Federal Correctional Institution, Florence

Federal Correctional Institution, Florence
Location Fremont County,
near Florence, Colorado
Coordinates 38°21′39″N 105°06′09″W / 38.3608°N 105.1024°WCoordinates: 38°21′39″N 105°06′09″W / 38.3608°N 105.1024°W
Status Operational
Security class Medium-security
Population 1,100
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons
Warden J.M. Wilner

The Federal Correctional Institution, Florence (FCI Florence) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Colorado. Part of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Florence), it is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

FCI Florence is located outside the city of Florence Colorado, 90 miles south of Denver, 45 miles south of Colorado Springs, and 40 miles west of Pueblo.[1]

[2][3]

Notable incidents

On the morning hours of December 29, 2008, correction officers at FCI Florence found inmate Pablo Zúñiga-García, 33, dead in his cell. Zúñiga-García, who was serving a 54-month sentence for an illegal-immigration conviction, had suffered numerous blunt-force injuries to his head. A subsequent FBI investigation found that inmates José Augustín Pluma, Juan Martín Ruelas, Mark Rosález, and Justin Hernández, all inmates at FCI Florence and members of the Sureños gang, orchestrated the assault.

Prior to the fatal assault, Hernández, a Sureños leader, ordered several other inmates to physically assault Zúñiga-García. Hernández's lieutenant, Rosález, asked another inmate to act as a lookout during the assault and prevent Zúñiga-García from escaping. During the early hours of December 29, 2008, Pluma and three of the unnamed co-conspirators entered the cell with their makeshift weapons, padlocks attached to belts, and began a 15 minute beating of Zúñiga-García while Ruelas and another unnamed co-conspirator took their places as lookouts. Three other participants pleaded to lesser charges and agreed to testify against the four men.

Pluma, Ruelas, Rosález, and Hernández were convicted of conspiring to assault Zúñiga-García and second-degree murder on June 14, 2011. They are all serving lengthy sentences at high-security facilities.

Notable inmates (current and former)

†Beckley was incarcerated at the ADX Florence minimum-security prison camp.

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Francisco Duran 19588-016 Serving a 40-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2029. Convicted in 1995 of attempting to assassinate US President Bill Clinton for firing 25 to 30 rounds from an assault rifle at the White House in October 1994.[4][5]
David Diaz-Sosa 81637-208 Serving a 25-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2031. Arms dealer and drug trafficker; pleaded guilty in 2011 to attempting to purchase military weapons, including machine guns, anti-tank weapons and a surface-to-air missile, for the Sinaloa Cartel, the largest drug trafficking organization in Mexico.[6][7]
Phillip Lochmiller, Sr. 36503-013 Serving a 33-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2041. Former mortgage company owner; convicted in 2011 of conspiracy, money laundering, and mail fraud for masterminding a real estate investment scheme that defrauded more than 400 people of at least $30 million.[8][9]
Brent Beckley† 66155-054 Released from custody in October 2013. Co-founder of Absolute Poker; pleaded guilty in 2012 to engaging in unlawful internet gambling, bank fraud and wire fraud for falsifying transaction records so that they appeared to come from non-gambling online merchants.[10][11][12]
James G. Madison 28803-050 Serving a 10-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2016. Bank robber known as the 'Mad Hatter' who robbed nineteen different banks while wearing a variety of hats; convicted in 2007 of several counts of bank robbery.[13][14]

See also


References

  1. ↑ "FCI Florence". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  2. ↑ Bunch, Joey (June 15, 2011). "Four Florence inmates convicted of killing prisoner". The Denver Post.
  3. ↑ "Four Bureau of Prison Inmates Found Guilty of Second Degree-Murder and Conspiracy". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  4. ↑ Jackson, Robert L. (April 5, 1995). "Gunman Found Guilty of Trying to Kill Clinton". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Robert L. (June 30, 1995). "White House Gunman Gets Prison Term". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ "Man gets 25 years for trying to buy military weapons for cartel". CNN. August 23, 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "GUILTY PLEAS FOR TWO MEXICAN NATIONALS IN CONSPIRACY TO ACQUIRE STINGER MISSILE AND OTHER MILITARY–GRADE WEAPONS". US Department of Justice. May 2, 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Lochmiller gets sentenced". Mar 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Philip R. Lochmiller, Sr. Sentenced to Over 33 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracy, Money Laundering Conspiracy, Money Laundering, and Mail Fraud". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  10. ↑ "DIRECTOR OF PAYMENT PROCESSING FOR ABSOLUTE POKER PLEADS GUILTY IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO INTERNET GAMBLING AND FRAUD OFFENSES". US Department of Justice. December 20, 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Weidlich, Thom (December 20, 2011). "Absolute Poker Founder Beckley Pleads Guilty in U.S. Online Fraud Case". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Reuters (July 23, 2012). "Brent Beckley, Absolute Poker Owner, Sentenced To 14 Months In Prison Over Bank Fraud". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Police nab alleged robber dubbed ‘Mad Hatter’". Associated Press.
  14. ↑ "Hat Bandit/Mad Hatter - I". Federal Bureau of Investigation.