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- NATION, Page 49American NotesCALIFORNIAFarewell to Club Fed
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- Whites were never required for tennis. But the fact that
- there was a court and other such amenities, along with a
- clientele of celebrity convicts like Wall Street finagler Ivan
- Boesky and Watergate culprit H.R. Haldeman, earned California's
- Lompoc Federal Prison Camp a reputation as a country club. Set
- on 42 campus-like acres, Club Fed, as it was called, had
- neither walls nor armed guards. Its 650 or so mostly
- white-collar prisoners rose at 6 a.m. to pancakes or oatmeal and
- worked until 3:30, earning 11 cents to 42 cents an hour
- (Boesky cleaned the visiting room). Then they were free to jog,
- play softball, watch TV, read the papers or bowl on the lawn.
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- But the good old days are no more. With other federal
- prisons overflowing, Lompoc is now a low-security facility,
- complete with a 12-ft.-high double fence topped by razor wire.
- At best, the new Lompoc rates barely one star.
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