Mitnick tries a religion crack

No one can say Kevin Mitnick lacks imagination, persistence, or chutzpah. The legendary hacker, cracker and phone phreaker hopes to wriggle out of his present detention facility because kosher meals are unavailable. Mitnick reportedly refused to eat during the first 48 hours of his incarceration at the San Bernardino County Detention Center, to which he was transferred from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center following sentencing. The MDC is noticeably more commodious than the crummy little county Podunk he's in at the moment, but Mitnick insists that his desire for kosher food is sincere. He is reported to have followed a strict kosher diet throughout his incarceration. US District Judge Marianne Pfaelzer rejected appeals from Mitnick's lawyers that he remain at the MDC, where kosher meals (and smaller cells) are available. His legal team is currently requesting a transfer back to MDC until Mitnick is assigned a permanent home to serve the remainder of his sentence. He is expected to be released in January. The San Bernardino County Detention Center's rabbi, Hillel Cohn, confirmed that the facility doesn't offer kosher meals. But, the good rabbi points out, "[prison] wasn't meant to be a country club." What a comfort he must be to the inmates. ®