Convicted bank robber Kenneth Conley smirked and winked in federal court Monday as he listened to a federal judge give a lengthy legal explanation for sentencing him to almost 3½ years in prison for his dramatic escape from a Loop federal jail in 2012.
But as U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman was wrapping up his comments, Conley — already facing a 20-year prison term for the bank robbery – waved a hand and said he had something to add.
“You can take your analogy and shove it right up your (expletive), judge,” Conley, dressed in a yellow jail jumpsuit, said in a matter-of-fact tone.
A stunned Feinerman paused for a second and replied, “Thank you.” Conley was then led away by U.S. marshals.
It was a bizarre end to a case that had enraptured Chicago when Conley and his cellmate — convicted bank robber Joseph “Jose” Banks – cut a hole in the concrete wall of the Metropolitan Correctional Center and used a rope fashioned from bed sheets and dental floss to scale down 17 stories in the middle of the night.
Feinerman ruled that Conley should serve his 41-month sentence for the escape on top of the time he’s doing for the bank robbery, noting his “incorrigible violent past” with nearly two dozen convictions including armed robbery and aggravated assault. The judge also said the brazen escape demonstrated how “nothing has worked” when it comes to convincing Conley to use his talents in a positive way.
“Doing what Mr. Conley did takes brains, it takes ingenuity and it takes gumption,” Feinerman said. “…It shows that he is a force to be reckoned with.”