Mobster “Skinny Joey” Merlino, Real Housewives of New Jersey Star Teresa Guidice Report to Prison, What They Can Expect

Joseph "Skinny Joey"Merlino, reputed ex-mob boss arrives at federal court in Philadelphia on Friday morning Oct 24, 2014 for hearing which ruled he will be taking a "Miami prison vacation" for four months beginning today, January 5, 2015

January 5, 2014

Starting today, Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and reputed Philadelphia mobster Joseph Merlino will be trading their designer duds for standard-issue khakis and a poly-blend button-down shirts when they begin their multi-month prison sentences. Hers for tax fraud, his for violating the terms of his supervised released.

They'll be sleeping next to strangers and could be assigned to a job scrubbing toilets or washing dishes. If they want sunglasses, they can buy them for $1.50 in the prison camp commissary.

Giudice, 42, is heading to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, a minimum security prison camp for women that inspired the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black, based on the memoir by Piper Kerman. It's also possible, though, that she could be sent to the Alderson Prison Camp in West Virginia, where Martha Stewart served five months in 2004 and 2005 for obstructing justice and lying to federal investigators about a stock sale.

Giudice is scheduled to report to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, to begin serving a 15-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud. She and husband Joe Giudice pleaded guilty last year. The couple admitted hiding assets from bankruptcy creditors and submitting phony loan applications to get some $5 million in mortgages and construction loans.

Merlino, 52, the reputed head of Philadelphia's La Cosa Nostra in the 1990s, must serve four additional months for failing to report a meeting with a former co-defendant at a Boca Raton, Florida, cigar bar. The judge sentenced him to four months in the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami.

Their Arrival

After self-reporting, they'll begin the Admissions and Orientation (A&O) process. Once inside prison walls, they will be taken to the receiving area for processing, and will wait with the others that will be received that same day,.

During processing, they will be strip-searched and urinate in a cup in front of an officer. They will also have to do the "squat and cough." They want to see if you are hiding drugs. It's standard procedure for all inmates.

After being photographed, they will eventually don the khaki pants, button-down shirt and black, steel-toed work boots that will become the staple of their wardrobe for the next few months.

What They Can and Cannot Keep

Giudice will have to hand over the bra, underwear, shoes and clothes she wore to prison. She will be allowed to bring a metal wedding band with no gems or stones and a metal religious medallion on a necklace and eyeglasses – but no earrings.

She can bring photographs with her and a certain amount of legal paperwork, which they will go through along with a list of medications and mailing addresses.

Settling In

Giudice and Merlino will set up their new living area – a far cry from the opulent lifestyle they both enjoy now.

They will show them to the laundry area, where they will get bedding: sheets, a blanket, a pillow, underwear and socks, among other things.

New arrivals are assigned the top bunk of a metal bed. They have no seniority although Merlino’s reputation of mob ties will most certainly curry favor from the other inmates. The more seniority you have, the better chance you have at getting the bottom bunk, which is easier to get in and out of.

Guards walk the dorms all night long to make sure everyone is behaving: You must be in your assigned area all night long, unless you have to go to the restroom. And then you only go to the restroom and back then immediately to your bunk.

Making Friends

Both will be interacting with inmates from the get-go. Once you go through receiving, an inmate shows you to your bunk. Then other inmates will show you around.

Prison is a microcosm of the real world. Some will be very friendly because they want them to join their Bible group or clique for whatever reason. There are mealtime cliques, there are workout cliques, and there are business strategy cliques and other hobbies that are available which unite like-minded inmates.

Prison Camp - easier time

Inmates are usually friendly; Giudice should be able to make friends. Some inmates make friends that they remain close to even after their sentence is served. If she will be humble and understand that the goal is to get home as soon as possible and that everyone else in there has the same goal – to be with their children - before you know it the sentence is over. You go along and get along.

Nobody will care that she's on a TV show, they do not care that she is a celebrity. Most don't like white collar offenders at all. That's the problem, not that she's on a TV show. There is a belief that white collar offenders behave in an entitled fashion. They would rather have people who are more used to the drill because they are easier to deal with.

Some will not be so friendly and will test them with verbal threats or challenges to see how they handle the pressure. People who have some fame always have a group that just wants to be in their circle – like they are a center of influence.

Visions of “Goodfellas”

Merlino will likely get a “Goodfellas” style welcome from some inmates who want to be in the company of a mafia boss but it won’t resemble much more from the movie in that regard. The extras that you see in the movie are not going to make it into a high security facility like FDC Miami. There will be no steaks and lobsters or alcohol or drugs for Skinny Joey. Merlino’s sentence is too short for him to attempt to bribe the staff for those little extras. He’s been in the system before and knows how to navigate his time. Four months is not long enough to take chances of getting more time added for egregious or arrogant behavior.

Threats of Violence

There's little if any violence at a women's prison camp, people at women's prison camps are well-behaved for the most part, because they don't want to go to 'real jail' with higher security – county jail or a detention center. Those are the only other options.

If you don't go to a camp, then you go to a more locked-up environment, she says. "A camp is a place where nothing is locked. It has no cells," she says. "Camps like Danbury have cubicles like inOrange Is the New Black.The bathroom is down the hallway with a stall door and the shower is private."

The staff is professional in the federal system. They are well trained and well paid. They are not in the business of messing with inmates like you might see on television. There are cameras and checks-and-balances that offer a measure of safety for inmates.

Visits from Guidice’s Children

The BOP encourages children visits. In the camp visitation it is set up like a picnic-area where the visits can be longer and more relaxed than in a higher security prison setting. They can sit in her lap. They can give her kisses. She can touch them and hold them and love them. They can spend the day with her on Saturdays and Sundays. They don't go inside with her, but they have a visiting room. She's not behind a thick glass.

The first time the girls see her in prison will be a little scary. She will be wearing her uniform. She will be able to wear makeup. She will be able to look okay. It will put their minds at ease because there are two things kids want when their mom is in prison. They want to know, 'Is my mom safe?' These are smart kids who grew up on TV. They will look around at the other women. They also want to know, 'Does my mom still love me?'"

Kids that visit often will have a valuable experience with their mom there. The Bureau of Prisons does a lot to make these visits comfortable. Every camp has a kids' room with toys and everything. There are vending machines with snacks, sandwiches and drinks for all to enjoy during the visit.

Daily Routine

Federal inmates wake up at 6am. Once they have finished orientation the first week, they will be assigned a job – anything from working in the kitchen washing dishes to working in the bathroom cleaning stalls to doing landscaping or commissary work. While she is able to work at her prison-assigned job, she cannot conduct business while incarcerated. Merlino knows the system and probably to pay someone to do his job for him, Guidice will probably not take that chance early on.

Jobs begin at 8am, and at 3pm, the jobs are mostly over. At 3:30 you have to get your sleeping area ready for Count Time. It must be perfectly clean. The bed must be made. They inspect it. Count time happens at every federal prison across the county at 4 pm. This is when all the inmates are counted. You stand up next to your bunk and put your ID card in your hand and the staff will come around and count you. Count time also occurs at 10pm, 12am, 3am and 5am although the late counts are not “stand-up counts”. On the weekend, count time is also at 10am

After the 4 pm count time, you are released and for dinner time. The balance of the evening is free time to have classes or recreation time or TV time or showers or whatever you want to do. They will also have phone time at night and she will have 300 minutes a month (400 minutes per month during the holidays – November and December). You have to pay for it. It can be very expensive if you are calling long distance.

Shopping Time

Inmates will go to the commissary once a week to buy extras they might need or want, such as microwavable meals or snacks. They can buy sweats and sneakers so they don't have to wear the uniform all the time and be able to be more comfortable because when you aren't working.

Another must for the federal prison experience is to get a radio and headphones at the commissary. The televisions are throughout the facility in TV rooms or at the rec center. The TV is on a set frequency channel so you need a radio to hear the TV. Without a radio, you can't hear live news or anything that you want to hear on the televisions.

Making the Best of Prison Time

So how will they fare in prison?

Merlino has a tiny sentence and he will have no problem “doing his time standing on his head”, as the inmates say about short timers. He will go in smiling and come out smiling.

Guidice will have a more difficult time adjusting. Although her sentence is considered short for most federal inmates, her initial three months will seem like three years. After the shock of separation and the feeling that you have lost total control of your accountability, you find a routine that works. That is the key –get into a daily and nightly routine. Stay away from conflict and do your time as humbly and quietly as possible. If she bucks this concept, it will end up being a long, long sentence for her.