The e-mail that lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent to friends at 3:50 a.m. EST Wednesday before going to prison. E-mail addresses and the timing of his family's visits have been deleted to protect their privacy.
Subject: My last email for a while
My dear friends,
I hope that you will forgive the impersonal nature of this email. I write this to you on the eve of my incarceration. I am not sure how long I will be in prison, but hope that it is not too long before we have a chance to see each other again.
First, I wanted to thank you for standing by Pam, the kids and me during this very difficult period. Unfortunately, things are going to get worse (starting today no doubt) before they get better, but I am confident that ultimately the turmoil will subside and we will have our lives back. One day, G-D willing, we will know why all of this had to happen. In the meantime, we soldier on, bolstered in no small measure by your friendship.
Several friends have inquired as to how to stay in contact during this next phase. Though I am grateful for this interest and would of course be thrilled by any contact, I hope that no one will feel at all obligated to be in touch during this time. Having said that, here is the situation.
The questions I have been asked revolve around the following topics: mail, visits, telephone and email.
Mail. Mail is probably the easiest way to stay in touch. Unfortunately, this means snail mail through the good old US Post Office. The federal prison system permits inmates to receive letters, photos and periodicals, but thats pretty much it. Unfortunately, if anything else is sent, it will either be destroyed or returned to you. As for letters, please bear in mind that the authorities have the right (and in my case probably will use it) to read all incoming and outgoing mail. Also, I almost certainly will want to write back to you and, since I dont know whether they are going to limit our stamps, envelopes and paper, if possible, perhaps you could include a self addressed, stamped return envelope and even a blank sheet of paper in that envelope. I am not sure that the return envelope will make it to me, but if not, youll know as soon as you get my return letter. In any event, as you can imagine, I will be beyond grateful for any mail from you. Here is my address at the prison:
JACK ABRAMOFF
REGISTER NUMBER: 27593-112
FPC - P.O. BOX 1300
CUMBERLAND, MD 21501-1300
Visits. I am permitted visits by people whose names are submitted to the prison. Those who would be willing to visit must be checked out by the Bureau of Prisons and approved. They will permit me to have only ten persons listed on my visitors list at any one time, so if you are willing to make the trek to Cumberland, please email my attorney, Pam Marple ( ------), Pam Abramoff ( ---------) or Laura Lippy ( ------) and they will help coordinate. Visiting hours are limited to Friday evenings, Saturday mornings, Sunday mornings and Monday evenings. I anticipate my family visiting on ------days, so we would need to coordinate if you think you can visit me. Also, they permit visits on federal holidays. In any event, please know that I certainly understand that visiting me would be a tremendous hardship and I would in no way be offended if people chose to wait until my release before getting together. By the way, the Bureau of Prisons web site (http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/cum/index.jsp) has all the rules about visiting.
Telephone. Like visits, telephone contact is also made difficult by the system. They permit up to 30 names on a call list and limit calls to no more than 15 minutes, with a grand total of 300 minutes per month. Thats if you can get to a phone, of course. Like most federal prisons, Cumberland has far more inmates than the prison can hold. There are few phones available and long lines, so the likelihood of our chatting on the phone is not great unfortunately for me. I hope you will forgive me if I am unable to call you during this period, but once I am out, I will only be limited by how long my voice holds up (and time zone considerations). If you need to speak with me, however, please do not hesitate to contact Pam Abramoff or Pam Marple and they will see if it can be arranged. Please bear in mind, though, that I am not permitted to conduct any ongoing business while in prison, and plan to be even stricter on myself than the rules require. Also, like the mail, the authorities have the right to listen to all telephone calls. Thanks.
Email. I saved the easiest topic for last. Simply, there is no email. There is no internet access and there are no computers. If I am lucky, I will have access to an electronic, or possibly manual, typewriter, but even that is not certain. I hope they offer penmanship classes!
In closing, I hope that we will all have a chance to be together after all of this is over. This nightmare has gone on for almost 3 years so far and I expect we are not even half way through. I have learned more lessons in the past 3 years than I have my whole life, and I am hoping that my family and I can see the good in G-Ds plan for us during these times, and gain strength from it. I hope that He blesses you in all your endeavors and keeps you and your family safe.
Yours faithfully,
Jack Abramoff
Subject: My last email for a while
My dear friends,
I hope that you will forgive the impersonal nature of this email. I write this to you on the eve of my incarceration. I am not sure how long I will be in prison, but hope that it is not too long before we have a chance to see each other again.
First, I wanted to thank you for standing by Pam, the kids and me during this very difficult period. Unfortunately, things are going to get worse (starting today no doubt) before they get better, but I am confident that ultimately the turmoil will subside and we will have our lives back. One day, G-D willing, we will know why all of this had to happen. In the meantime, we soldier on, bolstered in no small measure by your friendship.
Several friends have inquired as to how to stay in contact during this next phase. Though I am grateful for this interest and would of course be thrilled by any contact, I hope that no one will feel at all obligated to be in touch during this time. Having said that, here is the situation.
The questions I have been asked revolve around the following topics: mail, visits, telephone and email.
Mail. Mail is probably the easiest way to stay in touch. Unfortunately, this means snail mail through the good old US Post Office. The federal prison system permits inmates to receive letters, photos and periodicals, but thats pretty much it. Unfortunately, if anything else is sent, it will either be destroyed or returned to you. As for letters, please bear in mind that the authorities have the right (and in my case probably will use it) to read all incoming and outgoing mail. Also, I almost certainly will want to write back to you and, since I dont know whether they are going to limit our stamps, envelopes and paper, if possible, perhaps you could include a self addressed, stamped return envelope and even a blank sheet of paper in that envelope. I am not sure that the return envelope will make it to me, but if not, youll know as soon as you get my return letter. In any event, as you can imagine, I will be beyond grateful for any mail from you. Here is my address at the prison:
JACK ABRAMOFF
REGISTER NUMBER: 27593-112
FPC - P.O. BOX 1300
CUMBERLAND, MD 21501-1300
Visits. I am permitted visits by people whose names are submitted to the prison. Those who would be willing to visit must be checked out by the Bureau of Prisons and approved. They will permit me to have only ten persons listed on my visitors list at any one time, so if you are willing to make the trek to Cumberland, please email my attorney, Pam Marple ( ------), Pam Abramoff ( ---------) or Laura Lippy ( ------) and they will help coordinate. Visiting hours are limited to Friday evenings, Saturday mornings, Sunday mornings and Monday evenings. I anticipate my family visiting on ------days, so we would need to coordinate if you think you can visit me. Also, they permit visits on federal holidays. In any event, please know that I certainly understand that visiting me would be a tremendous hardship and I would in no way be offended if people chose to wait until my release before getting together. By the way, the Bureau of Prisons web site (http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/cum/index.jsp) has all the rules about visiting.
Telephone. Like visits, telephone contact is also made difficult by the system. They permit up to 30 names on a call list and limit calls to no more than 15 minutes, with a grand total of 300 minutes per month. Thats if you can get to a phone, of course. Like most federal prisons, Cumberland has far more inmates than the prison can hold. There are few phones available and long lines, so the likelihood of our chatting on the phone is not great unfortunately for me. I hope you will forgive me if I am unable to call you during this period, but once I am out, I will only be limited by how long my voice holds up (and time zone considerations). If you need to speak with me, however, please do not hesitate to contact Pam Abramoff or Pam Marple and they will see if it can be arranged. Please bear in mind, though, that I am not permitted to conduct any ongoing business while in prison, and plan to be even stricter on myself than the rules require. Also, like the mail, the authorities have the right to listen to all telephone calls. Thanks.
Email. I saved the easiest topic for last. Simply, there is no email. There is no internet access and there are no computers. If I am lucky, I will have access to an electronic, or possibly manual, typewriter, but even that is not certain. I hope they offer penmanship classes!
In closing, I hope that we will all have a chance to be together after all of this is over. This nightmare has gone on for almost 3 years so far and I expect we are not even half way through. I have learned more lessons in the past 3 years than I have my whole life, and I am hoping that my family and I can see the good in G-Ds plan for us during these times, and gain strength from it. I hope that He blesses you in all your endeavors and keeps you and your family safe.
Yours faithfully,
Jack Abramoff
