LOS ANGELES -- Convicted junk-bond swindler Michael Milken, released from 22 months in prison earlier this year, will perform his court-mandated community service by working for the DARE America anti- drug group at a Los Angeles inner-city school.
The decision was announced late Thursday by DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, who originally sentenced Milken to 10 years in prison following for six counts of securities fraud.
As part of his three years of full-time community service, Milken will expand an existing after-school program run by DARE, best known for its 'Just Say No' anti-drug campaign.
Milken will teach students math and other academic subjects, help train volunteers, develop similar programs for other schools and meet with teachers, parents, community members and business people to encourage their participation.
The former financier will work at a middle school for sixth through eighth graders, although DARE has not yet identified exactly which facility he will serve. DARE has been developing a pilot program, called DARE-Plus for Play and Learn Under Supervision, for introduction this fall.
Milken served 22 months of an original 10-year sentence at the Federal Prison Work Camp in Pleasanton, Calif., before authorities transferred him from jail to a halfway house in early January.
The fallen financier, who must perform 1,800 hours of community service as part of his sentence, had his prison time shortened as a result of cooperation with authorities.
Milken, who has been living in his Encino-area home after leaving a Hollywood halfway house Feb. 1, still is under supervision by federal probation officers.
The former Drexel Burnham Lambert broker recently disclosed he has been treated for prostate cancer since his release from prison.
In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters to be broadcast Friday night on '20/20,' Milken also said he did not make any money dishonestly.
Instead, the financier claimed felonies he to which he pleaded guilty involved 'regulatory reporting requirements.'
Since his release from prison, Milken also said he wants to set up an education cable network that might involve pop star Michael Jackson.
Additionally, Milken has paid $1.1 billion in fines and civil settlements.
However, observers believe he still controls a fortune conservatively estimated at more than $500 million -- mostly held in investment partnerships set up during his Drexel tenure.
Experts also allege Milken put vast profits from those partnerships into accounts controlled by his immediate family.
