By Joe Dwinell
Boston Herald
Lori Loughlin’s pre-lockup regimen reportedly includes martial arts training — a “horrible” idea that could land her in a harsher jail environment, a prison coach told the Herald.
Loughlin, 55, facing decades in jail if found guilty in the “Varsity Blues” college cheating scandal, is said to be anticipating a prison stint, according to reports. To brace for potential jail time, the “Full House” actress is being schooled in the dark arts of surviving behind bars.
That includes jail etiquette — from not looking other inmates in the eyes and learning the proper slang to not owing anyone a favor, the New York Post reports. Also, she’s taking martial arts training to fend off bullies, the website RadarOnline reports.
That martial arts tutoring, said Michael Frantz, director of Jail Time Consulting, better only include the solo exercise tai chi.
“She does have a prison coach and she’s getting horrible advice,” Frantz said Saturday. “If found guilty, she’s going to a federal prison camp and there won’t be anyone there beating her up.
“You actually don’t want to fight at all,” said Frantz, who said he has two Varsity Blues clients in his prison prep program. “If you fight, you will be sent to the next prison a level up. She’ll first go to the hole and then to a low-security prison.”
Frantz said “bulking up” for a fight is the wrong approach. Learning not to sit in someone else’s chair in the TV room, not taking any favors, knowing what to buy at the commissary and working the federal prison system to get out early should be Loughlin’s focus, he said.
Fellow actress Felicity Huffman, who did less than two weeks in a federal prison dubbed “Club Fed” just outside San Francisco last year, played it right, Frantz added. Huffman took a plea deal, apologized and quietly did her time. Her husband William H. Macy stopped by often to visit.
The former “Desperate Housewives” star served 11 days of a 14-day stint at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. She was let out early before the weekend hit.
Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are accused of paying a combined $500,000 to cheating scandal mastermind Rick Singer for their two daughters’ admissions to the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits. The charges include fraud and money laundering.
Singer has pleaded guilty in the “Varsity Blues” case and is cooperating with the government.
Loughlin and Giannulli’s blockbuster trial is expected to occur this year, with the next round of high-stakes hearings in federal court in Boston next month. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Frantz, who once did 36 months in prison for tax evasion, said Loughlin should brace for boredom — not a fight.
“Don’t go into the shower barefoot, but give back any sandals a fellow inmate loans you,” Frantz said. “You don’t want to owe anyone a favor. Don’t talk about yourself. No drama. No screaming. And watch out for guards, too.”
He stressed the federal prison system has programs focused on helping inmates get out early. That should be Loughlin’s focus, he added. “Second Chance, First Step programs are in place. She should study that. Once inside, take classes. Work on a book and know your prison manners. Time moves slowly inside,” he said. “Time is a killer. Time is the enemy.”
He added nobody will attack her, sexually or not, unless she invites it. The same goes for her husband. “Get into a project,” Frantz added.
“She should have taken the plea deal for two weeks in jail,” he added. “It’s going to be much more now.”
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