Tonight I go into Jefferson Prison with our pastor Kenny Munds and some guys from Honey Lake Church and share my testimony to some dudes who are serving sentences for a variety of crimes. I’ve been told that many of the inmates in Jefferson are medicated in order to keep them calm. That translates into they are violent so I guess we better watch our backs, (literally).
Last night I watched a documentary about the life of Whitey Bulgar (boss of a crime syndicate in Boston). He was violent to his core and was known for being ruthless and murder and torture were common in his syndicate. He was getting ready to go to trial and took off. No one could find him for many years until recently when someone tipped off the authorities. The FBI finally caught up with him in California and he went to prison for the rest of his life. Since he is 83 it doesn’t amount to much, but nonetheless he will die in prison.
Much of his case was predicated upon the prosecutor’s assertion that he was an informant for the FBI and that is how he escaped prosecution for all those years. Bulgar said that he was not an informant; instead he said the FBI agents were HIS informants and he paid them well.
Now he has admitted to murder, drug dealing, loan sharking, and armed robbery, but he denies that he was anybody’s informant.
Why? Probably because he is telling the truth.
He maintains that he had cops on the take at the city and state level, the prosecutor’s office, and at the federal level with the FBI. Quite naturally they deny that, but it remains a mystery of how he could avoid prosecution all those years if people were not supplying him with advance warning about wiretaps, video surveillance, and the like.
We like to think of the FBI as being our protectors who valiantly defend us from the bad guys. Most do just that; however many do not! They are corrupt just like the people whom they pursue.
When I was on the street my only arrest was the result of a crooked cop planting evidence. Fortunately for me the case fell apart and they had to release me from prison. My best connection for drugs was a dirty cop who was a partial owner of a drugstore. The mob in New Orleans owned the other half. I bought pharmaceutical morphine there and sold it to junkies on the street. He was the one who actually tipped me off that the cops were looking for me and I narrowly escaped to Atlanta.
I went fishing again this morning and caught a big bass. Afterwards I rested for a moment and thought about those guys who will leave their cells tonight and try to find hope. I thought about the corruption of the inmates, the police, and the guards at the prison who turn a blind eye to the drugs and other items being smuggled in sometimes to even include women.
Corruption revolves around money. The criminal tries to rob someone, sell drugs, or pimp prostitutes to make money. A policeman helps the criminal avoid prosecution in exchange for a nice Christmas for his family; a guard making $15 per hour receives five grand to simply turn his back when the delivery of contraband is made to the prison. A politician helps the Wall Street tycoon make even more money (than they could ever spend). They do it all for a few bucks donated to their campaign in pursuit of satisfying their maniacal quest for power.
So when they get the money what do they do? They ask, “Is this all there is to life?”
The answer I’ll try to convey to the inmates tonight is for them to seek the kingdom of God that yields peace, joy, and love through Jesus Christ and is incorruptible. When God calls them home they will not take even one of those material things or even $1 dollar of the money that they worked so hard to accumulate, but the things that are done by Christ’s children to glorify God’s name will live on forever throughout all eternity.
Think about facing God. How will He view you and your effort to glorify His name?
My wife Teresa is not doing well at all. She is suffering greatly and feels terrible. I ask for your continued prayers. God bless those of you who have been praying for her these weeks. Thank you!
Matt. 25:33
. . . and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ . . .
May 26, 2015 – Click here to listen