You should know that there is no special prison for white-collar criminals. Most do end up in minimum-security federal prison camps, which often have dormitory-like accommodations and no fences, but remember—along with the scoundrel who stole money from accounting, you’ll be bunking with a whole bunch of people convicted of drug crimes. That said:

1. Cheer Up!
Just because you’re prison bound, there’s no reason to abandon your can-do attitude. Just as you got a better house, car, and private plane than the next guy, you’re likely to get a better jail cell too. It’s one of the perks of stealing from shareholders rather than from a 7-Eleven clerk, so make the best of it.

2. Try to Get Your Time Reduced
Not that you shouldn’t try to make the least of it as well. Before you accept a plea, cut the best deal you can, just as you did in business before you were indicted. Your plea will affect the duration and terms of your incarceration. Work with a "mitigation specialist" who can help guide you to your first choice among prisons—a penitentiary close to home, for instance. Or maybe you would prefer somewhere warm: F.P.C. Pensacola is a nice choice; you can leave the big house with a tan. You may not always be able to close the deal, however. Martha Stewart wanted to serve her time in Danbury, Connecticut, not far from some of her homes, but she wound up in Alderson, West Virginia, which wasn’t even her backup choice.
 
3. Say “No Comment”
Don’t talk to the press. Prison guards can read too, and your flip comments about looking forward to working on your tennis game while inside won’t go over well. It also shows your ignorance: Sorry, but Club Feds are as dead as disco.

4. Don’t Get Sick
• Prison medical staffs may not be up to the standard you have come to expect, so seek as much preventive care as possible before you head in. See your doctor for a thorough physical, including tests for TB, hepatitis B and C, and H.I.V. And get your heart checked.
• Have as much dental work done as you can: Get new crowns and fillings; have your dentures reworked. In prison, the wait to see a dentist can be two to five months, and prison dentists tend to extract at every opportunity.
• No contact lenses are allowed, so buy a heavy, tough pair of frames. Make sure you have plastic lenses, as fellow inmates may want to steal glass ones to craft weapons.

5. Be a Subscriber
Subscribe in advance to magazines or book clubs. In prison, you won’t have internet access—no Amazon.com. Hardcover books have to come directly from booksellers or publishers. Take a tip from Sam Waksal, former C.E.O. of Imclone, who posted a lengthy wish list on Amazon before he went in, so his few remaining friends could keep him supplied with reading material.

6. Keep Up Your Contacts
Prisoners can’t receive phone calls. For regular mail, tell your correspondents to make sure they write their return addresses and your inmate number on the front of the envelope, or it won’t be delivered.

7. Take Care of Business in Advance
You are not allowed to conduct any business while incarcerated. Phones are monitored, and don’t even think of trying to speak in code. The Bureau of Prisons has heard it all before, and if you are caught, you may find yourself in the Special Housing Unit (a.k.a. the Hole). Better to give power of attorney to a trusted family member who can hold down the fort. If you want to break the rules and conduct business, do it in person in the visiting room, where nobody’s really listening anyway—most of the time.

8. Give Yourself an Allowance
In prison, you can buy candy, snacks, cosmetics, beverages, writing materials, and clothing at the commissary, a kind of general store. For this you’ll need an account funded from the outside. Enlist a willing friend or family member to send money you’ve given them in advance via a federal postal money order, which will clear the federal system the fastest. You are allowed to spend a maximum of $300 monthly, and you’ll want that full amount for your first two months, to cover such basics as a radio, sneakers, sweats, and underwear. Plan to spend $150 to $200 a month thereafter, mostly for extra food and beverages.

9. Steel Yourself
You are not a criminal. Keep telling yourself that. You are not a criminal; you made an error. People with criminal intent use guns. You used an investment bank.

10. Enjoy the Me Time
Think of prison as a sabbatical, a rare and welcome chance for self-improvement. Teach yourself Spanish, finally read War and Peace, or learn to design Web pages (though you’ll have to apply your knowledge later, as you won’t have a computer). Perform some community service: Offer to help another inmate learn to read or get his G.E.D. You’ll never have this kind of time again.

SOURCES: John Webster, managing director of National Prison & Sentencing Consultants; Alan Ellis, founder of the Law Offices of Alan Ellis; and David Novak, founder of David Novak Consulting.