# The prison service economy > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "The prison service economy," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-service-economy/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *The trade in goods and services at FCI Loretto as John Kiriakou describes it, used shoes resold on commission, convenience stores run out of lockers at a thirty per cent markup, a dozen bookmakers, unlicensed chiropractic, and sexual services priced in books of postage stamps.* - **Setting:** [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto) - **Currency:** Books of stamps, $8.20 at the [commissary](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-commissary), a flat $7 inside - **Kiriakou's own income:** $1.08 a month - **Largest sale recorded:** A turnkey business and client list for 65 books of stamps The **prison service economy** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s account of the trade that ran alongside the [food economy](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-food-economy) at [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto): *"there was plenty of room for entrepreneurs."*[1] ## The trades One man made a decent living reselling other prisoners' used shoes, old pairs no longer worn, or shoes offloaded by men about to be released, taking a commission on each sale; Kiriakou bought two pairs from him. Others ran convenience stores out of their lockers, selling sodas, sweets and crisps at a standard thirty per cent markup, the same margin as the [commissary](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-commissary) itself.[1] There were a dozen bookmakers at Loretto, a good friend of his the most successful of them, and some prisoners made thousands of dollars a month from gambling, the wise ones sending it home to build a nest egg for release. Others repaired radios, did unofficial and unlicensed chiropractic work, or sold underwear, socks and t-shirts stolen from the laundry.[2] ## The currency The unit of account was the book of postage stamps, which sold at the commissary for $8.20 and traded inside at a flat seven dollars. Kiriakou explains the preference in practical terms: unlike seven bags of mackerel stacked one on another, a book of stamps is small, easy to hide and easy to spend.[3] He is explicit about what the most enterprising prisoners sold for that currency, including sexual services with a published price list, and records one man selling his *"turnkey business"* and its dozen clients for sixty-five books of stamps.[3][4] ## His own position Kiriakou did not participate. Prison work paid him $1.08 a month, which he banked, relying on family and friends for anything he needed, though he adds that had he needed capitalism in prison, it was there.[4] The same economy explains what was on the plate. Kitchen workers stole chicken, beef and pork to order for customers whose families then transferred $100 to $150 a month into the cook's commissary account, which for everyone else meant *"chickenless chicken pot pie"*, hot dogs instead of roast beef and sloppy joes instead of pork loin, almost none of it human-grade food.[5] ## See also - [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto) - [The prison food economy](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-food-economy) - [The prison commissary](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-commissary) - [The Italians at Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/italians-at-loretto) ## Sources 1. S2E2 Rules Of The Game (2026-05-25), at 06:49. Recording: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68e695c6d798804c9e4bbd13/e/6a13a20b55b99c7f89a7e2b1/media.mp3 · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-25-dead-drop-s2e2-rules-of-the-game/ 2. S2E2 Rules Of The Game (2026-05-25), at 07:21. Recording: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68e695c6d798804c9e4bbd13/e/6a13a20b55b99c7f89a7e2b1/media.mp3 · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-25-dead-drop-s2e2-rules-of-the-game/ 3. S2E2 Rules Of The Game (2026-05-25), at 07:53. Recording: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68e695c6d798804c9e4bbd13/e/6a13a20b55b99c7f89a7e2b1/media.mp3 · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-25-dead-drop-s2e2-rules-of-the-game/ 4. S2E2 Rules Of The Game (2026-05-25), at 08:24. Recording: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68e695c6d798804c9e4bbd13/e/6a13a20b55b99c7f89a7e2b1/media.mp3 · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-25-dead-drop-s2e2-rules-of-the-game/ 5. S2E2 Rules Of The Game (2026-05-25), at 06:17. Recording: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68e695c6d798804c9e4bbd13/e/6a13a20b55b99c7f89a7e2b1/media.mp3 · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-25-dead-drop-s2e2-rules-of-the-game/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/prison-service-economy/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt