RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Gov. Bob McDonnell could serve his two-year sentence at one of several federal prisons located within a 500-mile radius of Richmond, Virginia after being convicted on federal corruption charges.
McDonnell requested Tuesday to serve his time at FCI Petersburg in Hopewell, but Judge James Spencer and the Federal Bureau of Prisons will ultimately decide where he goes.
If McDonnell does end up at FCI Petersburg, CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said he’ll most likely be placed in the adjacent minimum security satellite camp where 309 inmates live.
According to the prison’s 58-page orientation handbook, inmates are required to wear a green shirt and pants during the day, they can only have visitors on certain days, and they are required to work for the prison, doing jobs like cooking food or mowing grass.
Inmates there are also allowed to play a variety of sports, like tennis and bocce ball, and participate in activities like painting and crochet.
A former inmate of the prison, Andy Rothenberg, blogged about his time there last year. Rothenberg pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to the finances of a Dave Matthews Band member.
“There is not even a fence here. It`s almost like home except you can`t see family and friends. It`s ridiculous,” Rothenberg wrote.
He also wrote the following about the Fourth of July at the prison.
“We had a cookout after all this and ate bacon cheeseburgers, watermelon, corn, and had red velvet ice cream after,” Rothenberg wrote.
Two Virginia voters walking in Richmond's Carytown Tuesday night said that they were disappointed by the two-year sentence and felt McDonnell should have received more time.
Alexander Gheesling said FCI Petersburg sounds like something he's seen in a popular movie.
“That reminds me of the end of Wolf of Wall Street, where he's sent to this summer camp in New Mexico," said Gheesling.
Another Virginia resident, Charles Bizzell said the accommodations sound quite comfortable.
“Yeah, it's Club Fed,” Bizzell said.
Still, there were others, like Rob Smith, who said he didn't believe McDonnell should have to spend a day in federal prison, even if it is a minimum security facility.
“What the McDonnell's did was trashy, but I think the feds could have prosecuted almost any politician in the Commonwealth for doing the same thing,” Smith said.
