Our ministry regularly sends books to our White Collar Support Group members who are serving time in prison. We recently sent in the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. This book has special significance to me because it taught me lessons in hope and faith and informed the way I looked at my incarceration, recovery and reentry. In places of limited control, there are still things that we have power over: our bodies, our attitudes, and our ability to help others. Below is a book review we received from one of our group members. Please send your thoughts to me at [email protected] and I will make sure he receives them. Blessings, Jeff
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Dear Jeff, Thank you for sending me this book because it deals with suffering and the meaning of life. The author (Viktor Frankl) was a doctor before being imprisoned in several Nazi war camps, and he used his view of suffering to survive the experience and then thrive upon his liberation. Frankl does not take a spiritual view but many of the principles and accounts in the book are spiritual and would have significance in any teaching on the meaning of life or the value of suffering. Although this book deals with suffering caused by literal imprisonment, there are absolute parallels to people imprisoned by their sin and past failures. I highly recommend the book. Here’s the book report I owe you :-). Although Frankl ignores the subject of HOW a person can change their mind about the value of suffering to enhance the meaning of life, he does a great job of explaining the psychology of suffering and appealing strongly to all of us to appreciate the role suffering can play to make our lives more meaningful. A key message in this book is “it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.” (I would replace ‘life’ with ‘God’). This book dovetails very well with my studies in Restorative Justice (especially the top of page 138 and 148-149) relative to people who have confessed to committing crimes. This book gave me some great insight highlighted in the 21 points below. THANK YOU FOR THE BOOK – IT WAS A GREAT BLESSING AND WILL HELP ME ALONG THIS JOURNEY! 1. There are three phases to a prisoner’s mental reaction to prison life: 1) shock 2) apathy 3) liberation. 2. Suffering is more about the mental and emotion than it is about the act. 3. Even in a Nazi prison camp it is possible for a spiritual life to deepen. 4. Using images and memories from the past – especially of loved ones – are essential to survive suffering. In speaking of his wife Frankl writes “My mind clung to my wife’s image, imagining it with uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look…A thought crossed my mind: I didn’t even know if she were still alive. I knew only one thing, which I have learned well by now – love goes far beyond the physical person of the beloved…Whether or not she is actually present, whether or not she is still alive at all ceases somehow to be of importance.” Bonnie and I have talked about the importance of using our strong memories of vivid events to maintain our strong love. (37-38) 5. “Humor, more than any other emotion, can help us rise above any situation even if only for a moment.” (43) 6. “The majority of prisoners suffered from an inferiority complex. We all had been or fancied ourselves to be “somebody”. Now we were being treated as complete non-entities. The consciousness of one’s inner value is anchored in higher, more spiritual things, and cannot be shaken by camp life. But how many men, let alone prisoners, possess it?” This last sentence/question is provoking – I believe I have this awareness through Christ, but time will tell. 7. “There are always choices to make…which determine whether or not you will become a plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of a typical inmate…Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under these circumstances, decide what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually…It is this spiritual freedom – which cannot be taken away – that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” (66-67) WOW! 8. “The way in which a man accepts his fate, and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances – to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become nothing more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not…Do not think these considerations are unworldly or too far removed from real life. It is true that only a few people are capable of reaching such high moral standards…Such men are not only in concentration camps. Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering.” (67-68) 9. “The Latin word FINIS has two meanings: the end or the finish, and the goal to reach. A man who could not see then end of his “provisional existence” was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life…Instead of taking camp’s difficulties as a test of their inner strength, they did not take their life seriously and despised it as something of no consequence. They preferred to close their eyes and live in the past. Life for such people became meaningless. It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking into the future. And this is his salvation in the most difficult times although he has to sometimes force his mind to the task.” (70, 72, 73) 10. “Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it. The prisoner who lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and let himself become subject to mental and spiritual decay. Usually this happened quite suddenly, in the form of a crisis…” (74) 11. “What you have experienced no power on earth can take from you. Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.” (82) 12. It would be an error to think that a liberated prisoner was not in need of spiritual care any more…the man who has been liberated from mental pressure can suffer damage to his moral and spiritual health.” (89-90) 13. There are two fundamental experiences which can damage the character of a liberated prisoner: bitterness and disillusionment. “Woe to him who found that the person whose memory alone had given him the courage in camp did not exist anymore.” (91-92) 14. “The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more – except his God.” (93) 15. “Those who knew that there was a task waiting from them to fulfill were the most apt to survive.” (104) 16. “Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension – between what one is and what one should become.” (104-105). This reminded me of Romans 7. 17. Boredom is now causing more psychological problems than distress. (107) 18. “There are people, however, who do not interpret their own lives merely in terms of a task being assigned to them but also in terms of the taskmaster who has assigned it to them.” (110) AMEN!! 19. “No one can become fully aware of the essence of another human being unless he loves him.” (111). I thought about the relationship between God and us — we can each understand the essence of the other, and of each other, through love. 20. “Freedom is the negative aspect of of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness…THAT IS WHY I RECOMMEND THAT THE STATURE OF LIBERTY ON THE EAST COAST BE SUPPLEMENTED BY A STATUE OF RESPONSIBILITY ON THE WEST COAST” (132). I love this statement! 21. “Human potential at its best always allows for 1) turning suffering into human achievement and accomplishment, 2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better, and 3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsibility for action.” (138). I want to explore this position in greater detail to see if it is fundamental to Restorative Justice.
Our ministry regularly sends books to our White Collar Support Group members who are serving time in prison. We recently sent in the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. This book has special significance to me because it taught me lessons in hope and faith and informed the way I looked at my incarceration, recovery and reentry. In places of limited control, there are still things that we have power over: our bodies, our attitudes, and our ability to help others. Below is a book review we received from one of our group members. Please send your thoughts to me at [email protected] and I will make sure he receives them. Blessings, Jeff
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Dear Jeff,
Thank you for sending me this book because it deals with suffering and the meaning of life. The author (Viktor Frankl) was a doctor before being imprisoned in several Nazi war camps, and he used his view of suffering to survive the experience and then thrive upon his liberation. Frankl does not take a spiritual view but many of the principles and accounts in the book are spiritual and would have significance in any teaching on the meaning of life or the value of suffering. Although this book deals with suffering caused by literal imprisonment, there are absolute parallels to people imprisoned by their sin and past failures. I highly recommend the book. Here’s the book report I owe you :-).
Although Frankl ignores the subject of HOW a person can change their mind about the value of suffering to enhance the meaning of life, he does a great job of explaining the psychology of suffering and appealing strongly to all of us to appreciate the role suffering can play to make our lives more meaningful. A key message in this book is “it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.” (I would replace ‘life’ with ‘God’).
This book dovetails very well with my studies in Restorative Justice (especially the top of page 138 and 148-149) relative to people who have confessed to committing crimes.
This book gave me some great insight highlighted in the 21 points below. THANK YOU FOR THE BOOK – IT WAS A GREAT BLESSING AND WILL HELP ME ALONG THIS JOURNEY!
1. There are three phases to a prisoner’s mental reaction to prison life: 1) shock 2) apathy 3) liberation.
2. Suffering is more about the mental and emotion than it is about the act.
3. Even in a Nazi prison camp it is possible for a spiritual life to deepen.
4. Using images and memories from the past – especially of loved ones – are essential to survive suffering. In speaking of his wife Frankl writes “My mind clung to my wife’s image, imagining it with uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look…A thought crossed my mind: I didn’t even know if she were still alive. I knew only one thing, which I have learned well by now – love goes far beyond the physical person of the beloved…Whether or not she is actually present, whether or not she is still alive at all ceases somehow to be of importance.” Bonnie and I have talked about the importance of using our strong memories of vivid events to maintain our strong love. (37-38)
5. “Humor, more than any other emotion, can help us rise above any situation even if only for a moment.” (43)
6. “The majority of prisoners suffered from an inferiority complex. We all had been or fancied ourselves to be “somebody”. Now we were being treated as complete non-entities. The consciousness of one’s inner value is anchored in higher, more spiritual things, and cannot be shaken by camp life. But how many men, let alone prisoners, possess it?” This last sentence/question is provoking – I believe I have this awareness through Christ, but time will tell.
7. “There are always choices to make…which determine whether or not you will become a plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of a typical inmate…Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under these circumstances, decide what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually…It is this spiritual freedom – which cannot be taken away – that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” (66-67) WOW!
8. “The way in which a man accepts his fate, and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances – to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become nothing more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not…Do not think these considerations are unworldly or too far removed from real life. It is true that only a few people are capable of reaching such high moral standards…Such men are not only in concentration camps. Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering.” (67-68)
9. “The Latin word FINIS has two meanings: the end or the finish, and the goal to reach. A man who could not see then end of his “provisional existence” was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life…Instead of taking camp’s difficulties as a test of their inner strength, they did not take their life seriously and despised it as something of no consequence. They preferred to close their eyes and live in the past. Life for such people became meaningless. It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking into the future. And this is his salvation in the most difficult times although he has to sometimes force his mind to the task.” (70, 72, 73)
10. “Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it. The prisoner who lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and let himself become subject to mental and spiritual decay. Usually this happened quite suddenly, in the form of a crisis…” (74)
11. “What you have experienced no power on earth can take from you. Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.” (82)
12. It would be an error to think that a liberated prisoner was not in need of spiritual care any more…the man who has been liberated from mental pressure can suffer damage to his moral and spiritual health.” (89-90)
13. There are two fundamental experiences which can damage the character of a liberated prisoner: bitterness and disillusionment. “Woe to him who found that the person whose memory alone had given him the courage in camp did not exist anymore.” (91-92)
14. “The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more – except his God.” (93)
15. “Those who knew that there was a task waiting from them to fulfill were the most apt to survive.” (104)
16. “Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension – between what one is and what one should become.” (104-105). This reminded me of Romans 7.
17. Boredom is now causing more psychological problems than distress. (107)
18. “There are people, however, who do not interpret their own lives merely in terms of a task being assigned to them but also in terms of the taskmaster who has assigned it to them.” (110) AMEN!!
19. “No one can become fully aware of the essence of another human being unless he loves him.” (111). I thought about the relationship between God and us — we can each understand the essence of the other, and of each other, through love.
20. “Freedom is the negative aspect of of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness…THAT IS WHY I RECOMMEND THAT THE STATURE OF LIBERTY ON THE EAST COAST BE SUPPLEMENTED BY A STATUE OF RESPONSIBILITY ON THE WEST COAST” (132). I love this statement!
21. “Human potential at its best always allows for 1) turning suffering into human achievement and accomplishment, 2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better, and 3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsibility for action.” (138). I want to explore this position in greater detail to see if it is fundamental to Restorative Justice.
Michigan State University White-Collar Crime Conference
2020 White-Collar Crime Conference, May 28th and 29th
The College of Social Science and the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University invite you to attend the 2020 White-Collar Crime Conference, to be held May 28th and 29th at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing, Michigan. This two-day conference will feature the diverse perspectives of speakers from academia, industry and law enforcement, as well as formerly incarcerated individuals.
A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Kellogg Hotel for conference attendees at a special conference room rate. The conference website will be active in early January 2020 – conference registration and hotel bookings can be made through the site once active.
Parking for May 28th and 29th in the Kellogg Center parking garage
Morning and afternoon snacks on both days
Lunch both days
Speakers and further details will be posted as information becomes available.
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Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive & religious leadership. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide people faithfully forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame.
After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff started his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a focus in Christian Social Ethics. He is Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice/economy exiled community. Jeff is the first person in the United States formerly incarcerated for a white collar crime to be appointed as CEO of a major criminal justice organization.
As an ordained minister, conversations and communications between Jeff and those he serves fall under clergy privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with Jeff while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
Please join us on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, 9 am ET, when Larry Levine, Talk Show Host & Criminal Justice Consultant, will be our guest on Criminal Justice Insider with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant – The Voice of CT Criminal Justice. Live on WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, rebroadcast at 5 pm. Live-streamed and podcast everywhere, see below. Sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven – Now More Than Ever.
Larry Levine is former 10-year Federal Inmate who is now Director of Wall Street Prison Consultants and Coaching, and has been a contributor to CNN, Fox, MSNBC, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and several major news organizations providing expert information on Federal Prison and what people experience when incarcerated. MUCH MORE MORE ON LARRY LEVINE BELOW! PLEASE SCROLL DOWN!
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
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The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant is broadcast live at 9 am ET on the first and third Friday of each month Sept. through June, from the WNHH 103.5 FM studios in New Haven. It is rebroadcast on WNHH at 5 pm ET the same day. Podcast and Archive available all the time, everywhere.
Fri., Sept. 6, 2019: Khalil Cumberbatch*, Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice
Fri., Sept. 20, 2019: Aaron T. Kinzel*, Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
Fri., Oct. 4, 2019: Charlie Grady, Outreach Specialist for the FBI CT Community Outreach Program
Fri., Oct. 18, 2019: Michael Kimelman*, Former Hedge Funder and Author of Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds, and Banksters
Fri., Nov. 1, 2019: Corey Brinson*, Former Attorney Convicted for a White Collar Crime who is running for Hartford City Council
Fri., Nov. 15, 2019: Cathryn Lavery, Ph.D., Asst. Chair & Graduate Coordinator for the Iona College Criminal Justice Department
Fri., Dec. 6, 2019: “Free Prison Phone Calls” Show, Guests CT Rep. Josh Elliott & Tiheba Bain*
Fri. Dec. 20, 2019: John Hamilton, CEO, Liberation Programs
Fri., Jan. 3, 2020: Reginald Dwayne Betts*, Lawyer, Poet, Lecturer on Mass Incarceration
Fri., Jan. 17, 2020: Serena Ligouri*, Executive Director, New Hour for Women & Children — L.I.
Fri., Feb. 7, 2020: David Garlock*, Program Director, New Person Ministries, Lancaster, PA
Fri,. Feb. 20, 2020: Larry Levine*, Talk Show Host & Criminal Justice Consultant
Fri,. Mar. 6, 2020: Hans Hallundbaek, Interfaith Prison Partnership
Fri., Mar. 20, 2020: Tiheba Bain*, Women’s Incarceration Advocate
Fri., Apr. 3, 2020: Rev. Dr. Harold Dean Trulear*, Director, Healing Communities Prison Ministry
Thurs., Apr. 16, 2020, 6:30 pm: Live Onstage at Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, Special Guests to be Announced
Fri., Apr. 17, 2020: Inaugural Inductees* of the CT Hall of Change & Charlie Grady, Founder
Fri., May 1, 2020: Eilene Zimmerman, Author of the New Book, “Smacked: A Story of White Collar Ambition, Addiction & Tragedy”
Fri., May 15, 2020: Fran Pastore, CEO, Women’s Business Development Council
Fri., June 5, 2020: Children of Incarcerated Parents Show, Guests Aileen Keays & Melissa Tanis
Sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven – Now More Than Ever.
How does anyone become the premier expert in the world in their chosen field? To accomplish so rare a feat, it helps to have relentless energy, an extraordinary work ethic, no fear of failure, and at least a decade of hands-on experience. Each of these attributes clearly apply to Larry Jay Levine – the world’s premier expert in federal prison consultation.
And just how would one gain ‘at least a decade of hands-on experience’ in the field of federal prisons? Simple – by spending 10 years as an inmate in 11 of them – from high security on down to medium, low, and finally, minimum security. “It could have been worse,” says Levine. “My ex-wife wrote a letter to the court with information on crimes even the prosecutors didn’t know about. Luckily, the statute of limitations had already passed.”
The Incarceration, A New Beginning
As described on one of Levine’s several websites, he was a Private Investigator in Los Angeles, California before entering federal custody in 1998. He also reveals that, in truth, he was working as an ‘efficiency expert’ for the mob when arrested by an FBI and Secret Service-led Task Force on charges of narcotics trafficking, securities fraud, racketeering, obstruction of justice and possession of a machine gun.
“On my day of sentencing,” he recalls, “the judge slammed down his gavel, had me chained and shackled, and sentenced me to two, 10-year concurrent terms in federal prison.” His first 21 months were spent at the high-rise Federal Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in downtown Los Angeles, and over the next decade, he was shuttled off to 10 more federal correctional institutions of multiple custody & security levels in 5 different states.
Oftentimes, incarceration is the sad end of a person’s story. For Levine though, it was the fortuitous beginning of his newly inspired life. “While incarcerated,” he says, “I experienced firsthand the confusion and dangers first time offender’s face when entering federal custody. I was in the same position prison-bound people face today: scared, confused and overwhelmed by a criminal justice system I knew little about. I had no idea what to expect, no one to turn to, and was completely on my own.”
The Inmate, the Student
“Most inmates spend their time watching TV, playing cards, and jerking off,” he brashly says. In other words, they fritter their time away. “Instead, I spent my time in the prison law library.”
As Levine studied the law, he learned how the system works, or was supposed to work. Staying close to his cell, and the library, he minded his own business, was respectful and cordial to others, listened a lot and spoke as little as possible. “I didn’t get caught up in the drama,” he says. “Instead, I flew under the radar, and in ten years I had zero physical altercations. Zero. That’s unheard of, no one bothered with me.”
He observed prisoners being given the run-around and fed misinformation by predatory inmates and uncaring Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff members. “Like all federal bureaucracies,” he says, “the BOP operates with its own very complex set of rules called ‘Program Statements.’ The only problem is, prison staff routinely fail to follow them. The staff sets the tone in the prison, and when they make up their own rules at a whim, it creates additional chaos and confusion in the lives of inmates.”
As Levine traveled from one dysfunctional prison to another, he continued to read case studies and self-educate in criminal law. The more knowledge he gained, the more he learned how to fight back and win, always working within the rules.
“Absolutely, they will screw people in the prison system,” he says, “but not me. I knew the game better than they did. I put the staff on notice, this is between me and D.C., not you. Word soon got around, ‘do not engage this inmate, he knows policy better than you’.”Levine was never a troublemaker, which can only earn an inmate diminished privileges and even solitary confinement. Instead, he was a strategic thinker. Because of his knowledge of the system, he became a “management problem.” He would warn them to “follow your own policy,” while often informing staff members precisely what their policies were.
The Inmate, the Legal Adviser
With no formal background in the law, Levine began explaining criminal defense strategies to his fellow inmates and filing habeas corpus petitions on their behalf. As his successes built, so too did his confidence. He advised them on medical care and visitation rights, how to possibly reduce their federal sentences, request a transfer to a lower security center, secure a better job, and apply for extra halfway house time or a furlough.
Importantly, he also coached strategies for effective prisoner behavior. “The primary objective,” he told them, “is to think beyond your incarceration.” In the meantime, he taught methods for protecting themselves and surviving life behind bars. “To do that,” he’d say, “you need to know internal policies and how to effectively deal with BOP staff.”
In a March 2018 interview with Leslie Albrecht of the Wall Street Journal Market Watch, he described using the classic business school tool S.W.O.T. – an acronym for assessing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and then acting accordingly. He advised using this technique to “take control of what seems like uncontrollable situations in prison by using your brain.”
While at FCI La Tuna, Texas, Levine single-handedly filed a Class Action Habeas Corpus petition in El Paso Federal Court against the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons, claiming they and violated their own administrative policies by sending the transferred inmates to higher custody. Due to his actions, the DOJ was forced to act, and transferred hundreds of prisoners from Texas back to the West Coast to conform with the claims in his lawsuit.
Levine is convinced that the help he was giving his fellow inmates was a main factor in his regular movement from prison to prison. After all, the less educated the prisoner, the less threatened the staff. But it didn’t stop him and he selflessly provided advice and guidance, while at the same time honing his future craft, until his final movement – from the suffocating inside to the invigorating breath of freedom.
Freedom, the Invigorating Rebirth
In 2007, like a prize thoroughbred biting his bit in anticipation of the gate finally opening, Levine burst through and onto the legitimate business world’s fast track, assimilating into society like never before. “I was prepared,” he says, “and I hit the ground running.” He immediately founded American Prison Consultants and put his extensive legal training and experiences to good use by educating and defending the previously unrepresented.
“If you’re afraid, and the thought of going to prison scares the hell out of you, you’re not alone,” began his case to prospective clients. “Prisons are dangerous places,” he continued, “and having knowledge about prison policies, prison gangs, and the politics of prison life, are the keys to surviving successfully on the inside and coming home safely.”
He focused on the federal corrections system because that’s what he knew best. “There are 123 federal prisons across the U.S. and their policies are the same everywhere. The indicted get bond, they have money, they need my help.”His services centered around the trademarked ‘Fed Time 101’ prison survival educational courses (called modules), include advising on how to cope, survive and thrive in such unfamiliar territory. “Expect a total loss of privacy, including strip searches,” he tells his clients, advising them to be “quiet, respectful and observant.” He coaches them to “learn prison guard personality types” and how best to avoid getting “beaten, stabbed or raped.”
In addition to online courses, he offers various levels of customized services (e.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc.), which may include offering insight and advice to his client’s attorney, lobbying a judge for a lighter sentence or a lower level security prison, and negotiating RDAP – entry into a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program which can lower a sentence by up to 12 months.
Levine understands first-hand the needs and concerns of the newly sentenced and quickly becomes a trusted voice to many.
“As usual, the big winners are the lawyers,” he says without hiding his sneer. “Most of them representing the accused couldn’t care less about their client. They work their 10 hours, get them pled out and behind bars as soon as possible.” As for the newly incarcerated, he says, “Many of them don’t even know their rights, and are completely unprepared for what happens next. I try to help them avoid that. They trust me, not their lawyers.”
White Collar Crime, the Growing Epidemic
In his early years as a prison consultant, Levine typically advised those accused of non-violent, narcotics-related transgressions. It was a noble cause and made for a good living. At the turn of the century, however, the business opportunity multiplied exponentially. It was the tail end of a twenty year financial market expansion. Lax regulations and greed-related excesses saw fraudulent behavior running rampant, first in the ‘dot.com’ bust of 2000-02, and again five years later when historic mortgage and securities fraud caused the near-collapse of the global financial system.
“It’s 2008 and I’m driving on the LA Freeway, stuck in traffic, as usual,” starts Levine. “I’m listening to the business news on the radio. Wall Street in chaos, the market melting down, mortgage falsifications and collusion everywhere. Then the Bernie Madoff news breaks. By the end of the day, I had created Wall Street Prison Consultants.”The Wall Street shenanigans had created a whole new wave of white collar clientele seeking out his services. With new prison consulting competitors regularly joining the fray, Levine was getting more than his share. None of the rivals could match his unique combination of inside experience, knowledge of the criminal justice and prison systems, and outsized personality.
Other than marketing through his various websites and other social media outlets, he doesn’t solicit business. “It’s all word of mouth,” he says. “These people and their lawyers know where to find me. And if they’re not interested, best of luck to them. My phone is ringing off the hook with or without them.”
The Expert Witness
Whenever a high profile (e.g. celebrity) criminal trial or prison sentence is in the headlines, which seems to be regularly, the networks have one ‘expert witness’ in the front of their rolodex – Larry Levine. He appears regularly on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Bloomberg, HLN, and other media outlets.
Recently, he built a mini-broadcast studio in the back of his office. “If they want me on CNN at 8 a.m. eastern,” he says, “it’s 5 a.m. in LA. It was an easy decision.”
Why is he so popular a guest? “I’m someone who really knows the inside,” he says. “I don’t play favorites. I tell it like it is.”
Anyone who’s checked out his past network appearances on YouTube will easily concur. While he is clearly an expert relating to criminal justice and prison system issues, he’s also a bold and highly-entertaining guest, often leaving the host nearly speechless. When the camera starts rolling, there’s no pretense or political correctness about Levine. The only role he’s playing is his true self. As evidence, here are a few snippets of his comments on varying cases:
“The higher profile a prisoner is, especially celebrities or rich guys, the more at risk they are once they go in. They’re going to need protection, so they should try to make friends with the prison guards, but without being obvious.”
“Famous inmates will get the most demeaning jobs, like cleaning the trash cans and pots and pans. Cleaning the prison shower is the worst. It’s disgusting. In prison, just like the real world, it’s not only what you know, it’s who you know. You have to know someone who can direct you to the best jobs. Pushing paper in an air-conditioned office – that’s the prize.”
His take on notable Ponzi scheme criminal, Bernie Madoff, as relayed on several networks in 2009, gives us an intriguing view on what his life is like “on the inside.” “Stealing money from a bank or insurance company, that’s considered okay. But stealing money from regular people, especially that amount of money – no way. The guy is an economic terrorist and that’s unacceptable. I wouldn’t help him, and I don’t help people like him. He’s going from the penthouse to the big house, and I say good riddance.”
“Madoff should be in a minimum security prison, essentially a camp. But the amount he stole takes him off the sentencing charts. He’ll end up in medium security, living in a cell, and there will be a long line of dangerous people who would love to spend a few minutes alone with him. Many of them have no ‘out date,’ meaning they’re never getting out anyway, so there’s no risk for them.”
“Child molesters, referred to as ‘chomos,’ are the lowest of the low in prison. The other inmates hate them and will be trying to take them out. Guys like Jerry Sandusky, or Jared Fogle, you know, the Subway guy, had better be kept in solitary confinement, or they’ll find them dead one day, and it won’t be pretty. It’s called ‘escape by death’.”
“Rats (i.e. informants) are also hated, and there was no bigger rat than Boston mob boss, Whitey Bulger. He was a psychopath, a ruthless killer, incarcerated in 2013. It took a few years, but when they finally got to him, they gouged his eyes out and ripped his tongue out. The message was clear to anyone else who’s considering becoming an informant – if you do, you won’t have eyes to see anything, and you won’t have the tongue to be a rat.”
“This Chris Watts guy who killed his own family – pregnant wife, two young daughters – he’s even worse off, a dead man walking. He probably won’t last a year, and it won’t matter where they try to hide him.”
Facing Adversity and Winning Big
Levine learned self-reliance early on, including joining the military directly out of high school. “I was on my own,” he recalls. “I didn’t rely on anyone. I’ve never asked for help and I never will.”
“My criminal indictment is the high point of my life,” he says. “I was going to die out there. When I was inside, I had stents put in, got my head straight, and turned my life into a big ‘f…ing’ positive. I’m 57 years old – I have my whole life ahead of me. Now I’m helping people. I get paid well to be an asshole.”
Some family members are proud of what he’s accomplished, he says, while others are not. A few are even jealous, he says, and he has a theory as to why. “My success makes some people look at their own pitiful lives – their stagnant, unaccomplished lives – and they blame everyone but themselves, including the ex-con who’s doing great.”
Levine has advice for the nay-sayers: “Stop being so stupid. Stop with the whining and blaming. Instead, take a look directly in your mirror. There’s your problem. Use your brain, get to work, go out and change your life. I have no tolerance for stupidity.”
The Full Blown Entrepreneur
This fearless guy has been transforming rapidly into a full-blown entrepreneur. To his thriving consultancy business and expert witness role, you can add hosting a weekly radio program called ‘Street Justice,’ accessed on several internet radio sites. He also owns Moorpark Survival, a retail survival store, and a telephone company which offers inmates in some federal detention centers discounted telephone calls.
To the question, ‘Why the survival store?’ he retorts, “Have you noticed how dangerous it is out there lately?” Mea culpa. “Besides,” he explains, “whether you’re on the inside or out here, the theme’s the same, it’s about survival.”
As for the telephone company, it’s another way he’s helping inmates. “Every inmate gets a certain amount of phone minutes per month,” he says, “and they give some high profile guys, like Paul Manafort, unlimited calls. Why would they do that,” he queries, before quickly answering. “Because they charge a ridiculous fee per minute and make a fortune.” His company offers the same service to inmates for less than half the BOP rates.
In all, Levine has not only survived his time inside, the experience sparked an entrepreneurial drive that is growing hotter by the year. In a ‘bigger picture’ sense, his accomplishments needs to be examined more deeply to ascertain if they can be duplicated on a mass scale.
The Bigger ‘Big House’ Picture
Because the rate of recidivism in the U.S. (i.e. ex-cons who go back to a life of crime and incarceration) is said to be a staggering 76%, we think the benefits of Levine’s brand of prison consultancy should be studied by the BOP for a broader purpose. The simple question is, can a more effective rehabilitative process be developed to meaningfully improve this outcome?
By educating inmates to protect themselves and use their brains to make their time in detention more productive, could the general prison population be offered more hope – a brighter vision of what their new life on the outside could someday look like? Could they be taught new skills and a sense of purpose, something meaningful to strive for day-to-day?
If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ or even ‘maybe,’ then such a program should be offered to any inmate with an interest, including those unable to afford services such as Levine offers. By doing so, perhaps the horrendous rate of recidivism would begin to plummet in the same manner that Levine’s life has ascended. How brilliant and valuable would that be?
Recently, the ‘First Step Act’ was signed into law in bipartisan fashion in our tragically divided Congress. It’s been called ‘a major win in the effort to improve conditions in prisons and end mass incarceration.’Is this the criminal justice reform bill we’ve been waiting for, one that will begin to address the recidivism crisis and other system ailments? We asked the expert, and here is Levine’s considered reaction.
“For starters,” he said, “the bill is a ‘hand job’.” We asked him to please stop holding back and tell us how he really feels, which he did as follows:
“I get calls about the bill every day and here’s what I’m telling people. It has just been signed into law. Now, it must be codified and published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Then, they have to create a ‘Program Statement,’ how the new law will apply to inmates.”
Levine made it crystal clear that he is skeptical and reserving judgment until he sees what the law really says, and especially, what it means in the daily lives of inmates. More to come on this in the years ahead, we’re certain.
The Entrepreneur’s Bigger Picture
In the meantime, the ‘bigger picture’ for Levine includes some leisure time away from his various businesses, believe it or not. We asked him what he does to relax, to get away from the fray. His initial response was “I don’t even know if I can do that.”
But with further prompting, he acknowledged that he enjoys time at the racetrack, watching movies (90 just last year), and he visits Vegas on occasion, for both business and pleasure.
He doesn’t travel often though, saying, “I don’t like to fly.” Afraid of flying, we asked with surprise. “Oh no, I’m not afraid,” he shot back. “I’m never afraid of anything. But I do get concerned.” Concerned about what, we asked. “For the safety of the others on the plane, especially the women and kids,” he responded. In what way, we asked. “I’m concerned that just by being on board, I’ll bring the plane down.” We made a note never to fly with him.
Speaking of kids, when he’s not working, his true love is spending time with his family – his wife of three years, his three kids and his three grandkids. This sounded so normal, so heartwarming, we thought it was a good place to close the article.
We expect to see and hear a lot more from this charismatic prison consultant and entrepreneur in the years to come, and believe me, we will be watching. Especially as relates to the critical issue of prison reform and the assimilation of ex-convicts back into productive roles in society.
Meredith Atwood reached out to me after watching my interview on the Rich Roll Podcast.We connected on a lot of levels – recovering addicts, depression, suicide attempt survivors, lawyers (well, I’m a former lawyer), and dedication to a second life of health and purpose. Soon after, she asked me to be a guest on her podcast, The Same 24 Hours. When I read about the publishing of her new book, The Year of No Nonsense, I asked her to write a blog post for prisonist.org.
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For a really long time I carried the burden of self-hatred.
From a young age, I was always made to feel that I was shameful—in a myriad of ways—none of which were on purpose from my family. It was a sign of the times and an oppressive church at a very young age. By the time we found a decent church, the “damage” had been done, and I found myself in my teen years feeling ashamed of everything—from my body to my own shadow, my thoughts and my desire to kiss boys.
By the time I was in my late twenties, I had developed a full-on drinking problem. From that point forward, the self-hate ran deep and dark. I had identified none of my trauma(s) to date.
When I tried to take my own life at twenty-one, everyone brushed it under the table as a “one off.” I was tired. That wasn’t like me to try something like that. It was because I was drunk. I didn’t really want to die.
Even my psychologist didn’t make a follow-up, and I was out in the world—off to law school, then being a lawyer and raising children.
But now, I know that I did—in fact—want to die back then. I was that low. I was suffering that deeply. Much of it was at my own hand, my own “fault,” and my own “choices.”
In my mid-thirties, I began to fantasize about driving myself into a tree. Over and over again. The same tree. I thought, I could just detour this car and… I would think this as I drove home to my nice house in the suburbs, in my nice car, with my Louis Vuitton seated next to me, from my lucrative job as a lawyer in Atlanta.
I wanted to slam my SUV into a tree. Just to make it all stop.
On the day I had the kids in the car and I had this same thought, I was shaken. It shook me deep. I was suddenly wide awake. I heard a voice inside of me say, “Meredith, you will not be alive in one year if this continues. You will die by alcohol. Or, you will die by this tree.”
I believed that voice.
That voice, I wouldn’t say was God.
That voice—was me. It was the certainty that came from a knowing exactly what was happening, deep inside of myself. I realized that I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to end it all.
I simply wanted my suffering to end.
Little by little, I changed some things that I could see were causing some suffering. Drinking, for one. I got sober. I changed jobs—also a place of suffering for me, because I wasn’t living my perceived Purpose. I worked on a lot of things.
During the writing of my second book, The Year of No Nonsense, everything cracked wide open for me.
Because I uncovered the darkness that started all of the pain, the suffering, and potentially the addiction cycle. I learned that I wasn’t shameful. I believed (truly) that I was no longer shameful. I realized that some things were my fault, but some things were not. I learned that I had to forgive myself in order to move forward.
Through all the cracks in myself, I could see the light. The light was self-compassion, forgiveness and desire to learn to live—to truly live—through my faults and fears.
In this precious light of forgiving myself, I found a way to move forward.
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Meredith Atwood is an author, speaker, former attorney, founder of Swim Bike Mom, 4x IRONMAN triathlete. Host of the Top 50 iTunes (fitness) podcast “The Same 24 Hours” and author of Triathlon for the Every Woman, and upcoming, TheYear of No Nonsense: How to Get Out of Your Way and On with Your Life (Hachette Books, December 2019), You can pre-order the book through December 17, and then find it in Target, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble and your favorite bookstores and online. She is a writer for Psychology Today, Triathlete Magazine, Women’s Running and the founder of Grateful Sobriety—an online sobriety community. She is a certified USA Triathlon, IRONMAN, and USA Weightlifting coach.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar criminal justice/economy exiled community. Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred (300) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others.
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Please make your check payable to, “Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.,” a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and send to our mailing address: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798. All donations are used exclusively to support our program. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you & Happy Holidays!
On Thurs., Nov. 14th, Jacqueline Polverari of Evolution Reentry Services & Rev. Jeff Grant of Progressive Prison Ministries were invited to speak to students today at Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT. Meeting young people dedicating themselves to careers in enlightened criminal justice – a wonderful afternoon.
“Larry” – Husband, father, and formerly incarcerated.
Chion Wolf / Connecticut Public Radio
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Jeffrey Grant – former lawyer, minister, co-founder prisonist.org, co-host of Criminal Justice Insider podcast on WNHH FM in New Haven, and formerly incarcerated.
Chion Wolf / Connecticut Public Radio
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Da’ee McKnight – Program Manager, Young Fathers ReEntry Project, for Family ReEntry, and formerly incarcerated.
Chion Wolf / Connecticut Public Radio
Connecticut’s “Second Chance Society” has reduced the number of people going into prison and better prepared offenders for a meaningful life when they get out.
We’ve closed prisons, repealed the death penalty, and raised the age at which young people can be tried as adults. We’ve added reentry programs modeled loosely on the German prison system, where incarcerated men and women raise and cook their own food, wear their own clothes, and participate in longterm therapy.
Yet, too many men and women don’t benefit from the changes: discrimination, inconsistent funding, and ineligibility from programs make it harder for some to succeed after prison.
Today, we talk about the challenges that remain with those who know best – the formerly incarcerated.
GUESTS:
“Larry” – Husband, father, and formerly incarcerated
Da’ee McKnight – Program Manager, Young Fathers ReEntry Project, for Family ReEntry, and formerly incarcerated
Jeffrey Grant – former lawyer, minister, co-founder prisonist.org, co-host of Criminal Justice Insider podcast on WNHH FM in New Haven, and formerly incarcerated
On Friday, March 20, 2020, 9 am ET, Tiheba Bain was our guest on the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant – The Voice of Criminal Justice. Live on WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, rebroadcast at 5 pm. Live-streamed and podcast 24/7 everywhere, see below. Sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Watch on YouTube:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Tiheba Bain is the Director of Coalitions for The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. She works with various organizations around the country building out coalitions surrounding criminal justice reform. She also founded Women Against Mass Incarceration, a grassroots nonprofit organization, empowering the justice activism of women and girls.
Originally from Brooklyn, Tiheba became a Justice-in-Education Scholar in the summer of 2016. She describes her time in the Justice-in-Education program as challenging, as she was just beginning to work full time and was concurrently taking other classes, but she remains grateful for the support of her classmates and teachers.
She recently graduated with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Women and Criminal Justice from CUNY Baccalaureate Interdisciplinary and Unique Studies Program. She is a contributing published author to Race Education and Reintegration and she assisted with the legislation of Senate Bill 13 in Connecticut, which concerned the fair treatment of incarcerated persons.
Whether she’s advocating for policy changes or providing direct services to women and girls, Tiheba has dedicated her life to making change within the criminal injustice system.
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The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant is broadcast live at 9 am ET on the first and third Friday of each month Sept. through June, from the WNHH 103.5 FM studios in New Haven. It is rebroadcast on WNHH at 5 pm ET the same day. Podcast and Archive available 24/7 everywhere.
Fri., Sept. 6, 2019: Khalil Cumberbatch, Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice Fri., Sept. 20, 2019: Aaron T. Kinzel, Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Fri., Oct. 4, 2019: Charlie Grady, Outreach Specialist for the FBI CT Community Outreach Program Fri., Oct. 18, 2019: Michael Kimelman, Former Hedge Funder and Author of Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds, and Banksters Fri., Nov. 1, 2019: Corey Brinson, Former Attorney Convicted for a White Collar Crime who is running for Hartford City Council Fri., Nov. 15, 2019: Cathryn Lavery, Ph.D., Asst. Chair & Graduate Coordinator for the Iona College Criminal Justice Department Fri., Dec. 6, 2019: “Free Prison Phone Calls” Show, Guests to be Announced. Fri. Dec. 20, 2019: John Hamilton, CEO, Liberation Programs Fri., Jan. 17, 2019: Serena Ligouri, Executive Director, New Hour for Women & Children – L.I. Fri., Feb. 7, 2020: David Garlock, Program Director, New Person Ministries, Lancaster, PA Fri., Mar. 20, 2020: Tiheba Bain, Women’s Incarceration Advocate
Season Two Guests:
Fri., Sept. 9, 2018: Kennard Ray, CT Unlock the Vote and Candidate for CT State Legislator Fri., Sept. 21, 2018: Louis L. Reed, National Organizer for #Cut50 Fri., Oct. 5, 2018: Sue Gunderman & Beth Hines, CT Reentry Roundtables Fri., Oct. 19, 2018: Venice Michalsen, Assoc. Professor of Justice Studies, Montclair State University Fri., Nov. 16, 2018: Andrew Clark, Director of the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Central Connecticut State University Fri., Dec. 7, 2018: Glenn E. Martin, Founder/Consultant of GEM Trainers and Past-President and Founder of JustLeadershipUSA Fri., Dec. 21, 2018: Fernando Muniz, CEO of Community Solutions, Inc., and community leader Rosa Correa. Fri., Jan. 4, 2019: New Years Retrospective Show Looking Back at Past CJI Guests. Fri. Jan. 18, 2019: Peter Henning, Law Prof. at Wayne State University and “White Collar Watch” columnist for the NY Times. Fri., Feb. 1, 2019: Jeffrey Deskovic, CEO of The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation who was Exonerated after Serving 16 Years in Prison Fri., Feb. 15, 2019: Jeffrey Abramowitz, Executive Director for Reentry Services, JEVS Human Services, Philadelphia. Fri., Mar. 1, 2019, Rollin Cook, CT Commissioner of Correction Fri., Mar. 15, 2019: Dieter Tejada, Justice Impacted Criminal Justice Advocate Fri., Apr. 5, 2019: John Rowland, Former CT Governor Fri., Apr. 19, 2019: Gregg D. Caruso, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy at SUNY Corning & Co-Director of the Justice Without Retribution Network at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland Fri., May 3, 2019: Michael Taylor, CEO of Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in the Greater New Haven area Fri., May 17, 2019: Tarra Simmons, Esq., Attorney & Criminal Justice Reform Advocate, Washington State Fri., June 7, 2019: Louis L. Reed, National Organizer for #Cut50, Part Deux! Fri., June 21, 2019: Marcus Bullock, CEO of Flikshop
Sponsored by the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven – Now More Than Ever.
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive & religious leadership. Often referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he regularly uses his experience and background to guide people faithfully forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them from making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame.
As an ordained minister, conversations and communications between Jeff and those he serves fall under clergy privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with Jeff while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff started his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics. After graduating from divinity school, Jeff was called to serve at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, CT as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. He, and his wife and partner-in-ministry Lynn Springer, then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice/economy exiled community. Jeff also serves on the ministry team at St. Joseph Mission Church (Cliffside Park, NJ) and as Chaplain to the Woodbury Fire Department (Woodbury, CT).
From 2016 – 2019, Jeff served as the Executive Director of Family ReEntry, Inc. (Bridgeport, CT), a 100+ person criminal justice organization with offices and programs in eight Connecticut cities. Jeff is the first person in the United States formerly incarcerated for a white-collar crime to be appointed as Executive Director of a major criminal justice nonprofit. A former practicing attorney and general counsel to major real estate organizations and closely held companies, he studied law at and earned a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School.
Jeff has served on a number of criminal justice related Boards including: The Mayor’s Advisory Council on Reentry Affairs, Co-chair, (Bridgeport, CT) ; Family ReEntry, (Bridgeport & New Haven, CT); Community Partners in Action (formerly the Connecticut Prison Association, Hartford, CT); , and Healing Communities Network, (New York, NY). Jeff has also served on the Editorial Board of the book, The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration has Hijacked the American Dream, (Southport, CT), and on the Advisory Boards of Creative Projects Group, (Los Angeles, CA) and Reentry Survivors, (Bridgeport, CT).
Highlighted speaking venues include Main Stage Presenter at The Nantucket Project (Nantucket, MA), the Greenwich Leadership Forum (Greenwich, CT), the Corrections Ministries and Chaplains Association (CMCA) Correctional Ministry Summit (Wheaton College, IL & Philadelphia, PA), Salons at Stowe – Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (Hartford, CT), Community Health Network of Connecticut Social Determinants of Health Summit (Wallingford, CT), The Mason Street Project (Greenwich, CT), Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (NY, NY), Yale Divinity School (New Haven, CT) and many houses of worship throughout the Northeast. Jeff is a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association.
Jeff and Lynn were the subjects of a twelve-page article in Greenwich Magazine (March 2018 issue). Jeff has also been the subject of or prominently mentioned in national and regional media including Vanity Fair (August 2019 issue), Forbes.com, Inc.com, The Huffington Post, Absolute Return/HedgeFund Intelligence, Business Insider, Institutional Investor, New York Magazine, Real Men Real Faith Magazine (cover story), Greenwich Magazine, Fairfield County Business Journal, Nonprofit Quarterly, Reentry Central, The Vision (the newspaper of the United Methodist Church NY Conference), Weston Magazine Group, Weston Forum, Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, New Haven Independent, Inner City News, Connecticut Post, Greenwich Sentinel, Greenwich Time, Greenwich Free Press, The Hour and many radio shows, televisions segments and podcasts including the Rich Roll Podcast (#440, May 2019).
Jeff is also the editor of the important and widely-read blog, prisonist.org, at which he authors, edits and curates content around national and international criminal justice advocacy/ministry themes, and is Co-host of the Criminal Justice Insider podcast airing live on the first and third Fridays from New Haven, CT. He also leads a weekly online confidential White Collar/Economy Exiled Support Group (the first in the country); with over 150 participants, it has held over 170 meetings.
DESIGNATIONS/AWARDS
Twice Selected as a Nantucket Project Scholar JustLeadershipUSA Fifteen Inaugural National Leaders in Criminal Justice Keepers of the Commons Fellow Keepers of the Commons Senior Fellow Elizabeth Bush Award for Volunteerism Three Time Bridgeport Reentry Collaborative Advocate of the Year Award Four Time Bridgeport Reentry Collaborative Professional of the Year Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence Award Connecticut NAACP Award Selected as a Collegeville Institute Writing Fellow
CAREER:
Professional Speaker 20+ years Practicing Attorney 20 years Minister/Prison Minister 10 years Reentry & Recovery Professional – Clean & Sober 17+ years
DEGREES:
Juris Doctorate, New York Law School Master of Divinity, Union Theological Seminary
ASSOCIATIONS:
National Speakers Association, Professional Member NSA – Connecticut New York Law School Alumni Association Union Theological Seminary Alumni Association National Justice Impact Bar Association Correctional Chaplains & Ministries Association Westport/ Weston Clergy Association
