FCI Fairton (medium-security)

FCI Fairton. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Fairton is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in Fairton, New Jersey, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 744 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 856-453-1177.

MALE

Gender

MEDIUM

Security Level

744

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Location

Physical location: FAIRTON, NJ 8320

Mailing address: 655 FAIRTON-MILLVILLE ROAD, FAIRTON, NJ 08320

Visitation

There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.

For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.

Daily life and programs

Opened in the early 1990s, FCI Fairton is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for male inmates situated in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the Department of Justice, the facility is located roughly 50 miles southeast of Philadelphia and about 40 miles west of Atlantic City. The complex is organized into three distinct components: the main medium-security institution, an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp designed for lower-risk offenders, and a separate medium-security unit that houses inmates admitted to the federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC). Because reported populations vary depending on the source and the year, any single headcount should be treated as a snapshot rather than a fixed figure. Population estimates for the main institution are generally cited in the high hundreds to roughly 1,460, whereas the camp typically holds between about 50 and 120 individuals.

Housing at the main institution is organized into units, commonly described as A, B, C, and D, which are built around two-person cells arranged to give staff sightlines. Conversely, the satellite camp uses dormitory-style barracks with rows of bunks, shared bathrooms, laundry, and common areas. Because the primary facility operates as a medium-security FCI, daily life is more controlled than at a camp and revolves around a structured schedule of standing counts, work assignments, meals, and recreation blocks. Recreation options reported for the site include outdoor basketball, handball, a jogging track, bocce, and horseshoes. Indoor amenities feature table tennis, hobby craft, and indoor cardio and cable machines, as the BOP removed free weights system-wide years ago. Facility resources also include access to a law library and a general leisure library. Administratively, commissary spending is capped monthly, and communication runs through monitored phones, the TRULINCS email system, and postal mail under standard BOP contraband rules.

Programming at Fairton follows the standard BOP mix, providing GED preparation, English-as-a-Second-Language, and Adult Continuing Education classes, along with pre-release planning and career counseling. Most medically able inmates are required to work. Institutional jobs in food service, maintenance, landscaping, laundry, and the like generally pay on the order of roughly 0.12 to 0.40 dollars per hour. Historically, the site has operated a UNICOR / Federal Prison Industries shop, which is associated in secondary sources with electronics and plastics work and pays more than standard details. The status of the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is unsettled across sources. While official BOP RDAP location lists have included FCI Fairton, at least one prison-consulting guide states RDAP is not currently offered there. Consequently, current availability should be confirmed directly with the Bureau of Prisons rather than assumed.

Incidents of staff misconduct have periodically subjected the institution to external scrutiny. In 2010, a chief pharmacist at Fairton pleaded guilty to stealing a controlled substance and medical supplies, while a corrections officer was sentenced in 2012 for accepting bribes to smuggle tobacco, supplements, and postage stamps to an inmate. In more recent years, the facility garnered national attention by serving as the intake site for former U.S. Representative George Santos. He surrendered there on July 25, 2025, to begin serving a federal fraud sentence that was later commuted. Fairton's WITSEC unit and its mix of organized crime, white collar, and public corruption inmates give the site an unusually varied population for a medium security FCI.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
George Santos	Roughly 87 months (about 7 years); surrendered to FCI Fairton July 25, 2025; sentence commuted by the president in October 2025	Wire fraud and aggravated identity theft (former U.S. Representative, NY-3); pleaded guilty in 2024	2025
Nicodemo Scarfo Jr.	30 years; scheduled release around 2036	Racketeering, conspiracy, and money laundering tied to the multimillion-dollar looting of FirstPlus Financial Group; described by Wikipedia as a Lucchese crime family member	Register 01381-748
Lamor Whitehead	9 years	Brooklyn pastor (self-styled bishop) convicted of federal fraud, extortion, and lying to the FBI	Register 36692-510
Christian Lee Dedmon	40 years	Former Rankin County, Mississippi sheriff's deputy in the 'Goon Squad' case; pleaded guilty to civil-rights and other charges in the torture of two Black men	Register 71503-510