Denny Hecker has a new home. Again.
The failed Minnesota auto mogul, who is serving a 10 year federal prison sentence for fraud, was recently moved to his ninth federal prison in five years.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed this week that Hecker was transported from a federal prison in Littleton, Colo., to one in Pekin, Ill., sometime in November but would not say why.
Hecker, 63, had been at the Federal Correctional Instituion in Littleton, Colo., since spring 2013. He was moved there after being bounced from prison to prison for about a year.
Attorneys familiar with Hecker's case and the jail relocation tactic said that some of the prison moves were part of a disruptive "diesel therapy" designed to get troublesome inmates to understand who is in control. Hecker was reported to have repeatedly abused cell phone privileges while in jail several years ago.
After his arrest in 2010, Hecker was originally jailed in Sherburne County before being sentenced to the federal Duluth Prison Camp in spring 2011. From there, he was relocated (sometimes more than one time) to prisons in Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Loretto and Scranton, Pa.
As far as Hecker's latest prison move, it is not clear what prompted it or how long he will be in Illinois.
Bureau of Prison spokesman D. Williams would say only, "The reason for his transfer is not considered public information and will not be disclosed."
The once loud, lively and hyper-promotional Hecker was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March 2011 for altering bank loan documents and scamming auto-fleet lenders and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court out of millions of dollars.
He filed for bankruptcy in 2009, claiming he owed creditors nearly $800 million. Once indicted on criminal charges, he still insisted he had no money and needed and won a public defender.
However, the bankruptcy trustee found evidence of Hecker eating at fancy restaurants, getting pool service and illegally tapping into secret insurance funds, loaded cash cards and bank loans that were not reported to the bankruptcy court.
Hecker could be released from prison as early as July 4, 2019, which assumes he gets credit for participating in the federal government's drug and alcohol treatment program. Hecker has been ordered to pay $31.36 million in restitution to victims.
