Gordon Fox to serve remainder of sentence at halfway house in Pawtucket

After more than two years in a Pennsylvania federal prison, Former House Speaker Gordon Fox will be moved to a halfway house in Pawtucket.

Mayor Donald Grebien tells ABC 6 News that the move to the Houston House is considered to be "a transfer to a less secured facility, not a release."

The CEO and President of Community Resources for Justice, the company who runs the reentry center in Pawtucket wouldn’t comment on Fox specifically, but says the 25 inmates living at the Houston house are under tight surveillance.

"Their movement is very much controlled. They have to follow a very strict itinerary every day that speaks to when they leave to go to work or to go find work,” said John Larivee.

The once arguably most powerful politician in the state will be subject to searches each and every day.

"People are searched when they come back to the facility, their bags or parcels that they are bringing. We do regular drug and alcohol testing and there are regular searches throughout the facility to control for contraband,” said Larivee.

Fox plead guilty to charges of wire fraud, bribery and filing a false tax return back in 2015. He was sentenced to serve three years behind bars.

Fox is scheduled to be released in mid-February.

"Particularly for people who have been away for a long period of time and people who need to start a different path than the one they were on before, Houston House and programs like it provide that reentry path,” said Larivee.

It’s not clear when exactly Fox will be making the move from Pennsylvania. 

(C) WLNE 2017