131. Earning Freedom (8.3) by Michael Santos
Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term by Michael Santos. Chapter 8.3
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Julie and Tim agree to finance my tuition and book expenses with the understanding that I\u2019ll reimburse them from my earnings. When the mailroom delivers my coursework for first-year law, the stack of textbooks reaches halfway up my thigh. As I fan through thousands of fine-print pages optimism surges through me. I\u2019m making progress, feeling a renewed energy, convinced that these books will change my life.
I create a new daily schedule, committing myself to wake and to begin studying after the guards complete the 3:00 a.m. census, allowing myself three hours of reading and note-taking before I exercise. Then I can study again from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. By the end of 1998, I\u2019ll finish my first-year courses. The self-imposed structure brings the illusion that I\u2019m back in control of my life.
A scandalous affair between President Clinton and a young White House intern dominates the news, but I barely notice. I have tunnel vision again, devoting all of my energies toward mastering a new vocabulary, learning how to research the law, and writing lengthy papers.
After sending in my first batch of assignments, I move on to the next course. It\u2019s early morning, still dark outside, and I\u2019m studying in bed. My tiny book light is clipped on the metal chair beside my rack, illuminating the thick textbook propped upon my thighs. Eleven other men sleep nearby, but my earplugs muffle the sound of their snores. I\u2019m invigorated by the work. Instead of wasting time, I\u2019m developing skills that can never be taken away.
Later in the week, when I open the envelope containing my first graded assignments, I\u2019m deeply disappointed. Because of my experience at Hofstra and Mercer, I expected these law professors to challenge me, to expose flaws in my reasoning, to show an interest in my work. I invested more than 100 hours reading and writing nearly 50 pages of carefully researched reasoning and arguments. Despite the efforts I made, the professor only drew a red circle around the \u201cA\u201d in the top right corner of the first page, and that letter grade represented the extent of his commentary. I toss the envelope to the bottom of my locker in disgust, doubtful that anyone read what I wrote.
Now I understand what Bruce meant when he said this law degree would cheapen my other degrees. The costly tuition appears to cover the expense of a diploma, not for an education in the law. But I didn\u2019t enroll to receive another piece of paper to frame and hang. I could\u2019ve simply purchased the books and studied on my own. Although I wouldn\u2019t earn a degree, I would gain the same knowledge through a completely independent study. Nevertheless, I\u2019ve paid the non-refundable fee for the first year so I continue.
*\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *
It\u2019s 4:00 a.m., and I\u2019ve found a quiet room where I\u2019m finishing my final assignment for the term. My legal dictionary, a book on case law, and two supplementary texts lay open on the table. When the door behind me opens I turn around, surprised that anyone else is awake at this hour. It\u2019s Gary, one of the 400 prisoners assigned to my unit. Wearing gray sweats, slip-on shoes, and carrying a plastic mug with steaming coffee, he makes his way through the room with quiet footsteps and stands in front me.
We\u2019ve never spoken before. Although I recognize faces, I prefer to remain cloistered in my own space, absorbed with my books and studies. I cherish the early morning solitude and Gary\u2019s intrusion annoys me.
\u201cI heard you study law,\u201d he says in a strong Russian accent, looking down at me.
I lean back in my chair, lock my hands behind my head and yawn as I stretch. \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d I answer, finally making eye contact with him.
\u201cI need some help with my case.\u201d
\u201cCan\u2019t help you. I\u2019m wrapped up with school. You should check out the law library. A few guys do legal work there.\u201d
Gary moves around the table and stands beside me, sipping his coffee, looking at my books. \u201cI\u2019ve watched you. Very serious. You study all the time. Don\u2019t talk much. Are you almost finished?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m finishing first year. I\u2019ll need two more years to complete the program.\u201d
\u201cRead my case,\u201d Gary proposes, taking another sip from his coffee mug. \u201cI want your opinion. My lawyer sent boxes of paper from my appeal. I don\u2019t understand. You could help.\u201d
\u201cNo. I can\u2019t. I\u2019ve got too much to read.\u201d
Gary nods his head. \u201cHelp me. I\u2019ll pay you well.\u201d
His offer to pay is a novel concept to me and I inquire further. \u201cWhat is it that you want me to read?\u201d
\u201cI lost my appeal. Now my attorneys want to file a new motion in court. Why?\xa0 I want to know.\u201d
\u201cI can\u2019t answer that question without reading all of your transcripts, your appeal, and researching the court\u2019s rulings. That would take weeks and I can\u2019t afford to take that time away from my studies.\u201d
\u201cI don\u2019t want those guys in the law library. I want you. Money\u2019s no object. Name your price.\u201d
I stretch again, thinking of a number that will send him away, or, if he accepts, make the effort worth my while. \u201cTwo thousand dollars.\u201d
\u201cOkay. Give me instructions on where to wire the funds.\u201d
\u201cNo wire. I\u2019ll give you an address. Think about it, because all I\u2019m going to do is read everything, then tell you my opinion. I\u2019m not filing any motions or writing any briefs. If the check arrives, I\u2019ll come by, pick up the boxes and start reading. If not, I\u2019ll know you changed your mind.\u201d
\u201cGive me the address.\u201d
*\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *
\u201cDo you know someone from New York?\u201d Julie asks during our phone call.
\u201cWhy?\u201d
\u201cBecause I received a check in the mail from a New York address. A note says it\u2019s for Gary\u2019s case. We don\u2019t know anyone from New York who would send us $2,000. I figured it must be someone you know.\u201d
A week has passed since Gary visited me in the quiet room. Expecting him to be as full of hot air as most other prisoners, I didn\u2019t forewarn my sister that she might receive a check. News of the money\u2019s arrival makes me smile. For the first time since I\u2019ve been in prison, I\u2019ve got money of my own.
\u201cYes, I know Gary. Sorry I didn\u2019t write you about it before. I\u2019ll send you a letter this week explaining everything.\u201d
\u201cWell what am I supposed to do with the check?\u201d
\u201cDo you need it?\u201d
\u201cWe don\u2019t need it. Do you want me to save it for you?\u201d
\u201cIf you don\u2019t need it, I want you to open an online brokerage account. Make it a margin account. We\u2019re going to use it to buy stock. I want to start building a stock portfolio that can grow during the rest of the time I have to serve.\u201d
\u201cWhat should I buy?\u201d
\u201cWhen the account\u2019s open, buy Yahoo!.\u201d
\u201cHow many shares?\u201d
\u201cBuy as much as you can.\xa0 If you open a margin account, the broker will let you borrow against the stock to double up, enabling you to purchase $3,000 worth of the stock. We\u2019ll add to the account over time.\u201d
\u201cAre you sure you know what you\u2019re doing?\u201d My sister doesn\u2019t have any experience investing in stocks and she\u2019s worried about exposure.
\u201cJust call the broker and open the account.\xa0 He\u2019ll confirm that you can do this.\u201d\xa0 I know that Julie will help.
I don\u2019t have access to computers, but I\u2019ve been reading about the Internet in the Wall Street Journal for several years. I\u2019ve seen the phenomenon of such companies as Netscape, America Online, and Amazon.com. I\u2019m certain the Internet will change the world, influencing people\u2019s lives more than the telephone, television, and radio combined. Although I may not be able to use it until I\u2019m free, I want a stock portfolio that will allow me to own a slice of the companies I expect will dominate the Web, and I intend to start with Yahoo!.
*\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *\xa0 *
I walk into Gary\u2019s room to invite him for a walk. He\u2019s sitting on his bunk, leaning back against the wall, reading The Deptford Trilogy by the Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. He reads novels to improve his English, which he speaks well. He\u2019s also fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian. I\u2019ve read every page of the transcripts from Gary\u2019s trial, as well as all accompanying documents that he gave me. Court papers have a tendency to portray defendants in an unflattering light. Gary\u2019s papers, on the other hand, expose a remarkable history of a self-made man.
After earning tens of millions as a mining entrepreneur in Russia, Gary relocated to the United States where he began accumulating blocks of commercial real estate. Criminal charges led to his trial, and although a jury convicted Gary of one count related to complexities with his businesses\u2019 accounting, the jury acquitted him of several others. He has served two years since his conviction and faces one more.
\u201cYou\u2019ve read through everything?\u201d
He hops down from the rack and laces up his sneakers.
\u201cI\u2019ve read everything. But let\u2019s talk outside.\u201d
The summer of 1998 brings high humidity to the East Coast. It\u2019s against prison rules to take off our shirts, so within seconds of stepping outside my tank top is damp with sweat and stuck to my back. Both of us carry plastic water bottles and wear sunglasses. Under his white baseball cap Gary looks much younger than 36, too young to have built and operated all the businesses his court papers describe.
\u201cMy lawyers want another hundred grand to file the last motion,\u201d he says.
\u201cI\u2019ll bet you never thought justice cost so much.\u201d
Gary waves his hand. \u201cI\u2019m tired of all this, with the trial and the appeal going on and on. This mess has already cost me more than a million. I just want it over.\u201d
\u201cYou\u2019ve already served two years. No one can take that away.\u201d
\u201cBut I\u2019ve served every day thinking it would be my last, that I\u2019d win something and be released.\u201d
\u201cThere comes a time, Gary, when it\u2019s easier to let go, to accept the sentence and focus on the future you can control, rather than hanging on to the past you can\u2019t change.\u201d
I explain to Gary my interpretation of his case. The only mechanism available for him to seek relief is a habeas corpus petition. Statistics show that courts refuse to grant relief through those petitions nine out of ten times, and at least nine months would pass before he received a hearing.
\u201cWith less than 12 months before release,\u201d I explain, \u201cI don\u2019t think it makes sense to put yourself on that emotional roller coaster, not to mention the cost of another legal motion.\u201d
\u201cI don\u2019t care about the money.\u201d
\u201cYour lawyers must know that.\u201d
\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d
\u201cThey represented you through trial and on your appeal. It\u2019s not like they\u2019ll have to read all the papers again. The price they\u2019re asking to prepare the motion seems about ten times too high.\u201d
\u201cCould you write the motion from here?\u201d
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to try.\u201d
\u201cWhy not? I\u2019d rather pay you than them.\u201d
I\u2019m silent, thinking, as gravel crunches beneath our steps. Gary\u2019s offer isn\u2019t lost on me. I know he\u2019s in the prisoner mindset of desperation, clinging to hope that something will free him and he\u2019s willing to pay for that delusion.
\u201cGary, you don\u2019t have any upside to filing this motion. You\u2019ll be out by the time a judge hears it, and even if he does hear the motion, you\u2019ll probably lose. I\u2019d rather show you strategies that will help ease the last 12 months you\u2019re going to serve.\xa0 Regardless of what you pay, the reality is that you\u2019re going to serve your time. I\u2019ll serve it with you.\u201d
Gary takes his ball cap off and scratches his head. We walk alongside bleachers where several hundred prisoners cheer for the teams playing softball.
\u201cSo there\u2019s nothing we can do?\u201d
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that. With the right frame of mind we can figure out a plan to make your last year pass easier than the first two. It will pass. If you keep waiting for something to change through the courts, on the other hand, this last year will hang over your head like a dark cloud, making you miserable.\u201d
\u201cI can\u2019t believe you\u2019ve done 11 years. How can you put up with this for so long without going crazy?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019ve got a deliberate plan. Every day I work hard to prepare myself for the time when I\u2019ll go home.\u201d
\u201cBut 45 years? How do you prepare for that?\u201d
\u201cI won\u2019t serve that long. The only way I\u2019d serve that long would be if I lost good time from disciplinary actions, and I haven\u2019t lost any yet. I know what I\u2019m doing. I completely understand prisons and the way to avoid problems. Since I\u2019m always working toward the next goal, time passes quickly.\u201d
\u201cHow much time do you have left?\u201d he asks.
\u201cI\u2019m supposed to get out in 2013. Fifteen more years.\u201d
\u201cFifteen years! You say it like it\u2019s nothing, like you\u2019re asking for a glass of water. I\u2019d rather hang myself.\u201d
\u201cNo you wouldn\u2019t. You\u2019d find your way. Anyone can serve time in prison. The challenge is to serve it in a way that will make you emerge stronger than when you started.\u201d
\u201cHow can you stay strong through 15 more years of this?\u201d
\u201cBy owning it. I know where I am and I know the problems that await me. I spend every day working to prepare for what\u2019s ahead. That strategy makes me feel like I\u2019m the captain of my own ship. It\u2019s the reason I\u2019m studying law. To prepare.\u201d
\u201cTo prepare for what? To be a lawyer?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m never going to be a lawyer. But by studying law I can make myself useful in here. I\u2019ll earn money by helping other prisoners who want to fight their cases. You were the first person to pay me. When I walk out of here, I intend to have enough money saved to build a life for myself.\u201d
\u201cTwo thousand dollars?\u201d Gary scoffs. \u201cYou\u2019ve been in here too long, my friend. That isn\u2019t enough for one dinner bill.\u201d
\u201cFor you, maybe. Remember, I\u2019m starting from zero, and I\u2019ve got 15 years for the money to grow. You paid me seed money. I intend to keep adding to it through my work. It\u2019s already tripled. By the time I\u2019m released, I\u2019ll have enough to buy more than dinner. I\u2019ll be able to start my life.\u201d
\u201cWhat do you mean it tripled?\u201d
\u201cI used it to buy stock.\u201d
\u201cIn the stock market?\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d
\u201cHow do you do that from here?\u201d
As we round the soccer field, I explain. \u201cI spoke with the prison\u2019s head of security, the captain, and he confirmed that I was within my rights to advise my sister on stock purchases. By using the $2,000 from you, and borrowing another $1,000 from the brokerage house on margin, Julie purchased 50 shares of Yahoo! at $60 per share. Then the stock split two-for-one, giving us 100 shares. Those shares now trade at $70, giving our portfolio $7,000 in value. With the $1,000 we owe in margin debt, the account now has $6,000 in equity. That\u2019s triple the $2,000 you paid me.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019ve been involved in every kind of business, but I\u2019ve never understood the stock market. If you would have had $2 million and you made the same purchase, are you telling me you would\u2019ve had $6 million now?\u201d Leveraged trading intrigues Gary.
I laugh. \u201cTheoretically. But if I had $2 million, I wouldn\u2019t have made the same purchase.\u201d
\u201cWhy not?\u201d
\u201cLike you said, $2,000 isn\u2019t much money. My brother-in-law suggested I sock it away in a Certificate of Deposit. It would\u2019ve been safer, but I was willing to take more risk. The company I bought stock in is new, and most investors say it\u2019s overpriced because the Internet is all hype. If the Internet grows, on the other hand, then this company will grow with it, causing the stock price to surge. I could take the risk with $2,000, but if I had $2 million, I\u2019d choose safer investments.\u201d
\u201cYou\u2019re too young to be making safe investments. That\u2019s the problem with this country. Too many people are afraid of risk. Remember one lesson from a man who knows: the timid never make fortunes.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to build a fortune. All I want is enough in the bank so that I\u2019m not desperate for an immediate paycheck when I get out.\u201d
\u201cSo write my motion. I\u2019ll pay you a hundred grand if you can get me out of prison.\u201d
\u201cI can\u2019t get myself out of prison, and writing a motion isn\u2019t going to get you out either, I\u2019m sorry to say. Instead of thinking about getting out, why don\u2019t we figure out what you can do while you\u2019re here to pass the time more easily?\u201d
Gary shakes his head. \u201cI can\u2019t serve 12 more months.\u201d
\u201cYes you can,\u201d I laugh. \u201cI\u2019ll serve it with you, and when you go, I\u2019ll be another year closer to home.\u201d
\u201cHow about you teach me about the stock market?\u201d
\u201cI can tell you what to read and how I learned over the years, but I don\u2019t have time to teach.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019ll make you a deal. I\u2019ll send you the hundred thousand I was going to spend on this motion. You won\u2019t owe me anything. Just show me what you\u2019re going to buy, how much, and explain the reason why. The only condition is that you don\u2019t play it safe. I want you to take the same risk that you took with the $2,000. Try to triple the money I send, turn it into $300,000. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we split the profits.\u201d
\u201cWhat about the taxes?\u201d
\u201cYou pay the taxes. We\u2019ll split the profit after the taxes.\u201d
\u201cGary, I read how much you earn. To you, $100,000 is pocket change, but to me, where I am at this stage in my life, that may as well be all the money in the world. I couldn\u2019t speculate with it the same way I\u2019d speculate with $2,000. In order to turn the $2,000 into $6,000, I had to borrow against the equity by using margin. The leverage I used is what made the investment triple.\u201d
\u201cSo use leverage.\u201d
\u201cI could do that, but if the market goes the other way, and it could, I\u2019d either have to dump the stock in a down market to raise cash, or you would have to put up more money for the margin call in order to hold the position.\u201d
\u201cToo many details. I believe in people, and you\u2019re my guy. I\u2019m betting on you to play it smart enough for both of us. Yes?\u201d he nods his head. \u201cBe aggressive. If you lose everything, not to worry. You won\u2019t owe me a dime, and I\u2019ll send you $50,000 more that you can use to start your life. How does that sound?\u201d He puts out his hand. \u201cDeal?\u201d
\u201cOkay.\u201d We shake hands.