AG Barr cleans house amid fed probe
The warden of the lower Manhattan lockup where Jeffrey Epstein apparently hanged himself has been reassigned and replaced pending a federal probe of the convicted pedophile’s death, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.
Two unidentified staffers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center were also placed on indefinite leave amid allegations that guards didn’t check on Epstein for several hours before he was found “unresponsive” in his cell at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The New York Times reported Tuesday night that two of the guards fell asleep and fudged the log entries to indicate falsely that they had checked on him.
Attorney General William Barr — who on Monday blamed Epstein’s death on “serious irregularities at this facility” — personally ordered the ouster of MCC Warden Lamine N’Diaye, a spokesperson said.
Warden James Petrucci of the federal prison in upstate Otisville has been named acting warden of the MCC, which routinely houses some of the nation’s most infamous defendants as they await trial.
Barr’s action came as suspicions arose that an emergency medical worker violated federal privacy law by breaking the news of Epstein’s death on an infamous Internet bulletin board.
A series of anonymous posts on the 4chan Web site began appearing at 8:16 a.m. Saturday in a thread titled “Jeffrey Epstein DEAD.”
“dont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest,” the first message said.
Five subsequent messages included detailed, unconfirmed claims about attempts to revive the multimillionaire financier, who was being held without bail on charges of child-sex-trafficking.
“Was called out as a cardiac arrest at the manhattan federal detention facility. Worked asystole for 40 mins,” said a message posted at 8:21 a.m.
Another message, posted at 8:47, also said, “worked asystole arrest for 40 minutes, als intubated in the field/epi/2 liters NS infused. Telemetry advised bicarb and D50 in field. Pt transported to Lower Manhattan ER and worked for 20 minutes and called.”
“Hospital administrator was alerted, preparing statements,” the message added.
The anonymous writer used the ID “rPtND1Si” and posted an image of “Pepe the Frog,” a cartoon character widely used in racist and anti-Semitic memes.
When another poster questioned the origin of the information, the original poster responded, “lets say I know. Dont need a glowie coming to my crib. But they declared death at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan ER.”
The use of “glowie” apparently refers to a practice called “glowposting,” in which law-enforcement officials are believed to post messages to trick criminals into revealing their identities or plans.
The messages, first reported by BuzzFeed, were posted in 4chan’s “Politically Incorrect” section, one of several “not suitable for work” subjects listed on its home page.
The site has been used to leak hacked nude cellphone photos of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton.
An offshoot, 8chan, is currently facing scrutiny for hosting a racist manifesto linked to the fatal shootings of 22 people in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3.
Paramedics from the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services and NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital responded to the MCC. Exclusive photos snapped by The Post show that Epstein was transported in a Presbyterian ambulance.
The FDNY said none of its employees was behind the messages about his death. “The FDNY reviewed the alleged information and determined it did not come from the department,” spokesman Myles Miller said.
NewYork-Presbyterian declined to comment.