'Coaches' Help New Inmates Move from Suits to Stripes

Rise of white-collar crime has benefited prison consultants

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 27, 2009 3:50 PM CST

(Newser) – The recession is providing new career opportunities for criminals turned consultants, reports the Los Angeles Times. Using the web, “jailhouse litigators” coach future inmates who’ve been convicted of white-collar crimes that presumably haven't prepared them for life on the inside. “We deal with anybody who has fears,” said one consultant, who preps clients on prison lingo, behavior, and culture, and how offers advice on surviving behind bars.

Says one counselor: “It’s like going to a foreign country and having to learn a new language.” Litigators charge anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, and clients—who learn how to file grievances, obtain a plum prison job, or get a better lockup—are grateful. One reasoned, “If you’re getting divorced, you call a friend who’s been divorced.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

White-collar criminals have long employed coaches to prep them on what to expect when they trade in their designer clothes for institutional khaki. (Shutter Stock)

Consultants give first-timers a crash course on prison lingo, culture and behavior--the do's and don'ts of a violent place where the wrong move could be their last. (Shutter Stock)

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If they ask, how do I know I can trust you, I tell them: 'You don't.' I can steal your money. But all you have to do is tell my probation officer. Think I'm going back to prison for a couple thousand dollars? That's your insurance policy. - Larry Levine, jailhouse litigator

You get a lot of well-meaning people doing this kind of thing who don't know what they're talking about. They lack my experience. They haven't lived it. I teach people what they need to know. - Larry Levine, jailhouse litigator

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'Coaches' Help New Inmates Move from Suits to Stripes