Federal investigators discovered a loaded gun that had been smuggled into the jail the place Jeffrey Epstein killed himself final summer time, following a weeklong lockdown that turned up different contraband, the federal Bureau of Prisons mentioned.
Officers with the bureau discovered the gun inside a housing unit on the Metropolitan Correctional Heart in Manhattan, jail officers mentioned in a press release.
The discovering raises critical questions in regards to the safety practices in place on the Bureau of Prisons, which is liable for greater than 175,000 federal inmates, and particularly on the jail, which had been billed as one of the vital safe in America. Officers haven’t mentioned the place particularly the gun had been discovered, or the way it had been smuggled contained in the jail.
The investigation and search on the facility started final week after officers obtained data {that a} gun could have been smuggled into the lockup and positioned the jail on lockdown “in order to protect the public, staff, and inmates until a comprehensive search could be completed,” the company mentioned in a press release.
Since then, officers have been protecting inmates locked down of their cells with out entry to their legal professionals and canceled all visitation on the jail, which homes about 700 inmates. Previously few days, officers have searched the power and uncovered a large quantity of contraband, together with cellphones, narcotics, and do-it-yourself weapons, the Bureau of Prisons mentioned.
“All of these items pose a significant threat to the safety and security of the facility as well as the public,” the company mentioned in a press release.
Investigators had been planning to proceed looking the jail all through the evening Thursday, on the lookout for any further contraband, and the lockdown was anticipated to proceed. Federal prosecutors are attempting to find out how the contraband has been coming into the power and the Bureau of Prisons mentioned it notified the Justice Division’s inspector normal and the FBI.
All guests and inmates are searched earlier than coming into the power and undergo metallic detectors. They’re supposed to depart private belongings exterior the jail. All mail can also be screened by correctional employees.
Epstein, 66, was arrested after touchdown in New Jersey on July 6, 2019. Epstein, who had been in France, was charged with baby intercourse trafficking and intercourse trafficking.
In keeping with federal authorities, Epstein sexually abused and exploited dozens of ladies, some as younger as 14.
Epstein recruited minor women to go to his houses within the Manhattan borough of New York Metropolis and Palm Seashore, Florida to interact in intercourse acts, after which he’d pay them a whole lot of {dollars} in money, in accordance with an indictment.
“Moreover, and in order to maintain and increase his supply of victims, Epstein also paid certain of his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly abused,” authorities wrote. “In this way, Epstein created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit in locations including New York and Palm Beach.”
Epstein was discovered unconscious in his cell in Manhattan on Aug. 10 and declared useless about 90 minutes later.
New York Metropolis Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson concluded that Epstein dedicated suicide, a discovering disputed by Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic specialist employed by Epstein’s brother. Baden claimed that neck accidents Epstein suffered weren’t generally present in suicide by hanging.
Sampson stood by her findings after Baden questioned them.
The assumption that Epstein could have really been killed unfold extensively after he was declared useless. That perception has been fueled by occasions which have unfolded since, together with Baden’s evaluation and the disappearance of video footage from exterior Epstein’s cell.
A protection lawyer for Nicholas Tartaglione, who as soon as shared a cell with Epstein, requested the footage. Prosecutors initially mentioned the footage wasn’t out there earlier than saying they’d discovered it.
Within the newest replace in January, the prosecutors, together with Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI head James Comey, attributed the mix-up to the pc system on the Metropolitan Correctional Heart itemizing the unsuitable cell for Tartaglione.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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