Prison Economics: Charles Manson Earns Some Toilet Paper

I see where Drudge is running with a story about Charles Manson getting caught with a cell phone.

Five years or so ago, at a cocktail party, I met a former prison guard who worked where Manson is incarcerated.  He told me that they have Manson really locked down and he doesn't get anything he is not supposed to. He did tell me, however, that the guards make a lot of money off of Manson because there are plenty of people who are willing to pay to talk to Manson or have Manson call someone as a goof.

The price starts at $100 and goes up. According to this former guard, all a guard would have to do is give Manson something very minor like an extra roll of toilet paper and he would make the call.

It sounds like something like this was going down in the NBC report that Drudge links to, since it has this to say:

While prison officials would not say who Manson contacted, "Inside Edition" broadcast recordings of a voice identified as Manson's, on March 23, 2009.

One featured him singing, "I've seen the world spinning on fire, I've danced and sang in the devil's choir."