Epstein suicide jail shut owing to ‘unsanitary conditions’

THE New York City jail where Jeffrey Epstein took his own life is to be shut down following complaints of a rodent infestation, leaking lavatories and the discovery of a smuggled gun.

The Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan will be closed, at least temporarily, to address a number of issues, after an investigation found that inmates had mobile phones, drugs and weapons and were living in “cramped, dark and unsanitary”conditions.

Epstein, the billionaire paedophile, was facing trial on child sex trafficking charges, when he killed himself there in August 2019. Guards who were supposed to check on him every 30 minutes allegedly fell asleep and left him unsupervised for three hours.

A note found in his cell listed complaints such as being sent burnt food, being locked in a shower stall by guards and having “giant bugs crawling over my hands”.

Other inmates and lawyers have complained that the jail is infested with mice, rats and cockroaches and that multiple inmates were forced to share dirty sinks and lavatories that leaked water, urine and faeces.

After the gun was discovered, William Barr, then the Attorney General, launched a task force to address criminal misconduct by officers at several correctional facilities.

Jack Donson, a former official at the Bureau of Prisons, said it could be years before the prison reopens – if at all.

It has held prisoners such as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the Mexican drug lord, Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff and Mafia boss John Gotti, and currently has 233 inmates, down from a normal population of 600 or more.