The Federal Correctional Institution, Mendota (FCI Mendota) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in California. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp housing minimum-security male offenders.
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| Location | Fresno County, near Mendota, California |
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| Coordinates | 36°44′00″N 120°23′32″W / 36.73333°N 120.39222°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Medium-security (with minimum-security prison camp) |
| Capacity | 1,600 (128 in camp) |
| Population | 1,312 (103 in camp) |
| Opened | 2012 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
| Warden | Maria Arviza |
| Street address | 33500 West California Ave. |
| City | Mendota |
| County | Fresno |
| State/province | California |
| ZIP Code | 93640 |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/men/ |
FCI Mendota is located in central California, 36 miles west of Fresno.[1]
History
editFCI Mendota opened in January 2012 after years of funding delays. The final cost of construction was $235 million. Mendota Mayor Robert Silva was pleased about the new jobs and revenue for local businesses that the prison would provide and encouraged the Bureau of Prisons to hire as many local residents as it could.[2][3]
Facility and inmate life
editFCI Mendota is located on 960 acres and is enclosed with a 12-foot-high razor wire fence. Inside the facility, inmates have access to educational programs where they may work toward their GED certificate and gain vocational training. Prisoners are required to work on a number of duties, ranging from food preparation in the dining hall to maintenance work. A recreation yard has basketball courts, a soccer field and a track.
Inmates sleep in seven- by twelve-foot cells, complete with toilet and sink. They have access to a common area where they can exercise, shower, and watch basic cable television.
Official counts are conducted at 12:05 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. The 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. counts are known as "standing counts," during which inmates must stop what they are doing and stand up even if they are in bed. An additional standing count is held at 10 a.m. on holidays and weekends.[4]
Notable inmates
edit| Inmate Name | Register Number | Photo | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankie Maybee | 10463-010 | Served an 11-year sentence; released November 3, 2020, from a Residential Reentry Facility in Dallas, TX | Convicted for his role in a 2010 incident during which a group of Hispanic men were threatened and run off the road; accomplice Sean Popejoy was sentenced to 4 years; the first individuals sentenced under the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[5] | |
| Jeffrey Bizzack | 01694-138 | Served a 2-month sentence; released from custody on February 28, 2020. | Convicted for his role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.[6] | |
| Richard Scutari | 34840-080 | Serving a 60 year sentence, scheduled for release in 2025 | Former member of the white supremacist group The Order. Convicted in 1987 of conspiracy, racketeering, and robbery. Sentenced to 60 years in prison.[7] | |
| Jeremy Meeks | 71672-097 | 
|
Served sentence of over 2 years; released on July 7, 2016. | Jeremy Meeks was dubbed the "hot felon" by some media. |
| James Kopp | 11761-055 | 
|
Serving a life sentence.[8] | Associate of the anti-abortion group The Lambs of Christ; convicted in 2007 of the 1998 murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, who performed abortions at a clinic in Buffalo, New York; Kopp was one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives prior to his capture in 2001.[9] |
| Luis Hernando Gómez | 04173-748 | 
|
Serving a 25-year sentence; scheduled for release 2032. | Colombian Drug Lord; known as "Rasguño", member of the Norte Del Valle Cartel. On October 18, 2008, Gomez pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in a Washington court. He also admitted sending over 500,000 kilograms of cocaine to America through Mexico between 1990 and 2004 as well as conspiracy to make and distribute more than 10,000 kilograms of cocaine destined for the US.[10] |
| Sam Bankman Fried | 37244-510 | .png)
|
Serving a 25-year sentence. | Sentence on March 28, 2024 included order to forfeit $11 billion.[11] A prison transfer process to Mendota reportedly began on May 22, 2024.[12] On May 26, 2024 his current BOP inmate location indicated Oklahoma City Federal Transfer Center. |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "FCI Mendota". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
- ^ Doyle, Michael (July 19, 2010). "Mendota federal prison on track to open 'early next year'". The Modesto Bee.
- ^ "Mendota's new federal prison opens soon". KFSN-TV Fresno. January 19, 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Federal Correctional Institution / Satellite Camp Prison Mendota, California Admissions & Orientation Handbook" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Prisons. 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Parker, Suzi (September 28, 2011). "Judge sentences Arkansas men to prison under hate crimes law". Reuters. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "College Admissions Scandal: Parent Who Turned Himself in Gets Two Months in Prison". The Daily Beast. 31 October 2019.
- ^ "AROUND THE NATION; Figure in Plot Gets 60-Year Prison Term". The New York Times. 1986-06-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Killers from WNY: where they are now". The Buffalo News. June 9, 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ Staba, David (20 June 2007). "Life Term for Killer of Buffalo-Area Abortion Provider". The New York Times.
- ^ "Colombian drug baron admits guilt". BBC News. 2008-10-18. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
- ^ "Samuel Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for His Orchestration of Multiple Fraudulent Schemes". Justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. April 30, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ Osipovich, Alexander (May 22, 2024). "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried being transferred to new prison". Wall Street Journal.