An ex-cop facing the death penalty who briefly shared a cell with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein asked a judge Tuesday to move him to a new facility, claiming guards threatened him inside a New York federal lockup.
Bruce Barket, an attorney for Nicholas Tartaglione, cited comments from Metropolitan Correction Center (MCC) guards telling his client to “shut up,” “stop talking” and “stop complaining,” in his letter to White Plains federal Judge Kenneth Karas.
“The clear message Mr. Tartaglione has received is that if he conveys information about the facility or about the recent suicide, there will be a price to pay,” Barket wrote. “Whether or not the investigators into the suicide chose to interview Mr. Tartaglione about the attempted suicide to which he was witness or about how the facility is run and the conditions under which the inmates are forced to live, the correction officers know he has information potentially very damaging to the very people now charged with guarding him or their coworkers.”
The 51-year-old Tartaglione, convicted for several drug-related slayings, shared a cell with Epstein, 66, at the Lower Manhattan detention facility during what was believed to be Epstein’s first suicide attempt on July 23. He was transferred out of the cell in the facility’s Special Housing Unit sometime later.
It was not clear why he was moved. On Aug. 10, Epstein committed suicide by hanging, New York City’s chief medical examiner said. He was facing multiple child sex-trafficking charges. – READ MORE