March 21, 1963 saw the last inmate, Frank Wathernam, leave what famous federal prison, closed by order of then attorney general Robert F. Kennedy?
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary other prisons. The problem of Alcatraz was exacerbated by the fact that the prison had seriously deteriorated structurally from exposure to the salt air and wind and would need $5 million to fix. Major repairs began in 1958, but by 1961 the prison was evaluated by engineers to be a lost cause and Robert F. Kennedy submitted plans for a new maximum-security institution at Marion, Illinois. After the June 1962 escape from Alcatraz, the prison was the subject of heated investigations, and with the major structural problems and ongoing expense, the prison finally closed on 21 March 1963. The final
Presidency of John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963. Kennedy also signed an executive order banning sex discrimination in the federal workforce. The issue of organized crime had gained national attention during the 1950s due in part to the investigations of the McClellan Committee. Both Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy had played a role on that committee, and in 1960 Robert Kennedy published the book "The Enemy Within", which focused on the influence of organized crime within businesses and organized labor. Under the leadership of the attorney general, the Kennedy administration shifted the focus of the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Internal Revenue