DOJ-OGR-00023430.tif

count slip.7° During his OIG interview, the Evening Watch SHU Officer in Charge reviewed BOP documents regarding the inmate's transfer from the SHU and acknowledged further that based on that transfer, the number of inmates listed on the SHU count slip he and Noel submitted for the 4 p.m. count, the count slip was incorrect. Noel admitted in the deferred prosecution agreement she entered into with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York that she completed false count slips on August 9 and 10. Noel initially told the OIG that she did not conduct the 4 p.m. count on August 9, but after acknowledging that she signed the 4 p.m. SHU count slip, Noel said she did not recall if she conducted the count. According to Noel, she and other SHU staff filled out the count slip before conducting the counts because they knew the number of inmates they were supposed to report. 2. The 10 p.m. SHU Count on August 9 At the time of the 10 p.m. count, all inmates in the MCC New York SHU, including Epstein, were locked in their cells for the night. At or around that time, the two officers assigned to the SHU were responsible for conducting the 10 p.m. stand up count. At 10 p.m. on August 9, the two assigned SHU officers were Noel and the Material Handler. Through review and analysis of the SHU security camera video, witness statements, and BOP records, the OIG determined that MCC New York staff did not perform the 10 p.m. count in the SHU.?”? Nonetheless, Noel and the Material Handler completed and signed the 10 p.m. SHU count slip. The 10 p.m. SHU count slip listed the total number of inmates as “73 + 1.” According to the MCC New York master count sheet for the 10 p.m. count on August 9, 2019, all units had verbally reported their inmate counts to the Control Center by 10:30 p.m.#8 At approximately 10:36 p.m., the Control Center completed all paperwork and officially cleared the 10 p.m. institutional count. The Material Handler said he was present at the time of the 10 p.m. count, but that the count was not conducted because everyone was tired. The Material Handler noted that on August 9, he had worked an overtime shift from 12 a.m. until 8 a.m., his regular shift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by his SHU overtime shift from 4 p.m. to midnight. Thus, at the time of the 10 p.m. count, he had worked 22 consecutive hours at MCC New York. The Material Handler verified that he and Noel signed the 10 p.m. count slip and believed that Noel called the Control Center with their count numbers. He did not know why the count slip listed "73 +1". Noel told the OIG that she had conducted the SHU count alone at 10 p.m. and that the Material Handler signed the count slip even though he did not conduct the count with her. However, the OIG’s review and analysis of the SHU security camera video conflicts with Noel’s statement that she conducted the 10 p.m. count. Specifically, the video reflects that it was not until between 10:29 p.m. and 10:36 p.m. when Noel walked to different tiers inside the SHU. Yet, as described above, MCC New York records reflect that counts from all MCC New York housing units were reported to the Control Center by 10:30 p.m., as the count 36 Prosecution was declined for BOP employees (other than Noel and Thomas) who falsely certified inmate counts and rounds on the day before and the day of Epstein’s death. 37 The quality of the SHU video footage was poor. Therefore, in conjunction with reviewing the video, the OIG analyzed witness statements and BOP records to better determine what the video depicted. 38 The official name for the document used to record an institutional count is “Bureau of Prisons Count Sheet.” 63 DOJ-OGR-00023430