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Jail Lost Epstein Video Related to First Suicide Attempt, Officials Say Video Related to First Epstein Suicide Attempt Was Lost, Officials Say
(about 4 hours later)
Word first surfaced recently that a video recording made outside of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan jail cell when he first attempted — and failed — to kill himself last summer was missing, even possibly destroyed.Word first surfaced recently that a video recording made outside of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan jail cell when he first attempted — and failed — to kill himself last summer was missing, even possibly destroyed.
Within a day, though, the jailhouse video turned up, quieting conspiracy theories about Mr. Epstein’s death in a later suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Prosecutors said the jail’s staff had confirmed the video had been saved.Within a day, though, the jailhouse video turned up, quieting conspiracy theories about Mr. Epstein’s death in a later suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Prosecutors said the jail’s staff had confirmed the video had been saved.
But on Thursday, the saga of the missing-then-found video took yet another twist when prosecutors revealed that the recording was gone after all. The jail, it turned out, had preserved video from the wrong jail tier, and as a result, the government said, the footage from outside Mr. Epstein’s cell no longer existed.But on Thursday, the saga of the missing-then-found video took yet another twist when prosecutors revealed that the recording was gone after all. The jail, it turned out, had preserved video from the wrong jail tier, and as a result, the government said, the footage from outside Mr. Epstein’s cell no longer existed.
The dispute over the missing footage arose in the case of another prisoner, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former suburban New York police officer facing homicide charges in federal court in White Plains, N.Y. (He has pleaded not guilty.)The dispute over the missing footage arose in the case of another prisoner, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former suburban New York police officer facing homicide charges in federal court in White Plains, N.Y. (He has pleaded not guilty.)
For a time last summer, Mr. Epstein and Mr. Tartaglione shared a cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on 9 South, a special unit with strict security measures that is used to keep certain inmates separate from the general population. For a time last summer, Mr. Epstein and Mr. Tartaglione shared a cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on 9 South, a special unit with strict security measures that is used to keep certain inmates separate.
After the attempted suicide and a period on 24-hour suicide watch, Mr. Epstein, 66, ended up back on 9 South, alone in a cell. That is where he was found dead on Aug. 10. New York City’s chief medical examiner determined that Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier linked to many high-profile politicians and celebrities, had hanged himself.After the attempted suicide and a period on 24-hour suicide watch, Mr. Epstein, 66, ended up back on 9 South, alone in a cell. That is where he was found dead on Aug. 10. New York City’s chief medical examiner determined that Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier linked to many high-profile politicians and celebrities, had hanged himself.
Two guards who were on duty when Mr. Epstein killed himself have been charged with falsifying records and conspiracy. Prosecutors said they browsed the internet and napped instead of checking on him every half-hour, as they were required to do. The guards, Michael Thomas and Tova Noel, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Two guards who were on duty when Mr. Epstein killed himself have been charged with falsifying records and conspiracy. Prosecutors said the guards browsed the internet and napped instead of checking on him every half-hour, as they were required to do. The guards, Michael Thomas and Tova Noel, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the missing video footage or the apparent errors in its handling; the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan also declined to comment. The Bureau of Prisons on Thursday declined to comment on the missing video footage or the apparent errors in its handling; the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan also declined to comment.
Katie Benner contributed reporting. Immediately after Mr. Epstein committed suicide, the Justice Department embarked on three different investigations into how a prisoner as high profile as Mr. Epstein could have killed himself. One of those investigations resulted in the criminal charges against the guards. The other two are ongoing.
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, the director of the Bureau of Prisons, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in November, and cited overcrowding and staffing issues as factors in “the Bureau’s less than stellar performance in some recent instances.”
That month Attorney General William P. Barr, in an interview, blamed “a perfect storm of screw-ups” for Mr. Epstein’s death.
It was in late July that Bruce Barket, the lawyer for Mr. Tartaglione, the former police officer facing murder charges who was Mr. Epstein’s cellmate, asked a jail official to preserve video footage taken outside their cell around the time of Mr. Epstein’s failed suicide attempt, a court filing shows.
On Dec. 18, in a routine status conference in Mr. Tartaglione’s case, Mr. Barket told the judge, Kenneth M. Karas, that he had written to a jail official, saying, “Please preserve this.”
“Don’t worry — we’ll do it,” the official wrote back, Mr. Barket told Judge Karas in the December conference, adding that he was later informed that the video was destroyed.
Prosecutors said that the government was looking into the matter, and the next day, Dec. 19, they wrote to Judge Karas, saying the jail’s staff had confirmed that the video had been preserved and that a copy would be made available to the defense.
But on Thursday, the government again wrote to the judge, saying that the preserved footage was for the correct date and time — but for the wrong cell.
A backup system was in place for all video on the unit, but the requested footage no longer existed “as a result of technical errors,” the government added.
Mr. Barket said in a statement on Thursday, “The various and inconsistent accounts of what happened to that video are deeply troubling.”
Mr. Barket said by phone on Thursday that he planned to ask the judge to hold a hearing into the circumstances of the missing video.
“These people should come to court and explain in person how footage this important was lost, destroyed or erased,” he said.
Danielle Ivory contributed reporting