J.T. Burnette released from federal prison camp in City Hall bribery case

John “J.T.” Burnette, the multi-millionaire developer convicted of funneling bribes to former City Commissioner Scott Maddox, has been released from a federal prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Bureau of Prisons website says Burnette, who was sentenced to three years in prison for extortion and related crimes, is now under the auspices of its Residential Reentry Management office, which along with the prison camp is located on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base.

Federal inmates report to residential reentry management offices after they are released from prison and while they are serving the last part of their sentence on GPS-monitored home confinement or in a halfway house. The BOP website does not specify Burnette’s location.

“He’s absolutely in the care and custody of an RRM,” said Sam Mangel, a former convict who helps white-collar criminals navigate the federal prison system. “Whether he’s physically sleeping at a halfway house or home, (BOP) doesn’t delineate that.”

The Tallahassee Democrat requested information from the Bureau of Prisons on Burnette’s status but did not get an answer on Wednesday. A BOP employee did confirm that Burnette was under the Montgomery RRM office.

Tim Jansen, who represented Burnette during his trial in 2021, said Saturday he did not know whether Burnette had returned home. Steve Vancore, a spokesperson for Trulieve, the medical marijuana company led by Burnette’s spouse, Kim Rivers, indicated in a Wednesday email that Burnette was not on home confinement but did not elaborate.

Burnette reported to the prison camp in Montgomery in January 2022. His release from prison means he served roughly half that sentence behind bars.

Mangel, who counted Burnette as a client before he was incarcerated but has not heard from him lately, said that regardless of whether he’s in a halfway house or on home confinement, he’s still serving his sentence.

Burnette's exit from the prison camp marks an epitaph of sorts in the FBI's "Capital Currency" operation, which began eight years ago with the arrival of undercover agents who cozied up to politicians as they sought government approvals for fictitious development projects. It also means all three people convicted in the public corruption probe, including Maddox and his longtime aide Paige Carter-Smith, have since left the confines of federal prison camp.

Mangel said federal inmates get 15% of their sentences knocked off automatically after reporting to prison. They also can earn substantial time credits for taking a prison job and participating in rehabilitative programs and are allowed to spend part of their sentence on home confinement. He added that Burnette served more time in prison that most of his clients who got the same 36-month sentence.

“Believe it or not, he did not get out that quickly,” Mangel said. “He got the bare minimum of what was owed to him.”

Burnette, a once-prominent force in Tallahassee business and political circles, was convicted for his role in a bribery ring orchestrated by Maddox, who agreed to take official action on behalf of city vendors and the FBI agents after getting payoffs through a lobbying firm he secretly controlled.

Maddox, who served on the City Commission for more than 15 years, including a stint as Tallahassee’s first directly elected mayor, and Carter-Smith pleaded guilty to bribery charges in 2019 and testified against Burnette. Maddox was sentenced to five years in prison; Carter-Smith got two years.

After spending about a year and a half in the federal prison camp in Pensacola, Maddox was released in May and placed on home confinement, which he is scheduled to complete by July 15, 2024. Carter-Smith was released last summer from the prison camp in Marianna and finished home confinement in January.

Federal inmates on home confinement are monitored by GPS and must remain at home with certain exceptions, Mangel said. They’re allowed to work 50 hours a week, exercise an hour a day, either walking outside or going to the gym, and can go to doctor’s appointments and religious services.

Once on home confinement, federal convicts earn one day off their sentence for every two days they serve, Mangel said. When their sentence is completed, they can apply for early termination of their probation as well.

Burnette’s sentence included a $1.25 million fine, which he paid, and three years of supervised release. The BOP shows Burnette, 46, will complete his sentence on Nov. 26. However, that date is subject to change, Mangel said.

The FBI probe in Tallahassee also led to indictments last summer against former Mayor Andrew Gillum and his close adviser Sharon Lettman-Hicks. However, campaign fraud charges were dropped earlier this year after jurors in their trial deadlocked but leaned heavily toward acquittal. The jury found Gillum not guilty for making false statements to FBI agents.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Burnette released from prison camp after Tallahassee City Hall FBI probe