Santos Mocked South Jersey Prison's ‘Cheap, Gaudy’ Décor

George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican representative, reported to federal custody on July 25 at FCI Fairton, the, to begin an 87-month sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Santos was granted clemency by President Donald Trump on Friday after serving less than three months of his sentence.

In announcing the commutation on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said Santos had been "horribly mistreated" and called him a "bit of a 'rogue,'" but "at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

Santos Complained About His South Jersey Prison

After a month of being held at Fairton Prison in Fairfield Township, Santos began to complain openly in an opinion column in the South Shore Press.

"Let me tell you something: I thought I'd seen government dysfunction before, but never at this level," Santos wrote. "What I've witnessed here is not just inefficiency, it's outright chaos, sometimes bordering on what I can only describe as criminal negligence.

Among his main objections was a visit from a prison administrator he described as “childish”, who allegedly joked the facility could have marble floors and a jacuzzi, and inmates would still complain.

“Personally, I find marble to be cheap, gaudy, and tacky. But that’s beside the point,” he wrote.

According to Santos, snide comments like that one undermine the real problems in the prison, such as black mold, he claims was merely “covered [ed] up” and an air conditioning issue that was just recently resolved “after what felt like an eternity.”

Santos also took issue with the prison's state-issued 'fluorescent yellow' jumpsuit he was given to wear.

“From day one, I’ve encountered characters who could populate a novel. Within hours of my arrival, a man walked right up to me, no hesitation, and said, ‘You’re the congressman, but you can call me the senator.'”

“That was my welcoming committee,” he wrote.

Santos also complained about:

-The shower water was always cold

- The only amenities were a steel toilet and sink fused together

- The air feels stale

- The soap was government-issued sandpaper

The 37-year-old Republican, who lied about nearly all of his professional and academic achievements before being elected to the House of Representatives, was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after less than a year in office.