Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring

Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring
Location Big Spring, Howard County, Texas
Status Operational
Security class Low-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population 1,800 (220 in prison camp)
Opened 1979
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons
Warden Myron L. Batts

The Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring (FCI Big Spring) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Texas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has a satellite prison camp which houses minimum-security male offenders.

FCI Big Spring is located in the city of Big Spring, Texas, midway between Dallas and El Paso.[1]

Notable incidents

While they occur less frequently than at high-security prisons, serious acts of violence also occur at low-security institutions such as FCI Big Spring. On March 6, 2008, FCI Big Spring Correction Officer Terry Lloyd was conducting a search of inmate lockers when inmate Ray Ramirez-Bueno, 45, pushed his locker door shut on Officer Lloyd's right hand, causing Lloyd to suffer a minor injury. When additional correction officers responded to the incident, Ramirez-Bueno refused to submit to hand restraints, assumed a fighting stance, and threatened to kill the officers if they touched him. After a period of negotiation, Ramirez-Bueno agreed to be escorted to a lieutenant's office, where he submitted to hand restraints and sent to the facility's Special Housing Unit, where inmates who pose security risks are held. Ramirez-Bueno was subsequently convicted of assaulting a federal officer on March 11, 2009 and had several years added to his original sentence.[2] He was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, Forrest City Medium, a medium-security prison in Arkansas, and is scheduled for release in 2024.[3]

Notable Inmates (Current and Former)

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Benjamin Kyker 47921-048 Release date in 2020; serving 7 years. Former Corrections Officer for Indian Springs Prison Guard, and policeman
Anthony Curcio 38974-086 Released in April 2013; served a 6-year sentence. Former college football player and real estate investor, convicted in 2009 for masterminding one of the most elaborate armored car heists in history.[4][5][6]
Max Butler 09954-011 Serving a 13-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2019. Pleaded guilty in 2009 to wire fraud for stealing the credit card account information of nearly 2 million customers, which was used to rack up $86 million in fraudulent charges; received the longest sentence for computer hacking in US history.[7][8]
Anthony Pellicano 21568-112 Serving a 15-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2019. Former private investigator for celebrities including Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise and Steven Seagal; convicted in 2008 of illegal wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud.[9][10]
Juan De la Cruz Reyna 98832-179 Serving a 13-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2021. Lieutenant for Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen; convicted in 2000 of assaulting federal agents; convicted in 2012 of attempting to bribe a federal official to assist him avoid prosecution in Mexico.[11][12][13]
Alexander Salvagno 11212-052 Serving a 17-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2027. Former owner of Evergreen Resources, a fertilizer manufacturer; convicted in 1999 of ordering employees to handle and dispose of cyanide waste without required safety measures; received the longest sentence ever imposed for an environmental crime.[14]

See also


References

  1. ↑ "FCI Big Spring". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  2. ↑ "Federal Jury Convicts Inmate for Assaulting Federal Officer". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  3. ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator - Ray Ramirez-Bueno". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  4. ↑ Doughery, Phil. "D.B. Tuber". History Link.
  5. ↑ Stangeland, Brooke. "Out of Prison, Real-Life Thomas Crown Looks Back on Almost-Perfect Heist". ABC news.
  6. ↑ Kushner, David. "The All-American Bank Heist". GQ Magazine.
  7. ↑ Poulsen, Kevin (February 12, 2010). "Record 13-Year Sentence for Hacker Max Vision". Wired.
  8. ↑ http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2010/butlerSent.pdf
  9. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (December 15, 2008). "Pellicano Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Burrough, Bryan, Connolly, John. "Talk of the Town". Vanity Fair.
  11. ↑ "Un integrante del Cártel del Golfo se declara culpable por soborno en EU". CNN Mexico. April 24, 2012.
  12. ↑ Reagan, Mark (October 10, 2012). "Gulf Cartel boss gets prison term for bribery". Brownsville Herald.
  13. ↑ "Gulf Cartel Figure and Five Others Sentenced to Prison in Bribery Scheme". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  14. ↑ "IDAHO MAN GIVEN LONGEST-EVER SENTENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME". US Department of Justice. April 29, 2000. Retrieved 27 October 2013.

Coordinates: 32°13′43″N 101°30′20″W / 32.22851°N 101.50559°W