Hecker moved again, this time to federal prison in Indiana

Denny Hecker is on the move, but his destination remains a day-to-day mystery.

The imprisoned ex-auto dealer was taken Wednesday from the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth to a medium-security prison in Wisconsin. On Thursday, he was back on the road, eventually reaching a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.

Prison officials won't say why Hecker is being transferred, only that he will likely end up in a facility similar to the one in Duluth or with a slightly higher security level.

"I know where he is ultimately going, but I can't say publicly," said Chris Burke, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C.

Some have speculated that Hecker was deemed a flight risk. Other associates say the sudden shuffle may have something to do with Hecker abusing cell phone privileges. A longtime friend said he'd heard that Hecker was caught three times smuggling cell phones into the Duluth prison.

It was unclear how long Hecker will remain in Terre Haute before his transfer is complete, Burke said. Inmate relocations are frequently made by bus, with many prison stops along the way, he noted. But wherever the 59-year-old ends up, it's clear that Hecker is on a new leg of his long, strange trip from multimillionaire to convict in transit.

Attorney Bill Mauzy, who last represented Hecker in criminal court, said: "I don't know the reason for [Denny's] transfer. But it doesn't take much. A rules violation or several violations can trigger a transfer. The Bureau of Prisons has virtually unbridled discretion in classifying prisoners by security level and in reclassifying a prisoner in their custody."

That same month, his jailed wife, Christi Rowan Hecker, was released from an Illinois prison to a halfway house in Minnesota. His sequestering also occurred around the same time that a bankruptcy trustee won the right to subpoena Hecker's friends about his money sources. The trustee, Randy Seaver, has long suspected Hecker of hiding assets that could be used to repay creditors he defrauded.

Since his move into solitary confinement, Hecker has feared he might be moved out of the state, said his former defense attorney, Brian Toder.

Whatever Hecker's final prison home, it is likely to have either a minimum- or "low-level" security classification, Burke said. Prisoners are rarely relocated to a prison two steps above the security level of their original prison, Burke said.

If Hecker loses minimum-security status, he is likely to face greater restrictions. Toder said that when Hecker was in Duluth, he enjoyed walks in the morning, tennis in the afternoon and Texas hold 'em at night.

Mauzy, who represented Hecker during his sentencing, said he was disappointed to hear that Hecker had been moved.

Victoria Joseph, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said that all prisons have recreation programs for prisoners, so Hecker is likely to remain somewhat active. However, higher-security prisons often have double-perimeter fencing with razor wire, electronic monitoring equipment and a higher staff-to-inmate ratio than minimum-security prisons like Duluth.

The accommodations may differ, too. Instead of dormitory-style housing, Hecker's new home could have cells.

Hecker's ex-wife, Tamitha Hecker, said in a phone interview Thursday that Hecker's relocation to a facility farther away "is not going to change anything that we are currently doing" with regard to visitation. She and Hecker, who have two minor children together, divorced in 2009.

Businessman Ralph Thomas, who has been friends with Hecker for more than 30 years, said Thursday that it's "too bad about Denny. ... But he just can't help himself."

Thomas said he heard that Hecker had gotten into trouble in the Duluth prison after abusing phone privileges. Hecker was caught smuggling a cell phone into the prison on three occasions, Thomas said. "They caught him with one and took it away and they caught him with another one and took it away. And they caught him again."

"This summer, when I am at the lake and I get bored, I will go see him," Thomas said. Hecker would not do well in a large prison with violent criminals, said Thomas.

Hecker "is not a fighter," Thomas said. "If someone smacked him in the mouth, he would probably turn around and leave."