Charles Manson’s Secret Prison Business
New York Post, Page Six
August 2, 2009
Charles Manson secretly runs an autograph business out of his cell, peddling his signature to sicko collectors of crime memorabilia, a new book claims.
In “Five to Die,” out this month from Thor Publishing, veteran journalist Ivor Davis claims the homicidal cult leader has become one of the richest inmates in the California corrections system by selling signed photos and other mementos he quietly smuggles out of Corcoran State Prison.
“Only he doesn’t even sign the pictures. He has fellow inmates doing an assembly line of signatures for him. It shows you he’s still manipulating people. It really boggles the mind,” Davis told Page Six.
“Manson has also tried to smuggle pieces of his clothing out. And he fashions these little cloth scorpions out of socks to sell. Most of them are confiscated by guards, but some make it out,” said Davis, adding that money from the proceeds is then sent to Manson’s prison trust-fund account.
He added that Manson devotee Sandra Good — who was not involved in the Manson family murders but served 15 years for sending death threats to corporate executives she accused of “polluting the earth” — occasionally helps him with cash.
But prison spokeswoman Terry Thornton told us that while Manson is allowed to mail items to outsiders who then could sell them, officials could find no evidence of an autograph business. She added that people can send inmates small amounts of money — typically $5 to $40 — and that Good had sent Manson money in the past.
Manson — who masterminded the savage Tate/LaBianca killings 40 years ago this month — is now 74 and serving life behind bars. “He’s described as a little slower, and spends a lot of time in his cell . . . playing his guitar and singing songs,” Thornton said. In recent years, he was cited for possession of a weapon and threatening a guard, she said.