A scathing new Justice Department report, while citing multiple contributing failures, blasted Manhattan federal prison workers Tuesday in the stunning jailhouse suicide of serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein was found dead from hanging inside his cell on Aug. 10, 2019 inside the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the last act of the financier’s sordid life.
According to the 120-plus page report, the sexual predator kept excess prison linens used in the suicide hidden inside his cell and cited non-functioning surveillance cameras inside the unit as another factor.
“The combination of negligence, misconduct, and outright job performances failures documented … all contributed to an environment in which arguably one of the most notorious inmates in BOP’s custody was left unmonitored and alone in his cell,” said Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general.
The BOP was specifically ripped for its failure to assign a cellmate for Epstein when the previous inmate left a day before his death, but the report found no evidence of foul play or anything other than a suicide.
Investigators also found multiple nooses made from prison linens inside the cell with Epstein’s body.
Epstein, 66, was under lockdown 23 hours a day for his own safety. He was by himself inside in his cell when the linens were used to create a noose and take his own life, said Horowitz.
The probe also recommended charges against four prison employees, and cited 13 workers with poor performance records. The report said the last check on Epstein came at 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 9, with his body found some eight hours later.
Epstein was previously placed under a prison suicide watch and psychological evaluation in late July following an earlier possible attempt to kill himself, the report said.
The one-time high-flying businessman was charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy charges after his arrest, but took his own life before facing a trial.
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