned in 2010, when he began a relationship with Gonzalez. Gonzalez was terminated and arraigned in federal court on charges of sexual abuse of a person in custody, because an inmate cannot legally consent to sex.[14][15] Wilson was subsequently transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual abuse of a ward on July 3, 2013.[16] Gonzalez was sentenced to a year and a day by Federal Judge Brian Cogan on February 9, 2014. Cogan remarked, "[Gonzalez has] severe emotional dysfunction".[17]
Wilson was sentenced to death again on September 10, 2013. During the hearing, US District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis called for a formal investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general into the management of MDC Brooklyn, where, he said, Mr. Wilson was "permitted to treat the MDC as his own private fiefdom."[18]
Winter 2019 heating and power issues
In January and February 2019, over 1,600 inmates were kept with little to no heat and power for a week during the January 2019 North American cold wave. Numerous inmates reported ill health and were seen banging on windows for help. Activists and some New York officials became involved in seeking to improve conditions.[19][20] The incident started on the weekend of January 26–27 with a power outage. A problematic electrical panel was repaired but caught fire the next day.[20] Power was restored on the evening of February 3,[21] and the Department of Justice planned to investigate the incident.[22][23] Inmates, family members and lawyers have said that those inmates involved in protesting these harsh conditions through non-violent disobedience and hunger strikes have faced draconian reprisals from jail staff, including being pepper sprayed, subjected to solitary confinement and having toilets shut off. According to a report in The Intercept:
On all three of those housing units where men collectively refused food, jail staff shut off the valves to the toilets in all of the cells, according to accounts relayed to lawyers. Confined to their cells on lockdown, deprived of light, the men on these units now found themselves shivering on their bunks with their heads inches from toilet bowls nearly overflowing with festering feces.[24]
Former President of Honduras 2014-2022 (both periods allegedly by fraudulent elections)
Hernández is charged with three counts:
(1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison;
(2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and
(3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.[25]
Gang leader in Staten Island, New York; murdered NYPD Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, who were conducting a sting operation to buy an illegal gun in 2003. Wilson was initially on death row before having his sentence reduced to life without parole on the grounds of that he was mentally disabled.[26][27]
On trial. Imprisoned after bail conditions were revoked for alleged witness tampering.
Charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy. and money laundering with relation to the collapse of FTX.
Convicted in RICO case in 2004 for racketeering, extortion, arson, loan sharking, illegal gambling, money laundering, and seven murders, including ordering the murder of Dominick Napolitano in 1981. Facing the death penalty, he became a federal informant and testified against fellow mobster Vincent Basciano for ordering the murder of Bonnano associate Randolph Pizzolo.
Sentenced to 120 years in prison, now at USP Tucson
Founder of the NXIVM sex cult. Convicted in 2019 for two counts of sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labor conspiracy, attempted sex trafficking, and wire fraud conspiracy.[41][42]
Indicted in 2013 for murder, racketeering, hate crimes and other charges for leading a group who held mentally disabled individuals against their will between 2001 and 2011 in order to steal their Social Security benefits, two of whom died as a result of abuse.[43][44]
Alleged Al-Qaeda operative; extradited from the United Kingdom in 2012 to face charges that he took part in an international conspiracy to conduct bombings in the United States and Europe; sentenced in 2015 to 40 years; three co-conspirators were convicted in 2010 and 2012.[45]
Served a 28 month prison sentence; released on May 7, 2013.
Known as rapper Ja Rule, sentenced to 28 months in prison for federal tax evasion in a conviction that ran concurrently with his prior two year prison sentence for attempted possession of a weapon. After being released from state prison, he was transferred to federal custody on February 21, 2013 where he served to remainder of his sentence until his release.
Served a six month sentence, released on September 9, 2023.
Former associate of the Bonnano Crime Family, sentenced for breaching the terms of his supervised release for his previous convictions of leading a home invasion crew in Howard Beach, Queens. He had become a government witness and testified against other Bonnano members, including Vincent Asaro. He had broken the terms of his release by appearing on multiple mafia related podcasts and continuing to associate with other former mafia members.
Was serving a 41-month sentence; released on July 3, 2023.
American far-right political commentator and streamer, known online as 'GypsyCrusader'. Miller is best known for his cosplays of various characters, most notably Joker. Miller was indicted on charges of possessing a firearm as convicted felon and possession of unregistered rifle on February 25, 2021, stemming from an incident that took place in January 2018.[46]
Serving a sentence of three years. His sentence started at FCI Otisville in May 2019, but was transferred to home confinement in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, he was taken back into federal custody over disputed conditions. Released again later that month.[50]
Former Trump Organization lawyer. Pled guilty in 2018 tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, an excessive campaign contribution, making false statements to a congressional committee.[51][52][53]
Serving a 60-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2069.
Hedge fund manager and part owner of A&O Resources Management; convicted in 2011 of stealing $100 million from 800 victims by misrepresenting details about the company and concealing his prior criminal history; several co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison; the story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[56][57][58]
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