Federal Prison

Under pressure from federal judges, inmate advocacy groups and civil rights organizations, federal authorities are considering a sweeping cut in prison sentences that could bring early release for thousands of federal inmates. The proposal being weighed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission would shave an average of at least two years off the sentences of 19,500 federal prisoners, about 1 in 10 in the 200,000-inmate system.

Two men charged in state court in connection with the brutal beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow will each face federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, authorities said Tuesday. Marvin Norwood and Louie Sanchez were arrested last year and charged with felony assault and mayhem in the attack on Stow in one of the parking lots at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2011. The U.S. attorney's office added the weapons charges in a 14-page indictment. If convicted of the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, each man faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

A San Fernando Valley doctor and evangelical minister who federal prosecutors said used bogus herbal medications to offer false hope to dozens of people suffering from diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's was found guilty Tuesday of nearly a dozen federal charges. Twenty-eight victims or family members of victims who died while taking the products testified against Christine Daniel, 57, who was found guilty Tuesday on four counts of mail and wire fraud, six counts of tax evasion related to income tax filings as well as one count of witness tampering.

Former Upland Mayor John Pomierski faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Thursday to bribery and admitting to accepting $5,000 to help a business obtain a permit. Pomierski, 58, became the third person to be convicted in the bribery scheme, in which he allegedly demanded about $70,000 in payments from the separate owners of a sports bar and a medical marijuana cooperative to help them obtain permits and eliminate other requirements beginning in 2007, according to federal prosecutors.

A former Los Angeles police officer serving a 14-year prison sentence for bank robbery was attacked by a group of fellow inmates and suffered a puncture wound to one of his lungs, according to his lawyer. Ex-LAPD Officer David Mack, who is serving his sentence in a federal prison in Illinois, was attacked about a month ago while he was jogging, said Mack's attorney, Donald M. Re. Neil Robinson, a spokesman for the federal prison about 50 miles from St.

The nation's most famous "country club prison," once the domain of such celebrity felons as inside trader Ivan Boesky and Watergate figure H.R. Haldeman, is shutting down. The Lompoc Federal Prison Camp is being converted into a higher security federal prison. A prison with fences and razor wire instead of small "off-limits" signs around the property. A prison where inmates have to wear khaki uniforms instead of shorts and T-shirts. A prison where inmates can't play tennis in the afternoon.

With a final wave from the parking lot, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich walked into the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday and began serving his sentence of 14 years in prison for his conviction on corruption charges. Blagojevich did not go gently into what is expected to be years out of the  limelight he once inhabited so fully. Every step -- beginning with the morning's departure from his Chicago home, to the flight, to an unexpected stop for lunch -- was fully documented by local reporters who have long feasted on the charismatic politician.

Arrests of federal prison guards soared nearly 90% over the last decade, possibly because of poor hiring practices during a 25% increase in prison growth, the Justice Department's inspector general reported. Misconduct investigations doubled, and more than half of the offenses were committed during the officers' first two years on the job. The inspector general recommended that the Federal Bureau of Prisons improve its background investigation of job applicants and find better ways to assess rookie officers.

Hours before entering a federal prison in Cumberland, disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent friends an e-mail lamenting "this nightmare" political scandal. Abramoff, who parlayed campaign donations and expensive gifts into political influence from Congress to the White House, was sentenced to six years for a fraudulent Florida casino deal. He is awaiting sentencing in a Capitol Hill public corruption case in which he also is the star witness.

Two inmates fatally stabbed a prison guard Friday afternoon in an incident under investigation by federal authorities, officials at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, Calif., said Saturday. Jose Rivera, 22, of Chowchilla was attacked by inmates armed with homemade weapons about 3:30 p.m., according to a statement by Warden Dennis Smith. The assault took place in an inmate housing unit and the alleged assailants were immediately restrained, he said.

The former payroll manager for the San Francisco Giants baseball team was sentenced to nearly two years in prison after admitting that she stole more than $2 million from the team. Robin M. O'Connor pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud. She had been accused of transferring team money to her personal bank accounts from June 2010 to June 2011. U.S. District Judge James Ware sentenced O'Connor on Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison and ordered her to reimburse the team nearly $1.5 million.

With a final wave from the parking lot, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich walked into the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday and began serving his sentence of 14 years in prison for his conviction on corruption charges. Blagojevich did not go gently into what is expected to be years out of the  limelight he once inhabited so fully. Every step -- beginning with the morning's departure from his Chicago home, to the flight, to an unexpected stop for lunch -- was fully documented by local reporters who have long feasted on the charismatic politician.

In just hours, Elvis will indeed be in the building - or at least one of the singer's biggest fans will be in the building: former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich . He'll soon arrive at a federal prison in Colorado to begin serving a sentence on corruption charges. Blagojevich left his North Side Chicago home before dawn on Thursday for the trip to the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood outside Denver, where the 55-year-old former invincible iron man of Illinois politics will surrender in the afternoon.

The jailed parents of two Texas children found living in an abandoned school bus north of Houston say the arrangement was temporary, with one of the parents vowing to return soon. The father, Mark Shorten, told the Associated Press this week that he brought his family to Texas several years ago after their Louisiana home flooded during a hurricane. They planned to build a new house in Splendora, about 35 miles northeast of Houston, and live in the school bus on the lot in the meantime.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday and fined $20,000 for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald referred to as a criminal corruption crime spree at the time of Blagojevich's arrest three years ago. Blagojevich was convicted of corruption charges including trying to trade President Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat in exchange for money or favors. He will have to serve a minimum of nearly 12 years under federal rules that say defendants must complete 85% of their sentences.

Arrests of federal prison guards soared nearly 90% over the last decade, possibly because of poor hiring practices during a 25% increase in prison growth, the Justice Department's inspector general reported. Misconduct investigations doubled, and more than half of the offenses were committed during the officers' first two years on the job. The inspector general recommended that the Federal Bureau of Prisons improve its background investigation of job applicants and find better ways to assess rookie officers.

Deposed Panamanian leader Manuel A. Noriega was transferred Sunday night from the federal courthouse to a federal prison south of Miami, the warden said. Noriega, who faces federal drug charges, has been held in an underground facility at the courthouse in downtown Miami since being brought to the United States on Jan. 4 after the U.S. invasion of his country.

A San Fernando Valley doctor and evangelical minister who federal prosecutors said used bogus herbal medications to offer false hope to dozens of people suffering from diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's was found guilty Tuesday of nearly a dozen federal charges. Twenty-eight victims or family members of victims who died while taking the products testified against Christine Daniel, 57, who was found guilty Tuesday on four counts of mail and wire fraud, six counts of tax evasion related to income tax filings as well as one count of witness tampering.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Jaycee Lee Dugard sued the U.S. government Thursday, alleging that slipshod federal supervision of convicted rapist Phillip Garrido allowed him to remain free, snatch Dugard while she walked to a school bus stop and hold her captive for 18 years. So lacking was the government's oversight, according to the complaint, that its "gross neglect borders on virtual complicity" with Garrido, who pleaded guilty in April to charges that he kidnapped and raped Dugard.