NEW YORK (AP) – The U.S. government said Thursday it would close a federal prison in New York after a series of problems came to light after the disgraced suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein there two years ago.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons said the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan will close at least temporarily to address issues that have plagued the facility for a long time, including lax security and dilapidated infrastructure.
The facility, which has detained inmates such as Mexican drug lord and escape artist Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and mafia boss John Gotti, currently has 233 inmates, compared to a normal population of 600 o month. Most of them are expected to be transferred to a federal prison in Brooklyn.
The decision to close the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which is considered one of the safest prisons in America, comes weeks after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco visits the prison and sees the conditions first hand.
Until recently, the facility had been recruiting new staff. Now, employees receive letters notifying them of the reduction in strength.
“In an effort to address the issues at MCC NY as quickly and effectively as possible, the Department has decided to close the MCC, at least temporarily, until those issues are resolved,” the Justice Department said in a statement. written statement.
The department did not give a timeline for the closure, saying planning is underway and updates will be provided as the process continues.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that all facilities in the federal prison system are not only safe, but also provide detainees with the resources and programs they need to return to society successfully after they have fulfilled its time, “the statement said.
Epstein’s death, a month after his arrest on charges of child sex trafficking, has been a lingering shadow in the prison, which has since been hit by the rampant spread of the coronavirus, inmates’ complaints about conditions miserable, a contraband pistol, the death of an inmate and a revolution. door of the guardians.
Inmates and lawyers complained in recent years that the prison was infested with mice, rats and cockroaches and that several inmates were forced to share dirty toilets and toilets that filtered water, urine and feces. Water leaks on several floors have been blamed for structural problems in the prison.
Jack Donson, a former prison official who worked in the Prisons Office for more than two decades, said that given all the necessary repairs, it could be years before the Metropolitan Correctional Center reopens, if at all.
“He’s spent a lot of time addressing infrastructure issues,” Donson said in a telephone interview. “Is it coincidental with the recent publicity of Epstein’s suicide and the rampant corruption in that facility? Maybe it makes sense to start all over again. ”
Former Metropolitan Correctional Center star residents included Guzman, Gotti, several close associates of Osama bin Laden, and Bernard Madoff, a Wall Street scammer.
Guzmán was arrested in Manhattan Prison while on trial in Brooklyn in 2019, prompting the closure of the Brooklyn Bridge every day as he was taken to and from court.
The Metropolitan Detention Center, the Brooklyn Prison that will absorb inmates of the Metropolitan Correctional Center, has examined issues that included allegations of sexual assault against correctional officers, a week-long food failure in January 2019 and the death of ‘an inmate last year after being sprayed with pepper spray. .
Donson said Brooklyn’s largest facilities, which currently have about 1,500 inmates, including Epstein’s lifelong confidante Ghislaine Maxwell and singer R. Kelly, have the ability to permanently replace Manhattan Prison.
“Do they really need MCC?” “Donson said.” “In my opinion, they don’t really need it well, either in terms of bed, capacity.”
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice has not yet completed a slip investigation at the Metropolitan Correctional Center that allowed Epstein to end his life. Two correctional officers responsible for controlling him that night have pleaded guilty to lying in prison records because they slept and surfed the Internet instead of doing their job.
In March 2020, just before the pandemic caused federal prisons to stop visits, the prison was closed for a week after officials received advice that it could have put a gun inside. Investigators found a handgun and displayed other prohibited items, such as cell phones, narcotics and homemade weapons, that sparked an ongoing criminal investigation into misconduct on duty.
After discovering the weapon, Attorney General William Barr launched a working group to address the criminal misconduct of officers at various correctional facilities.
When the coronavirus was seized, employees of the Metropolitan Correctional Center did not get masks and staff toilets ran out of soap. Workers in charge of refilling dispensers were forced to function as correctional officers due to lack of staff. At the beginning of the crisis, more than 25% of jobs were vacant.
A few months later, in a court-authorized inspection, it was found that prisoners with coronavirus symptoms were neglected and social distancing was almost non-existent, with some inmates sleeping in bunks within reach of each other.
Earlier this year, the prison was shaken by allegations that an inmate whose lawyer says he has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old boy remained in the cell for 24 hours while waiting for a assessment of competences, a violation of the regulations of the penitentiary system. .
At the same time, a correctional officer at the facility had also reported sexual misconduct by a superior, that prison officials delayed notification to senior Prison Office officials.
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