Report: Blagojevich To Serve Sentence In Colorado
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's official. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich will serve his 14-year prison sentence at the Colorado facility he had requested.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Blagojevich received word from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in recent days that he will be assigned to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., 15 miles southwest of Denver.
The Englewood facility topped Money Magazine's list of "Best Places to Go to Prison."
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U.S. District Judge James Zagel had agreed to recommend that facility for Blagojevich's prison term, but the final decision was up to federal prison officials.
Larry Warner, the former co-defendant of former Gov. George Ryan, tells the Tribune an adjoining work camp at the prison is surrounded by beautiful woods and wildlife, but Blagojevich likely won't get much of a chance to see any of that unless he is transferred from the prison to the camp.
The judge has also agreed to recommend that Blagojevich be enrolled in a substance abuse program while he's behind bars. If he goes through the program, he could cut his sentence by as much as a year.
The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Blagojevich developed a drinking problem as he was going through his federal trial on corruption charges. He was convicted of 18 corruption counts after two trials and, last December, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Blagojevich's attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, tells WBBM Newsradio there is no truth to the claim that the deposed governor's wife, Patti, and his two daughters, plan to move to Colorado to be closer to him.
