Prosecutors move to dismiss charges against Epstein jail guards accused of falsifying records
By Lauren del Valle, CNN
Federal prosecutors in New York have moved to dismiss charges against two Bureau of Prisons guards who admitted to falsifying records on the night Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in August 2019.
The guards who were on duty at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan when Epstein died entered into deferred prosecution agreements with Manhattan prosecutors in May.
The guards agreed to provide “truthful information related to their employment by the Bureau of Prisons, including about the events and circumstances described in the Indictment,” according to a letter from federal prosecutors that was filed in court papers. The guards had to complete 100 hours of community service.
The agreement required the guards cooperate with a Department of Justice Inspector General review, authorities said in May.
Tova Noel and Michael Thomas have since fulfilled their part of the bargain, prosecutors wrote in a document posted to the docket Thursday.
“Under the agreements, prosecution was deferred for a period of six months during the term of Noel’s and Thomas’s good behavior, completion of community service, and satisfactory compliance with the terms of the agreement,” the court document says.
A federal judge will have to file an order officially dismissing the case. CNN has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons for comment as well as attorneys for the two guards.
In November 2019, Noel and Thomas, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and filing false records in connection with their actions the night Jeffrey Epstein died in prison.
The night of Epstein’s death, the guards repeatedly failed to complete the required counts of prisoners on their watch in the specialized housing unit where he was being held, according to the initial indictment.
Instead, they were sitting at their desks, browsing the internet for furniture sales and sports news, and moving around the common area, the initial indictment said. The counts were supposed to take place every 30 minutes.
To mask the fact that they had allegedly neglected to complete the checks, the two signed false certifications saying they had performed their duties, according to the indictment.
The night Epstein died, no officer completed any count or round in the unit between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., at which time Noel and Thomas discovered Epstein’s body, the indictment said.
New York City’s chief medical examiner ruled Epstein’s August 10, 2019, death a suicide by hanging, though a former medical examiner hired by Epstein’s legal team disagreed with that conclusion.
The multimillionaire was awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005 at his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate, and allegedly paying girls as young as 14 for sex. He had pleaded not guilty.
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CNN’s Melanie Schuman and Alec Snyder contributed to this report.
