EFTA00019402.pdf

136 KB

Extraction Summary

7
People
5
Organizations
5
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
6
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Email thread containing news article
File Size: 136 KB
Summary

This document is an email thread from August 15, 2019, circulating a Fox News article about the accidental release of serial bank robber Michael Matthews from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) just days before Jeffrey Epstein's death. The article highlights serious security failures and irregularities at the MCC, including quotes from Attorney General William Barr expressing anger at the facility's failures. It also includes comments from the lawyer of Epstein's former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, describing conditions at MCC as inhumane and worse than Rikers Island.

People (7)

Name Role Context
Jeffrey Epstein Deceased Inmate
Died from apparent suicide at MCC; 66 years old
Michael Matthews Inmate / Serial Bank Robber
58 years old; accidentally released from MCC on Aug 7, 2019; surrendered Aug 12
Nicole Darrah Journalist
Author of the Fox News article
Richard Donoghue U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of New York; commented on Matthews' improper release
William Barr Attorney General
Vowed investigation into MCC; appalled by irregularities
Nicholas Tartaglione Former Police Officer / Inmate
Former cellmate of Epstein; charged with four deaths; complained about MCC conditions
Bruce Barket Lawyer
Attorney for Nicholas Tartaglione; criticized MCC conditions as inhumane

Timeline (3 events)

2019-08-07
Michael Matthews told he was free to leave MCC and released
Metropolitan Correctional Center
2019-08-12
Michael Matthews surrendered to officials
Unknown
2019-08-15
Fox News article published regarding MCC release errors
Fox News

Relationships (2)

Nicholas Tartaglione Former Cellmate Jeffrey Epstein
Article states Tartaglione is 'one of Epstein's former cellmates'
Bruce Barket Attorney/Client Nicholas Tartaglione
Article refers to Barket as 'A lawyer for one of Epstein's former cellmates, Nicholas Tartaglione'

Key Quotes (6)

"accidentally released"
Source
EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #1
"pursuant to a permanent order of detention."
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EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #2
"appalled... and frankly, angry to learn of MCC's failure to adequately secure this prisoner."
Source
EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #3
"We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation."
Source
EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #4
"would rather be at Rikers."
Source
EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #5
"At the end of the day, the facility is run with a bad combination of laziness and cruelty and this is one of the results."
Source
EFTA00019402.pdf
Quote #6

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (4,405 characters)

From: [REDACTED]
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: Fwd: Metropolitan Correctional Center 'accidentally released' serial bank robber days before Epstein's death
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 21:22:04 +0000
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: [REDACTED]
Date: August 15, 2019 at 4:54:20 PM EDT
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: RE: Metropolitan Correctional Center 'accidentally released' serial bank robber days before Epstein's death
Thanks [REDACTED]
From: [REDACTED]
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2019 4:34 PM
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: Metropolitan Correctional Center 'accidentally released' serial bank robber days before Epstein's death
Metropolitan Correctional Center 'accidentally released' serial bank robber days before Epstein's death
Fox News
By Nicole Darrah
8/15/19
A serial bank robber awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan was "accidentally released" from federal custody just days before a series of ignored protocols gave Jeffrey Epstein the opportunity for his apparent suicide.
Michael Matthews, 58, was told Aug. 7 he was free to leave the New York facility which, in recent days, has come under fire after Epstein, 66, died from an apparent suicide after being left alone in his cell for hours on Saturday — despite recently being on suicide watch, and despite protocol requiring otherwise.
Matthews' family told the New York Daily News that a counselor at MCC invited him to their office, where he was given a card to ride the subway and paperwork to sign to be released. He knew he was awaiting sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 20, but didn't speak up.
Richard Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated in a letter obtained by Fox News on Thursday that Matthews — who previously served time for bank robbery — was released, despite being held "pursuant to a permanent order of detention."
He explains that Matthews was arrested in January after he failed to appear at a halfway house in Brooklyn after being released from a federal facility in New Jersey. He was charged with escaping custody, and was also charged in three bank robberies during the time he was supposed to be in the halfway house, according to prosecutors.
"The government is currently seeking additional information about the circumstances prompting the defendant's pre-sentencing release, and sets forth below those facts that the government has confirmed to date," Donoghue wrote.
While Matthews surrendered to officials Aug. 12, his release further contributes to the scrutiny surrounding the MMC — which houses some of the highest-security inmates in the U.S. — following Epstein's death.
Attorney General William Barr vowed on Monday a full investigation into the federal prison. He said he was "appalled... and frankly, angry to learn of MCC's failure to adequately secure this prisoner."
"We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation."
Epstein, who was found with bruising on his neck in his cell last month, had been taken off suicide watch shortly before his death, according to a source familiar with the matter. Per protocol, the 66-year-old should've been checked on every 30 minutes, but before his death had not been physically checked on for "several hours."
Additionally, he didn't have a cellmate on the night of his death.
A lawyer for one of Epstein's former cellmates, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer in New York who was charged in 2016 with the deaths of four men stemming from an alleged cocaine conspiracy, told Fox News earlier this week he's had several clients who have been locked up both in New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail and MCC, and claimed many have said they "would rather be at Rikers."
"That gives you some idea how bad the place is," the lawyer, Bruce Barket said. "At the end of the day, the facility is run with a bad combination of laziness and cruelty and this is one of the results."
He described conditions at MCC "border on inhumane," and said one day, when Tartaglione woke up, he discovered that while sleeping he'd rolled onto a rodent, smothering it.
Separately, a representative from the American Federation of Government Employees/Council of Prison Locals decried the low staff levels at MCC, but also said the issue is a "system-wide crisis in our prison system."
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EFTA00019403

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