MCC GUARD MISCONDUCT — DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENTS United States v. Tova Noel and Michael Thomas Southern District of New York — November 2021
Correctional officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were charged in November 2019 with conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false records in connection with their duties at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on the night of August 9-10, 2019 — the night Jeffrey Epstein died in his cell.
THE CHARGES: The six-count indictment alleged that Noel and Thomas, who were assigned to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) where Epstein was held, failed to perform the required institutional counts and rounds — mandated every 30 minutes for inmates in the SHU — and then created false entries in the unit's log book to conceal their dereliction. The indictment stated that instead of conducting rounds, both officers "sat at their desk, browsed the internet, and moved around the common area" of the SHU during the overnight shift. Records showed that Thomas searched for sales on motorcycles and sports news, while Noel browsed furniture sales websites.
TIMELINE OF FAILURES: According to the indictment, neither officer performed the required checks between approximately 10:30 PM on August 9 and 6:30 AM on August 10 — a period of approximately eight hours during which Epstein was unobserved. Both officers allegedly slept for approximately two hours during this period. At 6:30 AM, when the officers conducted their first actual check of the morning, they discovered Epstein hanging in his cell and called for assistance. Despite resuscitation efforts by emergency medical personnel, Epstein was pronounced dead.
FALSIFIED RECORDS: The officers' log entries for the overnight period contained notations indicating that they had performed rounds at 30-minute intervals throughout the night. These entries were demonstrated to be false based on surveillance camera footage from the SHU common area and hallways (distinct from the cameras near Epstein's cell, which produced unusable footage). The surveillance footage showed both officers sitting at their station or moving around the common area without entering the tier where Epstein's cell was located.
FACILITY CONDITIONS: Court filings by the defense attorneys for Noel and Thomas painted a picture of severe institutional dysfunction at MCC. The facility was operating with acute staffing shortages, and both officers were working overtime shifts mandated by the Bureau of Prisons due to the inability to fill positions. Thomas was working his fifth consecutive overtime shift — the equivalent of an extra eight-hour workday on each of five consecutive days. Noel was also working a mandatory overtime shift. Defense attorneys argued that the staffing crisis, rather than criminal intent, was the root cause of the officers' failure to perform their duties.
DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENTS: In May 2021, the Department of Justice entered into deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with both Noel and Thomas, effectively resolving the criminal charges without a trial. Under the terms of the agreements, both officers were required to:
— Complete 100 hours of community service — Cooperate fully with the DOJ Inspector General's ongoing investigation into Epstein's death — Refrain from further criminal conduct during the term of the agreement — Submit to supervision by the Pretrial Services Office
If both officers fulfilled the terms of their DPAs, the charges would be dismissed. The agreements were approved by the court in November 2021.
PUBLIC AND POLITICAL REACTION: The deferred prosecution agreements generated significant public criticism and congressional scrutiny. Members of Congress from both parties expressed dissatisfaction that the officers would avoid trial and potential imprisonment despite their documented failures on the night of one of the most high-profile deaths in federal custody in modern history. Senator Ben Sasse and others questioned whether the DPAs were appropriate given the gravity of the situation.
Victims' advocates argued that the lenient treatment of the guards was consistent with a broader pattern of accountability failures throughout the Epstein case. The families of Epstein's victims expressed frustration that the officers' misconduct had deprived them of the opportunity for a full public trial that might have revealed additional details about the circumstances of Epstein's death.
DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL INVESTIGATION: The DOJ Office of the Inspector General conducted a separate investigation into the broader institutional failures at MCC that contributed to the circumstances of Epstein's death. This investigation examined staffing practices, the decision to remove Epstein from suicide watch, the failure to assign him a cellmate, and the facility's compliance with Bureau of Prisons policies. The OIG report, released in June 2023, documented widespread management failures at MCC and made recommendations for systemic reforms.