San Quentin was a maximum security prison in the United States. "Fingers" O'Flannegan was held there.
The commissioner caught him escaping, but had good news for him: Kurt Wurlitzer had contacted the government regarding his services, and he was to be released into his custody for a dangerous mission on another planet to rescue Wurlitzer's son. The commissioner suggested that O'Flannegan might be pardoned if the mission went well. (COMIC: Operation Wurlitzer)