Crumbling ceilings in underground tunnels force closure of Terminal Island prison

Crumbling infrastructure has forced the closure of a low-security prison in San Pedro that has housed a host of infamous inmates over the years including Al Capone and Charles Manson, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed this week.

Conditions at the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island, which houses nearly 1,000 inmates, have been a years-long problem. An assessment conducted last year by an architectural and engineering firm identified more than $110 million in critical repairs needed at the prison over the next 20 years. The prison is currently home to disgraced celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti and former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.

More recently, officials discovered problems involving the support structure of the steam system used for heating the facility, which “prompted immediate action,” including the relocation of inmates, said Donald Murphy, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“We take seriously our responsibility to safeguard the inmates in our care, our staff, and the broader community. Once we have assessed the situation further and ensured the safety of all those involved, we will determine the next steps for FCI Terminal Island,” Murphy said.

Entrance to the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The prison, which opened in 1938, is the latest federal correctional facility to close over the past year amid serious budgetary and operational challenges, including severe staffing shortages, lack of funding to repair aging infrastructure, sexual assault of inmates and contraband across the prison system.

In late 2024, the Bureau of Prisons announced that seven facilities, including the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, would be shuttered. Inmates at that prison had dealt with years of sexual abuse that led to the firing of top officials and the prosecution of the facility’s former warden and chaplain.

It is not clear how long the Terminal Island facility will be closed. Inmates will be moved to other facilities, though officials did not specify where, saying only that the agency is prioritizing keeping people “as close as possible to their anticipated release locations.”

Federal Bureau of Prison Director William K. Marshall III cited problems with underground tunnels containing the facility’s steam heating system in a memo to staff on Tuesday obtained by the Associated Press.

Ceilings in the tunnels have begun to deteriorate, causing chunks of concrete to fall and putting employees and the heating system at risk, he said.

“We are not going to wait for a crisis,” Marshall told employees. “We are not going to gamble with lives. And we are not going to expect people to work or live in conditions that we would never accept for ourselves.”

This isn’t the first time the prison has faced critical infrastructure problems.

In 2019, as Los Angeles was experiencing the coldest February in decades, two units that housed more than 200 inmates at the Terminal Island facility lost heat after an underground steam line failed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.