Prison guards Michael Thomas (C) and Tova Noel depart after a court hearing regarding his actions the evening that led to the death of Jeffrey Epstein, outside a federal court in New York City, U.S., November 25, 2019. © REUTERS/Lucas Jackson / Late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein © Reuters
Two Bureau of Prisons guards who were on duty the night sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly committed suicide - but slept and shopped online instead of doing their job - will reportedly avoid jail time as part of a plea deal.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Tova Noel and Michael Thomas with conspiracy and falsifying records. The indictment filed against them said they spent the night napping, shopping online, and forging paperwork - instead of checking on Epstein, who was found dead in his cell around 6:30 in the morning on August 10, 2019.
A letter filed in court on Friday says the prosecutors offered Noel and Thomas a plea agreement that would see them serve no time behind bars. Instead, they would be subjected to supervised release and complete 100 hours of community service, as well as cooperating with the probe by the Justice Departments inspector general. A judge is expected to approve the plea deal next week, AP reported.
Noel and Thomas were supposed to check on the prisoners every 30 minutes, but spent the entire shift shopping online for furniture (Noel) and motorcycles (Thomas), walking around the common area, and even sleeping for about two hours, according to the indictment. They falsified the prison records throughout the shift to indicate they had checked on the financier and convicted sex offender before he was found dead.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 after a scandal over the previous plea deal he was given by federal prosecutors. The 66-year-old financier had made a career of socializing with the rich and powerful - and allegedly recording them with women, many underage, he and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked for sex, according to federal indictments.
Though New York Citys medical examiner ruled Epsteins death a suicide, large portions of the American public remain skeptical of the official story - in no small part thanks to the falsified accounts of the guards and reports of mysteriously malfunctioning cameras inside what was supposed to be one of the most secure jails in Manhattan.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/22461
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