redemption
White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series – John Monaghan, “The Chief”, On Zoom, June 21, 2022, 7 pm ET, 6 pm CT, 5 pm MT, 4 pm PT
This is Your Invitation to Attend Our White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series
Please feel free to forward to friends, family members,colleagues and clients.
White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series
John Monaghan, “The Chief”, Tues., June 21, 2022, 7 pm ET, 6 pm CT, 5 pm MT, 4 pm PT
On Zoom
We are honored to have John Monaghan as our next speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series. I first met John at The Nantucket Project where he was a Main Stage Presenter. He and I have remained friends, and are both Keepers of the Commons Fellows. He recently gave a talk at TEDx Portsmouth that we can’t wait to watch. – Jeff Grant
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Chief Monaghan (ret) began his career in law enforcement as a patrolman in Lebanon New Hampshire, later he worked as a State Trooper. In 2012 John became the Chief of Police in Franconia, NH where he worked hard to rebuild community trust and department credibility after the 2007 shooting of Cpl. Bruce McKay and Liko Kenny. In 2018 John became the Chief of Police in Moultonborough where he helped his department learn how to engage with their community using the principals of procedural justice as a means to build legitimacy back into their department through the community’s eyes. John recently retired and in his second career consults for All Aces Inc on issues of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. He is a recruiter for the Center for Policing Equity where they use data driven solutions to engage departments and community to reimagine public safety and reduce harm. John holds a master’s degree from Antioch University in leadership and management and an undergraduate degree in resource management from Sterling College. John regularly teaches and presents on wellness, social justice causes and police-community relations. In 2022 he presented on the Ted X stage in Portsmouth on mental health for law enforcement. He was featured in the 2019 Nantucket Project documentary film “The Box”. John is married to his rock star wife Tricia and describes the secret to their marriage as “she likes me more than I like me.” In his spare time John enjoys his budding career as a standup comic, riding bikes of all kinds, and cross country skiing during the winter months.
Link to Register for John’s talk…
Corrections in Ink, a New Book by Keri Blakinger: Pre-order One Copy for Yourself and One for Someone in Prison!
Keri Blakinger is a friend of our ministry and support group. She is a staff writer for The Marshall Project whose work focuses on prisons and jails. She previously covered criminal justice for the Houston Chronicle, and her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE, the New York Daily News and The New York Times. She is The Marshall Project’s first formerly incarcerated reporter. Her memoir, “Corrections in Ink“, comes out in June 2022; I’ve already pre-ordered my copy on Amazon and I can’t wait to read it. – Jeff Grant
Author Keri Blakinger Photo credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman
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When I was in prison, books sometimes felt like the only untainted connection to a past life.
Sure, there were friends and family who visit visited, bringing along our shared memories from the free world. But they also brought with them the knowledge that I was in prison, and I could see in their eyes how it colored every interaction. The people I met in books did not know that about me. And maybe that was part of why treasured I them so much.
During the 21 months I spent behind bars, I read obsessively — sometimes 20 or more books a month. I tore through Kazuo Ishiguro, David Foster Wallace, Jennifer Egan, and Alice Walker, checking off title after title at a fever pace as if each finished page were another thread in a literal lifeline to freedom.
When I wasn’t distracting myself with reading, though, I was writing — filling up yellow legal pads and white printer paper. For most of the time I was behind bars, I told myself that I would write a book of my own. That was back in 2012 — but last year I finally did. It’s called Corrections in Ink and it comes out this month. Right now, I’m trying to get as many copies donated to prisoners as I can.
Initially, the book comes out in hardcover so that means I can only send it to certain prisons — but I still have a list of more than 400 prisoners who want it, and are at units where they can receive hardcover. Thus far, I only have about 187 copies donated, though — so if anyone reading this would like to consider donating a copy or two or ten to prisoners, this is the link where you can pre-purchase copies that will be set aside for donation: https://800ceoread.com/coupons/redeem/donationcorrectionsinink .
If you have any questions, you can email Keri directly at [email protected]. And if you have friends you would like to sign up to receive copies you can sign them up here
Reuters: Jeff Grant 'Let Go of the Outcome’: How this Felon Beat Addiction and Won Back his Law License
By Jenna Greene, Reprinted from Reuters.com, May 21, 2021
When lawyers through greed or hubris or desperation become white-collar criminals – sent to prison and disbarred – their stories often feel like car crashes. We gape at the wreckage of their lives and move on.
But what happens afterwards, once they’ve done their time? How do they pick up the pieces?
Jeffrey Grant found a path to redemption. Seventeen years after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $247,000 through a 9/11 disaster relief loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York earlier this month reinstated his law license.
“I’m beyond excited, but I also take the responsibility very seriously,” he told me. “I’m really grateful for a second chance.”
His journey is extraordinary, from opioid-addicted real estate lawyer to federal prison inmate to seminary student to head of a criminal justice nonprofit. And now, at age 64, he has come full circle to practice law again.
But this time around, he intends to do it very differently.
A 1981 New York Law School grad, Grant, before everything fell apart, headed his own 20-employee firm, Jeffrey D. Grant & Associates, in Mamaroneck, New York, serving as outside general counsel to large real estate companies.
“I viewed life as a competition,” he said, describing himself as akin to “a paid assassin.”
“It was me against everyone else, or me and my client against everyone else.”
After a sports injury, he was prescribed the painkiller Demerol and over the course of a decade, he became addicted to prescription opioids.
When he couldn’t meet payroll for his firm, he borrowed money from client escrow accounts. With a New York state attorney grievance committee investigation pending, he surrendered his law license on July 28, 2002. That night, he attempted suicide by overdose, he told me.
He wound up in rehab, embracing recovery with three meetings a day. He’s been clean and sober ever since.
But his past caught up with him in 2004, when he learned there was a warrant for his arrest. “No one was more surprised than me,” Grant said. Once informed of the charges, though, it “all came rushing back.”
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, he had applied for federal financial aid and falsely claimed that his firm had an office in New York City. In reality, he merely had an arrangement to use a conference room on occasion in the city.
Did he somehow convince himself this qualified? I asked. “I was a lawyer who represented sophisticated businesspeople,” he said. “I knew better.”
“There’s no question drugs had a lot to do with it, but I can’t blame the drugs,” he continued. “I was desperate, clutching at anything I could.”
Grant served 14 months at a low security prison in White Deer, Pennsylvania – but it was a “real prison with bars,” he said, not one of the so-called Club Fed camps where white-collar offenders typically do their time.
As a “privileged kid from the suburbs,” he said, “I had to learn hard lessons there. But it was exactly what I needed to wipe the last smirk off my face.”
Released in 2007, he knew he wanted to use his experiences to help others. He’s Jewish, but a pastor he knew suggested he consider attending a seminary.
“I didn’t know what that meant,” Grant recalled. (His first reaction: Is that where you train to be a monk?) But he discovered that seminaries, at least the progressive ones, “are basically places where you learn about social justice and faith.”
In 2012, he earned a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He’s been baptized, but he’s also still a Jew. “I’m a double-belonger,” he said.
Grant and his wife Lynn Springer went on to co-found Progressive Prison Ministries. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, they say it’s the world’s first ministry focused on serving the white-collar justice community.
It includes a weekly white-collar online support group for people “who have a desire to take responsibility for our actions and the wreckage we caused, make amends, and move forward in new way of life centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance and empathy.” More than 310 people around the country have participated, according to the group’s website.
From 2016 to 2019, Grant also served as the executive director of Family ReEntry, a criminal justice nonprofit with offices and programs in eight Connecticut cities.
Three years ago, he began the process of getting his law license back. The first step was taking the multi-state professional responsibility exam and completing CLE. He also submitted “about 12 inches of paperwork,” he said, including his personal story.
He wrote 14,000 words. “I wanted to tell them everything, the whole story, warts and all,” he said. “It didn’t make a difference to me if strategically it was the right thing to do.” He added, “I let go of the outcome.”
He had a hearing via videoconference last May. “I was scared,” Grant said, but he was surprised to find that the panel members questioning him were “kind.”
“They were thorough and probing, but they were not out to tank me. They were supportive,” he said. “It helped me remember the best parts of being a lawyer.”
On May 5, his license was officially reinstated, and he promptly launched GrantLaw PLLC. With an office on West 43rd Street in Manhattan, he’s offering his services as a private general counsel specializing in white-collar crisis management.
That might include helping a white-collar defendant interview defense lawyers and other specialized counsel, reviewing the lawyers’ work product and billing, and acting as a sounding board, all with the goal of achieving a better and more-cost-efficient outcome.
“Most white-collar defendants are very bright, who have a lot of professional experience and are highly educated,” Grant said. “They don’t realize they’re in trauma – and are making generally very bad decisions while in trauma.”
They need “someone who understands trauma,” he said, “and somebody to trust.”
Given his life experiences, it’s hard for me to imagine a lawyer more uniquely qualified.
Jenna Greene writes about legal business and culture, taking a broad look at trends in the profession, faces behind the cases, and quirky courtroom dramas. A longtime chronicler of the legal industry and high-profile litigation, she lives in Northern California. Reach Greene at [email protected].
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Reuters: Jeff Grant ‘Let Go of the Outcome’: How this Felon Beat Addiction and Won Back his Law License
By Jenna Greene, Reprinted from Reuters.com, May 21, 2021
When lawyers through greed or hubris or desperation become white-collar criminals – sent to prison and disbarred – their stories often feel like car crashes. We gape at the wreckage of their lives and move on.
But what happens afterwards, once they’ve done their time? How do they pick up the pieces?
Jeffrey Grant found a path to redemption. Seventeen years after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $247,000 through a 9/11 disaster relief loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York earlier this month reinstated his law license.
“I’m beyond excited, but I also take the responsibility very seriously,” he told me. “I’m really grateful for a second chance.”
His journey is extraordinary, from opioid-addicted real estate lawyer to federal prison inmate to seminary student to head of a criminal justice nonprofit. And now, at age 64, he has come full circle to practice law again.
But this time around, he intends to do it very differently.
A 1981 New York Law School grad, Grant, before everything fell apart, headed his own 20-employee firm, Jeffrey D. Grant & Associates, in Mamaroneck, New York, serving as outside general counsel to large real estate companies.
“I viewed life as a competition,” he said, describing himself as akin to “a paid assassin.”
“It was me against everyone else, or me and my client against everyone else.”
After a sports injury, he was prescribed the painkiller Demerol and over the course of a decade, he became addicted to prescription opioids.
When he couldn’t meet payroll for his firm, he borrowed money from client escrow accounts. With a New York state attorney grievance committee investigation pending, he surrendered his law license on July 28, 2002. That night, he attempted suicide by overdose, he told me.
He wound up in rehab, embracing recovery with three meetings a day. He’s been clean and sober ever since.
But his past caught up with him in 2004, when he learned there was a warrant for his arrest. “No one was more surprised than me,” Grant said. Once informed of the charges, though, it “all came rushing back.”
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, he had applied for federal financial aid and falsely claimed that his firm had an office in New York City. In reality, he merely had an arrangement to use a conference room on occasion in the city.
Did he somehow convince himself this qualified? I asked. “I was a lawyer who represented sophisticated businesspeople,” he said. “I knew better.”
“There’s no question drugs had a lot to do with it, but I can’t blame the drugs,” he continued. “I was desperate, clutching at anything I could.”
Grant served 14 months at a low security prison in White Deer, Pennsylvania – but it was a “real prison with bars,” he said, not one of the so-called Club Fed camps where white-collar offenders typically do their time.
As a “privileged kid from the suburbs,” he said, “I had to learn hard lessons there. But it was exactly what I needed to wipe the last smirk off my face.”
Released in 2007, he knew he wanted to use his experiences to help others. He’s Jewish, but a pastor he knew suggested he consider attending a seminary.
“I didn’t know what that meant,” Grant recalled. (His first reaction: Is that where you train to be a monk?) But he discovered that seminaries, at least the progressive ones, “are basically places where you learn about social justice and faith.”
In 2012, he earned a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He’s been baptized, but he’s also still a Jew. “I’m a double-belonger,” he said.
Grant and his wife Lynn Springer went on to co-found Progressive Prison Ministries. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, they say it’s the world’s first ministry focused on serving the white-collar justice community.
It includes a weekly white-collar online support group for people “who have a desire to take responsibility for our actions and the wreckage we caused, make amends, and move forward in new way of life centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance and empathy.” More than 310 people around the country have participated, according to the group’s website.
From 2016 to 2019, Grant also served as the executive director of Family ReEntry, a criminal justice nonprofit with offices and programs in eight Connecticut cities.
Three years ago, he began the process of getting his law license back. The first step was taking the multi-state professional responsibility exam and completing CLE. He also submitted “about 12 inches of paperwork,” he said, including his personal story.
He wrote 14,000 words. “I wanted to tell them everything, the whole story, warts and all,” he said. “It didn’t make a difference to me if strategically it was the right thing to do.” He added, “I let go of the outcome.”
He had a hearing via videoconference last May. “I was scared,” Grant said, but he was surprised to find that the panel members questioning him were “kind.”
“They were thorough and probing, but they were not out to tank me. They were supportive,” he said. “It helped me remember the best parts of being a lawyer.”
On May 5, his license was officially reinstated, and he promptly launched GrantLaw PLLC. With an office on West 43rd Street in Manhattan, he’s offering his services as a private general counsel specializing in white-collar crisis management.
That might include helping a white-collar defendant interview defense lawyers and other specialized counsel, reviewing the lawyers’ work product and billing, and acting as a sounding board, all with the goal of achieving a better and more-cost-efficient outcome.
“Most white-collar defendants are very bright, who have a lot of professional experience and are highly educated,” Grant said. “They don’t realize they’re in trauma – and are making generally very bad decisions while in trauma.”
They need “someone who understands trauma,” he said, “and somebody to trust.”
Given his life experiences, it’s hard for me to imagine a lawyer more uniquely qualified.
Jenna Greene writes about legal business and culture, taking a broad look at trends in the profession, faces behind the cases, and quirky courtroom dramas. A longtime chronicler of the legal industry and high-profile litigation, she lives in Northern California. Reach Greene at [email protected].
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
YouTube: Seth Williams Testifies and Plays Saxophone at First African Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA, Sun., Apr., 18, 2021
Seth Williams is a member of our online White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings. We will hold our 253rd weekly meeting on Mon., April 19th, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
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Watch our friend and Fellow Traveler Seth Williams, ex-District Attorney of Philadelphia, PA, testify and play the saxophone at the First African Baptist Church. Philadelphia. Video recorded Sunday, April 18, 2021. After Seth’s sentencing, he was cuffed, remanded directly to jail and spent the first five months of his sentence in solitary confinement.
Blessings to you brother Seth.
Watch on YouTube (at 20:30):
Criminal Justice Cafe Podcast: Jacqueline Polverari Interviews Bill Livolsi, Ep. 5
In this episode, Jacquie has a discussion with Bill Livolsi, who was released from a Federal prison camp a year ago due to Covid-19 protocols.
Jacquie and Bill are both members of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.
Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.
Watch on YouTube:
Jacqueline Polverari:
Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.
Jacqueline has over 25 years’ experience as a professional with proven successes in business leadership, mentoring and therapeutic environments. Her experience working with trauma culminated after spending almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women and observing the trauma women experience related to being incarcerated. She has since dedicated herself to Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry services with a special focus on trauma and reentry services for women relating to incarceration. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, JustLeadershipUSA and #Cut50 and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country. She most recently designed and hosted the first retreat for women convicted of a white-collar crime in the country in October 2019. Jacqueline is working diligently to continue her education and has returned to school to obtain her Doctoral Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Criminal Justice.
For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 29, Guests: The Entrepreneurs, David Israel & Spencer Oberg of GOOD PLANeT FOODS
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
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Podcast Ep. 29, Guests: David Israel & Spencer Oberg
Today on the podcast we have David Israel and Spencer Oberg, two successful entrepreneurs who both served time in prison. You might know them by their international vegan cheese company, GOOD PLANeT FOODS, or by their justice-centric media company, Unincarcerated.
In this episode we certainly go into David and Spencer’s incredible backstories. But more, we learn the nuts and bolts of how to be entrepreneurial and succeed after prison, the hard work it takes, how to analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and how to get past your shame to find your passion and authenticity.
So, coming up, The Entrepreneurs. David Israel and Spencer Oberg. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
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If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.
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Guests on this Episode:
Unincarcerated.com
https://linktr.ee/unincarcerated
Goodplanetfoods.com
Spencer Oberg:
Spencer is the Founder & CEO of Unincarcerated Productions and EVP at GOOD PLANeT Foods. A successful entrepreneur and passionate impact leader, Spencer stays active in both business and non-profit communities. He is an accomplished public speaker with a TED Talk under his belt, an educator who has created and hosted entrepreneurship seminars and events, and a passionate podcast host. Spencer also spent a total of 8 years in prison. His experience with the criminal justice system taught him that we have much to learn about how to successfully deal with crime and other social issues and from this he developed a passion for informing public opinion on criminal justice reform. Today
https://www.instagram.com/spenceroberg/
https://www.facebook.com/spencer.oberg.96
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-oberg-22869114a/
David Israel:
David is the Founder & CEO of GOOD PLANeT Foods, the fastest growing Plant-Based cheese company in the US. He’s a serial entrepreneur who started his journey into the business world at the age of 19, and since then has started, run, and sold many successful enterprises. One of these was Pawn X-Change. David took a tired industry and introduced an innovative business model that grew this company to a large and successful chain of 45 stores in a relatively short period of time. Due to unfortunate actions taken by others, and after a 7 year legal battle, David ultimately decided to spend 4 years in prison so that he and his family could find closure. During this time, he wrote a business plan that was launched after his return home and became a very successful international business. Most importantly, through this experience his perspective on incarcerated individuals and the re-entry process was forever changed. Since then he has worked to provide opportunities for success for men and women transitioning out of prison.
https://www.instagram.com/david_r_israel/
https://www.facebook.com/david.israel.3192
linkedin.com/in/david-israel-61090610/
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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Information About our White Collar Support Group…
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Click image for interview
Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:
Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.
Clara CFO Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Smolinski Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Sponsored by Upside Financial. Link to article and YouTube video here.
CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.
Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here.
Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.
Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.
Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.
Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.
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Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:
Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff
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All Episodes:
Link here to Podcast Ep. 29, Guests: The Entrepreneurs, David Israel & Spencer Oberg
Link here to Podcast Ep. 28, Guests: The Investigators, Kelly Paxton & Brian Willingham
Link here to Podcast Ep. 27, The Addicted Lawyer, Guest: Brian Cuban
Link here to Podcast Ep. 26, Oppression & Identity, Guests: Jaco & Leslie Theron
Link here to Podcast Ep. 25, Ex-Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, Part Two
Link here to Podcast Ep. 24, Ex-Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, Part One
Link here to Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg
Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy
Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO
Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee
Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix
Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola
Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim
Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood
Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott
Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine
Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland
Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb
Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett
Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria
Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin
Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz
Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney
Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group
Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?
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Jeff Grant
What is the White Collar Justice Community?
Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.
If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…
Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.
Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.
Blessings, לשלום
Jeff
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
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Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!
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Follow White Collar Week on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week
Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek
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Follow Jeff Grant on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant
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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?
Email us! [email protected]
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Credits:
Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Production: Chloe Coppola
Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com
Video Engineering: Todd Nixon
Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com
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It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) 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. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.
All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.,
White Collar Support Group 250th Meeting Reflections: Fellow Traveler Bill Baroni, New Jersey
Bill Baroni is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. We will celebrate our 250th weekly meeting on Monday, March 29, 2021, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT; all Fellow Travelers are invited.
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Going into prison is one of the most challenging and difficult things to do in life. I don’t recommend it to anyone. But equally difficult, is coming home. The challenge of returning to life “on the outside” is daunting. From finding a place to live, or a job, or getting a bank account, or finding a new community after years away – life after incarceration can be lonely and dark.
Day after day, people who have served time in prison are isolated, lonely, feel forgotten, or without hope. Maybe their families have forgotten them; or their friends abandoned them; or their old co-workers have long forgotten them. And while the physical fences, razor wire, and guards may be gone, the mental walls of prison can remain. And the punishment handed down by a judge can pale in comparison to a lifetime of seeming isolation.
Which is why Jeff Grant and his ministry are so important. For years, Jeff has made it his mission to make sure that no one feels the isolation that can come from being a former inmate. He has brought people together from across the country to talk, listen, and be a new community. He has given hope to people to know that they are not alone, not isolated, and not without hope.
The White Collar Support Group, week after week, provides a forum for fellow former inmates to build a new network of people that have walked the same journey from prison to the next chapter in life.
For me, Jeff and the Progressive Prison Ministry is a place to meet Fellow Travelers on this road. We are so blessed to have this place to meet, talk, and know that we are not alone. Congratulations on 250!
BILL BARONI
Former New Jersey State Senator
Former Co-head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Former Federal Prisoner 67325-050
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Link here to White Collar Week Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
White Collar Week Podcast: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group. The support group meeting on this podcast is different than most, because all of the 16 group members appearing have agreed to share their names, faces and very personal stories in an effort to reach out to individuals and families suffering in silence. All on the podcast are post-sentencing or back from prison. Watch on YouTube, Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud, link here.
YouTube Video: Jeff Grant Co-Hosts on Founders Focus Podcast with Scott Case, How Do You Scale Without Losing Your Soul? Thurs., Apr. 1, 2021
How Do You Scale Without Losing Your Soul?
When you’re scaling your business, how do you bring other people in while keeping what makes your community special?
As founders, we’re often building the plane while we fly it. Staying true to your values while you scale can be tricky, but it’s not impossible.
On Thurs., Apr. 1, 2021 at 1:10 pm ET, I joined Scott Case, CEO and Co-Founder of Upside Business Travel & Upside Financial, and Founding CTO of priceline.com, on /Founders Focus to talk about the challenges of growing a business without losing your soul and and how to overcome the obstacles that founders face when scaling their business.
/Founders Focus is a twice-weekly virtual meetup where founders and entrepreneurs can come together to connect and learn from each other.
Join live /Founders Focus sessions for free: http://foundersfocus.com/
Watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5icqQcMtPc&list=PLbNxOsmSNw3x3jR9P9fJfHrYkuQGXzJl9&index=2
Listen to the podcast episode: https://bit.ly/3tmn1jd
Also, Clara CFO YouTube Channel: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Sponsored by Upside Financial. Link to article and YouTube video here.
Also, Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud, by Jeff Grant. Link here.
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