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United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

Federal hospital in Springfield, Missouri

Summary

Federal hospital in Springfield, Missouri

Field	Value
prison_name	United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
image	[[File:USMCInteriorPic2SpringfieldMO.jpg	290px]]
location	Springfield, Greene County, Missouri
status	Operational
classification	Administrative
population	870
opened	1933
managed_by	Federal Bureau of Prisons
warden	Eric Williams
website

The United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP Springfield) is a United States federal prison in Springfield, Missouri, for male offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

History

During the Great Depression, the city of Springfield, Missouri, offered 620 acre of land to the federal government to build the prison, under the direction of business leaser and Chamber of Commerce president John T. Woodruff. Congress authorized the building of the prison in 1930. The prison opened in 1933 as the "United States Hospital for Defective Delinquents", under superintendent Marion R. King. The land surrounding the prison was used by the prisoners for farming until 1966. In 1977, the federal government returned some of the original 620 acres to the city. Prison riots occurred in 1941, 1944 and 1959.

Several political prisoners and spies arrested during World War II were held at MCFP Springfield for medical treatment. Anastasy Vonsyatsky served 3 years of a 5-year sentence there for conspiring to aid Hitler's Germany in violation of the Espionage Act before being released in 1946. Robert Henry Best and Herbert John Burgman, who were sentenced to life in prison for treason in 1948 and 1949 for making propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, served their sentences at this prison. Best died at MCFP Springfield in 1952, Burgman in 1953.

Several high-profile Mafia bosses received medical treatment at MCFP Springfield, including Joseph Bonanno of the Bonanno crime family, Vito Genovese and Vincent Gigante of the Genovese crime family and John Gotti of the Gambino crime family. Genovese died at MCFP Springfield in 1969, Gotti in 2002, and Gigante in 2005. Other notable inmates held at MCFP Springfield for treatment include Robert Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" who died there in 1963, racecar driver Randy Lanier, drug trafficker Michael Riconosciuto, and "The Toxic Pharmacist" Robert Courtney. Terrorists Omar Abdel Rahman and José Padilla were also held there for brief periods.

Notable incidents

On January 26, 2010, inmate Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell. Castro-Rodriguez originally was convicted of assault and resisting arrest in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida and was being held at the MCFP because of a mental illness. MCFP inmates Wesley Paul Coonce Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, were charged in connection with his death and on May 7, 2014, were convicted of one count of first-degree murder. Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence. Both were sentenced to death on June 2, 2014.

Notable inmates

The following inmates are currently held at MCFP Springfield or served the majority of their sentence there. † Inmates who were released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.

Living

Inmate Name	Register Number	Photo	Status	Details
James Alex Fields Jr.	22239-084		Serving a life sentence; currently at USP Allenwood.	White supremacist, pleaded guilty in 2019 of 29 federal hate crime charges using his car to harm counter-protestors during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing 32 year-old Heather Heyer and injuring up to 19 more. Previously held at USP Hazelton and USP Allenwood.
Marvin Charles Gabrion	09184-055	[[File:Gabrion.jpg	80px]]	Serving a life sentence, commuted from the death penalty. Originally sentenced to death on March 16, 2002.	Convicted in 2002 of the 1997 kidnapping and murder of 19-year-old Rachel Timmerman, who had accused Gabrion of rape; Tried federally as victim's body was found on federal land. Gabrion was the first person to receive a federal death sentence in a non-death penalty state since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988. Commuted from the death penalty by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2024.
Michael Sarno	01042-424		Serving a 25-year sentence, scheduled for release in 2031.	Italian-American mobster, who is a powerful captain in the Chicago Outfit who leads the Cicero crew.
Walter Myers	29796-016	[[File:Kendall Myers (cropped).jpg	80px]]	Serving a life sentence.	Convicted of espionage in relation to his spying activities for Cuba while working for the U.S. State Department.
Noshir Gowadia	95518-022		Transferred from ADX Florence. Serving a 32-year sentence; scheduled for release on October 28, 2028.	Former engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and one of the principal designers of the B-2 stealth bomber; convicted in 2011 of using classified information to assist the People's Republic of China with producing cruise missiles with stealth technology.

Released

Inmate Name	Register Number	Photo	Status	Details
Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno	07255-008	[[File:Joseph Bonanno (cropped).jpg	80px]]	Released from custody in 1986 after serving 14 months at MCFP Springfield.	Boss of the Bonanno crime family in New York City from 1931 to the mid-1960s; imprisoned for refusing to testify in a federal racketeering trial of the leaders of the five New York Mafia families.
Fritz Duquesne	N/A†	[[File:Fbi duquesne.jpg	80px]]	Released from custody on compassionate grounds in 1954; served 14 years.	Convicted in 1941 of leading the Duquesne Spy Ring, a group of spies for the Nazis which operated in the US from 1939 to 1941 and aimed to obtain information regarding military and industrial sabotage targets; all ring members were convicted in what was the largest espionage case in US history.
	78407-012	[[File:Larry Flynt 2009.jpg	80px]]	Released from custody in 1984; served 6 months at FMC Butner and MCFP Springfield.	Publisher of the pornographic magazine Hustler and the center of several high-profile First Amendment cases; imprisoned for contempt of court for disrespecting a federal judge.
	N/A†	[[File:Anastasy Vonsyatsky without Swastika armband.jpg	80px]]	Held at MCFP Springfield from 1942 to 1946	Russian-born American fascist leader; convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 for his associations with Nazi sympathisers during World War II; released early.
	N/A†	[[File:Henri Young.jpg	80px]]	Held at MCFP Springfield from 1948 to 1957.	Bank robber and murderer; attempted to escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1939; Young was the subject of the 1995 film Murder in the First.
Rosario "Russell" Bufalino	04891-054		Held at MCFP Springfield from 1987 to 1989.	An Italian-born American mobster who became the Boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family known as the Bufalino crime family from 1959 - 1994. He was a cousin of attorney William "Bill" Bufalino, the longtime counsel for Jimmy Hoffa.

Died at MCFP Springfield

Inmate Name	Register Number	Photo	Status	Details
Robert Henry Best	N/A†	[[File:Robert Henry Best.png	80px]]	Died in 1952 while serving a life sentence	American Nazi collaborator and radio broadcaster of Nazi propaganda
	37671-133		Served a life sentence under the name Juan Ramon Matta-Lopez.	Drug kingpin with ties to the Medellin Cartel in Colombia; convicted in 1990 of orchestrating the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique Camarena. He died at the facility in October 2025.
Herbert John Burgman	N/A†		Died in 1953	American Nazi collaborator and radio broadcaster of Nazi propaganda
Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo	08341-016	[[File:AnthonyCorallo.png	80px]]	Died in 2000.	The Boss of the Lucchese Crime Family From 1973 - 1986. in 1986 sentenced to 100 years along with then Underboss Salvatore "Tom-Mix" Santoro and then Consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Funari.
	89129-132		Died in 2004 while serving a life sentence.	Member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang; murdered Correction Officer Robert Hoffman at the United States Penitentiary, Marion in 1983; held in solitary confinement until his death. The incident resulted in a 23-year lockdown at Marion, and contributed to the creation of the federal supermax prison, Florence ADX.
Chin Gigante		[[File:Vincent_Gigante.(mug_shot).jpg	80px]]	Deceased December 19, 2005.	American mobster who was boss of the Genovese Crime Family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in 1997, and plead guilty to an additional charge of racketeering in 2002.
John Gotti	18261-053	[[File:John Gotti FBI booking (cropped) 2(b).jpg	80px]]	Deceased, June 10, 2002.	John "The Teflon Don" Gotti was head of New York's Gambino crime family. One of the most powerful and dangerous crime bosses in the world, Gotti was charged with five counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, loansharking, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, bribery and tax evasion. Convicted on all counts, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole and a $250,000 fine.
Kareem Ibrahim	64657-053		Died in 2016 while serving a life sentence	Convicted in 2012 for conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack at JFK Airport died in 2016 from Heart Failure
Hemant Lakhani	25753-050		Died in 2013 while serving a 47-year sentence.	British businessman; convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism and other charges for attempting to sell shoulder-fired missiles to what he thought was a terrorist group intent on shooting down US airliners.
Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella	10405-054	[[File:Gennaro Langella.jpg	80px]]	Died in 2013.	Was the Acting Boss Of the Colombo Crime Family During the '80s most notable for being a defendant in the Windows Trial in 1987 and being convicted and sentenced to 40+ years.
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno	12812-054	[[File:Anthony Salerno.jpg	80px]]	Died in 1992.	Was the Front Boss for the Genovese Crime Family from 1981 - 1986 after being convicted in the Windows Trial and being sentenced to 100 years.
Garrett Brock Trapnell	72021-158		Died in 1993 while serving a life sentence; served the majority of his sentence at USP Marion.	Serial bank robber; convicted in 1973 of aircraft hijacking and in 1974 of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Frank "Cadillac Frank" Salemme	24914-013	[[File:Frank Salemme (mugshot).jpg	103x103px]]	Died on 20 December 2022 Serving a life sentence	title = This man may have waited 38 years for his revenge on Whitey Bulger	first = Lia	last = Eustachewich	work = New York Post	date = November 1, 2018	access-date = November 2, 2018	url = https://nypost.com/2018/11/01/this-man-may-have-waited-38-years-for-his-revenge-on-whitey-bulger/	archive-date = 2021-06-24	archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200212/https://nypost.com/2018/11/01/this-man-may-have-waited-38-years-for-his-revenge-on-whitey-bulger/	url-status = live}}
Robert Spangler	29442-013	[[File:Robert-Spangler.jpg	80px]]	Died of cancer on August 5, 2001, while serving a life sentence.	Serial killer who murdered his first wife and two children in 1978 in Littleton, Colorado and his third wife at the Grand Canyon in Arizona in 1993. Pleaded guilty in October 2000 to murder on federal land of his third wife. Sentenced to life imprisonment.
	95107-080		Died in 2003 from lung cancer	Known for his role in the kidnapping, robbery and murder of the famed atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, her son Jon Garth and granddaughter Robyn in 1995.
Robert Franklin Stroud		[[File:Robert Stroud photo.jpg	80px]]	Died November 21, 1963	The "Birdman of Alcatraz"
Gary Lee Sampson	23976-038		Died on December 21, 2021.	Carjacked and murdered three people in 2001. Sentenced to death on December 23, 2003, and resentenced to death on January 9, 2017.
Clarence Carnes	61805-132		Died on October 3, 1988	Murdered a man in Oklahoma, and later participated in the Battle of Alcatraz. Carnes was the only participating inmate to neither be killed nor executed afterwards.

In popular culture

John Sacrimoni, boss of the fictional Lupertazzi crime family in the hit HBO television series The Sopranos, dies at MCFP Springfield in the season 6 episode entitled "Stage 5".

Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo of the fictional Soprano crime family in the hit HBO television series The Sopranos is only seen in the many Saints of Newark and is the boss of the DiMeo crime family and it is mentioned in season one that he is incarcerated here.

The American crime drama hit limited series Black Bird follows the true story of FBI Operative Jimmy Keene (birth name James Keene) during his time at MCFP Springfield. The series is based on the 2010 autobiographical novel In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene with Hillel Levin.

Gallery

References

Sources

References

Mary Bosworth. (2002). "The U.S. Federal Prison System". [[SAGE Publications]].
"MCFP Springfield". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
"The Influential Dedication of John T. Woodruff". Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
"United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners". Springfield Greene County Library.
"Anastase Vonsiatsky and Marion Ream papers". National Endowment for the Humanities.
Stadler, Glen. (Dec 27, 1952). "Portrait of a Traitor". Eugene Register-Guard.
(Dec 21, 1949). "Traitor Given Six to 20 Years". Montreal Gazette.
(December 28, 1953). "Standard Certificate of Death – Herbert John Burgman". The Division of Health of Missouri.
Raab, Selwyn. (June 11, 2002). "John Gotti Dies in Prison at 61; Mafia Boss Relished the Spotlight". The New York Times.
(January 19, 1992). "Jury Says Guilty -- Man Claims Frame-Up But Faces 20-Year Term After Verdict On Seven Drug-Related Charges". The Seattle Times.
Virginia Lee McCullough. (February 18, 2008). "Is puppet master Michael Riconosciuto pulling the strings in the Betty Cloer murder trial?". NewsMakingNews.
News-Leader Staff. (3 June 2014). "Two Fed Med inmates sentenced to death in killing". Springfield News-Leader.
Raab, Selwyn. (May 12, 2002). "Joe Bonanno Dies; Mafia Leader, 97, Who Built Empire". The New York Times.
"Joseph Bonanno". A&E Television Networks.
"Lord Horatio Kitchener, War Criminal". AngloBoerWar.com.
(1941-12-13). "The Duquesne Spy Ring". FBI.
Bruno, Anthony. (2013). "Adventures of Larry Flynt". Turner Entertainment Networks.
"Anastase Vonsiatsky and Marion Ream papers".
"Henri Young 244-AZ".
"Henri Young". Ocean View Publishing.
(August 2019). "Profiling the low-profile godfather, Russell Bufalino".
(19 December 2013). "Free to kill: Canaan inmate had freedom inside prison". The Citizens' Voice.
Weinstein, Henry. (7 September 1989). "Major Drug Ring Leader Is Convicted". Los Angeles Times.
Lee, John H.. (9 May 1991). "Camarena Figure Gets 3 Life Terms : Drugs: Honduran Juan Matta Ballesteros has received two other lengthy sentences for his role in the DEA agent's murder". Los Angeles Times.
W. Paul Jones. (January 14, 2012). "Clayton A. Fountain: The Murderer Who Became a Monk". Huffington Post.
Jonathan Wald. (April 27, 2005). "Man convicted of missile plot". CNN.
(September 12, 2005). "Terror Briton jailed for 47 years". BBC News.
(1993-09-11). "Garrett Trapnell, 55; Charismatic Criminal".
(January 16, 2005). "The First Hijackers". [[The New York Times]].
Eustachewich, Lia. (November 1, 2018). "This man may have waited 38 years for his revenge on Whitey Bulger". [[New York Post]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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