The Washington Post - 22.08.2019

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

BY DEVLIN BARRETT

At least eight Bureau of Prisons
staffers knew that strict instruc-
tions had been given not to leave
multimillionaire sex offender Jef-
frey Epstein alone in his cell, yet the
order was apparently ignored in the
24 hours leading up to his death,
according to people familiar with
the matter.
The fact that so many prison
officials were aware of the directive
— not just low-level correctional
officers, but supervisors and man-
agers — has alarmed investigators
assessing what so far appears to be
a stunning failure to follow instruc-
tions, these people said. Like oth-
ers, they spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss ongoing in-
vestigations. They declined to iden-
tify the eight.
Investigators suspect that at
least some of these individuals also
knew Epstein had been left alone in
a cell before he died, and they are
working to determine the extent of
such knowledge, these people said,
cautioning that the apparent disre-
gard for the instruction does not
necessarily mean there was crimi-
nal conduct. The explanation, they
said, could be simpler and sadder —
bureaucratic incompetence span-
ning multiple individuals and
ranks within the organization.
The Bureau of Prisons declined
to comment.
“It’s perplexing,” said Robert
Hood, a former warden at the feder-
al Supermax prison in Florence,
Colo. “If people were given instruc-
tions that Epstein should not be left
alone, I don’t understand how they
were not followed.”
Hood, who also once served as
the Bureau of Prisons’ chief of inter-
nal affairs, said it was disconcerting
that officials might have thought
they were putting Epstein on a less-
intensive form of suicide watch.
“You’re either on suicide watch
or you’re not. If you have any con-
cern at all, you maintain the suicide
watch,” he said.
Epstein, 66, was found dead in
his cell at the Metropolitan Correc-
tional Center during the early

morning of Aug. 10. He had been

held at the facility in Lower Man-

hattan for more than a month on

sex trafficking charges that could

have led to a prison sentence of as

much as 45 years. He had pleaded

not guilty, and the case was due to

go to trial next year.

Epstein hanged himself using a

bedsheet fastened to his bunk bed,

according to a person familiar with

the investigation. New York City’s

medical examiner has ruled the

death a suicide — a finding not

accepted by Epstein’s lawyers, who

said they are conducting their own

investigation.

The death has prompted investi-

gations and a leadership overhaul

at the Bureau of Prisons, the federal

agency that runs the jail. On Mon-

day, Attorney General William P.

Barr named Kathleen Hawk Saw-

yer its new director, having re-

placed the detention center’s war-

den days earlier.

The circumstances surrounding

Epstein’s death are being investi-

gated by the FBI and the Justice

Department’s inspector general.

Speaking Wednesday at an unre-

lated event in Dallas, Barr said that

the investigation is “well along,”

adding, “I think I’ll soon be in a

position to report to Congress and

the public the results.”

Barr said there had been some

delays in the investigation “because

a number of the witnesses were not

cooperative. A number of them re-

quired having union representa-

tives and lawyers.” He also said

there were “serious irregularities at

the center. At the same time I have

seen nothing that undercuts the

finding of the medical examiner

that this was a suicide.”

The investigations already have

found a troubling lack of follow-

through by Bureau of Prisons per-

sonnel after a July 23 incident in

which Epstein may have tried to kill

himself, according to people famil-

iar with them.

In that incident, guards rushed

to Epstein’s cell when his cellmate

at the time, Nicholas Tartaglione,

began yelling, according to these

people. Tartaglione told officers he

had noticed Epstein with a bed-

sheet around his neck and ap-

peared to be trying to kill himself,

the people said.

Epstein denied that, they said,

and told prison staff that he had

been attacked — something Tarta-

glione denied.

Some MCC staff doubted Ep-

stein’s claim he was attacked, sus-

pecting he either faked a suicide

attempt or intended to take his own

life, the people familiar said.

Epstein was placed on suicide

watch, but officials lifted those

measures six days later, on July 29.

On that day, MCC officials returned

Epstein to a special housing unit

known as Nine South — where offi-

cers were directed to check on him

in his cell every 30 minutes. The

other explicit condition of his re-

moval from suicide watch was that

Epstein would not be left alone in a

cell, these people said.

That instruction was spelled out

widely within the chain of com-

mand, people familiar with the

matter said, and one of the issues

investigators are trying to under-

stand better is how so many people

could have known of the instruc-

tion and still failed to enforce it.

Upon his return to the special

housing unit, Epstein was placed in

a cell with a suspect other than Tart-

aglione, according to people famil-

iar with the case. Authorities have

not identified that individual, who

was moved out of the cell Aug 9. By

the next morning, Epstein was dead.

Investigators are examining ex-

actly why that cellmate was relocat-

ed, people familiar with the matter

said, and why detention center staff

failed for several hours to make the

required checks on Epstein every

30 minutes. He was found about

6:30 a.m. as breakfast was being

delivered to inmates.

The head of the local union that

represents MCC staffers did not re-

spond to requests for comment. An

FBI spokesman and a spokesman

for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan

declined to comment.

The death of such a high-profile

defendant has brought intense

scrutiny to the Justice Department

generally and the Bureau of Prisons

specifically. Union officials have

said such a suicide was inevitable,

given long-term shortstaffing at the

MCC and throughout the bureau, a

situation that has led to employees

working extensive overtime.

The two staffers assigned to

check on Epstein the morning he

died were both working overtime —

one forced to do so by management,

the other for his fourth or fifth

consecutive day, the president of

the local union has previously said.

Epstein’s death has sparked re-

newed criticism of the Justice De-

partment from lawmakers and oth-

ers who have accused officials of not

taking the Epstein case seriously.

Epstein was arrested July 6 after

landing at New Jersey’s Teterboro

Airport. The sex trafficking charges

filed in New York involved dozens

of girls and alleged incidents span-

ning 2002 to 2005.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty in

Florida to state charges based on

similar conduct, as part of an agree-

ment with federal prosecutors that

has been widely criticized as too

lenient. That deal allowed Epstein

to avoid being accused of federal

crimes, and he ultimately spent 13

months in jail with flexible

work-release privileges.

Its terms were approved by Alex

Acosta, who was then the U.S. attor-

ney in Miami. Acosta served as

President Trump’s labor secretary,

though he resigned from that post

July 12 after Epstein’s arrest raised

new scrutiny of Acosta’s handling

of the previous case.

Meanwhile, the federal judge

overseeing Epstein’s case has or-

dered a hearing next week before he

dismisses the charges. The decision

is somewhat unusual, but U.S. Dis-

trict Court Judge Richard Berman

said he would allow Epstein’s al-

leged victims to speak, as well as

prosecutors and Epstein’s lawyers.

In a court filing Wednesday, Ber-

man said that since the defendant

“died before any judgment has been

entered against him, the public may

still have an informational interest in

the process by which the prosecutor

seeks dismissal of an indictment.”

Justice Department officials

have pledged they will continue in-

vestigating, and could still bring

charges against anyone found to

have conspired with Epstein.

[email protected]

 Find a video about reaction to

Epstein’s death at wapo.st/

epstein822.

Eight staffers knew of directive not to leave Epstein alone

Inquiry probes apparent

lack of adherence to rule

in hours before jail death

CHRISTOPHER OCCHICONE/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Bruce Barket, an attorney for former Jeffrey Epstein cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione, outside a U.S. courthouse in New York. Tartaglione’s

lawyers described grim conditions and veiled threats from guards in asking a judge to move their client from the Manhattan federal jail.

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