According to him, SBF was initially "out of its element" and was a target for attacks because of its timid nature and "the body of an 80-year-old man." One of the prisoners even allegedly tried to extort money from him for patronage.
"He wanted Bankman-Fried to feel that it was dangerous and he needed protection, but I told him to not listen to these damn guys," Borrello recalls.
At the same time, the former head of FTX was held in a separate building of the prison for rich and government employees, and not in the total number of prisoners.
Borrello described SBF as a timid person who talks "with his head down and is very nervous." When the ex-billionaire was asked what kind of watch and car he had, he replied that he wore an Apple Watch and drove a 2020 Toyota Camry.
"My friends and I said,' So why the fuck did you steal the money? To view them?"",- said the former mobster.
He suggested that rumours of wealth were preventing Bankman-Fried from "becoming one of his own in prison" because of the threat of repeated extortion.
Once behind bars, SBF initially did not realize the full scale of the problems and believed that it would "get off easy". However, Borrello and other prisoners tried to convey to him the seriousness of the charges of stealing billions of dollars, after which Bankman-Fried realized "how fucked up he was."
"We looked at him like he was crazy. I tried to explain to him that he might never see what's on the other side of the bars again," the former prisoner added.
Borrello also warned Bankman-Fried that the judge leading his case, Judge Lewis Kaplan, is considered "the most strict judge in the Southern District." The former head of FTX, who is facing a 115-year prison term, called the ex-mafia leader "madness".
He believes that for prosecutors and judges, the SBF case is an opportunity to become famous and move up the career ladder, which does not play into the hands of the defendant himself.
"All they care about is fame. He is a cause of glory. So he's screwed," Borrello concluded.
