Michael Belfiore, DO, is a doctor from New York that was attacked in 2013, convicted in 2017, and sent to prison for 23 years.  He was one of the first cases I wrote a post about. You can see my post HERE.  We are in communication through email.  He sent out an email and gave me permission to post it.  It really shows how the Justice System works, and how the FBOP works.  This is why I came out of prison and started working to end this atrocity. At that time in 2016 there was only the US Pain Foundation as an advocate that I could find. But then other “advocates” first worked with me, then broke away to form their own group, splintering the effort, and they started chasing the rabbits, like the CDC guidelines. People, you have to understand that we have to end this and free all these doctors, give them their lives back, and end the government created drug crisis.  The answer is here, on Doctorsofcourage.  But until you do, more doctors will suffer these consequences.

Dr. Belfiore’s Message From Prison:

My new mantra is “if you don’t have at least one major disappointment every day, something is wrong.”

Just to bring you up to speed, my appeal was denied. The 3 judges who reviewed the trial, reviewed the issues that my court appointed attorney had brought up and the new laws that should have worked in my favor, it was their opinion that arguments were not valid and they made it so that I couldn’t petition the Supreme Court to take it to the highest level. If I could have summarized what they had said, it was very political, not legal. But that’s our justice system. I am currently working on a motion to prove that I had inefficient and inept counsel for my trial. Another attorney is helping me with it. I have a sick feeling that this will be another classic waste of time and emotion as so far everything I’ve done so far in an attempt to defend myself. This motion from what I’ve seen and been told turns out to be a disaster because the law says if an attorney was present, that’s all you need. He could have been drunk, sick, asleep, or barely breathing. The law feels that you still had an attorney. This motion has to fail in order to apply for a Presidential pardon. All of this post-conviction remedy silliness is a joke. If any of it worked, the prisons would be empty. Now I see why hardly anyone takes their cases to trial, and those who take their cases to trial all but a few lose. Other than the Jan 6ers and Trump’s friends, I don’t see many people getting pardoned (It also helps if you have celebrity endorsement).

The changes made to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) have done nothing to benefit us as of yet. There is too much publicity in shipping the illegals back to wherever and the gang members to El Salvador. The staff is really upset with their pay cuts as well. So far, all I see is a large number of people who don’t speak English and a whole bunch of guards that don’t want to work who were pro-Trump. They’re all upset because the President is putting the immigration courts to work as well cutting the guard’s retention bonuses. Now the guards have to work overtime to maintain that 6-figure income. How do you justify six figures when you have no education, no experience, and no people skills? The BOP is at the bottom of the list for effective government spending. There is too much crap going on right now in our government and how we’re treated is not a priority. The staff where I’m at now is not motivated to help us whatsoever.

Since the middle of February, life has really sucked big time. They moved me from Allenwood to Fort Dix in New Jersey. Why? They’re turning Allenwood into an immigration facility and they’re moving all the Americans out. They hurried to pack me out only to have to sit and wait for 2 weeks with no possessions. I had to live hand-to-mouth for that time not knowing where I was going or when I was leaving. I had to leave behind all but 5 of my books, as well as almost all of the clothes and commissary food that I had acquired over all the time I’ve spent as a guest of the BOP.

I can’t put a picture of Ft Dix in the post because they are copyrighted and not free to use. But you can go HERE to see pictures of the prison.

Since arriving at Fort Dix, when you first see it, the place accosts you like an unexpected slap in the face. The facility is as welcoming as being dropped in the ghetto. It is unorganized, overcrowded, and under-supervised. It’s the largest prison in the BOP. You would think an undertaking such as this would be the jewel in their crown. No way in Hell… The compound has buildings that are literally condemned. The buildings we live in are plagued with asbestos, black mold, collapsed ceilings from water damage, broken walls, and peeling lead paint to name a few. What adds to the effect is that the hallways often smell of smoke and urine, and also have an occasional junkie sleeping in them. Everything here for the most part is old and worn. I was reading that Fort Dix was used to house NAZI POW’s in the 40’s. My father was here in the 50’s before going to Korea. There is no air conditioning in the dorms. There was supposedly a deal made with a relative of a warden to either put excessive fencing all over both compounds making the low level compound look like a penitentiary or put air conditioning in the buildings. Guess what won out? The warden’s brother in law with the fencing company. The corruption not only here but within the entire BOP is absolutely ghastly.

My first 3 weeks at Fort Dix were definitely an exercise in shock, frustration, and exhaustion. Since arriving, the place was on continuous lockdown. I was fortunate that I at least had 3 other guys to talk to in the dorm. They further impressed me by shaking us down twice in 2 weeks. Our illustrious warden (she was moved here because she couldn’t handle smaller and more sedate Allenwood) said that illegal drugs were found in a unit on my side of the compound causing 3 cops to go to the hospital. This precipitated a massive shakedown with an overly aggressive cleanout of almost everything we owned by a special response team starting on March 18 through April 4th. The special response team took everything but failed to remove any cell phones which were mysteriously replaced on the same day. They used excessively aggressive and violent tactics that violate many BOP regulations, resulting in serious injuries to inmates. There was no inmate riot or resistance. Staff came in not wearing name tags with pellet guns causing panic among the masses. Inmates ended up with broken noses and other assorted injuries because they were there. If this was a contraband incident, what was it and where are the hospital and toxicology reports to prove it? Who authorized the use of brutal force before there was any inmate resistance? Was the use of force documented in accordance with federal policy?

When they finished with us, they went and tore apart the west compound using the same excuse, and since they didn’t let grass grow under their feet with their timing, did it all over again. This way no one could notify the regional offices in a quick and timely manner. After all of this cooled down, we were scheduled to come off lockdown. That Tuesday morning of the reopening, they found an inmate hanging in my dorm’s tv room. He was there most of the night, they missed counting him during the early morning counts? An investigation drew out the lockdown another 2 days. Then they discovered crystal meth (which should have been found during the shakedown) in another dorm. That investigation dragged out the lockdown another day and that week ended with a double-stabbing which, you guessed it, extended the lockdown. Then there was another hanging on the west side because another person couldn’t handle the undue stress thrown upon them as a result of this shakedown. During this time I was trying to get to the education department and ask for a job. The education cops first got pulled to do the west side shakedown for almost 10 days. Once everything opened up, they closed the library again because they found a ton of kiddy porn in a couple of the work areas in the classrooms. I just couldn’t win or get anywhere with anything.

Fort Dix and the BOP in general really and truly needs an overhaul, if not just get rid of it and let the private sector take it. Cory Booker can get up and talk for 24 hours straight about how bad El Salvadoran prisons are, but the damn fool has no clue how New Jersey prisons are run??? The drugs run rampant here and the drug programs are impotent at least. The medical department here with the exceptions of a couple of nurses and a dentist are a disgrace to the profession. The food is of poor quality and scant quantity. The facility as I had already mentioned is decrepit. The riff-raff here is full of low-brow, low-quality individuals, junkies and pedophiles. There is no programming available for someone like me. When I ask the question, “what do I do with the rest of my life here?” I’m told to “keep yourself busy.” That’s the quality of the counseling here. The DC area has no county or city jails so every violation there is federal. So the amount of drug addicts, gang bangers, and unruly individuals gets bigger by the day. Since there are little to few mental health hospitals left in the country, the BOP is the new dump for schizophrenics, people on the spectrum, junkies, all out crazies, or just being homeless. Someone should run a course on cleanliness, common courtesy, and manners here, at least these are skills that people can use on the outside. It’s scary and disgusting!!!

As you can tell, I’m having a blast here. I finally got the job teaching GED and I’ll be team-teaching a night class on health and medicine. This time, my co-teacher is a physician who graduated from the same med school I went to, and he’s here on similar charges that I have. I’m running out room on this email to go on and go deeper. I feel as though I’m digging out a latrine that’s overflowing.

So if you are aligned with other groups, know that this atrocity will continue.  If you really want it to end, then you have to learn what I teach, teach it to others, and help get the Controlled Substance Act repealed.  This is the only answer to the problem. State laws mean nothing. The CDC guidelines are used in trials, but trials would not happen without the CSA. The CSA is a racist, white-supremist bill to disenfranchise minorities and fill the prison cells. So it is everyone’s responsibility to learn the truth, pass it on, and get the CSA repealed. Doctors like Dr. Belfiore, Dr. Anand, Dr. Ibsen, and even your doctor someday, will depend on it, as well as all the pain patients they serve.