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The metropolitan correctional center prison in New York City holds some of the most dangerous and infamous prisoners awaiting trial in the state.

Today we go behind its walls of the MCC and look at 15 of the most infamous prisoners, celebrities and criminals locked up in one of New York's most feared jail's.

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00:00One of the most brutal and feared prisons in New York City,
00:04it's also the first high-rise facility to ever be used by the Bureau of Prisons.
00:09The Metropolitan Correctional Center was opened in 1975
00:13and held prisoners of all security levels
00:16and became one of the most infamous jails in the city
00:19due to its feared 10 South Wing.
00:23Join us as we look at the top 15 most notorious inmates
00:26ever held in the Big Apple's Metropolitan Correctional Center.
00:31Welcome to our video on the MCC.
00:33Don't forget to hit that subscribe button
00:35as we have a huge Tower of London video coming in the next few weeks.
00:40Number 15, Frank Lucas.
00:43Lucas was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade
00:46and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia.
00:53He smuggled heroin into the United States
00:56and his brand of heroin was called Blue Magic.
01:00Highly successful at amassing millions in cash and property,
01:03before his mega crimes,
01:05Lucas engaged in petty crime,
01:08including stealing food,
01:09mugging people,
01:10robbing a bar at gunpoint,
01:12stealing diamonds,
01:14and robbing high-stakes crap games.
01:17His modus operandi involved killings,
01:20extortion,
01:20and bribery to establish and maintain his drug empire,
01:24but was caught attempting to exchange one ounce of heroin
01:28and $13,000 for one kilogram of cocaine in 1984.
01:35Over the years,
01:35he racked up many convictions,
01:37including attempted fraud in 2012,
01:40when he pleaded guilty to attempting to cash a $17,000 federal disability benefit check twice.
01:48In 1976,
01:49Lucas was convicted of drug trafficking charges,
01:51both federal and New Jersey state violations,
01:56and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
01:59After becoming a government informant,
02:01providing information that led to over 100 additional drug-related convictions,
02:07his federal and state prison sentences were reduced to time served plus lifetime parole in 1981.
02:15He was convicted again in 1984 for drug offences,
02:19receiving a sentence of seven years.
02:22He was released from prison in 1991.
02:26In 2012,
02:27due to his age and poor health,
02:29he received a sentence of five years probation
02:32for attempting to cash a federal disability benefit check twice.
02:36Number 14,
02:37Ramzi Youssef.
02:39On February 26th,
02:411993,
02:42Youssef and his associates carried out a van bomb attack
02:46below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
02:50The bomb killed six people and injured over a thousand.
02:54Youssef's intent was for the North Tower to collapse onto the South Tower,
02:59aiming to kill tens of thousands.
03:01Youssef was a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot,
03:04a large-scale terrorist plot to bomb multiple U.S. commercial aircraft in Asia,
03:11and also included plans to assassinate Pope John Paul II
03:16and U.S. President Bill Clinton during their visits to the Philippines.
03:21Youssef was also involved in other attempted attacks,
03:24including an attempt to assassinate Benazir Bhutto,
03:28a plot to bomb the Israeli embassy in Bangkok in March 1994,
03:33and the Shiite shrine bombing in Mashhad, Iran in June 1994,
03:40which killed 26 people.
03:43Youssef was apprehended in Islamabad, Pakistan,
03:47in February 1995 by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency
03:53and U.S. Diplomatic Security Service,
03:57who then extradited him to the United States.
04:00He served time in the feared, feared 10 south wing
04:04of the Metropolitan Correctional Centre,
04:07where movement is strictly controlled,
04:10broken sewerage pipes spill waste into cells,
04:13and there is no contact with other people.
04:16He received two life sentences,
04:18plus 240 years without parole for his crimes,
04:22and is currently incarcerated at ADX Florence.
04:27Number 13, Akayed Ullar.
04:30Ullar detonated a homemade pipe bomb,
04:33which he had strapped to his chest,
04:35in an underground passageway connecting New York City's 7th and 8th Avenues,
04:40between the Times Square subway station
04:43and the Port Authority bus terminal.
04:46The explosion injured himself and at least five other people,
04:50later admitted to carrying out the attack on behalf of ISIS.
04:55Inspired by ISIS propaganda, he viewed online,
04:58including a video that instructed supporters
05:01to carry out attacks in their homelands
05:03if they could not travel overseas to join ISIS.
05:06Ullar stated he chose a busy weekday morning
05:10to terrorise as many people as possible.
05:13While in custody in December 2017
05:16at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre,
05:20he reportedly chanted
05:21More is coming to a correctional officer,
05:25and said,
05:27You started this war, we will finish it.
05:30More is coming, you'll see.
05:32In November 2018,
05:34a jury convicted Ullar on all six counts
05:37and was sentenced to life in prison
05:39plus 30 years
05:41on April 22nd, 2021
05:44and joined his fellow conspirators
05:47in ADX Florence.
05:49Number 12, Ross Ulbricht.
05:52Creator and operator of the dark net marketplace
05:55known as Silk Road from 2011
05:58until his arrest in 2013,
06:01Ulbricht used the online pseudonym
06:03Dread Pirate Roberts.
06:06Considered the kingpin charge
06:08due to his role in running the illicit marketplace,
06:11H used Bitcoin to facilitate illegal transactions
06:15and conceal the identities of users and locations.
06:19Silk Road facilitated the sale of illegal drugs,
06:23with thousands of dealers distributing
06:25hundreds of kilograms of various substances,
06:28including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD.
06:33Over $183 million in drug sales
06:36were alleged to have occurred through the site.
06:39The site also offered services like computer hacking
06:42and, some say,
06:44services for violence through intimidation and worse.
06:48Prosecutors also alleged that Ulbricht
06:50had solicited the murders of at least five people.
06:52He viewed as threats to his enterprise
06:55and, while he was not formally charged
06:58with murder for hire in his New York federal trial,
07:02evidence supporting these allegations was introduced.
07:06There is no evidence that any of these solicited murders
07:09were actually carried out.
07:11However, six deaths were connected
07:13to drugs sold on Silk Road,
07:15including a heroin overdose
07:17and deaths from a synthetic drug
07:19purchased on the site.
07:21Ulbricht was arrested on October 1st, 2013
07:24at a public library in San Francisco
07:27while he was logged into the administrative section
07:31of the Silk Road site.
07:33During his trial,
07:34Ulbricht was incarcerated
07:35at the Metropolitan Correctional Center
07:38but was later moved to another facility
07:40when conditions were revealed.
07:43On May 29th, 2015,
07:45Ulbricht was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms
07:49plus 40 years
07:50to be served concurrently
07:52without the possibility of parole
07:54and was also ordered to forfeit
07:57approximately $183 million.
08:01He was later pardoned by President Donald Trump
08:04and released from BOP custody.
08:07Number 11, Ahmad Khan Rahimi.
08:11In the early morning,
08:12a pipe bomb he planted
08:13detonated along the route
08:15of a Marine Corps Charity 5K race.
08:18However, the race had been delayed,
08:21preventing injuries.
08:23In the evening,
08:23he planted a pressure cooker bomb
08:25near 135 West 23rd Street,
08:29which detonated approximately 30 minutes later,
08:33injuring more than 30 people
08:34and causing significant property damage.
08:37He also planted a second pressure cooker device
08:41a few blocks away
08:42at 131 West 27th Street,
08:45which was discovered and disabled
08:48before it could explode.
08:50On September 18th,
08:51six additional improvised explosive devices
08:54he planted were found in a backpack
08:56at a New Jersey transit station.
08:59One of these devices detonated
09:01while law enforcement was using a robot
09:03to defuse it.
09:04On September 19th, 2016,
09:07Rahimi was arrested in Linden, New Jersey
09:10after a shootout with police.
09:12He fired multiple shots at officers,
09:15striking and injuring several,
09:17before being shot, subdued and arrested.
09:20A handwritten journal recovered from him
09:22during his arrest included mentions
09:24of explosive devices
09:25and laudatory references
09:27to Osama bin Laden
09:29and Anwar al-Awlaki.
09:31While in custody at the MCC,
09:34he reportedly attempted
09:35to radicalise fellow inmates,
09:37providing them with terrorist propaganda
09:40and jihadist materials,
09:42and was moved to ADX Florence
09:45after his trial.
09:47Number 10, Bernie Madoff.
09:49Madoff's primary crime
09:50was running a massive Ponzi scheme.
09:53This scheme involved taking money
09:55from new investors
09:55to pay fabricated returns
09:57to earlier investors,
09:59rather than generating actual profits
10:01through legitimate investments.
10:04For decades,
10:05investors received consistent,
10:07positive returns on paper,
10:09leading many to believe
10:11in Madoff's extraordinary
10:12financial acumen.
10:14In reality,
10:15he was simply depositing client funds
10:17into a single bank account
10:19and using new money
10:20to cover withdrawals
10:22and pay returns.
10:24His fraud unravelled
10:25in December 2008,
10:27when amidst the global financial crisis,
10:30a large number of investors
10:32sought to withdraw their funds,
10:34and Madoff could not meet the demands
10:37as the flow of new money
10:38had dried up.
10:40He confessed the fraud
10:41to his sons,
10:42who then reported him
10:43to federal authorities,
10:45who found the estimated losses
10:47from his scheme,
10:48ranged from approximately
10:49$50 billion
10:50to $65 billion
10:52in purported assets.
10:55Bernie Madoff was arrested
10:57on December 11, 2008,
10:59and held at the MCC
11:01while he stood trial
11:02in New York.
11:04On June 29, 2009,
11:06he was sentenced
11:07to 150 years
11:09in federal prison,
11:10the maximum sentence
11:11allowed for his crimes.
11:13He was also ordered
11:14to pay restitution
11:15of approximately
11:16$170 billion,
11:18though most of the stolen funds
11:20were never recovered.
11:22He was incarcerated
11:23at the Federal Correctional Complex
11:25Botner in North Carolina
11:27and died in prison
11:28at the age of 82
11:29on April 14, 2021,
11:33from chronic kidney disease.
11:36Number 9.
11:37Daryl Campbell
11:38Campbell, also known as Taxstone,
11:41is a hip-hop podcast personality
11:43convicted for a shooting
11:45at Irving Plaza
11:46in New York City.
11:48Campbell had a long-standing feud
11:50with rapper Roland Collins,
11:52also known as Troy Ave.
11:55During a confrontation
11:56in the green room
11:57at Irving Plaza,
11:58Campbell pulled out a gun
11:59and shot Ronald Banga McFatter,
12:02a bodyguard for Collins,
12:04in the chest,
12:05killing him.
12:06Campbell then struggled
12:07with Collins
12:07for control of the gun
12:09and shot Collins in both legs.
12:11Three other people
12:12were also injured
12:13in the incident.
12:14Campbell was arrested
12:15on January 17, 2017.
12:19In March 2023,
12:20a New York State Supreme Court jury
12:22found Campbell guilty
12:23of multiple charges.
12:25Prior to this,
12:26in June 2017,
12:28Campbell pleaded guilty
12:29to two federal weapons charges
12:31related to illegally possessing
12:33a semi-automatic handgun
12:35at Irving Plaza.
12:37He had a prior felony conviction,
12:40making it illegal for him
12:41to possess firearms.
12:43As of March 2025,
12:46there are reports
12:47that Daryl Campbell,
12:48while in federal custody
12:50at the Metropolitan Detention Centre,
12:53MDC Brooklyn,
12:55was charged with conspiracy
12:57to smuggle contraband
12:58into the facility.
13:00This involved allegedly
13:02using a contraband cell phone
13:04to orchestrate a scheme
13:06to pull contraband,
13:07such as suboxone,
13:09marijuana,
13:10and a scalpel,
13:11into the prison
13:12from outside.
13:13He was later sentenced
13:14to 35 years in prison.
13:17Number 8,
13:18Salvatore Gravano.
13:20Salvatore,
13:21Sammy the Bull.
13:22Gravano is a former
13:24underboss
13:24of the Gambino crime family,
13:27who gained notoriety
13:28for turning government witness
13:30against his former boss,
13:33John Gotti.
13:34As part of his
13:35cooperation agreement,
13:36Gravano confessed
13:37to involvement
13:38in at least 19 murders,
13:41including that
13:41of a 16-year-old boy.
13:44He also admitted
13:45to being involved
13:46in the murder
13:46of his brother-in-law,
13:47Nicholas Little Nicky Sibeta.
13:50He was involved
13:51in orchestrating
13:52or participating
13:53in numerous other killings
13:55within the Gambino family,
13:57including the 1985 murder
13:59of then-Gambino boss
14:01Paul Castellano.
14:03Early in his criminal career,
14:04he was involved
14:05in larceny,
14:06hijacking,
14:07and armed robbery.
14:09Later,
14:10he rose through the ranks
14:11of the Gambino family,
14:13participating in their
14:14various illicit businesses,
14:17including mobbed-up
14:18construction businesses
14:19in New York City.
14:21After leaving
14:22witness protection,
14:23Gravano became involved
14:25in running a large-scale
14:26ecstasy trafficking
14:28organisation in Arizona
14:29in the late 1990s.
14:32This ring reportedly
14:33grossed around
14:34$500,000 a week.
14:36He was indicted
14:37on drug trafficking charges
14:39in 2000,
14:40along with his son
14:41and others.
14:42He pleaded guilty
14:43to charges including
14:44conspiracy to sell
14:45dangerous drugs,
14:46participating in
14:47a criminal syndicate,
14:49illegal enterprise,
14:50money laundering,
14:51and misconduct
14:52involving weapons.
14:54He was indicted
14:55along with John Gotti
14:56in the late 1980s
14:58and early 1990s,
15:00however.
15:01In October 1991,
15:03he agreed to cooperate
15:04with the government
15:05and testify against
15:07John Gotti
15:08and dozens of other
15:09mobsters.
15:10For his testimony,
15:11which led to
15:12approximately 37 convictions,
15:15a federal judge
15:16in 1994
15:17sentenced him
15:17to five years
15:18in prison
15:19for his admitted
15:20involvement
15:21in 19 murders
15:22and other crimes.
15:24In 2001,
15:25he pleaded guilty
15:26to charges
15:27related to the
15:28ecstasy trafficking ring
15:30and was sentenced
15:31in New York
15:32to 20 years
15:33in prison,
15:34followed by a
15:3519-year sentence
15:36in Arizona,
15:37which was handed down
15:38a month later.
15:40Number 7,
15:41Ahmed Kalfan Gailani.
15:43On August 7,
15:451998,
15:46twin bombings
15:47occurred at the
15:47US embassies
15:48in Nairobi,
15:49Kenya
15:49and Dar es Salaam,
15:52Tanzania.
15:53These attacks
15:54resulted in the
15:55deaths of 224 people
15:57and injured
15:58thousands more.
16:00Gailani played
16:01a key role
16:02in the Dar es Salaam
16:03bombing.
16:04He purchased
16:05explosives,
16:06detonators
16:07and detonation cord,
16:09transporting them
16:09to Dar es Salaam.
16:11He obtained
16:12a cellular telephone
16:13to facilitate
16:14communications
16:15for the bombing group
16:16and along with
16:17another individual,
16:18purchased the
16:18refrigeration truck
16:20used in the bombing
16:20and arranged
16:22for its alterations
16:23to accommodate
16:24the bomb.
16:25He escorted
16:25the bomb engineer
16:26between Dar es Salaam
16:28and Kenya
16:28and surveyed
16:29the targeted
16:30embassy site.
16:32He also escorted
16:33the suicide driver
16:34for the bombing
16:35from Mombasa
16:36to Dar es Salaam
16:38and checked him
16:39into a hotel.
16:40The day before
16:41the bombings
16:41Gailani used
16:43a fake passport
16:44to fly from
16:45Nairobi, Kenya
16:46to Pakistan
16:47as part of
16:48a coordinated escape.
16:50He was indicted
16:51in the United States
16:52as a participant
16:53in the 1998 bombings.
16:56In November 2010
16:58a jury found him
16:59guilty of one
17:00count of conspiracy
17:02to destroy
17:03buildings and property
17:04of the United States
17:05resulting in death.
17:07Gailani was apprehended
17:09on July 25th 2004
17:11in Gujarat, Pakistan
17:13following a significant
17:15battle between
17:16security officials
17:18and terrorists.
17:19Subsequently held
17:21at secret CIA
17:22black sites
17:23for years
17:24before being transferred
17:25to Guantanamo Bay
17:27detention camp
17:28in September 2006.
17:30he was one of 14
17:32Guantanamo detainees
17:34who had previously
17:36been held
17:37at secret locations
17:38abroad.
17:39In June 2009
17:41Gailani became
17:42the first prisoner
17:43from Guantanamo Bay
17:45to be transferred
17:46to the
17:47Metropolitan Correctional
17:49Center for Prosecution
17:50in a civilian
17:52New York court.
17:53On January 25th 2011
17:56a federal judge
17:58in Manhattan
17:58sentenced
17:59Ahmed Khalfan Gailani
18:01to life in prison
18:03for his role
18:04in the 1998
18:05embassy bombings
18:06and he is currently
18:08imprisoned
18:08at United States
18:10Penitentiary
18:11McCreary.
18:12Number 6
18:13Omar Abdel Rahman
18:15Abdel Rahman
18:16was the leader
18:17of Al-Jama'a
18:19Al-Islamiyah
18:20a militant movement.
18:22His prosecution
18:23in the US
18:24stemmed from
18:24investigations
18:25following the
18:261993 World Trade
18:28Center bombing
18:29although he was
18:30not directly
18:31convicted of
18:32that bombing.
18:33In 1995
18:34Abdel Rahman
18:35and nine
18:36co-defendants
18:37were convicted
18:38of seditious
18:39conspiracy.
18:40This conviction
18:41was based on
18:41proving that he
18:42conspired to
18:43overthrow
18:44or put down
18:45or destroy
18:46by force
18:47the government
18:47of the United States.
18:49The specific
18:50plots he was
18:51found guilty
18:52of conspiring
18:52to commit
18:53included bombing
18:54a series of
18:55prominent targets
18:56in New York City
18:57such as the
18:58George Washington
18:59Bridge,
19:00the Lincoln
19:00and Holland
19:01Tunnels
19:01and the
19:02United Nations
19:03Headquarters.
19:05It also
19:05included the
19:06solicitation to
19:07murder Egyptian
19:08President Hosni
19:09Mubarak,
19:10solicitation to
19:11attack a US
19:12military installation
19:14and conspiracy
19:15to conduct
19:16bombings.
19:17He was held
19:18at the MCC
19:19during his trial
19:20hospital and
19:21to limit his
19:21ability to
19:22direct operations
19:23from prison,
19:24officials
19:25restricted his
19:26communication
19:26with the
19:27outside world.
19:28His attorney
19:29Lynn Stewart
19:30was later
19:30convicted in
19:312005 for
19:32helping him
19:33pass messages
19:34to his
19:35followers.
19:35Omar Abdel Rahman
19:37died in prison
19:38on February
19:3918th,
19:402017
19:40at the age
19:42of 78
19:43due to
19:44natural causes,
19:45specifically
19:46from complications
19:47of diabetes
19:48and coronary
19:49artery disease.
19:51Number 5
19:52Victor Bout
19:53Often dubbed
19:54the merchant
19:55of death,
19:55Bout is a
19:56Russian arms
19:57dealer notorious
19:58for allegedly
19:59supplying weapons
20:00to various
20:01conflict zones
20:02and rogue
20:03regimes worldwide.
20:04Bout was the
20:05subject of
20:06international
20:06attention for
20:07decades due
20:08to his
20:09suspected
20:10involvement
20:10in illicit
20:11arms trafficking.
20:13However,
20:13he was formally
20:14convicted in the
20:15United States
20:15based on a
20:16specific sting
20:17operation.
20:18In a 2008
20:20US Drug Enforcement
20:21Administration
20:22sting operation,
20:23Bout was
20:24arrested in
20:25Thailand.
20:26Undercover agents
20:26posed as
20:27representatives of
20:28the Revolutionary
20:29Armed Forces
20:30of Colombia,
20:31a designated
20:32foreign terrorist
20:33organisation at
20:34the time.
20:35During recorded
20:36meetings,
20:36Bout agreed to
20:37sell them a
20:38vast arsenal of
20:39military-grade
20:40weapons,
20:41with the
20:42understanding that
20:42these weapons
20:43would be used
20:44to attack
20:45American
20:45helicopters and
20:47personnel in
20:48Colombia.
20:49Bout was
20:50arrested in
20:50Bangkok,
20:51Thailand in
20:52March 2008,
20:54extradited to
20:55the United
20:55States in
20:56November 2010,
20:58was held at
20:59MCC for
21:00trial and
21:01later served
21:02his sentence
21:03at the United
21:04States Penitentiary
21:05Marion, a
21:07medium-security
21:08federal prison
21:09in Illinois.
21:11Bout was
21:11released on
21:12December 8th,
21:132022, as
21:15part of a
21:16prisoner exchange
21:17with the
21:17United States
21:18for American
21:19basketball player
21:21Brittany Griner,
21:23who had been
21:23imprisoned in
21:24Russia on
21:25drug charges.
21:26Bout had
21:27served approximately
21:2810 years of
21:29his 25-year
21:30sentence.
21:31Number 4,
21:32Michael Avenatti.
21:34In March
21:342019,
21:36Avenatti was
21:37arrested in
21:37New York,
21:38and charged
21:39with attempting
21:39to extort up
21:40to $25
21:41million from
21:42Nike.
21:43He allegedly
21:44threatened to
21:44expose damaging
21:45information about
21:46the company
21:47regarding improper
21:49payments to
21:49high school
21:50basketball players
21:51if Nike did
21:53not pay him
21:53a large sum.
21:55He was convicted
21:55in February 2020
21:57on all three
21:58counts related to
21:59this attempted
22:00extortion,
22:01extortion,
22:02communications with
22:03intent to extort,
22:05and wire fraud.
22:06Avenatti pleaded
22:07guilty in June
22:092022 to
22:10charges in
22:11California related
22:12to stealing
22:13millions of
22:14dollars from
22:14several of his
22:15clients.
22:16He would
22:17negotiate
22:17settlements on
22:18their behalf,
22:19conceal the
22:20true terms of
22:21the settlement,
22:22and then divert
22:23the funds for
22:24his own use,
22:26often to support
22:27an extravagant
22:28lifestyle that
22:29included a
22:30private jet
22:31and race cars.
22:32One notable
22:33victim was a
22:34paraplegic man
22:35with mental
22:36health issues
22:36from whom
22:37Avenatti stole
22:38a $4 million
22:40settlement.
22:41He also
22:42pleaded guilty
22:42to obstructing
22:43the IRS's
22:44efforts to
22:45collect $3.2
22:46million in
22:47payroll taxes
22:48from his
22:49coffee business.
22:50In a separate
22:51case, Avenatti
22:52was convicted
22:53of wire fraud
22:54and aggravated
22:55identity theft
22:56for stealing
22:57a portion
22:58of the book
22:59advance that
23:00was owed
23:00to his former
23:01client Stormy
23:03Daniels.
23:03For the Nike
23:04extortion case,
23:05he was sentenced
23:06to 30 months
23:07in prison in
23:08July 2021.
23:10For the theft
23:11of Stormy
23:12Daniels' book
23:13Proceeds,
23:14he got four
23:15years and for
23:16the client fraud
23:17and embezzlement
23:17charges, he got
23:19just over 11
23:20years on appeal.
23:22He served time
23:23at both MCC
23:24and the majority
23:25of his sentence
23:26at FCI
23:27Terminal Island,
23:29where he is due
23:30for release in
23:31approximately 95
23:33more months,
23:34with credit
23:35for time served
23:36added on to
23:37his sentence.
23:39Number three,
23:40Abu Hamza
23:41al-Masri.
23:42An Egyptian-born
23:43radical cleric
23:44who gained
23:45notoriety for
23:46his extremist
23:47sermons and
23:48involvement in
23:49international
23:50terrorism, Hamza
23:52is a double
23:52amputee and
23:54blind in one
23:55eye.
23:55Injuries, he
23:56claims, were
23:57sustained in
23:58Afghanistan.
23:59Hamza faced
24:00convictions in
24:01both the
24:01United Kingdom
24:02and the
24:03United States
24:03for various
24:05terrorism-related
24:06offences and
24:07was convicted
24:08by a British
24:09court in 2006
24:11on several
24:12charges.
24:13After an
24:13eight-year legal
24:14battle, Abu
24:16Hamza was
24:16extradited from
24:17the UK to
24:18the US in
24:192012 to face
24:22more severe
24:22terrorism charges.
24:24In May 2014,
24:26a jury in
24:27Manhattan convicted
24:28him on 11
24:29terrorism counts.
24:31While on trial,
24:32he resided at
24:33the MCC in
24:34solitary confinement
24:35and in January
24:372015, a US
24:39federal judge in
24:41Manhattan sentenced
24:42him to life
24:43imprisonment without
24:44the possibility of
24:46parole.
24:47He is currently
24:48incarcerated at
24:49ADX Florence,
24:50the federal
24:51supermax prison in
24:53Florence, Colorado,
24:54which houses some
24:56of the most
24:56dangerous and
24:57high-profile
24:58inmates in the
24:59US federal
25:00prison system.
25:02Number two,
25:02John Gotti.
25:04Famously known
25:05as the Teflon
25:06Don, due to his
25:07uncanny ability to
25:08evade conviction
25:09for years,
25:11Gotti was an
25:12American mobster
25:13who rose to
25:13become the boss
25:14of the Gambino
25:15crime family,
25:17one of the five
25:18powerful mafia
25:19families in New
25:20York City.
25:21His involvement
25:22in crime began
25:23early, including
25:24petty offences,
25:26street fighting
25:26and car theft.
25:28He served his
25:29first major
25:30sentence in 1968
25:31for hijacking
25:33trucks at John
25:33F. Kennedy
25:34Airport, for
25:35which he received
25:36a three-year
25:37prison term.
25:38As he ascended
25:39through the
25:39Gambino family,
25:41Gotti engaged in
25:42numerous illegal
25:43enterprises,
25:44including
25:45racketeering,
25:46loan sharking,
25:47illegal gambling
25:48and extortion.
25:50Gotti's most
25:51infamous crime
25:52was orchestrating
25:53the assassination
25:53of then Gambino
25:55boss Paul
25:56Castellano and
25:58his underboss
25:58Thomas Bellotti
25:59in December
26:001985, outside
26:03Spark Steakhouse
26:05in Manhattan.
26:06This hit, which
26:07was unsanctioned
26:08by the mafia
26:09commission, allowed
26:10Gotti to seize
26:11control of the
26:12Gambino family,
26:14and for several
26:15years in the
26:151980s, Gotti
26:17managed to avoid
26:19conviction.
26:19The FBI, determined
26:21to bring Gotti
26:22down, intensified
26:24its efforts,
26:25utilising extensive
26:27electronic surveillance
26:28and eventually
26:29securing the
26:30cooperation of his
26:31underboss,
26:33Salvatore, Sammy
26:34the Bull, Gravano.
26:37Gravano's testimony,
26:39which admitted to
26:3919 murders along
26:41with incriminating
26:42wiretapped
26:42conversations from
26:43Gotti's social club,
26:45proved crucial.
26:46In April 1992,
26:48Gotti was convicted
26:49on 13 federal
26:51counts.
26:52Number one,
26:53Joaquin El Chapo
26:54Guzman, the
26:56Mexican drug lord
26:57who was coached by
26:58the famous Pablo
26:59Escobar.
27:00Guzman was the
27:01long-time leader of
27:03the Sinaloa cartel,
27:04one of the world's
27:05most powerful and
27:07ruthless drug
27:07trafficking organisations.
27:09Guzman's criminal
27:10activities spanned
27:12decades, primarily
27:14centred around
27:15drug trafficking
27:16but also
27:17encompassing a
27:18wide array
27:19of related
27:20illicit acts.
27:22The evidence
27:22presented at his
27:23US trial detailed
27:24his leadership
27:25of the Sinaloa
27:27cartel, which
27:28was responsible
27:29for importing
27:30and distributing
27:31enormous quantities
27:33of narcotics.
27:34His cartel
27:35moved these drugs
27:36into the United
27:37States using
27:37various sophisticated
27:39methods, such as
27:40submarines, carbon
27:42fibre airplanes,
27:44trains with secret
27:45compartments and
27:46transnational
27:47underground tunnels.
27:49Guzman oversaw
27:51Sicarios, who
27:52carried out hundreds
27:53of violent acts
27:54in Mexico to
27:56maintain the
27:57Sinaloa cartel's
27:58territorial control
27:59and eliminate
28:01rivals.
28:02Co-conspirators
28:03testified that he
28:04directed hitmen to
28:05kidnap, interrogate,
28:07torture and execute
28:09members of rival
28:10organisations, and
28:12at times he
28:13participated in
28:14acts of violence
28:15himself.
28:16He used a complex
28:17encrypted communication
28:18system to operate
28:20his global
28:21narcotics trafficking,
28:23even paying an
28:24IT engineer a
28:26million dollars to
28:27set up a secure
28:28network to
28:29communicate with
28:30associates worldwide
28:32without fear of
28:33interception.
28:34To further the
28:35cartel's interests,
28:37Guzman and his
28:38organisation exploited
28:40a vast network of
28:41corrupt government
28:42officials, ranging
28:44from local law
28:45enforcement to
28:46high-ranking military
28:47members and
28:48politicians.
28:49These officials
28:50received millions in
28:51bribes, often
28:52warning Guzman of
28:53impending law
28:54enforcement operations,
28:56which allowed him to
28:57evade capture
28:58multiple times, and
29:00he was involved in
29:01laundering the vast
29:02proceeds.
29:03Guzman has had a
29:05complex history of
29:06captures and daring
29:07escapes before his
29:08final incarceration in
29:10the US.
29:10He was first captured
29:11in Guatemala in
29:121993 and extradited
29:15to Mexico, where he
29:17was imprisoned.
29:18However, in 2001, he
29:20made his first escape
29:21from a maximum
29:22security prison,
29:24reportedly by bribing
29:26prison officials and
29:27hiding in a laundry
29:28cart.
29:29He was recaptured in
29:30Mazatlan, Mexico, in
29:32February 2014, and
29:34was placed in the
29:35Altiplano Federal
29:37Maximum Security
29:38Prison, but in
29:39July 2015, he
29:42achieved his most
29:43audacious escape
29:44through a mile-long
29:45tunnel that led
29:47directly from his
29:48cell's shower area
29:49to a house outside
29:51the prison.
29:52He was recaptured in
29:53January 2016 in
29:55Los Mochis, Sinaloa,
29:58after a fierce shootout
29:59with Mexican Marines.
30:01In January 2017, he
30:03was extradited to the
30:04United States to face
30:05charges.
30:06Held in 10 south wing
30:08of the MCC, he was
30:09considered too dangerous
30:11to have any human
30:12contact, and any
30:13meeting with his legal
30:14team was strictly
30:15controlled and
30:16monitored.
30:17Following his
30:18conviction on July
30:1917th, 2019, he was
30:22ordered to forfeit
30:23assets worth more
30:24than $12.6 billion
30:26and sentenced Guzman to
30:29life imprisonment plus
30:3130 years without the
30:33possibility of parole.
30:35One prison he will
30:36never escape from is the
30:38Federal Supermax
30:39Prison in Florence,
30:41Colorado, which is
30:42designed to hold the
30:44most dangerous and
30:45high-risk inmates in the
30:47US federal system,
30:49ensuring minimal
30:50contact with the
30:51outside world.
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