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 Interactive map of Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York | |
| Location | Manhattan,New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°42′47″N74°00′07″W / 40.71306°N 74.00194°W /40.71306; -74.00194 |
| Status | Inactive |
| Security class | Administrative facility |
| Population | 0[1] |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
| Warden | Marti Licon-Vitale[2] |
| Website | Official website |
TheMetropolitan Correctional Center, New York (MCC New York) is a temporarily closedUnited States federal administrative detention facility in theCivic Center ofLower Manhattan,New York City, located onPark Row behind theThurgood Marshall United States Courthouse atFoley Square. It is operated by theFederal Bureau of Prisons, a division of theUnited States Department of Justice.
MCC New York holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. Most prisoners held at MCC New York have pending cases in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York. MCC New York also holds prisoners serving brief sentences.[1]
TheLos Angeles Times stated that the prison is often referred to as the "Guantanamo of New York",[3] andThe New York Times stated that its administrative segregation units had severe security measures.[4]
Opened in 1975 in theCivic Center neighborhood ofLower Manhattan,[5] MCC New York was the first high-rise facility to be used by the Bureau of Prisons.[6] The jail was technically an extension of theThurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, to which it was connected via a footbridge.[7] Prisoners were assigned to one of 10 separate, self-contained housing units, resulting in little movement within the facility. In 2002, it was widely reported that MCC New York was severely overcrowded.[6]
Numerous high-profile individuals have been held at MCC New York during court proceedings, includingGambino crime family bossesJohn Gotti andJackie D'Amico, drug dealerFrank Lucas,Ponzi scheme fraudsterBernie Madoff, terroristsOmar Abdel Rahman andRamzi Yousef, financier and sex offenderJeffrey Epstein, and weapons traffickerViktor Bout.[8] After being extradited to the United States, Mexican drug lordJoaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was housed in the facility.
On August 26, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that the prison would be temporarily closed because of its deteriorating condition. At the time of the announcement, 233 prisoners were held there. They were moved to other prisons while the department dealt with the problems.[9]
The correctional center is housed in a 12-story high-rise building located at 150 Park Row in the Civic Center neighborhood. In 2017, it had 796 inmates, both male and female, which is far more than its design capacity of 449.[10][11] The facility has one female wing; seven General Population male wings, six of which feature cells and one is a dorm; one Special Housing Unit (SHU); and one maximum security unit. Each unit takes up two stories. All General Population units feature a gym (no weights), a kitchen (microwaves, hot water, ice), and five TV sets (one in the gym and four in the common area). Offices, classes, and computers are located on the unit's second floor. The jail is chronically understaffed.[11]
Inmates in the 10-South wing are locked inside single-man cells 23 hours a day that are continuously monitored by CCTV cameras and have lights on at all times.[4][12] Prisoners are kept isolated: their cells are equipped with showers, and the only time they're taken outside their cells is for exercise in an indoor cage. No outdoor recreation is permitted.[12] Most 10-South prisoners are subject tospecial administrative measures, which severely restrict their communication with other prisoners and with the outside world.[12]
The 9-South wing is a designated SHU. It houses inmates that violated prison rules; new arrivals that have not been medically cleared for General Population yet; and inmates in Protective Custody (PC).[12] Both inmates in a cell are cuffed at the back through a food slot every time the cell door is to be opened. Inmates are escorted to the shower three times a week, always cuffed.[citation needed] The wing has leaky plumbing that results in prisoners encountering pools of standing water and sewage, and it also has rodent and cockroach infestations.[13][14]
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Photo | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Abdel-Rahman | 34892-054 |  | Deceased. Died of natural causes on February 18, 2017, after transfer to a medical unit at theFederal Correctional Complex, Butner, in North Carolina, while serving a life sentence plus 15 years under the name Omar Ahmad Rahman. | Leader of the terrorist organizational-Gama'a al-Islamiyya; convicted in 1995 ofseditious conspiracy for masterminding a foiled plot to bomb high-profile targets in New York City, including theUnited Nations, theLincoln Tunnel, theHolland Tunnel, and theGeorge Washington Bridge in what is known as theNew York City landmark bomb plot, as well as conspiring to assassinate Egyptian PresidentHosni Mubarak. Nine followers are serving sentences at ADX and other federal facilities.[15][16] |
| Abu Hamza al-Masri | 67495-054 |  | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving a life sentence under the name Mostafa Kamel Mostafa. | Egyptian cleric and former associate of deceasedAl-Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden; extradited from the UK in 2012; convicted in 2014 of masterminding the 1998 kidnapping of Westerners in Yemen and conspiring to establish aterrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999.[17] |
| Abu Anas al-Libi | Unknown | Died on January 2, 2015 while awaiting trial. | High-rankingAl-Qaeda operatives; indicted in 2000 onconspiracy charges stemming from Al Qaeda's1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa, which killed 224 people.[18] | |
| Khalid al-Fawwaz | 67497-054 | Serving a life sentence atUSP Victorville.[19] | ||
| Michael Avenatti | 86743-054 |  | Transferred toFCI Terminal Island. Serving a 19-year sentence; scheduled for release on January 17, 2036. | Convicted in New York of attempting to extortNike and honest services fraud related to his client; also facing two other pending trials relating to tax evasion, filing false tax returns and allegations of defrauding clients includingStormy Daniels.[20] |
| Viktor Bout | 91641-054 |  | Transferred toUSP Marion. Served a 25-year sentence; released on December 12, 2022 back toRussiain a prisoner exchange forBrittney Griner. | Russianarms dealer; convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill Americans and supplyinganti-aircraft missiles and other weapons toFARC, aMarxist group on theU.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[21] |
| Daryl Campbell | 75951-054 | Transferred toBrooklyn MDC. Serving a 35-year sentence, scheduled for release on June 5, 2058. | Plead guilty to federal gun charges | |
| Jeffrey Epstein | 76318-054 |  | Committed suicide by hanging in his cell on August 10, 2019; after being removed from a suicide watch.[22][23][24] | Sex trafficking charges. It was the first recorded suicide at MCC in 21 years.[25] |
| Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani | 02476-748 |  | Transferred toADX Florence, and then toUSP McCreary. Serving a life sentence. | Al-Qaeda terrorist convicted for his role in thebombing of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was on theFBI Most Wanted Terrorists list from its inception in October 2001. In 2004, he was captured and detained byPakistani forces in a joint operation with the United States, and was held until June 9, 2009, atGuantanamo Bay detention camp. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States and sent toADX Florence, but then later transferred to USP McCreary. |
| John Gotti | 18261-053 |  | Deceased. Died in 2002 atMCFP Springfield while serving a life sentence. | Boss of theGambino Crime Family in New York City from 1985 to 1992; convicted of murder,murder conspiracy,loansharking,illegal gambling,obstruction of justice,bribery, andtax evasion in 1992. |
| Salvatore Gravano | Unknown | .jpg) | Placed in theFederal Witness Protection Program in return for turning government witness in 1991; served a 19-year sentence in an Arizona prison after being convicted on state narcotics charges.[26] Released early in September 2017; was scheduled for release in March 2019. | Formerunderboss of theGambino Crime Family; turned government witness and testified against bossJohn Gotti.[27] |
| Joaquín Guzmán | 89914-053 | .jpg) | Transferred toADX Florence.[28] Serving a life sentence plus 30 years. | Known as "El Chapo" Guzmán, who on two prior occasions was able to escape High Security Facilities in Mexico, was extradited to the United States in 2017. He was accused of being the leader of a drug cartel with thousands of members, whose earnings are estimated to be in the billions. The charge coming out of the United States Court, Eastern District of New York, asserts that he and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel have used hired assassins to carry out murders, kidnappings, and torture.Time Out New York reported in August 2018 that the Brooklyn Bridge could be closed to traffic twice a day when Guzmán is transported across the river to face trial at the Federal District Court in Brooklyn. |
| Patrick Ho | 76101-054 |  | Served a three-year sentence.[29] Released on June 8, 2020. | Charged with violating theForeign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering.[30] Three years' imprisonment and fined $400,000 in March 2019. |
| Bernie Madoff | 61727-054 |  | Deceased. Served 11 years of a 150-year sentence atFCI Butner and thenFMC Butner until his death on April 14, 2021.[31] | Formerfinancier; pleaded guilty in 2009 tofraud,money laundering,perjury andtheft for perpetrating the largestPonzi scheme in US history, robbing thousands of investors of over $65 billion over 20 years; the story was featured on theCNBC television programAmerican Greed.[32][33] |
| Paul Manafort | 35207-016 | .jpg) | Pardoned by PresidentDonald Trump and released from federal custody on December 23, 2020. | Former Trump campaign manager, lobbyist, political consultant, and lawyer. Sentenced to 47 months in prison for lobbying violations and bank and tax fraud. Moved fromFCI Loretto in June 2019. Expected to be released December 24, 2024, moved back to Loretto in August 2019. Pardoned by Trump on December 23, 2020. |
| Ahmad Khan Rahimi | 78312-054 | .jpg) | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving two consecutive life sentences. | American-Afghan man fromElizabeth, New Jersey who was convicted inU.S. District Court and New Jersey state court foruse of weapons of mass destruction, bombing a place of public use,attempted murder of law enforcement officers and various other charges. |
| Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov | 79715-054 |  | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving ten concurrent life sentences plus 260 years. | Sayfullo is being held in MCC, New York on a conviction of perpetrating a terrorist attack in New York City. He was charged withProviding material support for a terrorist organization and Destruction of a motor vehicle. |
| Ross Ulbricht | 18870-111 | Transferred toUSP Florence High, then toUSP Tucson, and finally pardoned by PresidentTrump on January 21, 2025 after serving two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years. | Creator and operator ofSilk Road, adarknet market website known for selling narcotics and other illicit goods. | |
| Akayed Ullah | 79827-054 |  | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving a life sentence plus 30 years. | Convicted in 2018 for terrorism in a plot to bomb theNew York City Subway with explosives. |
| Ramzi Yousef | 03911-000 |  | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving a life sentence plus 240 years. | Convicted in 1994 of terrorism conspiracy and other charges in connection with the1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Yousef was also convicted in 1996 of planningProject Bojinka, a foiled plot conceived by seniorAl-Qaeda memberKhalid Sheikh Mohammed to bomb twelve planes in a 48-hour period.[34] |
| John Zancocchio | 48744-080 | Released from federal custody on July 31, 2018. | Racketeering charges[35] | |
| Chuck Zito | 12032-054 |  | Transferred toFCI Lewisburg Released from federal custody on April 13, 1990. | President of the New York Nomads chapter of theHells Angels; pleaded guilty toconspiracy to distributemethamphetamine in 1986[36] |
Beyond its isolation, the wing is infested with rodents and cockroaches, and inmates often have to navigate standing water — as well as urine and fecal matter — that spills from faulty plumbing, accounts from former inmates and lawyers said. One lawyer said mice often eat his clients' papers.
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has been found guilty on all 10 counts at his drug trafficking trial at a federal court in New York.
Media related toMetropolitan Correctional Center, New York City at Wikimedia Commons
