December 10, 2014
The transfer from Etika to Federal Prison Advice continues. I am working on the new site, content, videos, and more. Below is a draft of a brochure my friend Michael Santos and I worked on. There might be some edits left to do, but this is a good start. I think I have written and re-written my bio at least 100 times since my release from Taft Prison Camp in 2009.
Federal Prison Advice Interactive Brochure
Statistics show how easily an altercation with the criminal justice system can derail an individual’s life. Besides the indignity of an arrest, or notification that authorities have launched a criminal investigation, the reality is that legal complications have long-lasting implications on a defendant’s life. Problems with the law frequently lead individuals into cycles of failure. All too often, those problems come with ancillary consequences that extend far beyond the sanctions a judge may impose. At Federal Prison Advice, we provide products and services to empower individuals, helping them to regain their footing and prepare for the best possible outcome.
Obviously, anyone who faces troubles with the law should seek legal counsel and representation from an attorney. Those of us behind Federal Prison Advice brand are not lawyers and we do not dispense legal advice. Rather, we’re individuals who’ve proceeded through the criminal justice system, but returned to society strong, with our dignity intact. We provide a menu of products and services that teach others how they too can prepare to make the most of their journey. We cannot change the past for anyone, but we absolutely can teach strategies that lead to the conquering of adversity and resilience beyond expectations. Each of us has power within to build upon strengths. At Federal Prison Advice, we provide guidance to empower others who want to tap into their own, to reclaim their life, to emerge from difficult experiences stronger than anyone would expect.
Who We Are:
Many so-called prison consultants masquerade as experts, citing time they served as their credentials. They sell fear, preying upon people who are more vulnerable than ever. Others built careers working as functionaries of the prison system—former prison guards who contributed to the intergenerational failure factories. After leaving the barbed-wire bureaucracies, they brand themselves as “prison consultants” and attempt to provide guidance on what individuals should expect while serving time. Such individuals have not mastered the challenges associated with confinement, but sell services suggesting that they can advise others. Many prison consultants are distasteful, bordering on sleazy in their approach to dispensing guidance.
At Federal Prison Advice, we’re different. Clients routinely tell us that the lessons they learned from Federal Prison Advice were the greatest value they received, not only in preparing for the journey ahead, but also in restoring the confidence and dignity that the criminal justice system seems designed to extinguish.
Justin Paperny:
Justin Paperny, author of Lessons From Prison and Ethics in Motion, graduated from the University of Southern California and then built a career as a successful stockbroker. His practice at notable firms that included Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and UBS, specialized in representing professional athletes and hedge funds.
Some bad decisions led Justin into problems with the criminal justice system, including a felony conviction for violating securities laws. A federal judge sentenced Justin to serve an 18-month prison term. While incarcerated inside of the Taft Federal Prison Camp, Justin met Michael Santos. The two men established a friendship and later collaborated on a number of projects that would teach strategies others could employ to reach their highest potential, despite any type of adversity, including a criminal conviction.
Justin concluded his obligation to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2009. Preparations that he made while serving his sentence empowered Justin to build a thriving career, despite the loss of his license to sell securities and his license to sell real estate. While incarcerated, Justin practiced the lessons available through the products and services his company offers. As a consequence of those preparations, income opportunities opened for him upon his release. He lectured in universities across the United States; he worked with The FBI, and Pre-Trial Services; he became a nationally recognized public speaker for corporate America; and he guided countless others who were about to embark upon their own journey through the challenges that accompany criminal charges.
Justin established Federal Prison Advice as an alternative resource for defense attorneys, criminal defendants, and those who want to learn. In addition to teaching how to prepare for prison, Federal Prison Advice’s products and services teach individuals how to reposition themselves for a successful life.
Michael Santos:
Michael Santos was arrested in 1987, when he was 23. He served the next 26 years in prisons of every security level. While incarcerated, he embarked upon a disciplined, goal-oriented life that empowered him. Through his well-documented journey, Michael achieved the following goals:
Earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University.
- Earned a master’s degree from Hofstra University.
- Published seven books that university professors from across the United States used as a resource to teach about America’s prisons, the people they hold, and strategies for growing through confinement.
- Earned an income and built a savings account that would allow him to return to society with sufficient capital to launch his career.
- Marry and support his family while progressing through the final ten years of his sentence.
- Teach thousands of others how to do the same.
The Bureau of Prisons released Michael on August 12, 2013. Preparations that he made while in custody, and that we teach through products and services at Federal Prison Advice, enabled his success to continue.
San Francisco State University hired Michael as an adjunct professor and he began teaching. During his first year in society, he taught one of the most popular courses in the university, titled “The Architecture of Incarceration.” In addition to teaching at San Francisco State during his first year, Michael lectured at several other prisons across the United States, including Stanford Law School and the University California at Berkeley.
What we do:
At Federal Prison Advice, we offer lessons in bite-size pieces to empower individuals through the most challenging times of their life. Those lessons provide a combination of information, guidance, and strategy. To empower you, we employ the following resources:
- Brief videos to discuss every aspect of the criminal justice system.
- Written narratives that clients may download and digest.
- Written exercises that challenge clients to take proactive steps to prepare for challenges ahead.
- Personalized consulting, using a computer screen-share system and a methodical lesson plan.
If that approach works for you, let’s begin with your initial challenge. Submit your responses to the following question:
- In what ways will challenges you face with the criminal justice system influence your future?
- How will challenges you face with the criminal justice system influence your family?
- What impact will your current challenges have on your career when this is behind you?
- What do you envision as the best possible outcome from these circumstances?
- If you’ve don’t know or understand the infrastructure and routines of prison, explain your process for creating a deliberate plan to prepare for success while inside.
- How would you rate your level of commitment to becoming one of the three out of ten people who succeed through their journey in the criminal justice system and beyond?
- What level of value would you find in learning from experts with documented success following their entanglement with the criminal justice system?
Are you ready to restore confidence and begin building the next chapter of your life? Then let’s do it!
Justin Paperny
