"Little Siberia" Prison Break: A Case for Jack Marconi?

David Sweat and Richard Matt, on the lamb in Upstate NY

More than a few readers have asked me if I'm going to write about the elaborate, "Shawshank Redemption" style prison break that occurred a few days ago at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in Dennemora, NY, which is located approximately 25 miles from the Canadian border at Montreal. Dubbed, "Little Siberia" by the inmates and security guards (corrections officers) alike, the place is pretty much a frozen hellhole during the winter and a frying pan during the summer months. An escape hasn't occurred there in almost a century and a half, so you can imagine the amount of planning that went into this by two notorious murderers and cops killers.

That said, having researched and written about another elaborate maximum security prison break that took place back in 1968 at New York's Green Haven Prison in my novel, The Innocent, I might speculate on the following:

 
--Judging by the degree of sophistication that went into the breakout...the expert cuts in the walls, the steam pipes, and the overall knowledge of the joint's layout, these two criminals not only had outside and inside help, they had access to facility blueprints.

--Make no mistake, Corrections Offices and prison workers can be bought. They also are human which means it's easy to form emotional relationships with inmates. The prisoners run the show, not the other way around. That means, if the two escapees required power tools to facilitate their escape, they simply found a way to have them smuggled into the prison. Trust me, that's the easy part.

--While the Canadian border is located relatively close by...a forty five minute drive, I'm told...investigators should concentrate first on girlfriends, wives, family members, good friends and the like, before jumping to any conclusions. Sure, the obvious decision for these guys to make is to cross the border and somehow find their way out of the country. But more than likely, they want to get laid and eat a home cooked meal, not to mention down a few beers. Sounds crass and too simple to be believed, for sure, but how's that old song from the 80's go? "People are people," even if they are crazed murderers.
  
Okay, some of you might have a heart attack over what I'm about to point out, but I'm gonna do it anyway since I'm primarily a hard-boiled author. It is kind of romantic these two guys were able to pull off such a skilled escape in this day and age. The brash manner and style in which they managed to pull it off and, on top of it perhaps enjoying the assistance of beautiful femme fatale working inside the joint, is something straight out of a 1930s noir novel or film. I couldn't outline it any better.

So then, will I write about this case?
I'll ask Jack Marconi, former max prison warden turned PI and get back to you.

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