The Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto (FCI Loretto) is a low-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 people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

for male inmates in Pennsylvania. An adjacent satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male offenders. It is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

, a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

. FCI Loretto is located in Allegheny Township, Cambria County, in southwest Pennsylvania, between Altoona and Johnstown, east of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. , most prisoners have sentences related to illegal drugs. As of that year, the average sentence length is 12 years, and some prisoners are serving life sentences.

History

FCI Loretto was constructed in 1985 on land which was occupied by St. Francis Seminary from the late 1950s to 1979. Fifteen inmates from the federal prison camp at Allenwood, Pennsylvania, assisted in the construction. These inmates included a US Representative involved in the

ABSCAM Abscam, sometimes written ABSCAM, was a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members from both chambers of the United States Congress and others for bribery and co ...

scandal. By December 2020, nearly 75% of the 856 inmates there were diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Several inmate family members filed lawsuits in response to reports of substandard living conditions during the pandemic and lack of speed in testing and isolating COVID-19 positive inmates.

Notable incidents

In December 2012, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' and several other media sources reported that Cameron Douglas, the son of film actor

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 ...

, had suffered a broken leg after being assaulted at the prison. Cameron Douglas was serving a 9-year sentence for drug trafficking, and was located in the Central One Unit. It was reported that an unnamed high-ranking

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

figure had placed a $100 bounty on him for agreeing to testify against his suppliers, brothers David and Eduardo Escalera. Douglas was later transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland, a medium-security facility in Maryland.

Facility

FCI Loretto has minimal educational opportunities and a drug-abuse treatment program. Its programs include

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

(ESL) and

General Education Development The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four academic subject tests in the United States and its territories certifying academic knowledge equivalent to a high school diploma. This certification is an alternative to the U ...

(GED) classes. As of 2016, 125 prisoners are in the ESL and/or GED programs.

Notable inmates (current)

Notable inmates (former)

References

External links

Bop.gov
{{coord, 40.496, -78.622, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Cambria County, Pennsylvania Loreto Prisons in Pennsylvania 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania