Nation: Three Bars for Dannemora

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CORSICAN brigands, Algerian footpads, Parisian safecrackers and other prowlers in the French underworld learned last week what they were missing by practicing crime at home 'instead of abroad in the U.S. A recent issue of Figaro printed excerpts from My American Prisons, a new book by Parisian Jacques Angelvin, 54, who describes his five years of confinement in half a dozen U.S. jails. Responding to the author's Michelinesque approach, Figaro also displayed appropriate symbols to indicate the comfort, cuisine, amenities, amusements and other facilities offered by American jails.

Angelvin came a cropper on a 1962 visit to the U.S. He had built a minor Paris reputation as a television M.C. and animator of the popular Tele-Paris TV show. After obtaining a month's leave of absence from the French network, Angelvin sailed for New York accompanied by his large Buick sedan. Narcotics agents, already interested in Angelvin's connections with a suspected drug dealer named Scaglia, voyaged with him; on landing, Angelvin was accused of having illegally imported 50 kilos of heroin hidden in the car. Before his trial, Angelvin was held as a material witness in several New York City lockups; after being sentenced to five years, he served time in Sing Sing and Dannemora, with occasional side trips to such jails as the smart, brand-new one in Utica, which he regarded as well "worth a special visit."

Some of Angelvin's considered judgments, rated by bars rather than stars:

∙Manhattan's Civil Jail:

Rather like a seedy pension for men only; comfortable beds, ample food; telephone, cooking and refrigerator privileges. Amiable guards, and a mixed clientele largely made up of men behind in their alimony payments.

∙Brooklyn's Raymond Street Jail: Dirty, crowded, uncomfortable; run by not-very-bright attendants who, though not sadistic, administer beatings dispassionately, as a way to relieve their tedium. (The authorities evidently agreed with Angelvin's assessment, and the jail has since been razed.)

∙Bronx House of Detention: A real paradise; luxurious bed and mattress; large cells with a cityscape of The Bronx. Breakfast served in each cell; hot showers available; communal corridor, where lunch is dispensed from rolling carts. Newspapers and notions readily available.

∙Sing Sing: Superb management, which is ready to treat you like a human being so long as you act like one; beautiful view of the broad Hudson; free buses to various points of interest within the walls; each cell outfitted with a wardrobe, small table and chair; the meals abundant, varied and good in the American style; three different kinds of bread, all excellent.

∙Dannemora: Scenically located on the Canadian border; cells resemble those at Sing Sing and are impeccably clean; siesta permitted between morning and afternoon work periods; ice skating, bobsledding and skiing available in season; clientele permitted to have their own gardens (Angelvin was allowed to raise his own potatoes so as not to have to eat frozen french fries); waiters in the dining room attired in white hats, jackets and gloves.

∙Utica Jail: Completely automated, but the equipment was not then fully understood by the guards.