I thought it would be useful to discuss RDAP and release dates.
RELEASE DATES
Andy Fastow’s release date is 12/17/2011. This date has good behavior already factored in. The way BoP works it, (it doesn’t always work out this way, but usually) is they enter people into RDAP (Residential Drug Abuse Program) based on their release date such that they finish RDAP just in time to go to the halfway house. RDAP participants are required to do 6 months at a halfway house (part of that can be home confinement; up to 10% of your incarceration can be spent at home. In Andy’s case, probably 4-5 months). So, assuming Andy gets the maximum 1 year off for RDAP participation, that will make his release date 12/17/2010. Subtract 6 months from that and he could be going to the halfway house as early as 6/17/2010. This is the absolute best he could do. RDAP takes 9 months – you have to do the full 9 months – therefore for Andy to hit the 6/17/09 date he would have needed to start his RDAP class by 9/17/09. So notice he was nearly finished with the program; he had only three months to go when the DOJ finessed his exit.
BoP does not make mistakes or adjustments that EVER let someone out early (they make plenty of mistakes that delay release dates).
Also, there is sometimes a waiting list for a halfway house. This doesn’t reduce the time an RDAP person spends there. For instance, Andy may have had to wait past 6/17/10 for a bed and would still have to spend 6 months in the halfway house.
RDAP
Residential Drug Abuse Program is intended to be an intense drug treatment program. All RDAP participants live in the same housing unit. You go to class 3 hours/day, 5 days/week for 9 months. It is called the 500 hour program because you have to complete 500 hours of classwork to complete the program. It is not really “intense”. Like most BOP employees, the instructors are either lazy losers or psycho nut jobs. Laziness guarantees you’ll have little to do.
Plus, the BOP gets around $4,000 for each inmate that finishes RDAP, so it is almost impossible not to get through. The only people who don’t make it through are the ones that test positive for drugs. At BOP it is all about the money.
Andy Fastow’s Fate
When you consider the dual issues at play (DOJ wants to look good, BOP wants to make money), you see why there would be some inside baseball. I’ve never pretended to be a fan of Andy Fastow, but I don’t like him (or anyone else) being used by the DOJ to score political points. The DOJ bringing pressure on the BOP to withdraw Fastow is a chilling sign of things to come as they attempt to salvage what was clearly an overreach in the Enron prosecutions.
It will be interesting to see if Andy gets his time off for good behavior. I’ll keep an eye out for that.
I will also watch for Andy to start retracting some of his statements now that the DOJ has screwed him over.
Enron Online: The Enron Blog 
Sorry, I just tuned in to your commentary on Fastow and his release date, RDAP, etc. When you say, “DOJ wants to look good”– what does that mean? That DOJ wants to appear lenient by finding a backdoor way to spring Fastow a year earlier than required? Why would DOJ go to such bureaucratic lengths for this, and wrestle w/ DOP over a single year’s grace for a guy no one even remembers?
Hi Peter, thanks for the question.
People do remember Fastow – and quite well. What I mean is that there are still several Enron cases in play:
Rex Shelby from EBS will go to trial again.
Jeff Skilling’s case is being considered by the Supreme Court
A Nigerian Barge defendant is going back to trial.
The DOJ has a long history (since 2001) of trying to put these men in prison. They’ve largely succeeded by using plea deals. Only Skilling and Lay have been ultimately convicted by a jury. With these cases in play, it is important for the DOJ to appear to take the Enron cases seriously. Thus, they don’t want to appear overly lenient on Fastow by allowing him out a year early via the RDAP program.
The DOJ has performed many such bureaucratic slights of hand. This isn’t unlike them at all. It is just another instance in which they can not be trusted.
I HAVE BEEN SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN ALDERSON FED PRISON STARTING ABOUT 6 MONTHS FROM NOW…. IS THERE A WAY TO START RDAP CLASSES BEFORE I GO TO PRISON OR DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I GET THERE? IF I HAVE TO WAIT WILL I BE ABLE TO START THE CLASSES AS SOON AS I GET THERE OR WILL I BE PUT ON A WAITING LIST?
Hi. Please turn off your caps lock.
I’m not an expert but from what I understand by people who have taken it, you can’t take it before you get to prison. You will be put on a waiting list toward the last part of your sentence. There are no shortcuts, unfortunately.
Good luck.
my husband was about 6 months late getting in rdap class. i was just wondering if there is somekind of fee with this class. he says he has to pay $55 a month for 4 more months. i have researched and i can’t find anything that says you have to pay for the class. would you happen to know?
thanks, trena
Sorry, I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have to pay for RDAP but I just don’t know.
from what i understand the sentence has to be at least 28 months for someone to be even eligible for the rdap program, best case is a self surrender, do research and get assigned to a facility that has a rdap program. this way they wont spend months shipping you all over. good luck and god bless