Jeffrey Epstein: ‘He got nothing’: Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged suicide note released
A federal judge ordered the release of a handwritten note allegedly written Jeffrey EpsteinNearly five years after the disgraced financier died in a Manhattan jail cell, authorities ruled it a suicide.The note included the line, “Being able to choose the time to say goodbye is a pleasurable experience,” written on a yellow legal pad. The note was said to have been discovered by Epstein’s former prison cellmate, convicted murderer and former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione.U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas unsealed the document following a request from The New York Times, which first reported its existence last week. Karas ruled that the note qualified as a judicial document because it was presented in connection with Tartaglione’s criminal case. He said there is no legal reason to keep it sealed.“Neither party has identified any competing consideration that would justify sealing the notes,” Karas ruled.However, the judge did not confirm whether the note was authentic or whether its chain of custody had been checked, saying that those questions were not relevant to the decision to open it.The note read, “They tested me for a month – found nothing!!! Result was 15 year old allegation.” “Being able to choose the time to say goodbye is a joy. Wacha wants me to do this – burst into tears!! No fun – not worth it!!”The note came after Epstein was found injured in his Manhattan jail cell on July 23, 2019, in what authorities later described as an apparent suicide attempt. According to Tartaglione’s public account, the note was hidden inside a book in their shared cell.Epstein suffered abrasions and skin burns on his neck during the incident, prison records said. Officials said he was breathing heavily but was still breathing. An official later wrote in a Justice Department memo that Epstein claimed Tartaglione had tried to kill him.Both men were interviewed by prison officials on July 31, 2019.Epstein told investigators that he never had any problems with Tartaglione and that he did not feel threatened by him. Tartaglione also said that there are no problems between them and that they have kept their interactions to a minimum. He said he believed Epstein had a heart attack on July 23 because his eyes were open and he was snoring.Epstein and Tartaglione shared a cell for about two weeks following Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019. Epstein was accused of recruiting and abusing underage girls in New York and Florida. He previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution of a minor in Florida.Following the July 23 incident, prison officials placed Epstein on suicide watch for 31 hours before taking him under psychiatric observation. According to prison records, Epstein denied attempting suicide and told a prison psychologist that suicide was against his Judaism and that he was a “coward” who did not like pain.Epstein died on August 10, 2019, while being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. At the time of his death, he had no cellmate. Officials later pointed to multiple failures by prison staff – including officers sleeping and browsing the Internet instead of monitoring inmates – as factors that allowed him to take his life.Authorities also said they found another handwritten note in Epstein’s cell after his death, but said it appeared to be a list of complaints about prison conditions, including food, showers and bugs, rather than a suicide note.Tartaglione publicly discussed the note during a podcast interview last year. According to court records, he first informed his lawyer four days after the July 23 incident. The note was later presented as evidence in his criminal case and was kept under seal during a dispute over his legal representation.
