This deposition comes from an unnamed captain at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and provides a detailed account of how Jeffrey Epstein was managed inside the facility, particularly in the Special Housing Unit. The captain describes Epstein’s status following his prior suicide incident, including the decision-making process around his housing, monitoring level, and classification. The testimony highlights that Epstein had previously been placed under suicide watch but was later removed from those heightened precautions, despite ongoing concerns about his mental state. It also addresses Epstein’s resistance to having a cellmate and the facility’s shifting responses to that issue, revealing a pattern where known risks were acknowledged but not consistently acted upon.
The deposition also exposes broader operational failures within MCC, particularly regarding supervision, communication, and adherence to protocol. The captain’s account suggests that while staff were aware of Epstein’s vulnerability, the systems in place failed to ensure continuous and effective monitoring. Decisions around staffing, inmate placement, and observation procedures appear fragmented, with lapses that ultimately left Epstein in a position that contradicted earlier risk assessments. The testimony reinforces the larger picture of institutional breakdown, where responsibility was diffused across personnel and safeguards that should have been firmly in place were instead inconsistently applied.
What makes this account difficult to accept at face value is how neatly it shifts the burden onto procedural gray areas rather than confronting the glaring contradictions in custody decisions. The captain’s testimony acknowledges that Epstein was a known suicide risk, had already experienced a prior incident, and required heightened oversight, yet still attempts to frame the subsequent downgrade in monitoring as routine or justified. That explanation strains credibility when measured against the totality of circumstances, particularly the repeated deviations from established suicide prevention protocols and the failure to enforce basic safeguards like consistent observation and appropriate cell assignments. Instead of clarifying responsibility, the deposition reads more like an exercise in institutional self-preservation—where systemic failures are reframed as isolated judgment calls, and accountability is diluted across layers of bureaucracy. In that context, the official narrative begins to look less like a coherent explanation and more like a patchwork defense designed to explain away decisions that, taken together, point to a breakdown that should never have occurred in a high-security federal facility.
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What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles.
In this episode, we're going to pick up where we left off with the interview by the unnamed captain at MCC with the OIG investigators.
Question, so back to this though.
Can you look at the other shoe on, you know, the subsequent shifts if you had conversations with them?
Answer, so Thomas, no.
Because he would have just been on there.
Redacted, yeah.
I talked to redacted because redacted would go between evening watch, because I would talk with him.
Redacted would work, evening watch.
So I have talked with him on evening watch.
He was working morning watch because these guys, it was such a short of staff.
That these shoe guys was working back to back shifts, or staff, it didn't matter.
People who wanted money, or wanted to, you know, they'd sign up for overtime.
So redacted was one of the regular shoe staff on the evening watch.
Yeah, so I talked to him, redacted.
I talked with him, redacted.
Redacted would go between the three, and also the OIC, because he had the most knowledge out of those guys.
So sometimes he, even though he was the three, he was the one with OIC duty.
Question, and OIC stands for officer in charge?
Answer, officer in charge?
So he was doing all the rosters when it was time to move inmates inside the units, you know,
he was in charge of ensuring that those century rosters were updated to ensure that the accountability of the unit was correct.
To make sure that the inmates were placed in their proper selves.
Who was this?
I'm sorry, hold on.
Question, and so on the shoe, we want to be focusing on.
Answer, Noel, Tova Noel was one of the question, and that's Tova.
Answer, now I know Tova.
Now Tova, I can't remember if I spoke to Tova.
But I know that I had hit all three shifts, meaning that day watch, I was always up there on day watch, evening watch.
I stayed over because that's what the warden wanted.
He told me, hey, make sure you go and hit all the three shifts.
The warden told me to do it.
So if the warden told me to do it, why wouldn't I go and do it?
Question, sure.
Answer, the warden, we sat down.
He said that these are the things that I want to happen.
First, I want to make sure, walk through, talk about, make sure the staff is aware, ind discernible, are doing this, this and this.
And also, I know that you have that I put out an email, so I just didn't tell them.
What do you call that?
Question, so you sent an email to all the shoe?
Answer, yeah, I did, to all correctional services staff.
And I think I still got it.
Question, to all correctional?
Answer, yeah, I still got it.
Question, did you ever provide that to anyone?
Answer, huh?
Question, did you ever provide that to anyone?
Answer, no, they never asked for it.
Question, can you absolutely provide that to us?
Answer, yeah, I think I have one.
And we can go to my office so I can show you.
I don't want you to think, I will bring it up for you.
Question, so would have this Michael Thomas and Tova Noel been on that email?
Answer Tova would have been because she's a correctional officer, but not Thomas.
Answer, okay, question, you understand?
Question, okay.
But I thought that everyone was considered a correctional officer, that's not the case.
Answer, as far as when emergencies happen, when emergencies happen regardless of what your discipline is, we all come together.
It means you go into everyone when you came in the BOP, everyone was given the opportunity.
That when you went through correctional, those tactics that you learned in Glynco, it was about being a correctional officer.
It wasn't about being a dentist or being a chaplain or whatever.
It's about correctional principles.
Question, okay, answer, introduction to correctional principles.
Question, but as far as there was an email that just the people that are working in the correctional officer,
answer, yes, and I can show that to you.
Question, perfect.
Answer, I have that.
Question, awesome.
Answer, because it wasn't just me just talking to them.
I put out guidance, and I keep putting out guidance.
It wasn't like it was one time.
I talked about inmates being placed on suicide watch.
I talked about inmates.
Putting on there, what is the difference between close supervision?
What is it, suicide watch?
Question, psychological observation, answer, and psychological.
There's no such thing, it's psychological, and that you know, there's no such thing.
It's called close supervision.
There's no such thing, it's psychological.
That was an MCC thing.
Question, okay, answer, that they made up.
So it's a close supervision and door suicide watch.
Question, so you have at least one email, though, that you sent to correctional officers saying that Epstein needed a cellmate.
Answer, I wasn't saying Epstein, but I do have two.
I think I gave one email and one memorandum that I wrote for the 583 packet for Epstein.
I think you may have that.
I don't know if you have it.
And then I have wrote another one about the importance of doing 30-minute rounds in the special housing unit.
Question, okay, yeah, if you can, after we're done, either you can send it to me or you can give it to me.
Answer, I can give it to you.
I'm going to give you a copy.
Question, perfect.
All right, then just, I think there's a few more, like I don't know how to spell his name, pronounce his name, but, again, that was another non-custody guy.
So redacted, I believe, worked, he was a material handler.
I think redacted was a material handler, so he's not correctional services anymore.
However, did they have a background?
No, I'm sorry, redacted went to R&D, so he was receiving and discharge.
So these staff members worked as correctional officers, came up as correctional officers, but their daily assignment, their job descriptions changed.
They're whatever, they're non-custody.
Question, so the people that worked in the shoe and the correctional officers, they were aware of it, but people that had different functions in the facility, they may not have been.
Answer, may not have been because I wouldn't talk to them on a daily basis.
Question, and what about, do you know if there was any kind of like post-it notes or sticky notes?
Answer, yeah, I had created, it was one, because I said orange card inmates, I said make sure these particular inmates, inmates high visibility inmates, and I think I talked about that, that the other inmates, their cards should be orange.
And those would be our high visibility inmates at you, and I think I got an email about that too, about the high visibility inmates inside the unit.
You should take special care to ensure these inmates are observed when you're doing your rounds.
Question, anything though about the actual cellmate requirement though, do you know if there was any kind of like sticky note or any kind of post-it about saying hey, make sure that Epstein, answer, I can't remember.
But like I said, I was putting out a lot of guidance, you know, coming from, and you know, coming from the warden, and things that I would have thought that was beneficial to the correctional officers.
I was just putting that guidance out, I kept putting it out, you know, like I said, you know, I'm going to be talking to them, I'm putting out the guidance, but if they don't open their email and don't read it.
Question, what about some of the people who are acting lieutenants, somebody like a redacted, answer redacted, sorry, so redacted, she would work correctional post.
Question, so she would not have known that, answer, she would have known, question, should she have known that Epstein had to have a second cellmate, answer, it's common knowledge that you're supposed to do the 30 minute rounds.
Question, uh-huh, answer, and be vigilant, but however, which you know, necessarily that those protocols were placed on Jeffery Epstein, that he was supposed to have a celly.
I mean, you see an orange card, if you see the guidance, I believe I had put something together, that was on the OIC's desk, on the desk talked about the high visibility inmates, and Jeffery Epstein was a high visibility inmate.
Question, but is it understood that a high visibility inmate, like that needs a cellmate, answer yes.
Question, okay, so you're saying make sure you're doing rounds, but it's also understood, if it's a high visibility cellmate, they need a cellmate at all times, answer yes.
Question, okay, and did they all understand that?
Answer, yes, question, all right, and to include Thomas, he cuts them off, I don't know, how about Noel, is the next question.
Answer, because they are not custody, and I don't believe I have that conversation with them, I'm not going to lie, I didn't have the conversation with them.
Redacted, what about some of these lieutenants, like acting lieutenant, like redacted?
Answer, redacted, oh, redacted, was in correctional service, and she, I believe, during the time, was working on attorney conference.
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Question, yes, answer. She was in correctional service. She was working in attorney conference during that time. So, redacted, I actually promoted her to acting lieutenant.
She was getting paid as a lieutenant. So, yes, she would have known.
Question, so she should have, or would have, or should have? Answer, yes.
Question, how about some of the other ones that were on? You said redacted, obviously, you already said.
You specifically directed him. Answer. If he, yeah, I brought him in the office and we spoke, yes.
Question, do you know how? And I think you said that you spoke to him on multiple occasions. Is that correct?
And made sure that he knew and made sure that Epstein needed a cellmate. Answer, yes.
Question, okay. What about redacted? Answer, redacted. I had conversations well. I don't believe I had a conversation with her.
Question, should she have known based upon the orange card? Answer, yes. She should have known because I put the guidance out through the email.
Question, now the guidance, though, should have said about. You said it talked about rounds as opposed to actual cellmate requirement, though. Correct? Answer, I can't remember.
Question, okay. Answer, you know, I don't know. Because, like I said, again, I put out a lot of guidance. Answer, yes.
Question, but I know the people who I actually spoke to as far as, like, hey, you, the OIC, I mean, you're the lieutenant of shoe.
That means you're working day watch. That means any movement happens on day watch. It don't happen on morning watch. It mates are locked in their cells.
Question, right. Answer, so anything day watch, evening watch, that shoe lieutenant should be aware. Question, okay.
And we'll get into, gets cut off. So that's why we would have had the conversation when he and I had that conversation. Question, and do you remember? So you recall specifically talking with them?
Do you? And this is I want to know about aside from what they should have known specific conversations with redacted. Answer, I can't remember about redacted. I believe it's internal.
I came into the lieutenant's office and we spoke about it. So as a collective, the lieutenants were made aware. I can't say I remember that I would come into the lieutenants. And we would talk about Epstein.
So again, between the guidance that was put out through the emails and the conversations that I would have just had encountering lieutenants, yes.
But however, I can tell you for sure I had a conversation with redacted answer and would have redacted made sure that those people working in the shoe knew this information answer.
He would have as a lieutenant in charge. Yes, he should have made sure that somebody like somebody that's not in there, although tovenol well, I think that was her quarterly post or at least she was in there a lot of times.
Question, uh-huh answer leading up to it. So I should have made sure that she knew because she worked evening watch question what about Michael Thomas answer Michael Thomas probably not.
But by him working in the unit, he would know I mean you would say okay if he's working on evening watch or morning watch, there was no need to move inmates.
There was no showers that should have been taking place. There was no earrings, no medical, nothing we had to open up a cell for for those inmates.
Answer or question, okay answer. So most of those inmates was done on day watch. There was no reason for them to move these guys question, okay.
All right folks we're going to wrap up right here and in the next episode dealing with the topic we're going to pick up where we left off.
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