NEW YORK, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has assigned Martha Stewart inmate register number 55170-054, CNNfn reported Monday.
The Bureau of Prisons Web site says Stewart is "in transit," but Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said that does not mean an inmate is on the way to prison.
"After an offender is given a surrender date, they're entered into the system, and it defaults to 'in transit' until they arrive at their designated institution," said Billingsley. Inmates "almost always report on the date assigned."
Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ordered Stewart to report Oct. 8 for her five-month prison sentence. Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators about a stock sale of ImClone Systems.
Stewart has appealed, however, she chose to begin serving her sentence before the appeal was heard.
