Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook

The Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook (FCI Ray Brook), unofficially called the Olympic Prison,^[1] is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates that is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook

Interactive map of Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook
Location	North Elba, Essex County, near Saranac Lake, New York
Coordinates	44°17′25″N 74°05′34″W
Status	Operational
Security class	Medium security
Population	Approx. 800
Opened	1980
Managed by	Federal Bureau of Prisons
Warden	David Christensen

FCI Ray Brook is located in Essex County, New York, midway between the villages of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.^[2] Although constructed as a prison, it initially served as the Olympic Village for the 1980 Winter Olympics, which were held in Lake Placid.^[3]

History

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee needed congressional approval for funding to build an Olympic Village for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Congress required an after-use contract for facilities, and it was agreed that the Olympic Village would be built in accordance with Federal Bureau of Prisons needs. Following the Olympic Games, it was repurposed for Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook.^[4][5]

The prison became operational following the conclusion of the Olympics and accepted its first inmates that same year. Local activists and international participants had protested the dual-purpose building, and some athletes refused to be housed in the facility due to the cramped cells, barred windows, and barbed wire perimeter. A coalition of religious and civil rights activists formed the group Stop the Olympic Prison (STOP) to protest the prison.^[1]

The Bureau of Prisons has received numerous complaints regarding conditions at FCI Ray Brook. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated a previously dismissed lawsuit filed against the Bureau of Prisons on behalf of six inmates who were allegedly housed in an extremely hot and cramped single room without adequate ventilation and cleaning supplies. The Court found that the evidence justified a claim of cruel and unusual punishment.^[6]

Notable inmates (current and former)

Inmate Name	Register Number	Status	Details
Eduardo Arellano-Felix	04117-748	Released on August 18, 2021 after serving a 15-year sentence and deported back to Mexico.[7]	Key member of the Tijuana Cartel, a multi-national drug trafficking organization, extradited from Mexico in 2012; pleaded guilty in 2013 to directing the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal drug proceeds from the US to Mexico.[8]
Rezwan Ferdaus	94133-038	Serving a 17-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2026.	Convicted for planning a terrorist attack on The Pentagon.[9][10][11]
David Radler	18189-424	Sentenced to 29 months; transferred from Moshannon Valley Correctional Center; transferred to Canada in September 2008; paroled from Ferndale Institution December 2008.[12]	Pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Former associate of Conrad Black and CEO of Ravelston Corporation.
Sathajhan Sarachandran	64076-053[permanent dead link]	Sentenced to 25 years in 2011. Sentence reduced to 15 years in 2016. Released from custody in 2019 and deported to Canada.[13]	Pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing material support for terrorism for attempting to purchase military weapons for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant group on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[14][15][16]

See also

• List of U.S. federal prisons
• List of Olympic Villages