Officials confirmed on Tuesday that the warden who was running the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein died retired amid an investigation into the now-closed New York facility.
Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Kristie Breshears told the Associated Press that Lamine N’Diaye retired on February 26. N’Diaye was the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, which the Bureau of Prisons closed in October for significant renovations. However, NJ.com reported that the jail may stay closed permanently.
N’Diaye was the warden at the correctional center in 2019 when Epstein, 66, was found dead in his jail cell. Officials’ determination that Epstein hanged himself has been met with widespread skepticism. At the time, the billionaire financier was jailed without bond amid allegations he sex-trafficked dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005.
Prosecutors said jail guards were sleeping and browsing the Internet when they should have been watching Epstein. The details surrounding Epstein’s death led the Justice Department to open an investigation into how the high-profile inmate died while in custody.
N’Diaye was most recently a warden at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security prison in New Jersey. The Associated Press reported that N’Diaye was reassigned to Fort Dix despite officials’ claims that N’Diaye’s transfer would be delayed until the Justice Department’s inspector general completed their inquiry.
A spokesperson for Inspector General Michael Horowitz told the Associated Press that their investigation is ongoing.
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[Featured image: Jeffrey Epstein/New York Sex Offender Registry]
