United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

The United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP Springfield) is a United States federal prison in Springfield, Missouri which provides medical, mental health, and dental services to male offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.[2]

United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
LocationSpringfield, Greene County, Missouri
StatusOperational
Population1,070
Opened1933[1]
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons
WardenMichael D Smith

History

During the Great Depression, the people of Springfield, Missouri offered 620 acres (250 ha) of land to the federal government to build the prison. Congress authorized the building of the prison in 1930. The prison opened in 1933 as the "United States Hospital for Defective Delinquents", under superintendent Marion R. King.[3] The land surrounding the prison was used by the prisoners for farming until 1966. In 1977, the federal government returned some of the original 620 acres to the city.[3] Prison riots occurred in 1941, 1944 and 1959.[3]

Several political prisoners and spies arrested during World War II were held at MCFP Springfield for medical treatment. Anastasy Vonsyatsky served 3 years of a 5-year sentence there for conspiring to aid Hitler's Germany in violation of the Espionage Act before being released in 1946.[4] Robert Henry Best and Herbert John Burgman, who were sentenced to life in prison for treason in 1948 and 1949 for making propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, served their sentences at this prison. Best died at MCFP Springfield in 1952, Burgman in 1953.[5][6][7]

Several high-profile Mafia Bosses received medical treatment at MCFP Springfield, including Joseph Bonanno of the Bonanno crime family, Vito Genovese and Vincent Gigante of the Genovese crime family and John Gotti of the Gambino crime family.[8] Genovese died at MCFP Springfield in 1969, Gotti in 2002, and Gigante in 2005. Other notable inmates held at MCFP Springfield for treatment include Robert Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" who died there in 1963, racecar driver Randy Lanier, drug trafficker Michael Riconosciuto, and "The Toxic Pharmacist" Robert Courtney.[9][10] Terrorists Omar Abdel Rahman and Jose Padilla were also held there for brief periods.

Notable incidents

On January 26, 2010, inmate Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell. Castro-Rodriguez originally was convicted of assault and resisting arrest in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida and was being held at the MCFP because of a mental illness. MCFP inmates Wesley Paul Coonce, Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, were charged in connection with his death and on May 7, 2014, were convicted of one count of first-degree murder. Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence. Both were sentenced to death on June 2, 2014.[11]

Notable inmates
  • The following inmates are currently held at MCFP Springfield or served the majority of their sentence there.

†Inmates who were released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.

Current
Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Mohammad El-Mezain 92412-198 Now at FCI Oakdale Chief of Endowments for the Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Islamic charity in the US; convicted in 2008 of providing material support for terrorism for funneling money to the terrorist organization Hamas. Four co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[12]
Robert L. Bolden 29702-044 Sentenced to death on May 23, 2006 Killed a bank guard during an attempted robbery in St. Louis.
Juan Matta-Ballesteros 37671-133 Serving a life sentence under the name Juan Ramon Matta-Lopez.[13] Drug kingpin with ties to the Medellin Cartel in Colombia; convicted in 1990 of orchestrating the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique Camarena.[14][15]


Released
Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno 07255-008 Released from custody in 1986 after serving 14 months at MCFP Springfield. Boss of the Bonanno crime family in New York City from 1931 to the mid-1960s; imprisoned for refusing to testify in a federal racketeering trial of the leaders of the five New York Mafia families.[16][17]
Fritz Duquesne N/A† Released from custody on compassionate grounds in 1954; served 14 years.[18][19] Convicted in 1941 of leading the Duquesne Spy Ring, a group of spies for the Nazis which operated in the US from 1939 to 1941 and aimed to obtain information regarding military and industrial sabotage targets; all ring members were convicted in what was the largest espionage case in US history.[20]
Larry Flynt 78407-012 Released from custody in 1984; served 6 months at FMC Butner and MCFP Springfield. Publisher of the pornographic magazine Hustler and the center of several high-profile First Amendment cases; imprisoned for contempt of court for disrespecting a federal judge.[21]
Anastasy Vonsyatsky N/A† Held at MCFP Springfield from 1942 to 1946 Russian-born American fascist leader; convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 for his associations with Nazi sympathisers during World War II; released early.[22]
Henri Young N/A† Held at MCFP Springfield from 1948 to 1957. Bank robber and murderer; attempted to escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1939; Young was the subject of the 1995 film Murder in the First.[23][24]
Juan Lopez-Sanchez 14115-051 Held at MCFP Springfield before his deportation in 2009. Illegal alien accused of the murder of Kathryn Steinle in 2015 in San Francisco; following his reentry in 2009 he was placed in Victorville FCI and released to San Francisco authorities on a 20-year bench warrant.[25]
Rosario "Russell" Bufalino 04891-054 Held at MCFP Springfield from 1987 to 1989. An Italian-born American mobster who became the Boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family known as the Bufalino crime family from 1959 - 1994. He was a cousin of attorney William "Bill" Bufalino, the longtime counsel for Jimmy Hoffa.[26]

Died at MCFP Springfield
Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo 08341-016 Died in 2000. The Boss of the Lucchese Crime Family From 1973 - 1986. in 1986 sentenced to 100 years along with then Underboss Salvatore "Tom-Mix" Santoro and then Consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Funari.
Clayton Fountain 89129-132 Died in 2004 while serving a life sentence. Member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang; murdered Correction Officer Robert Hoffman at the United States Penitentiary, Marion in 1983; held in solitary confinement until his death. The incident resulted in a 23-year lockdown at Marion, and contributed to the creation of the federal supermax prison, Florence ADX.[27]
John Gotti 18261-053 Died in 2002. John "The Teflon Don" Gotti was head of New York's Gambino crime family. One of the most powerful and dangerous crime bosses in the world, Gotti was charged with five counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, loansharking, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, bribery and tax evasion. Convicted on all counts, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole and a $250,000 fine.
Howard Krantz 50688-053 Died in 2000 New York City Attorney; convicted in 1996 of participation in murder-for-hire conspiracy. Sentenced to life imprisonment plus five years without possibility of parole.[28]
Hemant Lakhani 25753-050 Died in 2013 while serving a 47-year sentence. British businessman; convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism and other charges for attempting to sell shoulder-fired missiles to what he thought was a terrorist group intent on shooting down US airliners.[29][30]
Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella 10405-054 Died in 2013. Was the Acting Boss Of the Colombo Crime Family During the 80s most notable for being a defendant in the Windows Trial in 1987 and being convicted and sentenced to 40+ years.
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno 12812-054 Died in 1992. Was the Front Boss for the Genovese Crime Family from 1981 - 1986 after being convicted in the Windows Trial and being sentenced to 100 years.
Garrett Brock Trapnell 72021-158 Died in 1993 while serving a life sentence; served the majority of his sentence at USP Marion. Serial bank robber; convicted in 1973 of aircraft hijacking and in 1974 of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.[31][32]
Robert Spangler 29442-013 Died of cancer on August 5, 2001 while serving life sentence. Serial Killer who murder his first wife and two children in 1978 in Littleton, Colorado and his third wife at the Grand Canyon in 1993. Pleaded guilty in October 2000 to murder on federal land of third wife. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

David Waters

 95107-080 Died in 2003 from lung cancer Known for his role in the kidnapping, robbery and murder of the famed atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, her son Jon Garth and granddaughter Robyn in 1995.
Robert Franklin Stroud Died November 21, 1963 Birdman of Alcatraz

John Sacramoni, boss of the fictional Lupertazzi crime family in the hit HBO television series The Sopranos, dies at MCFP Springfield in the season 6 episode entitled "Stage 5".

Photos of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield
  • The entrance to the medical center in August 2006.
  • Aerial view of the medical center in October 2003.

See also

References
  1. Mary Bosworth (2002). The U.S. Federal Prison System. SAGE Publications. p. 79. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  2. "MCFP Springfield". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  3. "United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners". Springfield Greene County Library. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  4. "Anastase Vonsiatsky and Marion Ream papers". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  5. Stadler, Glen (Dec 27, 1952). "Portrait of a Traitor". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. "Traitor Given Six to 20 Years". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. Dec 21, 1949. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  7. "Standard Certificate of Death – Herbert John Burgman" (PDF). The Division of Health of Missouri. December 28, 1953. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  8. Raab, Selwyn (June 11, 2002). "John Gotti Dies in Prison at 61; Mafia Boss Relished the Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  9. "Jury Says Guilty -- Man Claims Frame-Up But Faces 20-Year Term After Verdict On Seven Drug-Related Charges". The Seattle Times. January 19, 1992. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  10. Virginia Lee McCullough (February 18, 2008). "Is puppet master Michael Riconosciuto pulling the strings in the Betty Cloer murder trial?". NewsMakingNews. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  11. News-Leader Staff (3 June 2014). "Two Fed Med inmates sentenced to death in killing". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  12. "Federal Judge Hands Downs Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case – OPA – Department of Justice". justice.gov. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  13. Sisak, Michael R.; Kalinowski, Bob (19 December 2013). "Free to kill: Canaan inmate had freedom inside prison". The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  14. Weinstein, Henry (7 September 1989). "Major Drug Ring Leader Is Convicted". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Lee, John H. (9 May 1991). "Camarena Figure Gets 3 Life Terms : Drugs: Honduran Juan Matta Ballesteros has received two other lengthy sentences for his role in the DEA agent's murder". Los Angeles Times.
  16. Raab, Selwyn (May 12, 2002). "Joe Bonanno Dies; Mafia Leader, 97, Who Built Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  17. "Joseph Bonanno". A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  18. Duffy 2014, p. 272.
  19. AngloBoerWar 2007.
  20. "FBI — The Duquesne Spy Ring". Fbi.gov. 1941-12-13. Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  21. Bruno, Anthony (2013). "Adventures of Larry Flynt". Turner Entertainment Networks. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  22. "Anastase Vonsiatsky and Marion Ream papers". Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  23. "Henri Young 244-AZ". Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  24. "Henri Young". Ocean View Publishing. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  26. "Profiling the low-profile godfather, Russell Bufalino". Times Leader. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  27. W. Paul Jones (January 14, 2012). "Clayton A. Fountain: The Murderer Who Became a Monk". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  28. Fried, Joseph P. (1996-03-12). "Swindler-Informer Is Convicted Of Having Accomplice Killed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  29. Jonathan Wald; Maya Mantri (April 27, 2005). "Man convicted of missile plot". CNN. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  30. "Terror Briton jailed for 47 years". BBC News. September 12, 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  31. "GARRETT TRAPNELL, 55; CHARISMATIC CRIMINAL.(News)(Obituary\Garrett Brock Trapnell {Headline}Garrett Trapnell, 55; Charismatic Criminal {Lead}Garrett Brock Trapnell Hijacker, Con Man And Lothario – Has Died Of Emphysemaat A Hospital For Federal Prisoners. He Was 55.)(Obituary) | HighBeam Business: Arrive Prepared". Business.highbeam.com. 1993-09-11. Archived from the original on 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  32. "The First Hijackers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-09.

Sources

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