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Richard Schlesinger : These well-known , well-heeled defendants became captains of industry on their way up and may have helped create a cottage industry as they went down.
David Novak : Nobody likes going to prison.
Richard Schlesinger : David Novak is doing quite well as one of a few prison consultants providing high-priced advice to white-collar convicts. He learned his trade the hard way.
David Novak : I ditched an aircraft , swam away and left the country.
Richard Schlesinger : He spent a year and a day in a federal prison camp after faking his own death for the insurance money , it taught him a lesson -- crime doesn't pay , but these days wealthy criminals do.
Richard Schlesinger : "What do they wanna know when they come to see you , what's their first question ? "
David Novak : Am I gonna be OK, am I going to be raped , am I going to be beat up?
Richard Schlesinger : Novak won't name his clients , but that's him , walking behind Bernard Ebbers , the former head of WorldCom, now appealling a 25-year sentence for fraud. So what kind of man like Bernard Ebbers learn from David Novak? His best advice for high-profile convicts: lower the profile , blend in. It can be a tough introduction to a tough new life.
David Novak : "In a corporate boardroom, I had a person crawl under a conference table go into a fetal position and cry for 90 minutes. "
Richard Schlesinger : They may cry, but they have to learn new rules , like "Don't cozy up to the guards
David Novak : "That's an incredible faux pas within the inmate rules of etiquette. "
Richard Schlesinger : Novak can help clients get a sign to the right kind of prison like these minimum security camps at the right place close to home.
Richard Schlesinger : One of Novak's clients who did not want to be identified said , Novak knows the system so well , he gave him the names of the good guards and the bad guards , and even referred him to another inmate who could show him the ropes.
Alfred Porro : When you walk into jail , you are in hell.
Richard Schlesinger : Former attorney Alfred Porro did 5 years for looting client trust funds and tax evasion among other things. He didn't use a consultant , but wishes he did.
Alfred Porro : It never occurred to me that I needed a consultant to go to jails.
Richard Schlesinger : Sounds like you could use one.
Alfred Porrd : Oh, Could I have used one ? I could use one very desperately.
Richard Schlesinger : Novak charges his clients tens of thousands of dollars, but who wouldn't pay if you had it? And if it could make hard time just a little bit easier.
Richard Schlesinger, CBS News , Salt Lake City.
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