Inside Blago's New Home: (FCI) Englewood
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS) -- On Thursday, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich begins serving his 14-year sentence.
His life shifts to a prison in Littleton, Colo. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports from Denver.
Federal Correctional Institution Englewood is the prison where Blagojevich will surrender in three days. According to Alan Ellis, an attorney who wrote "The Federal Prison Guidebook," it's not bad as prisons go.
"It's a good draw. He hit the inmate lottery in getting there," Ellis says.
The Level One facility, where Blagojevich will spend most of his 14-year sentence, was built in 1938. As of last week, it housed 978 inmates.
It sits on 320 acres -- 40 of those inside the double fences -- and is nestled in the Rocky Mountain foothills. A federal camp is also on the property.
"It's a well-run facility," Ellis says. "It's been there a long time, the staff's been there a long time.
Still, it is prison, though not as dangerous as a higher-security prison.
"As somebody once said to me in the bureau, at a low (security prison), there's a chance of getting punched. At a medium, there's a chance of getting knifed," Ellis says.
But some of those prisoners may end up being housed at lower-security facilities in the final months of their sentences, says Dale Deshotel of the Federal Prison Workers Union.
So, how will Blagojevich – the often-outspoken, gregarious former politician – fit in?
"My experience is politicians fit in. They're people people," Ellis says.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons will not release any information about Blagojevich, including the hour at which he is supposed to report, until he is an official inmate.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov will file reports this week from Colorado in anticipation of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's surrender there.
