JOHN R BARTOLOMEO

Greetings from one of Uncle Sam’s brick Jungles. My name is John Bartolomeo, everybody knows me as “Johnny Bart.” I first heard this abbreviation of my full name while I was playing hockey as a kid because parents had a difficult time pronouncing my last name…that’s how the nickname “Johnny Bart” came to be. You can “Google” it too and see that the media and the federal government have a much different perception of Johnny Bart than the hockey moms and dads of yesteryear. Either way, as with all things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of Barbara and Charlie’s little boy who loved hockey to violent member of the Hells Angels. It’ll be up to you to draw your own conclusions…

I came to prison in 1996. In the last 22 years I have worked hard every single day. The 2 things I do every day: Work-out and study. As my sentence winds down, I keep pushing myself to work harder and study more effectively. Sculpting my body and sharpening my mind continues to be a life-saving therapy for me. When I reenter society in a little more than 6 years I want to be bigger, faster, better, smarter and stronger. While my diet and work-outs supersede everything else, studying and mastering the Spanish language runs a very close second. For the past 3 1/2 years, I have engaged in an intense study of the Spanish language. I can now read, write, understand and speak Spanish. I have even devised 2 Spanish curricula. The latest curriculum I created will be taught to 22 students here at FCI, Elkton in Early September: Ahora tu sabes que podemos comunicarnos en espanol tambien si quieres.

This last year has been a tough one for me. I was kicked out of a minimum security camp, lost a sure-winner appeal, and because of a long stretch in the hole and losing a bid for what looked like a ticket to freedom, my wife separated from me and we are now in the process of divorce. I guess it’s true when they say “Bad things come in 3’s.” Whatever the case may be, I continue to adhere to my routine: I believe that perseverance is the key and you can never give up because if you do, you’ll never get to experience the miracle. One of my favorite quotes describes how I live my life: “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

My greatest blessing is that even after 22 years, I STILL have a GREAT core of friends and family that mean the world to me and support me 1000%. Here, in this forum, I am excited about the opportunity to turn a bad beginning of 2018 into a great ending of 2018 and beyond. I would love to meet you and get to know you so we can build what everybody in the world wants: lasting friendships in whatever form they may take. I have various means of communication at my disposal: noteworthy is I have access to an e-mail system and a text service that utilizes that e-mail system. Yet, initially, the best way to get in touch with me is through regular mail. You can send letters, greeting cards and about 10 pictures at a time. Have a good one and I hope to hear from you soon