FCI Otisville (medium-security)
Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville (FCI Otisville) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates. It sits in the village of Otisville, in Orange County, New York, about 70 miles northwest of Manhattan. The institution is run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, part of the United States Department of Justice. A minimum-security satellite camp shares the grounds. Together they form the Otisville Federal Correctional Complex.[1]
The prison opened in 1977. The adjacent camp opened in 1994.[2] Otisville draws steady media attention for two reasons. It has held a long line of white-collar defendants. It also serves observant Jewish inmates in a way few federal prisons do, with kosher food, a chaplain, and religious services on site.[3]
Overview
FCI Otisville holds adult male inmates at the medium-security level. The grounds also include a minimum-security satellite camp, which houses a smaller group of men.[1] Court designations and news reports place much of the facility's white-collar population at the camp rather than the main institution, since most of those defendants carry low security scores.[4]
The complex sits in a rural stretch of Orange County. Its distance from New York City is short by federal standards. That proximity matters to inmates with family in the metro area, and it has shaped which prisoners ask to be sent there.[5]
Forbes once listed Otisville among the most comfortable federal prisons in the country. The label stuck. Local and national outlets often reach for the "Club Fed" shorthand when a high-profile defendant is designated there.[6]
Religious Accommodations
Otisville is known across the federal system as the destination for Orthodox Jewish inmates. The Bureau of Prisons never made the designation official. In practice it routes observant Jewish prisoners there, a pattern that traces back to a group of Satmar inmates who arrived with strict dietary needs. Rather than impose those requirements system-wide, the Bureau let Otisville handle them.[7]
The kitchen serves kosher meals. Reported items include matzah ball soup, gefilte fish, beef cholent, stuffed chicken, and rugelach. Kosher vending machines are available. The prison employs a full-time Hasidic chaplain.[3][8]
Religious practice extends past food. Inmates may wear tzitzit and attend Shabbat services. The facility holds Passover Seders in the cafeteria. For Passover and for use of a mikveh, the ritual bath, men have at times been permitted to travel to nearby Ellenville or Middletown.[3][7] Rabbi Menachem Katz of the Aleph Institute, which runs prison outreach, has described Otisville as the facility the Bureau "unofficially designated" to meet the needs of Orthodox Jews, a function of its location near Orthodox communities in New York.[7]
Notable Alumni
Several high-profile defendants have served time at the Otisville complex. Most were white-collar offenders held at the minimum-security camp.
- Michael Cohen (register #86067-054) was the personal attorney to President Donald Trump. He pleaded guilty to charges that included campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress. He was sentenced to three years and reported to Otisville in 2019. He was released to home confinement in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][8]
- Billy McFarland organized the failed Fyre Festival. He pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud tied to a scheme that took more than $26 million from investors. He was sentenced to six years and held at Otisville. He was caught with a prohibited recording device and moved to a higher-security facility. He was released in 2022.[6]
- Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, a cast member of Jersey Shore, pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2018. He served an eight-month sentence and was released in September 2019.[2]
Location and Visitation
The prison is at Two Mile Drive, Otisville, New York 10963.[1] The site lies in Orange County, a rural area roughly 70 miles northwest of New York City.[5]
Visiting rules at federal institutions change often. Approved visitor lists, scheduling windows, dress codes, and identification requirements are set by the institution and can shift without much notice. Anyone planning a visit should confirm the current rules before traveling. The Bureau of Prisons posts visiting information for each facility on its official institution page: FCI Otisville on bop.gov.
For general guidance on federal prison visits, see the Prisonpedia Visitation Guide.
See also
- Index of Federal Prison Facilities
- FCI Otisville (minimum-security camp)
- Bureau of Prisons Classification Methods
Daily life and programs
Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, FCI Otisville is a medium-security United States federal prison for men located near Otisville in Orange County, New York. The facility rests roughly 70 miles northwest of New York City and sits close to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey borders. The complex opened in the late 1970s, with specific published dates ranging from 1977 to 1980, and it pairs a fenced medium-security main institution alongside an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp for lower-custody men. Reported populations vary depending on the source; the medium institution has been cited at figures from roughly 580 up to about 870 men, whereas the camp holds under 100. Although the two components are administratively linked, they remain entirely distinct in their typical operations. Consequently, the day-to-day experience inside the medium FCI is far more restrictive than the looser, dormitory-based routine established at the camp. Properly distinguishing between the two matters, since most of Otisville's best-known inmates actually served at the camp instead of the medium institution.
Men in the medium-security institution are housed in two-person cells located behind a secured, fenced perimeter. Subject to controlled movement and standing counts, these individuals have considerably less freedom than camp residents. Press accounts of the medium side describe long stretches of in-cell time and limited shower access relative to the open, recreation-heavy camp. While amenities across the wider complex have included weights, cardio equipment, and outdoor recreation, former inmates commonly cite boredom, thin programming, and short-duration work assignments as the main complaints. Visiting generally takes place on weekends and federal holidays, and the Bureau offers mail, telephone, email, and video contact for staying in touch with family.
Inmates at Otisville have access to educational and reentry programming that includes adult literacy, GED and Spanish-language GED preparation, English-as-a-Second-Language classes, parenting courses, and Adult Continuing Education. However, the Bureau's Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is not hosted at FCI Otisville. This absence serves as a meaningful consideration for inmates seeking the treatment and potential sentence-reduction benefits associated with the program. As a result, individuals who require RDAP are typically designated to other institutions.
Otisville is widely recognized for accommodating observant Jewish inmates due to its proximity to the large Jewish population of the New York metropolitan area. The facility provides kosher meals and hosts Passover seders in its dining hall. Historically, inmates from other prisons were bused to Otisville to take part before those institutions offered their own. Partly because of these accommodations and its closeness to New York, Otisville has repeatedly drawn media labels as one of the more comfortable places to serve federal time. In 2009, Forbes ranked the site among the country's cushiest federal prisons, and in 2012, CNBC listed both the FCI and its camp among notable federal facilities. This particular reputation pertains most strongly to the minimum-security camp rather than to the more restrictive medium-security institution.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zvonko Busic | Sentenced to life; served about 32 years, released December 2008 | Croatian nationalist; 1976 hijacking of TWA Flight 355 and a bomb planted at Grand Central Terminal that killed NYPD officer Brian Murray. Held at the medium-security institution, from which he briefly escaped in 1987. | Escaped briefly 1987; released December 2008 |
| Michele Sindona | 25 years (June 1980) | Italian banker and Propaganda Due figure; 65 counts of fraud, perjury, false bank statements, and misappropriation of about $45 million tied to the collapse of Franklin National Bank. Held in the secure main institution before extradition. | Sentenced 1980; extradited to Italy September 25, 1984 |
| Sholam Weiss | Roughly 835 to 845 years (2000); commuted to time served January 20, 2021 | Insurance fraud, racketeering, and money laundering in the collapse of National Heritage Life Insurance Company | Convicted 2000; sentence commuted January 2021 |
| Deryl Dedmon | 50 years (pleaded guilty 2012) | Hate-crime killing of James Craig Anderson. Violent offense held at the medium-security institution; later transferred to FCI Marianna. | Pleaded guilty 2012; scheduled release 2054 |
| Darren Sharper | 20 years | Former NFL safety convicted in multiple jurisdictions of drugging and sexually assaulting women, plus related federal charges. Held at the medium-security institution; later transferred to FCI Miami. | Scheduled release 2028 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "FCI Otisville". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville". '. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Michael Cohen could get kosher matzah ball soup and rugelach in prison".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.2018-12-14.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "The Cushy, Kosher Confines of Otisville, Michael Cohen's Medium-Security Home".InsideHook.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Michael Cohen: what life may be like at Otisville prison for Trump's former lawyer".CNN.2018-12-12.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Fyre Festival Fraudster Billy McFarland Busted by Prison Guards".The Daily Beast.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "The Otisville Kosher Resort". Emes Ve-Emunah. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Michael Cohen reports to America's 'Jewiest' prison".Cleveland Jewish News.Retrieved 2026-06-03.