Two federal workers who were on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail were charged Tuesday in connection with their alleged failure to check on him every half-hour, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
» RELATED: Jeffrey Epstein death ruled a suicide
The two Federal Bureau of Prisons employees are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The latest
As charges against the guards were being finalized, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Kathleen Hawk Sawyer told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington that the FBI is investigating the possibility of a "criminal enterprise" in its probe of Epstein's suicide.
What it means
Federal prosecutors accuse the guards of falsifying prison records. The charges are the first to arise from a criminal investigation into the death of Epstein, the disgraced financier who hanged himself at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Credit: DON EMMERT
Credit: DON EMMERT
Previously
Epstein, 66, had been in custody for more than a month when he was found dead on Aug. 10. New York City’s chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
The workers came under scrutiny shortly after Epstein’s death because they were responsible for monitoring the high-security protective housing unit where Epstein, who had only recently been removed from a suicide watch, was being held.
Rather than checking on Epstein every 30 minutes as they were supposed to, the workers fell asleep for hours and falsified records to cover up what they had done, according to several officials with knowledge of the matter.
Epstein had pleaded not guilty and was set to go on trial next year. If he had been convicted, he would have faced up to 45 years in prison.
Three weeks before his death, Epstein was found injured in his cell in what was then investigated as a possible suicide attempt. By the time of his death, Epstein had been taken off suicide watch but was supposed to have another inmate in his cell. The prison allowed him to be housed alone the day he died.
Staffing problems
Additionally, the Manhattan jail had been short staffed for quite some time. On the night when Epstein died, both staff members were working overtime. One had volunteered to work, having already done several tours of overtime that week. The other had been forced to work a 16-hour double shift.
The staffing problems at the Manhattan jail are emblematic of a larger shortage of correctional officers in federal jails and prisons across the country.
» FROM JULY: Trump Labor Secretary resigns over Epstein plea deal
These facilities have been dealing with rising levels of violence and other safety problems as the Trump administration has curtailed hiring in its quest to shrink the government, according to an investigation by The New York Times last year.
Some prisons have been so pressed for guards that they have forced teachers, nurses and other support staff to step in. That can lead to security risks because substitute workers are often less familiar with the inmate population than regular guards and can miss cues indicating that trouble is brewing, The Times’ investigation found.
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