Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Prison System (FPS) and subsequently the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) are close working partners with the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services system. In the Executive Branch of the government, they are the agency between sentencing in the U.S. Courts and post-conviction supervision. This curator has worked closely with the BOP and once coordinated an unprecedented federal prison tour which included visiting USP Florence ADMAX, the only administrative security U.S. Penitentiary, in Florence CO.
14" plastic seal made by General Displays, Annandale, VA. From the estate of a retired BOP warden. The three Cs stand for Custody, Care, and Corrections. The Bureau's second seal, developed by BOP Director Norman A. Carlson, 1970-1987.
2 3/4" square reflective sticker made by Scotch in the USA. Used on riot helmets. The three Cs stand for Custody, Care, and Corrections. The BOP's second seal used 1970-1978.
Silver 5/8" pin with badge type pin clasp, marked B.B. Co., 10 KT GF. From a liquidated estate. Officer believed to have served at McNeil Island.
Silver 5/8" pin with badge type pin clasp, marked B.B. Co., 10 KT GF.
Gold 5/8" pin with badge type pin clasp, marked B.B. Co., 10 KT GF.
Web image.
Gold 9/16" service pin with badge type clasp. Marked 1/10-10K GF.
Gold 9/16" service pin with badge type clasp. Marked 1/10-10K GF.
Newer 9/16" service pin with pin and clutch type clasp. Not marked.
Older 9/16" service pin with badge type clasp. Marked 10K gold filled.
Newer 9/16" 25 years of service pin with pin and clutch type clasp. Marked 10K gold filled.
Newer 9/16" 30 years of service pin with pin and clutch type clasp. Unmarked, with "diamond chips."
Original 4 1/2" Foldger Adams key from FCI Greenville, Illinois. When the facility was activated in the early 1990s, the contractors compromised the security of the keys before turning them over to the BOP. Therefore, every door in the facility had to be rekeyed. This is one of those compromised keys. Provided by a senior BOP official, Washington DC.
BOP identification. Purchased from an inmate not under the supervision of this officer or the retired officer's district, via eBay. Along with the sale, Mr. Greenwald advised that he was sentenced in the Northern District of Oklahoma to 84 months prison and 3 years of supervised release on November 14, 2014. A U.S. attorney press release related that he was convicted of conspiracy to money launder, which was related to stealing and selling Verizon telecommunications equipment. Mr. Greenwald is also the author of Document Fraud and Other Crimes of Deception. Identification used in the museum with Mr. Greenwald's permission.
4 1/2" key found at a local estate in Chicago, Illinois, in 2016. It was at the house of a policeman who passed away.
One of a group of 4 3/4" keys found in a scrapyard in Killeen, TX.
Marked Bureau of Prisons key. Age and authenticity unknown.
Detail of key.
Current logo pin.
Current logo pin.
1 1/4" memorial "chit" honoring Osvaldo Albarati, who was murdered while driving home from MDC Guaynabo. Chits are used in the BOP to identify keys. Donation courtesy of Special Agent Stephen A. Buckler, Office of Internal Affairs, BOP.
The Mariel Cuban inmates at USP Atlanta made these die using a cube of soap, then dipped them in melted trash bags. The year 1986 is significant because it was the year before they took over the prison when the State Department announced that inmates would be sent back to Cuba.
Parking tag 4 3/4" x 2 3/4." Used between 2003 and 2006 at FCI Estill, SC. Donation courtesy of a Special Agent, Office of Internal Affairs, BOP, 2016.
Most recent button used on blazers. Made by the Waterbury Button Co., 7/8".
Huge 5 1/4" patch, produced by Vicki White Enterprises for the U.S. marshals who were in charge of the joint USMS, FBI, BOP, INSP task force that provided transportation security detail for Timothy McVeigh from Oklahoma to USP Terre Haute, Indiana, where he was put to death on 06/11/2001. McVeigh killed 168 people in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. Museum purchase 2018.
Operation Elm Tree was the name given to the security operation at USP Terre Haute, Indiana, for the execution of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 people in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. This patch was made for the FBI portion of the detail. The date on the patch is the execution date. Patch marked GMAN Emblem.
Louis Jones, a retired soldier, then a bus driver at Goodfellow Air Force Base, was found guilty in federal court and sentenced to death for the February 18, 1995, kidnapping and murder of 19-year-old Army Private Tracie McBride. The death sentence was carried out by lethal injection at USP Terre Haute.
Ms. McBride was in training with the 344th Military Intelligence Battalion. The 344th is known as "The Silent Sentinel," and their unit insignia was used in this 5" x 3 3/8" patch design. The date of the execution, 3-18-03, is noted on the center sunburst. The seven stars along the bottom of the patch represent the time of the execution, 7 a.m. The agencies involved are the BOP; USMS; FBI; Terre Haute PD; Indiana State Police; and Vigo County, SD.
Obverse of poker chip used as an incentive in English and Spanish. Most facilities have some item to give to inmates.
Reverse of poker chip used a an incentive. Most facilities have some item to give to inmates.
Obverse 1 1/2" plastic token, possibly from FCI Talladega.
Reverse 1 1/2" plastic token, possibly from FCI Talladega.
Web image of various BOP caps.
Leg irons manufactured by American Munitions, Chicago, IL, and used at USP Leavenworth in the 1940s and 1950s. An electric engraver was used to mark them. USPO purchase, and authentication by USP Leavenworth historian Kenneth LaMaster. Museum purchase 2019.
Closeup of USP Leavenworth engraving.
Although there is no way to prove the fact, the seller attributed these leg irons to having been worn by James Earl Ray, who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum purchase 2019.
Closeup of American Munitions, Chicago, IL, stamp. The engraved number is likely an inventory number.
Ray served four years at USP Leavenworth (1955-1959) after being convicted of mail fraud after stealing money orders in Hannibal, MO, then forging them to take a trip to Florida. Museum purchase 2019.
BOP tie clip used and donated by a recently retired officer.
National Academy of Corrections semi-bullion patch. Web image. Academy founded in 1981, in Colorado.
Vintage web image. Warder is an old term for a prison guard.
Web image. Free & Accepted Masons Lodge 244, Alma, MI. Button likely from a tour.
Web image.
Marked: B. Pasquale Co., Badges, Banners, Lapel Buttons.