William K. Rashbaum, Benjamin Weiser and Michael Gold

Epstein’s death quickly reverberated from New York to Washington to Florida, spurring federal inquiries into why he was not being more closely monitored and angering his accusers, who said they had hoped to have his crimes aired in open court.

Epstein hanged himself and was found at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, officials said.

Last month, after being denied bail on federal sex trafficking charges, Epstein was found unconscious in his jail cell with marks on his neck. Prison officials had been investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt.

Epstein was placed on suicide watch after the incident July 23 and received a daily psychiatric evaluation, according to a person familiar with his detention. He was removed from suicide watch July 29 and returned to the special housing unit, a segregated area of the prison with extra security, this person said.

The authorities did not immediately explain why he was taken off suicide watch. The FBI said it was investigating, and Attorney General William Barr said in a statement that a special inquiry would be opened into what happened.

“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody,” Barr said. “Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered.”

In addition to the FBI, the inspector general, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, will open an investigation into the death, Barr said. The Metropolitan Correctional Center is run by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last month charged Epstein, 66, with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14 and sex trafficking conspiracy. The indictment renewed attention on how Epstein — who had opulent homes, a private jet and access to elite circles — had escaped severe punishment in an investigation of sexual abuse more than a decade ago in Florida.

He had avoided federal criminal charges in 2008 after prosecutors brokered a widely criticized deal that allowed him to plead guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution from a minor and serve 13 months in jail. Even while in custody, Epstein was able to leave the jail for 12 hours a day, six days a week, to work at his office in Florida.

The new federal indictment also focused scrutiny on luminaries in government, politics, business, academia, science and fashion with whom Epstein had associated over the years, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain and the retail billionaire Leslie Wexner.

Epstein’s defense team — the lawyers Reid Weingarten, Marty Weinberg and Michael Miller — declined to comment on the circumstances of death. “We are enormously sorry to learn of today’s news. No one should die in jail,” they said in a statement.

A fourth member of Epstein’s legal team, Marc Fernich, blamed a host of actors — from prosecutors to victims’ lawyers to the media — for bearing “some responsibility for this calamity.”

Epstein’s suicide derailed a prosecution that his accusers had hoped would finally show how he had been allowed to commit what they said was a string of depraved crimes for so many years — and what role his wealth, privilege and connections played.

Jennifer Araoz, who said she had been raped by Epstein after being recruited into his circle in 2001 outside her Manhattan high school, was angry that he would not have to face his accusers in court.

“We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed — the pain and trauma he caused so many people,” Araoz said. She said she hoped investigators would pursue charges against people who had aided and protected Epstein.

The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, said in a statement that the investigation into Epstein’s misconduct would continue, pointing specifically to the conspiracy charge, which suggested that Epstein was assisted by others who helped facilitate his illegal acts.

“Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in court,” Berman said.

The apparent demise of the new federal prosecution also led to widespread airing of unfounded conspiracy theories online Saturday, with people questioning who would benefit from Epstein’s death. President Donald Trump, who has a history of promoting unfounded conspiracy theories, retweeted one of those posts without comment, fueling the wild speculation.

Until last year, it seemed that Epstein had largely been able to avoid further scandal over his dealings with young women and girls.

But then new questions were raised about the earlier plea agreement in an investigative report published by The Miami Herald in November 2018 which quoted four of Epstein’s victims, who are now adults, on the record for the first time.

In February, the Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into the nonprosecution agreement. The inquiry is reviewing whether prosecutors committed professional misconduct in their handling of the earlier Epstein case.

At the same time, federal prosecutors in Manhattan, apparently spurred by The Miami Herald investigation, opened their own inquiry into accusations of sex trafficking by Epstein.

The U.S. attorney in Florida who handled the 2008 case was R. Alexander Acosta, who was Trump’s labor secretary. After the new charges were announced against Epstein in July, Acosta’s work on the earlier case came under intense criticism, and he resigned.

Epstein was arrested on July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after his private plane landed on a flight from Paris.

He was accused of hiring dozens of girls as young as 14 to perform nude massages on him, at which point he would masturbate and touch their genitals with his hands or with sex toys. The abuse was said to have occurred at both his Upper East Side mansion in Manhattan and his palatial waterfront home in Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.

The girls were paid hundreds of dollars in cash for the encounters and, once recruited, were asked to return to his homes several times, where they were abused again, the indictment said.

Prosecutors said Epstein asked some of the girls to recruit other girls, creating a network of victims.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he would have faced up to 45 years in prison.

Epstein had initially sought home detention at his Upper East Side mansion while he awaited trial. His lawyers had proposed allowing Epstein to post a substantial bond and stay in the luxurious seven-story townhouse, watched by 24-hour security guards, at his expense.

But a federal judge denied the request, concluding that Epstein was a flight risk and citing his “vast wealth,” which prosecutors have placed at more than $500 million.

Epstein’s younger brother, Mark, was his “only living immediate family member,” according to a memo filed in federal court last month by Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers. The memo described the pair as close.

Epstein, a former money manager with Wall Street experience, had long depicted himself as a wealthy financier with stellar investment savvy.

In addition to his homes in Florida and New York, he owned a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a massive ranch in New Mexico and a residence in Paris. He had numerous luxury vehicles and access to private planes and helicopters.

Even after he served time in a Florida jail and became a registered sex offender, Epstein successfully maintained a reputation as a billionaire investor, philanthropist and sophist.

Still, since Epstein’s arrest last month, evidence has emerged that the former money manager’s business acumen was more myth than fact. His client list was not as extensive as believed, and the services he offered were less remarkable than once portrayed.

Last week, perhaps Epstein’s most notable client, Wexner, the retail executive behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath &amp; Body Works, accused Epstein of misappropriating “vast sums of money” from him and his family.

After Epstein’s arrest in July, some Wall Street titans found themselves forced to answer questions as to why they had continued to socialize or do business with him after his 2008 conviction. They included the private equity billionaire Leon Black, the longtime banking executive Jes Staley and the hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin.

The executives all said they had no knowledge he had engaged in sex trafficking, and had sought to minimize their contacts with Epstein in recent years.

Also drawing attention were a number of major universities — including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that had accepted large contributions from foundations established by Epstein even after his 2008 conviction.

The contributions to the universities and to scientists at those schools were part of a campaign by Epstein to polish his image and get himself back into the good graces of the academic and corporate elite.

But even as Epstein was trying to rebrand himself, he continued to peddle dubious ideas.

A number of scientists said he had showed an interest in biogenetic engineering and had discussed a plan to seed the human race with his DNA by having young women impregnated at his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.

There is no indication that Epstein ever took steps toward carrying out those plans, but some in the scientific world continued to meet with him and take his money.

Long before he generated the riches that facilitated those interactions, Epstein came from modest beginnings. He was born in Brooklyn in 1953 and grew up in Coney Island; his father worked for the city Parks Department.

Epstein was something of a prodigy, playing the piano at 5, skipping two grades in school and graduating from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn when he was 16.

Though Epstein took college classes, he never received a degree. Instead, he landed a job as a math and physics teacher at the Dalton School, an elite private school in Manhattan in 1974. His time there was brief, but some students recalled that Epstein was willing to violate norms in his encounters with girls.

An administrator told The Times that he was dismissed from Dalton for poor performance.

But it was through Dalton, a prestigious school with well-heeled parents and alumni, that Epstein came into closer contact with New York’s rich and powerful. After leaving the school, he eventually took a job at the Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns.

In 1981, Epstein left Bear Stearns to start his own advisory firm and in 1988, he formed J. Epstein &amp; Co., the investment firm that would help him build his network of connections to wealthy Wall Street executives.

The details of Epstein’s money management operation were shrouded in secrecy, as was his client list.

Epstein claimed to be handling finances for a number of billionaires, but his only prominent known investor was Wexner.

In 1991, Wexner gave Epstein unfettered authority to handle his personal fortune for roughly 16 years. That enabled Epstein to become hugely wealthy himself and supplied him with the Wall Street bona fides he needed to seek business from other executives.

Along the way, Epstein would acquire the Manhattan mansion that had once belonged to Wexner, as well as a Boeing 727 jet from Wexner’s company.

The money he made working for Wexner enabled Epstein to buy his island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he relocated much of his financial advisory business in 1999.

Wexner, now 81, has said he had severed all ties to Epstein in 2007. He wrote in the letter to his charitable foundation last week that he had learned that year that Epstein had misappropriated vast sums from him.

But Wexner apparently never notified authorities of the suspected misappropriation — even though Epstein was, at the time, being investigated in Florida for engaging in sex with underage girls.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-suicide.html" id="4ca031ff-f861-38d6-ad80-2d072dd722fb">The New York Times</a>.

Jeffrey Epstein Dead in Suicide at Manhattan Jail, Spurring Inquiries

NEW YORK — Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls and who was able to cultivate an array of high-profile friends despite his lurid lifestyle, killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, officials said Saturday.

Prison officials had not ruled out the possibility, however, that Epstein had been assaulted by another inmate or had staged the episode, a person with knowledge of the investigation said.

Epstein’s injuries were not serious, the law enforcement official said. A second law enforcement official confirmed that Epstein had been discovered in his cell with “bruising around the neck.” All three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss the investigation.

The Bureau of Prisons, in an email Thursday morning, gave no details about the incident, citing “privacy and security reasons.” The bureau said Epstein, 66, was not in a hospital but still at the jail, the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, where he has been held on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Epstein’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. The person with knowledge of the investigation said Epstein had been meeting daily with his lawyers for hours at a time, which had kept him out of his cell for long stretches.

Epstein has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest July 6 on federal charges that he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls in the early 2000s. Last week, Judge Richard M. Berman of U.S. District Court denied him bail, rejecting his request to be detained at his Upper East Side mansion as he awaited trial.

The former financier has been housed in a cell with Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer facing murder charges, one of the law enforcement officials said. Both men are in a special unit with strict security measures that is used to separate some inmates from the general population.

Tartaglione is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired to sell cocaine and took part in the 2016 killings of four men in Chester, New York, a small town about 60 miles north of Manhattan in the Hudson Valley.

On Wednesday night, WNBC-TV reported that Epstein had been discovered in a fetal position in his cell with neck injuries. The station also said Tartaglione had been questioned about the incident.

Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, said in an interview that Tartaglione had cooperated with the inquiry into Epstein’s injuries. Barket added that Epstein and his client “speak regularly and get along well.”

“Any insinuation that he had assaulted Mr. Epstein is a complete and utter fabrication,” Barket said.

Barket’s law partner, Aida Leisenring, said that on a visit Wednesday morning to meet with Tartaglione, she saw Epstein in passing, through a window, and saw no apparent injuries or evidence of a fight.

Epstein was taken into custody July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after a flight from Paris. An indictment unsealed July 8 charged him with sex trafficking and conspiracy, saying that between 2002 and 2005, Epstein and his employees paid dozens of underage girls to engage in sex acts with him at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 45 years in prison if he is convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

In a bid to keep their client out of jail, Epstein’s lawyers had proposed allowing him to post a substantial bond and stay in his mansion guarded by 24-hour security, at his expense. Prosecutors opposed that proposal, arguing Epstein was seeking “special treatment” and trying to build his own private jail — a “gilded cage.”

For years, Epstein, a hedge fund manager, has socialized with famous and powerful people, including former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain and President Donald Trump.

An investigation into accusations against him was opened in Florida in 2005. But more than a decade ago, prosecutors in Miami made a secret deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution. He pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges and spent about a year in a Palm Beach jail, where he was allowed to leave six days a week for work.

The plea deal was overseen by R. Alexander Acosta, then a U.S. attorney in Florida. He was widely criticized as letting Epstein off the hook and has since resigned as Trump’s labor secretary.

When Berman denied Epstein’s bail on July 18, he cited concerns that if Epstein were released, he would continue to abuse girls. The judge also addressed Epstein’s “vast wealth” — prosecutors say they believe he is worth more than $500 million — which could help him flee the country.

He pointed to a safe authorities said they found in Epstein’s Manhattan home that contained cash, diamonds and an expired passport issued by a foreign country (later identified as Austria) that had Epstein’s photo but a different name.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-injured-jail.html" id="12242890-121b-3b30-a453-d7c44eb8f74b">The New York Times</a>.

Epstein Found Unconscious and Injured in Jail Cell

NEW YORK — A week after being denied bail, Jeffrey E. Epstein was found unconscious with marks on his neck in his cell Tuesday at a federal jail in Manhattan, and prison officials were investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt, a law enforcement official who had been briefed on the matter said.

Prison officials had not ruled out the possibility, however, that Epstein had been assaulted by another inmate or had staged the incident, a person with knowledge of the investigation said.

Tartaglione is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired to sell cocaine and took part in the killings of four men in 2016 in Chester, New York, a small town about 60 miles north of Manhattan in the Hudson Valley.

Jeffrey Epstein Is Found Injured in Jail Cell

NEW YORK — A week after being denied bail, Jeffrey E. Epstein was found unconscious in his cell Tuesday at a federal jail in Manhattan with marks on his neck, and prison officials were investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt, a law enforcement official who had been briefed on the matter said.

Epstein’s injuries were not serious, the law enforcement official said.

Tartaglione is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired to sell cocaine and took part in the killings of four men in 2016 in Chester, New York, a small town about 60 miles north of Manhattan.

Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket, said Tartaglione had cooperated with the inquiry into Epstein’s injuries. Barket added that Epstein and his client “speak regularly and get along well.”

Epstein’s injuries were not serious, said the official, who requested his name not be published because he was not authorized to speak on the matter. A second law enforcement official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Epstein had been discovered in his cell with “bruising around the neck.”

The Bureau of Prisons, in an email Thursday morning, would give no details about the incident, citing “privacy and security reasons.” The bureau said Epstein, 66, was not in a hospital but still at the jail, the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he has been held on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Epstein’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Epstein, the financier who is accused of abusing underage girls in the early 2000s, has been housed in a special unit at the jail along with a man facing murder charges named Nicholas Tartaglione, according to Tartaglione’s lawyer, Bruce Barket. Federal prisons use the special units with strict security measures to separate some inmates from the general population.

Tartaglione, a retired police officer, faces federal charges in connection with a 2016 quadruple murder in Chester, New York, a small town about 60 miles north of Manhattan in the Hudson Valley.

On Wednesday, NBC reported that Tartaglione had been questioned about what happened to Epstein.

In an interview with The Times, Barket said Tartaglione had cooperated with an inquiry into Epstein’s injuries but had not been questioned about whether he had assaulted Epstein or accused of an attack.

Barket added that Epstein and his client “speak regularly and get along well.” Barket said that on a visit to see Tartaglione on Wednesday morning, his law partner saw Epstein and said he appeared “physically fine” and had “no obvious marks on him.”

Epstein has been detained at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest.

Last week, Judge Richard M. Berman of U.S. District Court denied bail for Epstein, rejecting his request to be detained at his Upper East Side mansion as he awaited trial.

Epstein’s lawyers had proposed allowing him to post a substantial bond and stay in his mansion guarded by 24-hour security, at his expense. Prosecutors opposed that proposal, arguing Epstein was seeking “special treatment” and trying to build his own private jail — a “gilded cage.”

Epstein was taken into custody July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after a flight from Paris. An indictment unsealed July 8 charged him with sex trafficking and conspiracy. Prosecutors said that between 2002 and 2005, Epstein and his employees paid dozens of underage girls to engage in sex acts with him at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein faces up to 45 years in prison if he is convicted of sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges, and the long sentence, the government argued, gave him a motive to flee.

An investigation into accusations against him was opened in Florida in 2005. But more than a decade ago, prosecutors in Miami made a secret deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution. He spent about a year in a Palm Beach jail, where he was allowed to leave six days a week for work.

When Berman denied Epstein’s bail July 18, he said Epstein was a flight risk, citing his “vast wealth” — prosecutors say they believe he is worth more than $500 million — including private planes and residences abroad.

He pointed to a safe the authorities said they found in Epstein’s Manhattan home that contained cash, diamonds and an expired passport issued by a foreign country (later identified as Austria) that had Epstein’s photo but a different name.

NEW YORK — A week after being denied bail, Jeffrey E. Epstein was found unconscious in his cell Tuesday at a federal jail in Manhattan with marks on his neck, and prison officials were treating the incident as a possible suicide attempt, a law enforcement official who had been briefed on the matter said.

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William K. Rashbaum, Benjamin Weiser and Michael Gold

Articles written by the author

Jeffrey Epstein Dead in Suicide at Manhattan Jail, Spurring Inquiries

Epstein Found Unconscious and Injured in Jail Cell

Jeffrey Epstein Is Found Injured in Jail Cell

Jeffrey Epstein Is Found Injured in Jail Cell

Jeffrey Epstein Is Found Injured in Jail Cell

Jeffrey Epstein Is Found Injured in Jail Cell