EPSTEIN
page 4 / 84 . OCR, unverified
duty in the SHU conduct and document regular, 30-minute rounds,
TOVA NOEL and MICHAEL THOMAS, the defendants, did not perform any
of the required 30-minute rounds during their shift between
approximately 12 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.
Nonetheless, NOEL completed
and signed more than 75 separate 30-minute round entries falsely
affirming that they had, in fact, conducted such rounds.
24. During
the
night,
instead
of
completing
the
required counts and rounds,
TOVA NOEL and MICHAEL THOMAS,
the
defendants, were seated at the correctional officers' desk in the
SHU
common area
(as noted above,
approximately 15 feet from
Epstein's cell), used the computers, and moved around the SHU
common area.
For a period of approximately two hours, NOEL and
THOMAS sat at their desk without moving, and appeared to have been
asleep.
NOEL used the computer periodically throughout the night,
including to search the internet for furniture sales and benefit
websites.
THOMAS used the computer briefly around 1 a.m., 4 a.m.,
and 6 a.m. to search for motorcycle sales and sports news.
25. At approximately 4 a.m., the overnight supervisor
briefly visited NOEL and THOMAS in the SHU, and conferred with
NOEL and THOMAS, who were seated at and around the officers' desk,
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 12 of 20
before leaving.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., another correctional
officer briefly walked through the SHU common area.
Aside from
those two officers, as confirmed by video surveillance, no one
else entered the SHU,
no one conducted any counts or rounds
throughout the night, and no one entered the tier in which Epstein
was housed.
26. Shortly after 6 a.m. on August 10, 2019, MICHAEL
THOMAS
and TOVA NOEL,
the defendants, received a delivery of
breakfast carts into the SHU, after which time they were again the
only officers in the SHU.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m., NOEL and THOMAS
walked up to and entered the tier in which Epstein was housed to
serve breakfast.
At approximately 6:33 a.m.,
an alarm was
activated in the SHU.
Epstein was alone in his cell and not
responsive, with a noose around his neck.
A supervisor who had
just started his shift ("Supervisor-1") responded to the alarm
almost immediately thereafter, and as NOEL approached the door to
the SHU to open the door for Supervisor-1, NOEL told Supervisor-1
that
"Epstein
hung
himself."
After arriving in the
SHU,
Supervisor-1 spoke with THOMAS and NOEL.
NOEL told Supervisor-1
"we did not complete the 3 a.m. nor 5 a.m. rounds."
THOMAS stated,
"we messed up," and "I messed up, she's not to blame, we didn't do
any rounds."
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 13 of 20
27. Epstein was transferred to a local hospital where
he was declared dead shortly thereafter.
The Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner of the City of New York conducted an autopsy and
determined that Epstein had committed suicide by hanging himself.
STATUTORY ALLEGATIONS
COUNT ONE
(Conspiracy)
The Grand Jury charges:
28. The
Grand
Jury
incorporates
the
allegations
contained in paragraphs 1 through 27 of this Indictment as though
fully set forth herein.
29. In or about August 2019, in the Southern District
of New
York,
TOVA
NOEL
and MICHAEL
THOMAS,
the defendants,
knowingly conspired with each other to:
a.
Knowingly
defraud
the
United
States
by
impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of a
department or agency of the United States, to wit, the MCC' s
function to ensure the care, custody, and control of its inmate
population.
b.
Knowingly make and use a false writing or
document
knowing
the
same
to
contain
a
materially
false,
fictitious, and fraudulent statement and entry with the intent to
impede,
obstruct,
or
influence
the
investigation or proper
administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 14 of 20
department or agency of the United States, in violation of Title
18, United States Code, Section 1001 (a) (3).
30. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect the
illegal objects thereof,
TOVA
NOEL
and
MICHAEL
THOMAS,
the
defendants, committed the following overt acts, among others, in
the Southern District of New York:
a. On August 10,
2019,
NOEL
and THOMAS
falsely
certified, on an MCC count slip, that they had performed the 12
a.m. institutional count of the SHU,
when they had not in fact
done so.
b. On August 10,
2019,
NOEL
and THOMAS
falsely
certified, on an MCC count slip, that they had performed the 3
a.m. institutional count of the SHU,
when they had not in fact
done so.
c. On August 10,
2019,
NOEL
and THOMAS
falsely
certified, on an MCC count slip, that they had performed the 5
a.m. institutional count of the SHU at MCC, when they had not in
fact done so.
d. On August 10, 2019, NOEL falsely certified that
she and THOMAS had performed a series of 30-minute rounds of the