May.14, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Former Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion turned himself in Friday afternoon and began serving his 2 1/2-year federal prison sentence, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Eggelletion, 61, of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., checked in at the Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Ga.

"He's prepared himself and now he's ready to go and serve his time," said his attorney, Johnny McCray Jr. "He's not scared. Joe's a man who's basically accepted he's going to be away for a while."

Eggelletion, a former barber and schoolteacher, hopes he'll get a prison job cutting hair, McCray said.

The disgraced politician, now Inmate 91181-004, declined a request this week to be interviewed for this report. He pleaded guilty in December to money-laundering conspiracy and filing a false income tax return. He admitted accepting about $23,000 for helping undercover FBI agents launder $900,000 of what he thought were proceeds from a Ponzi scheme or investment fraud.

What lies ahead for Eggelletion has little to do with some widely held beliefs about prison life, said John Webster, managing director of National Prison and Sentencing Consultants, a company that prepares convicts for doing their time.

"There is no 'Club Fed.' The concept of playing tennis, going poolside for a bit or taking a hike in the woods just doesn't happen," said Webster, who did not work on Eggelletion's case.

"This is federal prison. It may be a little safer or nicer than a lot of jails or state prisons but any kind of prison is a horrible place - the loneliness, the despair, the gravitas of doing time will soon set in, and it's no place you want to spend time."

Federal prisoners are strip-searched and given a uniform after they are taken into custody. Prison staff will give Eggelletion a brief medical and psychological assessment and provide him with a copy of the rule book. He will be assigned to a bunk, likely in a dorm in the low-security section, McCray said.

At Jesup, an inmate's day begins at 6 a.m., food is basic and the uniform is khaki shirt and pants. As county commissioner, Eggelletion's salary was about $92,000, but he now has a spending limit of $290 a month in his commissary account. He can use that money to purchase candy and other items.

He will be allowed to phone 30 preapproved people, may have very restricted access to e-mail and receive limited visits.

Inmates are expected to work and earn small wages. Eggelletion will have access to a communal television set, some recreation activities and exercise equipment.

Another fallen politician at Jesup is Jim Black, 75, former speaker of the North Carolina Legislature, who is serving several years for accepting thousands of dollars in illegal payments while an elected official.

Among the Jesup alumni: former WorldCom Chief Financial Officer Scott Sullivan, who returned to his suburban Boca Raton, Fla., home last year after serving much of his five-year prison sentence at Jesup for his role in one of the nation's biggest financial scandals. Televangelist Jim Bakker also spent time there in the 1990s for defrauding thousands of his followers.

Eggelletion may serve considerably less time than the 2 1/2 years meted out by the judge.

He will apply to take part in the Residential Drug Abuse Program to address his alcohol abuse, McCray said. The program allows inmates to reduce their sentences by up to one year, though Webster predicted a nine-month cut if Eggelletion is accepted into the program.

Federal inmates also are eligible to receive a 15 percent reduction in exchange for good behavior, and Eggelletion also likely will qualify to spend the last three to six months of his sentence in a halfway house closer to home.

Eggelletion announced he had a problem with alcohol after his September 2009 arrest. Prison officials take the 10-month anti-abuse program very seriously and there is a lot of demand for it, Webster said. Participants live in a separate unit and spend half their day working and the other half in group and individual counseling.

Chief on Eggelletion's mind is his family and, in particular, his parents, who are in their 80s and live in the Tallahassee, Fla., area, McCray said. The former commissioner asked to do his time in Florida's Panhandle to make it easier for them to visit, but prison officials, who have the final word, placed him in Jesup, his attorney said.

Eggelletion will be brought back to Broward County briefly for a June 9 sentencing on a state charge of bribery. Under the plea agreement terms, he expects to serve 2 1/2 years for the state charge simultaneously with the federal sentence. He pleaded guilty in April in state court to bribery for taking a $3,200 golf club membership and $25,000 in cash from developers in exchange for voting in favor of their projects.

His convictions may cost him his state pension, estimated at more than $73,000 a year.