Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin

Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin
Location Pekin, Illinois
Status Operational
Security class Medium-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population 1,200 (300 in prison camp)
Opened 1994
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin (FCI Pekin) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Illinois. 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 which houses minimum-security male offenders.

FCI Pekin is located approximately 10 miles south of Peoria, Illinois, 180 miles southwest of Chicago, and 180 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.[1] It is located within the city limits of Pekin, Illinois.

Notable incidents

Death of Adam Montoya

On the morning of November 13, 2009, 36-year-old inmate Adam Montoya was found dead in his cell at FCI Pekin. Montoya had arrived at FCI Pekin only 18 days before to begin serving a 27-month sentence for check fraud. An autopsy concluded that Montoya had been suffering from cancer, hepatitis and HIV, and that the immediate cause of death was internal bleeding due to a ruptured spleen. Tazewell County Coroner Dennis Conover and other experts concluded that Montoya exhibited blatant symptoms of hepatitis and cancer, most notably dramatic weight loss, a swollen abdomen and yellow eyes, and that those symptoms, as well as the severe pain he was suffering, should have prompted staff to transport Montoya to the hospital immediately. The Associated Press quoted Conover as stating, "He shouldn't have died in agony like that...he had been out there long enough that he should have at least died in the hospital."

During Montoya's final days, he "consistently made requests to the prison for medical attention, and they wouldn't give it to him," said his father, Juan Montoya, who described how his son repeatedly punched the panic button. Three inmates corroborated that account in interviews with the Associated Press. Montoya's family filed a wrongful death and personal injury claim, which was denied by the Justice Department. A lawsuit is pending.[2][3][4]

Notable Inmates (current and former)

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Tony Rezko 19050-424 Serving a 10-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2017. Former top fundraiser to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich; convicted in 2008 of fraud, money laundering and bribery in connection with his plotting to take more than $9.6 million in kickbacks from firms seeking state business.[5]
Mark Ciavarella 15008-067 Serving a 28-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2035. Former PA juvenile court judge; convicted in 2011 of racketeering for taking $1 million from the developer of two for-profit prisons in return for sentencing juveniles to serve time in those prisons in one of the worst judicial scandals in US history.[6][7]
Joseph Miedzianowski 11502-424 Serving a life sentence. Former Chicago Police officer; convicted in 2003 of racketeering and conspiracy for running a cocaine distribution organization composed of other officers and gang members; known as the most corrupt police officer in Chicago history.[8]
John Tomkins 19421-424 Serving a 37-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2039. Iowa machinist; convicted in 2012 of mailing a dozen threatening letters and two pipe bombs to investment firms between 2005 and 2007 as part of a terror campaign aimed at driving up the value of stock he owned in two companies.[9][10]
Shon Hopwood 15632-047 Served an 11-year sentence. Shon Hopwood is a law clerk and former jailhouse lawyer who served over eleven years in prison for five armed bank robberies. While in prison, he started spending time in the law library, and became an accomplished Supreme Court practitioner by the time he left. He is also an author and advocate for prison reform.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FCI Pekin". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  2. ↑ Mercer, David (June 28, 2010). "Adam Montoya Died In Agony: Pekin Prison Inmate Begged For Help For Nine Days, Witnesses Say". Huffington Post.
  3. ↑ "Illinois Inmate’s Father Not Surprised Claim Denied". Claims Journal.
  4. ↑ "Inmate Locator - Adam Montoya". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  5. ↑ Korecki, Natasha (November 22, 2011). "Tony Rezko sentenced to 10-1/2 years in kickback scheme". Chicago Sun-Times.
  6. ↑ Richey, Warren. "'Kids for cash' judge sentenced to 28 years for racketeering scheme". Christian Science Monitor.
  7. ↑ Rose, Joel. "After Scandal, New Rules For Juveniles In Pa. Courts". npr.org.
  8. ↑ Lighty, Todd (January 25, 2003). "Rogue cop gets life". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "IOWA MAN CONVICTED OF MAILING PIPE BOMBS AND THREATENING LETTERS TO INVESTMENT FIRMS IN TERROR BID TO RAISE STOCK PRICES" (PDF). US Department of Justice. May 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ Meisner, Jason (May 21, 2013). "'Bishop' bomber sentenced to 37 years in prison". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 October 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 40°32′09″N 89°39′33″W / 40.53583°N 89.65917°W