March 3, 2009 – Gary S. Kimmel has arrived at prison. The former Marina City resident, sentenced for money laundering, is inmate number 18445-424 at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. He was due to report to prison on Monday.

(Above) USP Marion. Photo by Tom Kane from www.supermaxed.com.

Kimmel is in the minimum-security prison camp next to a medium-security facility that houses about 900 male inmates. Marion is about 300 miles south of Chicago.

It used to be a “supermax” prison, built in 1963 to replace Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, which closed the same year. By 1978, it was the highest security prison in the United States. In 1983, violence at the prison forced a long-term lockdown.

In 2006, the prison was extensively renovated and turned into a medium-security prison and minimum-security satellite camp. Famous inmates include mobster John Gotti and baseball legend Pete Rose.

The 59-year-old Kimmel’s release date is November 7, 2011.