A new inmate arrived at the warehouse. As the prison tailor I was in charge of fitting him for new prison clothing.
We have a large inventory of green shirts, short sleeve and long sleeve, and green pants, although we ran out of size 36 waist; that is a popular size.
The new guy who arrived is a drug dealer from the Bronx. He sold heroin. He knew of the other inmate who works in the warehouse who was also a drug dealer from the Bronx. The guy who works in the warehouse controlled a few blocks. He sold mainly marijuana, but I think he got busted for crack.
This new guy wasn’t a street salesman. He was more of a middleman, dealing in bulk quantities. He had a lot of respect for the guy in the warehouse. He said street dealing is dangerous. Plus, it is easier to get caught.
Both these guys didn’t work a legitimate job until they got busted. They are in their mid 30s. The new guy said he worked at Raymour and Flanigan when he got busted, waiting for his case to resolve. He said he was a good worker; he was very excited to work a “real” job that didn’t involve anything illegal. The other guy didn’t work a real job until he came to prison and worked with me in the warehouse.
Dangerous Odor
Most guys who come in here on the first day look like deer in headlights, bewildered, haggard and in total shock.
I probably looked like that when I first arrived. Eventually you get used to sleeping on three-inch mattress lying on top of steel boards, prison food that has leaves a lot to be desired, the loss of freedom, the phone limit of 15 minutes a phone call with only 300 minutes a month, which works out to under ten minutes a day, sharing close living quarters with 100 other guys, communal bathrooms and showers, and other things that remind you that you are a prisoner 24/7.
One guy who came in here on the first day smelled of alcohol. Not sure if he was drunk; he probably just had a hangover. The Blue Boyz threw him in the SHU for the day, solitary confinement in a small cell, with fluorescent lights on 24/7, with nothing to do but listen to the other inmates in their small solitary adjoining cells banging, yelling and screaming.
Teaneck’s Trouble
Today the Blue Boyz were stripping and waxing the common areas of the main building, so they were recruiting a lot of inmates to help out. Luckily I was at work which is located in a different building, so I was not tapped for extra work duty stripping floors.
When I got back I heard one of the Blue Boyz yelling at inmate Teaneck Trouble, calling him a “slimy eel.” Not a lot of inmates like this guy Teaneck Trouble. One inmate in here, inmate Gotti, calls him a “snake” a “serpent.” I checked with the rabbi here and learned that the snake in the Bible tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The snake initially had legs, but after the snake tempted Eve the snake was cursed to slither on the ground and eat nothing but dust. So people are now saying that Teaneck Trouble is a bottom feeding slithering slimy part snake/ part eel creature.
He is actually not a bad guy, just probably misunderstood. He is here a long time. I have noticed that some guys start to lose their minds if they are here too long. Not sure if they came in here that way, or prison did that to them. But I can’t imagine having a sentence with five or ten years. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. How could you not get depressed?
A Hasid & A Blue Boy Attend A Wedding
An 80-year-old Hasidic inmate got permission to go to a wedding accompanied by the Blue Boy who is my boss as the warehouse.
Talk about an odd couple. The Blue Boy is a self proclaimed “redneck” who weighs in at about 300 pounds. The Hasid is a 100-pound ornery old man who doesn’t think much of secular Jews, or the “goyim” for that matter.
The Blue Boy had to drive him to the wedding and drive him back to the prison. I asked the Blue Boy if he could bring me back some whitefish and herring. I also reminded him to make sure the inmate brought his Depends with him, you don’t want to have any accidents in the prison van. He proceeded to flip me the bird and tell me to go bleep myself. I said, “Have a nice time.”
The Blue Boyz get paid extra money to do these trips with the inmates. Sometimes an inmate is permitted a furlough to go to a wedding or a funeral or a hospital. The Blue Boy will sit there and watch the inmate the entire time, and probably get a free meal from the event.
New Haven attorney Lawrence Dressler is currently serving a 20-month sentence in an out-of-state federal minimum-security prison for his part in a mortgage-fraud ring.
Previous installments:
• Larry Noodles & The Tossed Banana
• A Peanut-Butter View Of A “Real Prison”
