US closing troubled NYC jail where Epstein killed himself

3 years ago 265

NEW YORK – The U.S. authorities said Thursday it is shutting down a national jailhouse successful New York City aft a slew of problems that came to airy pursuing disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide determination 2 years ago.

The national Bureau of Prisons said the Metropolitan Correctional Center successful Manhattan volition beryllium closed astatine slightest temporarily to code issues that person agelong plagued the facility, including lax information and crumbling infrastructure.

The facility, which has held inmates specified arsenic Mexican cause lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán and Mafia brag John Gotti, presently has 233 inmates, down from a mean colonisation of 600 oregon more. Most are expected to beryllium transferred to a national jailhouse successful Brooklyn.

The determination to adjacent the MCC — billed arsenic 1 of the astir unafraid jails successful America — comes weeks aft Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco toured it and saw the conditions firsthand.

Until recently, the installation had been recruiting caller staff. Now, employees are being sent letters notifying them of a unit reduction.

“In an effort to code the issues astatine MCC NY arsenic rapidly and efficiently arsenic possible, the Department has decided to adjacent the MCC, astatine slightest temporarily, until those issues person been resolved,” the Justice Department said.

The section did not springiness a timetable for the closure, saying readying is underway.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that each installation successful the national situation strategy is not lone harmless and secure, but besides provides radical successful custody with the resources and programs they request to marque a palmy instrumentality to nine aft they person served their time,” the connection said.

Epstein’s death a period aft his apprehension connected kid enactment trafficking charges has been a lingering shadiness implicit the jail, which was since marred by the rampant dispersed of the coronavirus, inmates’ complaints astir squalid conditions, a smuggled gun, an inmate’s decease and a revolving doorway of wardens.

Inmates and lawyers person complained that the jailhouse was infested with mice, rats and roaches and that aggregate inmates were forced to stock soiled sinks and toilets that leaked water, urine and feces. Water leaks crossed aggregate floors person been blamed for structural issues.

Jack Donson, a erstwhile longtime authoritative astatine the Bureau of Prisons, said fixed each the remediation needed, it could beryllium years earlier the Metropolitan Correctional Center reopens — if astatine all.

“It’s been a agelong clip coming addressing the infrastructure issues,” Donson said successful a telephone interview. “Is it coincidental with the caller publicity of the Epstein termination and the rampant corruption successful that facility? It makes consciousness to possibly commencement anew.”

Over the years, the jail's inhabitants person included respective adjacent associates of Osama bin Laden and Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff. Guzmán, celebrated for his situation escapes, was held astatine the jailhouse portion connected proceedings successful Brooklyn successful 2019, prompting closures of the Brooklyn Bridge each time arsenic helium was taken to and from court.

The Metropolitan Detention Center, the Brooklyn jailhouse that volition sorb Metropolitan Correctional Center inmates, has besides drawn scrutiny for problems including intersexual battle allegations against correctional officers, a weeklong powerfulness failure successful January 2019, and an inmate’s decease past twelvemonth aft helium was sprayed with capsicum spray.

Donson said the larger Brooklyn facility, which presently has astir 1,500 inmates including Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell and singer R. Kelly, has the capableness to permanently regenerate the Manhattan jail.

“Do they truly request MCC?” Donson said. “They don’t truly request it close present successful my sentiment — furniture wise, capableness wise.”

The Justice Department’s inspector wide has yet to implicit an probe into lapses astatine the Metropolitan Correctional Center that allowed Epstein to extremity his life. Two officers liable for monitoring him that nighttime person pleaded blameworthy to charges they lied connected situation records due to the fact that they were sleeping and browsing the net alternatively of doing their jobs.

In March 2020, conscionable earlier the pandemic prompted national prisons to halt visitation, the jailhouse went connected a weeklong lockdown aft officials got a extremity that a weapon whitethorn person been smuggled inside. Investigators recovered a handgun and turned up different banned items, specified arsenic cellphones, narcotics and homemade weapons, sparking an ongoing probe into defender misconduct.

After the weapon was discovered, then-Attorney General William Barr launched a task unit to code transgression misconduct by officers astatine respective correctional facilities.

As the coronavirus took hold, Metropolitan Correctional Center employees weren’t capable to get masks. Staff restrooms ran retired of soap. Workers successful complaint of refilling the dispensers were pressed into duty arsenic correctional officers due to the fact that of staffing shortages. Early successful the crisis, much than 25% of unit positions were vacant.

A fewer months later, a court-authorized inspection recovered inmates with coronavirus symptoms were neglected and societal distancing was astir nonexistent, with immoderate inmates sleeping wrong arm’s scope of each other.

Earlier this year, a lawyer alleged that an inmate with the intelligence capableness of a kid was near successful a holding compartment for 24 hours portion awaiting a competency evaluation.

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On Twitter, travel Michael Sisak astatine twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Balsamo astatine twitter.com/mikebalsamo1

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