Prologue
A Forum for Stories of Incarceration, Justice, and Redemption
Many of you have asked to read more about how all this started. This excerpt is the prologue to my memoir, an account of my fall from grace as a real estate developer, my conviction for wire fraud, and my time in federal prison. It’s the first time I’m publishing it publicly. Thank you for reading.
PROLOGUE: A Prison of My Own
I love new beginnings. I’ve compiled a lifetime of them. But I have a blind spot for the end of things. So when the end finally came to my floundering real estate company in early December 2015, I had dug a hole so deep that another new beginning was out of the question. I’d been crossing lines and running from my sins since kindergarten. They finally caught up with me at age seventy-six, and I was sentenced to eighty-five months in prison for two counts of wire fraud. The presiding Judge told me I had already sentenced myself to a prison without bars, but a prison nonetheless, a prison of the soul, that I was not connected to humanity, disconnected from what makes life meaningful and worthwhile. He said I had a challenging life ahead of me to release myself from this prison of my own making. When I entered prison, the disconnect from humanity was complete. It appeared to me that my life, with eighty-five months of incarceration looming, was essentially over.
After years of business failures, I had launched a business comeback that had accrued to me almost legendary status in the fiercely competitive world of commercial real estate. I had established myself as a significant regional player with the unofficial title of “smartest guy in the business." I had managed to navigate every economic crisis for twenty-plus years, almost divinely timing every purchase and sale for maximum benefit to a deep pool of fawning investors. In addition, I had become the family patriarch, providing financial assistance to a cadre of relatives, as well as several high-profile non-profit institutions.
Although seemingly still on top of my "game," I made several questionable acquisitions that threatened the company's financial future; the actual severity of the threat and the likelihood of the company's demise were known only to me. Desperate to resolve the company's situation and avoid a crisis of confidence among my investors, business colleagues, and family, I began to manipulate the company's financial reports, initially marginally, but gradually more seriously and eventually fraudulently. Finally, the actual status of the company and my illegal activities came to light, resulting in a Madoff-like scandal, public humiliation, and my ultimate prosecution and incarceration. I entered prison in disgrace, leaving my family, company, and investors in financial ruin.
During my time there, I determined that my failure was a failure of character, something inherent, intrinsic, and inevitable. The most painful part of prison is that it confronts you with yourself and furthers in each inmate an excruciating self-loathing. Crisis is the test of character. The crisis came, and I failed the test. I concluded that men can always dream of a new start and redemption, but can never extinguish the history of their malfeasance. Based on that conclusion and the reality of my age, now at seventy-eight, I can only focus on the depiction of my experience as a cautionary tale, contextualize the events that presaged my incarceration, reconcile my failure of character, and leave the prospect of new starts to the next generation.
This memoir began in prison and was completed after my release, where I reside, still searching in my own dark world for the genesis of my criminality.
This piece is excerpted from my forthcoming memoir. If you find this excerpt meaningful, please consider sharing it with a friend or leaving a comment. Building an audience helps me demonstrate to publishers that there is interest in this story.
John DiMenna is a member of the White Collar Support Group, a non-profit organization that supports those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Up Next on White Collar Journal:
Wednesday (Justice Notes): Home Confinement vs Prison
Thursday (Notes from Exisle): Log/Verse reflections
Sunday (Prison Camp): Pre-Incarceration: the lead up
John, your prologue serves as an excellent introduction to your memoir as it provides an overview of answers to the "big" question of how you came to find yourself in prison. It's a compelling beginning that makes me want to learn more specific details that I think you could reach through some anecdotal evidence. For example, a story about the early "business failures" along with some details about your "comeback" would add a personal touch. I would like to know more about the relatives and charities you helped. It's a fascinating story, and the prologue invites your audience to continue reading. Susan L