LATEST NEWS

February 27, 2010
Sending a strong signal to anyone who does not heed Jeff’s message on the dangers of drinking and driving, on June 8, 2007, the California Board of Parole Hearings told Jeff to come back and try for parole again…in THREE more years. California sentenced Jeff on August 19, 2003, to 15 years-to-life which allows the Board of Parole Hearings to parole Jeff when they determine a sufficient sentence has been served and that Jeff no longer poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society. The minimum time Jeff was required to serve was ten years and that date passed on April 29, 2003.
Jeff serves this 15 year-to-life sentence for Second Degree Murder as a result of the 1992 DUI Murder that took the life of Mr Jilly Rizzo. The entire story can be read here.

By his own words, Jeff agrees with his being imprisoned. “I am a convicted murderer, I am ashamed of my actions and deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I brought to so many.” Jeff says on his website. “I made terrible choices that resulted in the murder of an innocent man.” Before that, he made terrible choices that led to alcoholism and drug addiction.

Once he entered prison in 1993, Jeff chose differently. Jeff gained sobriety with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, along with a myriad of self-help programs which Jeff has completed, and has remained sober during his incarceration while obtaining the tools necessary to live a life of sobriety. Bootlegged alcohol and drugs are readily available in prison but Jeff refuses it and works diligently to get others to do the same.

Jeff devoted himself to the development of his mind and spirit. “He has received from an accredited California university his Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a Master’s in Business Administration, and a Doctorate in Business,” explained Dr. Edward L. Lambert, Jeff’s father-in-law. “He did it with honors.”

Jeff began a crusade to warn others against the deadly effects of drunk driving. In fact, Jeff has made this crusade his most important purpose in life. His writings are used by the Betty Ford Center, California’s Alcohol Beverage Control, many professional sports teams, Alcohol and Drug Programs throughout the world, and High Schools, Colleges and Institutions. Many DUI Programs share Jeff’s message as part of their curriculum and Jeff has assisted directors in attacking this issue. Jeff’s website is directed at anyone who abuses alcohol and drugs, or thinks that it is okay to drive those few short blocks home after consuming a beer or two.

Recently, Jeff just earned his California State Certification as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor.

Jeff has five children and is married to his devoted wife Michelle. During visits at the prison, Jeff helps his children with academics and encourages them in making the right decisions and choices in life – choices and decisions he wishes he had made. Jeff tries to be a father to them and a husband to Michelle.

Jeff continues to have lucrative job offers awaiting him had he been paroled over the last three hearings, as well as a tremendous amount of support including the judge who sentenced Jeff to prison.

Jeff was transferred to Corcoran State Prison, many miles from his family. Jeff had been at Tehachapi but the prison was closed to general population inmates. While in Tehachapi, Jeff was involved in, and facilitated, many psycho-educational programs for the prison. Jeff became the only certified trainer for the Laubach Literacy Program and made a significant impact training and teaching other inmates in basic education and life skills. Jeff participated in the “Seeking To Educate Endangered Kids (SEEK) Program and impacted the lives of at-risk kids who were at the turning point of good or bad. Through Jeff’s efforts, men and teens from all walks of life are making the choices that edify their lives and society is being saved the costs of incarcerating these men and raising their children.

Jeff recently became a “Lifer Mentor” in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s premiere substance abuse treatment program, Walden House, at Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility. Walden House only accepts the best of the best and Jeff continues to spread a message of hope to men within the prison system. Jeff conducts seminars and workshops, as well as facilitates many programs including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Nurturing Fathers, Beat The Streets, Criminal and Addictive Thinking, Socialization, Alcohol and Drug Education, Thinking For a Change, and others. Jeff is also the Chairman of the Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous Programs. Jeff is constantly seeking additional training to become more effective in his crusade to help change lives. Once again, at a time when most individuals would become bitter at a system that is seemingly broken, Jeff searches for, and finds ways in which he can help someone else.

Jeff will soon appear before the Parole Board again in June, 2010. This will be Jeff’s fourth attempt at parole. Jeff and his family and friends hope for his release believing society will benefit from his service work and from the man he has become.

Jeff appreciates any feedback or recommendation on how this site can be made more effective in saving lives.