Free Republic

OTISVILLE — That's the sound of the men working on the gold-chain gang. White-collar criminals and crooked politicians are banging down the door to get into Otisville Federal Correctional Facility in New York — described by some as a castle behind bars. "You could do about anything you wanted there," claimed former inmate John Altman. "It's not just good. It's sweet. That's why you request to go there." Disgraced former state Sen. Carl Kruger will serve out his seven-year corruption sentence in the suburban Orange County lockup. His boyfriend, Michael Turano, has requested to stay there too, and with good...

Gangsters operate own prisons as kidnapping soars in Iraq By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad 15 January 2004 Kidnapping is now the crime of choice among gangsters in Baghdad. Colonel Feisal Ali, a veteran Baghdad policeman, said: "Criminals who used to steal gold and jewellery now specialise in kidnapping because it is easier and more profitable. Some actually maintain their own private prisons." Even the very moderately wealthy in Baghdad are terrified that kidnappers will strike at them or their families. They drive their children to school fearing that, otherwise, they will be seized at the school bus stop. Some of...