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 Interactive map of United States Penitentiary, Canaan | |
| Location | Canaan Township,Wayne County, nearWaymart, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | High-security (with minimum-security prison camp) |
| Population | 1,269 [1,183 at the USP, 86 in prison camp] (September 2023) |
| Opened | 2005 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
| Warden | Charles Maiorana |
TheUnited States Penitentiary, Canaan (USP Canaan) is a high-security United Statesfederal prison for male inmates in northeasternPennsylvania, with a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. It is operated by theFederal Bureau of Prisons, a division of theUnited States Department of Justice.
USP Canaan is located inCanaan Township,Wayne County,[1] Pennsylvania, 20 miles (32 km) east ofScranton and 134 miles (216 km) north ofPhiladelphia.[2]
USP Canaan is a 170,000-square-yard (140,000 m2) facility designed by David R. Cassara Associates, Structural Engineering and Consulting ofRochester, New York for $141 million.[3] USP Canaan opened in March 2005 and is designed to house 1088 male inmates in six housing units. Six V-shaped buildings facing each other and a larger maintenance building surround a central yard with a tower in the middle. Six additional towers are lined along the rectangular-shaped facility. The facility is surrounded by a lethal electrical double fence.
Cells are approximately 4 m × 2 m (13.1 ft × 6.6 ft) in size, equipped with a bunkbed, a stainless-steel sink-toilet combination, and a small table with a non-removable stool. Cells are usually occupied by two inmates and are air conditioned. The administrative and disciplinary unit, called the Special Housing Unit, can hold approximately 250 inmates. Cells in the disciplinary unit have showers and are occupied by two inmates.
Units A1 & A2, closest to the dining area and the Receiving & Discharge area, are primarily used for inmates in transit. One-unit houses Minimum and Low security inmates in transit and the other housing Medium and Maximum-security inmates. Administrative Maximum custody inmates are generally housed in the SHU during transit. These units have also been used when the USP Canaan SHU is filled beyond capacity. Inmates will then be locked in a cell without a shower and only be able to shower three times weekly.
Inmate transit usually occurs at least twice a week to and from USP Canaan with Monday being the “airlift” day where inmates are brought to theHarrisburg airport by bus for secure transit to another prison. The trips to the next prison occur either by another bus trip or a flight on what is often called “Con Air” (operated byUS MarshalsJustice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System or JPATS). Tuesday is generally the transit day for inmates going to or fromMDC Brooklyn and MCC Manhattan (when it was open).
Four inmate murders have taken place at USP Canaan since its opening in 2005.
Other incidents: In June 2011, 300 inmates and several staff members became ill after eating chicken in the prison dining room. ThePennsylvania Department of Health was called in to investigate and determined that the cause wassalmonella poisoning. The incident constituted one of the largest institutional outbreaks of salmonella poisoning in US history. No one became critically ill.[11]
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul Kadir | 64656-053[permanent dead link] | Deceased. Died on June 28, 2018 while serving a life sentence.[12] | Al-Qaeda supporter; convicted ofterrorismconspiracy for his role in a foiled plot to bombJohn F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York in 2007; three co-conspirators are serving sentences at other federal facilities.[13][14] |
| Chhun Yasith | 31900-112[permanent dead link] | Serving a life sentence.[15] | US citizen and President of theCambodian Freedom Fighters; convicted in 2008 of leading a series of deadly attacks against civilian and government targets in an attempt to oust CambodianPrime MinisterHun Sen in 2000.[16][17] |
| Frank James | 83999-053 | Serving 10 concurrent life sentences plus 10 years without parole. | Perpetrator of the2022 New York City Subway attack. |
| Alexanda Amon Kotey | 11685-509 | Transferred toADX Florence. Serving eight concurrent life sentences. | One of the four members of the British "ISIS Beatles" and also known as "Jihadi George". Kotey was convicted ofhostage taking andproviding material support to a terror organization for his role in the kidnapping, torture, and murders of dozens European and American citizens between 2012 and 2015. Kotey was convicted of beheading and torturing four Americans in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. Another member of the "ISIS Beatles",El Shafee Elsheikh, was also tried and convicted and received a life sentence.[18][19] |
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Matta-Ballesteros | 37671-133 | Transferred toMCFP Springfield. Serving a life sentence under the name Juan Ramon Matta-Lopez.[20] | Drug kingpin with ties to theMedellin Cartel in Colombia; convicted in 1990 of orchestrating the 1985 kidnapping and murder ofDrug Enforcement Administration AgentEnrique Camarena.[21][22] |
| Charles Carneglia | 08773-016 | Serving a life sentence. | Gambino crime family soldier, sentenced to life in prison for racketeering, armed robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and four murders, including the murder ofBrooklyn court officer Albert Gelb, who was murdered four days before he was set to testify against Carneglia in court.[23][24] |
| Steven Crea | 48635-066 | Serving a life sentence. | Lucchese crime family underboss. Convicted in 2019 for murder and racketeering. |
| Benjamín Arellano Félix | 00678-748[permanent dead link] | Transferred toUSP Lee. Serving a 25-year sentence; scheduled release on April 28, 2032. | Former kingpin of theTijuana Cartel, sentenced to 25 years forracketeering and conspiracy tolaunder money.[25] |
| Ronell Wilson | 71460-053 | Transferred toUSP Coleman. Serving a life sentence. | Gang leader in Staten Island, New York; murderedNYPD Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, who were conducting asting operation to buy an illegal gun in 2003. Wilson was initially on death row before having his sentence reduced to life without parole on the grounds of that he was mentally disabled.[26][27] |
| Anthony Senter | 07555-054 | Released on June 21, 2024, after serving 35 years of a life sentence. | Lucchese crime family hitman and former member of theDeMeo crew. Convicted of ten counts of murder in 1989 and sentenced to life imprisonment. |
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Sommer | 38474-086Archived 17 February 2013 atarchive.today | Transferred toUSP Coleman. Serving a 24-year sentence plus 20 years; scheduled for release on June 9, 2034. | FormerUS Army Ranger; pleaded guilty to bank robbery in 2008 for masterminding the takeover robbery of a bank in Tacoma, Washington; pleaded guilty in 2010 to attempting to solicit the murder of an Assistant United States Attorney.[28][29][30] |
| Mohammad Shibin | 78207-083 | Transferred toFMC Butner. Serving a life sentence. | Somali pirate leader; convicted in 2012 ofpiracy,kidnapping, andhostage-taking for acting as aransom negotiator during thehijacking of the civilian vesselQuest in 2010 and the oil tankerMiranda Marguerite in 2011; Shibin is the highest-ranking pirate ever prosecuted.[31][32] |
| Peter Schwartz | 28815-509 | Serving a 14 year and two month sentence; scheduled for release on March 29, 2033. | Convicted for his involvement during theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, he attacked officers by spraying them with a “super soaker” full of pepper spray.[33] |
| Gregory Abbott | 86702-054 | Released on January 28, 2020. | Charged with connection to the2019 college admissions bribery scandal. |
| John Rigas | 53983-054 | John Rigas was released on February 22, 2016; Timothy Rigas was released on January 14, 2022.[34] | Father and son executives atAdelphia Communications Corporation; convicted in 2004 ofbank fraud and other charges for stealing millions of dollars from the company and concealing its debt from investors to keep its stock price high.[35] |
| Timothy L. Tyler | 99672-012 | Released on August 30, 2018. | An American who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for possession and distribution of LSD (or "acid") under the federal three-strikes law. In August 2016, after serving 24 years and 27 days behind bars, Tyler was granted clemency by PresidentBarack Obama. |
| Paul Manafort | 35207-016[permanent dead link] | Pardoned by PresidentDonald Trump in 2020 | An American political consultant and former campaign chairman for US president Donald Trump, Manafort was found guilty of tax fraud, bank fraud, and witness tampering. |
| Pooh Shiesty | 52490-509 | His release was onOctober 7, 2025, after serving three years of his five-year, three-month sentence, which was an early release based on time served and good behavior. His original projected release date was April 2026. | American rapper Pooh Shiesty was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for his gun conspiracy conviction linked to a confrontation outside a Florida hotel in October 2020 that ended with a man shot in the buttocks.[36] |
United States Penitentiary Canaan
41°33′46″N75°25′17″W / 41.56278°N 75.42139°W /41.56278; -75.42139
