The Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville (FCI Otisville) is a medium-security United States

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

for male inmates located near Otisville, New York. It is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

(BOP), a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. It also includes a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders. It is known for its relatively high number of Jewish inmates.

Location

FCI Otisville is located in southeastern New York State, near the Pennsylvania and New Jersey borders, and northwest of New York City. It is from the Otisville Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison. It is from

Monticello, New York Monticello ( ) is a village located in Thompson, Sullivan County, within the Catskills region of New York, United States. The population was 7,173 at the 2020 census. It is the seat for the Town of Thompson and the county seat of Sullivan Coun ...

, from

Kiryas Joel Kiryas Joel ( yi, קרית יואל, Kiryas Yoyel, ; often locally abbreviated as KJ) is a village coterminous with the Town of Palm Tree in Orange County, New York, United States. The village shares one government with the Town. The vast major ...

, and from Monsey.

Jewish demographics

Aleph Institute's prison outreach director, Rabbi Menachem Katz, stated that the BOP "kind of unofficially designated it to meet the needs of Orthodox Jews" due to the proximity to the Jewish population of New York City. "Even so, it's a big deal among the unfree at the medium-security federal prison in Otisville, .. (making it clear that this is the federal, not state, prison) Circa 2008 the warden of the prison stated 58 prisoners were Jewish, while Jewish Prisoner Services International chairman Gary Friedman stated that about 120 prisoners were Jewish. FCI Otisville offers

Passover Seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of

New York magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' wrote "Otisville still offers one of the more traditional Seders in the prison system." Religious Jewish inmates request assignment to FCI Otisville for these reasons.

Notable incidents

On August 11, 2009, former correction officer Hope Spinato (assigned to FCI Otisville) was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to aiding and assisting an inmate serving a 17-year drug trafficking sentence, in briefly escaping the facility. An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Spinato became involved in a relationship with the inmate (not identified by the Bureau of Prisons) and drove the inmate between the facility and her home, on several occasions.

In popular culture

George Jung, the basis for the 2001 film ''

Blow Blow commonly refers to: * Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blo ...

'', served time at FCI Otisville, but was later transferred to the

Federal Correctional Institution The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

before being released in 2017. In the

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

film ''

25th Hour ''25th Hour'' is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and starring Edward Norton. Adapted by David Benioff from his own 2001 debut novel '' The 25th Hour'', it tells the story of a man's last 24 hours of freedom as he prepares to go ...

'', the protagonist Montgomery "Monty" Brogan spends his final day commiserating with friends and family before reporting to Otisville for a seven-year sentence. In the opening of the 2010 film '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'', the sequel to the 1987 film ''

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

'',

Gordon Gekko Gordon Gekko is a composite character in the 1987 film '' Wall Street'' and its 2010 sequel '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'', both directed by Oliver Stone. Gekko was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, whose performance in the first fil ...

, played by

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, is released after serving an eight-year sentence for

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...

and

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in lo ...

for his actions as a corporate raider in the first movie. Although the scene was actually shot at

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

state prison, Gekko mentions in the film that he served his sentence at FCI Otisville. In '' The Mindy Project'', nurse Morgan refers to his time in Otisville for the theft of cars with his cousin. In 2019, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, who is famous from the MTV show

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

, was sentenced to 8 months for tax fraud. In Season 3 Episode 4 of

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

, Tom Wambsgans mentions Otisville as "the Jewish jail" while looking through a list of prisons where he will potentially be incarcerated.

Notable inmates (current and former)

Current

Former

References

External links

Federal Bureau of Prisons: FCI Otisville
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons 1977 establishments in New York (state) Buildings of the United States government in New York Buildings and structures in Orange County, New York Federal Correctional Institutions in the United States Economy of Orange County, New York Otisville, New York Prisons in New York (state)