Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [45]
As Andrew got acclimated to prison life, he learned many valuable lessons about how the system worked. They included not only what he needed to do to make his life easier, but also the pitfalls he had to avoid.
EXTORTION, CORRUPTION,
AND HOMOSEXUALITY
In society in general and prison in particular, the strong prey upon the weak. If an inmate is gullible or doesn’t have the physical skills or lacks the will to defend himself, he becomes a target for the predators lurking all around him. He can be taken advantage of through violence or the threat of violence, or in more subtle ways. Andrew saw both methods in action.
“When I was at Coxsackie, the Hispanic inmates represented the majority, probably around fifty percent. Blacks were a bit behind, say forty percent or so. White inmates were the distinct minority at about ten percent. That disadvantage made it critical that we stuck together and let it be known there were no soft touches among us. But some inmates just weren’t cut out to be in the prison environment. And they weren’t just whites. They came in all colors. Those that didn’t measure up were destined to become victims. That’s just the way it was.
“When a new inmate arrived, he was watched closely by the other cons. They learned who he hung out with, whether he had any connections, if he was willing to stick up for himself. Then they found out if he had any money, how much was in his commissary account. If the guy had some buying power and was short on balls, he was targeted.
“One way to get to him would be to befriend him. The guy making the move would start talking with him. He’d ask, ‘Where you from? Whatcha in for? How long?’ All nice and friendly, just like he really gave a fuck. And then he’d get around to talking about commissary day—when it is, how much you can spend, what’s good to purchase that can be used as prison money. Things like tuna, cigarettes, cookies, and coffee. After that comes the hook. He says that since you’re new and won’t be able to go to commissary for a few days, as your new friend he’ll front you some stuff until you can shop for yourself. Here are some cookies. Here’s a pack of smokes. And when you go to the store next week, you can pay me back three packs of cigarettes and two boxes of cookies. Once the mark agrees to that, the door is wide open.
“The old protection racket probably comes next. See those guys over there? They’re looking to hurt you. For a carton of smokes I can protect you.
“And there’s the more direct way to get the new guy’s stuff. The real wild bunch will just wait for him to leave commissary and attack him on the way back to his unit. If he doesn’t put up a fight, they’ll rob him every time he goes to the store. Those things happen all the time in prison.”
Andrew believes corruption is inherent in the criminal-justice system. Below he explains the reasons for his feelings.
“As far as local jails, such as the Brooklyn House of Detention before it was closed and Riker’s Island, corruption was in the everyday fabric of the institution. For instance, many of the correction officers are African-American and some live in the same housing developments where a lot of the prisoners they’re in charge of come from. The gangs these inmates are associated with make it pretty simple, ‘We know you and we know your family. You do what we want, like bring in drugs and money or arrange sexual visits, or we’ll hurt your family.’ I know that