'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss Warns Felicity Huffman About 'Club Fed' Prison
Sep. 18 2019, Updated 3:22 p.m. ET
Heidi Fleiss spent three years locked up in the same cushy federal prison where Felicity Huffman will likely serve her 14-day sentence, and now the former "Hollywood Madam" tells RadarOnline.com exclusively what life behind bars will be like for the disgraced actress.
While federal prison is looming for Huffman, Fleiss said she expects the former Desperate Housewives star, 56, will "have an interesting experience" at the facility where she served her own sentence more than two decades ago.
Dubbed the "Hollywood Madam" who ran a high-class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients like Charlie Sheen, Fleiss served her time in Dublin federal prison from 1997 to 2000.
"Two weeks is nothing, she will be just fine," Fleiss, 53, said of Huffman's impending prison stint. "I'm sure she's prepared for films that were much harder. This will make her a little bit more interesting now that she's a convicted felon, in my book."
Fleiss, who said there were times where "she had it rough" at Dublin, said she was initially scared when she first entered the federal prison.
"I didn't have it easy ... and I wound up being sent to the big prison across the street for some time," Fleiss recalled. "I still don't know if it was partly because of the nature I was arrested for, or partly my own fault, but I'm grateful now for all of it. Looking back now, it's funny how scared I was at time because, you know, it feels like nothing now."
Fleiss said her first few days at Dublin was a "reality check," but she quickly adjusted to prison life. The former madam said she met a girl who "schooled" her about life on the inside.
"My first day there, this really attractive officer showed me around, and there were inmates there who asked, 'Do you need coffee, tennis shoes ... do you need toothpaste?' I didn't know what they were talking about, but I just said yes. I had no idea all that kind of stuff mattered there because the government-issued stuff is just awful. The toothpaste is worst than licking a postage stamp! Felicity is going to be fine as long as she has money in her books, which for her, won't be a problem."
Fleiss said she would pay someone to make her bed, but what she couldn't get out of was kitchen duty — something Huffman might have to do as well. Fleiss said she would have to wake up at 4 a.m. for kitchen detail and worked grueling hours on clean up duty. Before her prison stint, she barely knew how to use a mop, Fleiss laughed.
"My first day at orientation, I panicked because I never mopped before," Fleiss said. "I grew up with housekeepers, so I didn't know what to do with a squeegee. But now, trust me, I can clean anything. ... If she (Felicity) is only going to be there for two weeks, she will do just fine. She won't have to worry about the horror I encountered."
Fleiss said the "Club Fed" moniker for Dublin is a misnomer, and things could get rough in the inside. Fleiss said she once got into an altercation with another inmate where she "freaked out" and hit the woman with a folding chair, which caused her to be sent to solitary confinement for a short period of time.
"In those few minutes, with other inmates around you, you are just frustrated and just don't know what to do," Fleiss said. "I didn't want to be the camp bitch, so I panicked and reacted. It felt like my whole life flashed in front of me."
Fleiss recalled meeting felons from all walks of life at Dublin — from serious felons who were housed in the prison because they were transitioning out, to a white collar criminals, who came from wealthy families. She befriended them all.
"I learned how to play 'country club bridge,'" Fleiss said. "There were snobby, wealthy women there, who of course always said they were innocent. There were some crazy people there who have been in prison for like 17 years, and they placed them back in (Dublin) before releasing them back to society to readjust first. But seriously, 14 days for (Huffman)? Come on! That's like a bad hangover. She will be fine. If anything, they will love her there."
Fleiss said Huffman was smart to take the plea agreement early, but balked at the thought of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Gianulli still fighting their charges.
"They need a reality check real quick because they are really going to get it handed to them," Fleiss said. "They are living in a bubble. It makes people have even more resentment towards the rich because they seem to have no remorse and it's so in your face. What they should do is make a sizable contribution to underprivileged students who can't afford to go to these colleges. Show a little class! This is their chance to do something positive."