I personally maintain contact with several individuals who are currently employed with the Bureau of Prisons as well as MCC New York. Three current MCC Staff Members very recently described to me the current sanitation conditions at the facility. One stated, “The facility is so disgusting it’s like a prison in a third-world country. Cleaning supplies are not issued on a regular basis.” The individual further advised, “Pest Control is horrible and ineffective, rats, mice and bugs are everywhere.” Another Correctional Officer told me, “There are mice and bugs everywhere including inmates’ cells.”¶
This information is consistent with my Court testimony on July 3, 2019, and my assessment in Paragraph 20 of my Declaration in the case of Mr. Motiwala. Further, it corroborates the many news reports, regarding the “rodent-infested MCC.”¶
On a different, yet equally concerning topic, an MCC Correctional Officer advised me this past week, that there is blatant racial discord within the institution, especially amongst Correctional Officers. I did not witness this when I was Warden at MCC, and my contact advises it began a short time following my departure.¶
It is my belief that the excerpts I’ve cited in this report and statements from various sources of the MCC are credible and honest. The Staff have nothing to gain by sharing this information with me other than to express their dissatisfaction and frustration with current practices and conditions at MCC.¶
In my July 3, 2019, testimony in the London Court for the extradition case of Sadiq Motiwala, I expressed concerns with MCC New York in regards to staff shortages, staff from other departments being “augmented” to fill in for correctional officer vacancies on a regular basis, conditions of confinement at MCC and various other matters related to the institution. I stated in my testimony and also in my Declaration that MCC New York or any other federal prison could not prevent anyone who is persistent from taking their own life. At best, they could only delay an inmate from committing suicide by placing his on a suicide watch. A suicide watch does not continue indefinitely. As previously stated in this report, a usual amount of days for a suicide watch would be two to four days, depending on circumstances. Once the suicide watch ends, that also ends the 24 hours of continuous inmate observation.¶
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If Mr. Motiwala is extradited to the United States and housed at MCC or MDC, I am confident his mental health needs, given his propensity to commit self harm, will not be adequately addressed. I am more convinced of this now, following the Epstein suicide, numerous documents and recent information revealed, than I was during my testimony to the Court in July 2019. It appears the current conditions within the prison are extremely dire and certainly far worse than when I was assigned at MCC as Warden.¶
Numerous individuals have come forward in the last few weeks, including some former Bureau of Prisons’ Wardens. They fervently state some serious missteps occurred at the MCC surrounding the death of Mr. Epstein. These individuals have been quick to point fingers and assign blame to top executives, psychology staff and correctional officers. Many are quick to say that Mr. Epstein should not have been removed from Suicide Watch or if he were removed, extra precautions/safeguards should have been in place. Some sources view the actions of staff who were assigned to Epstein’s Housing Unit, as a blatant indifference to the care and welfare of inmates. Others, including Union Officials, are suggesting the Officers’ disregard of conducting the required 30-minute cell checks were justified because of the long hours staff are forced to work, as a result of the institution being so understaffed.¶
While all of the investigations continue, it is premature to conclude exactly what did occur leading up to the death of Mr. Epstein. What we do know is that several policies were not followed or were simply ignored, several departments within MCC were involved and shortcuts were taken. MCC New York is heavily in the spotlight and under a microscope these past two weeks and likely for the next several weeks. It is my opinion that this only received such widespread attention because of the notoriety of Epstein. Had this been another inmate, less known, who was not a public figure, they likely would not have received media attention.¶
Once the investigations are concluded, it is probable that several recommendations will be provided. In order to correct problems that exist, one must look at the root of the cause and be willing to fix that also. Only time will tell if any future additional measures put in place will be adequate. If what is being reported by countless sources, is in fact what actually occurred, and staff completely ignored their responsibilities,¶
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no recommendations and no additional measures would have changed the unfortunate outcome of what occurred on August 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York.¶
The current problems at the MCC cannot, in my opinion, be cured by any quick fix solution. Even with the current spotlight on MCC, and assuming the Bureau of Prisons will put forth their best efforts to eradicate the broken parts, one still must account for human error and agency needs. Staff will continue to work overtime, staff will continue to take shortcuts, staff will continue to be tired on the job and fall asleep. No amount of effort on anyone’s part can change that and one can only hope that when these things occur, nothing bad happens. It would take many years to resolve the issues and problems that plague MCC, provided there is a real desire to make changes. This will not give any comfort to Mr Motiwala or the U.K Courts as to whether he or his mental health needs will be adequately managed if extradited to the United States.¶
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