Additional Coverage:
- Diddy wants to serve his sentence at a NJ prison previously home to ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli and mobsters (businessinsider.com)
Diddy Seeks New Jersey Low-Security Prison After Conviction, Citing Rehabilitative Programs
Sean “Diddy” Combs, recently sentenced on prostitution-related charges, is requesting to serve his prison term at a low-security federal facility in New Jersey, hoping to access rehabilitative programs and maximize family visitation. His legal team has formally asked the sentencing judge to recommend the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Fort Dix, a facility previously home to infamous inmates like “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian this week, Combs’ attorney, Teny Geragos, urged the court to “strongly recommend” placement at FCI Fort Dix to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The request highlights the facility’s Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) as a key factor, which Combs’ lawyer suggested would be beneficial to the recovering addict.
“In order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts, we request that the Court strongly recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Mr. Combs be placed at FCI Fort Dix for RDAP purposes and any other available educational and occupational programs,” Geragos wrote. Successfully completing the intensive, nine-month RDAP and other prison programs could potentially reduce Combs’ more than four-year sentence by a year or more, according to prison consultants.
Combs was sentenced last week after being convicted in July of charges related to transporting hired male escorts across state lines for drug-fueled sex performances. The BOP will ultimately determine if Combs is accepted into these programs, and if anything in his presentencing report, including references to violence, will affect his eligibility.
Currently held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 indictment, the 55-year-old rapper’s time there will count toward his overall sentence.
FCI Fort Dix, located over 70 miles from New York City, holds the distinction of having the largest federal prison population in the United States, with more than 4,100 male inmates. However, it is also known for being “extraordinarily understaffed,” according to prison consultant Sam Mangel, who has clients housed at the facility.
Beyond Shkreli, who served part of his sentence there after a 2017 securities fraud conviction, Fort Dix has also housed several reputed mobsters and disgraced politicians, including former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
While some consultants, like Justin Paperny of White Collar Advice, describe Fort Dix as a “terrific prison if the goal is to attend programs, and build a new record, and be productive” due to its extensive programming resources, others like Mangel caution against it unless specific programs like RDAP are guaranteed, citing staffing concerns.
Meanwhile, Combs’ legal team has stated their intention to appeal the music mogul’s 50-month prison sentence. They had previously pushed for a sentence of time served.
Attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters last week that the judge “acted as a 13th juror” and “second-guessed the jury’s verdict” by imposing the sentence. At Combs’ trial, the jury had cleared him of the more severe sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, which could have resulted in a life sentence.
Agnifilo believes they have “strong bases to appeal,” particularly regarding the jury’s finding of no coercion.