U.S. federal prosecutors have dropped charges against the two guards who admitted to falsifying prison records on the night that sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died in his New York prison cell.
Metropolitan Correctional Center guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas admitted to falsifying records and conspiracy for their allegedly failing to perform routine, required jail-wide checks on prisoners including Epstein.
“Under the agreements, prosecution was deferred for a period of six months during the term of Noel’s and Thomas’s good behavior, completion of community service, and satisfactory compliance with the terms of the agreement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos stated.
“The United States Pretrial Services Office has informed the Government that Noel and Thomas have complied with the terms of the agreement during the period of deferral, which expired on November 20, 2021,” the statement continued.
The prosecutors’ decision came just a few hours before Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on 5 of 6 guilty counts on Thursday. Penalties for the charges range up to 40 years in prison for the 60-year Maxwell.
As National File previously reported, the prison guards tasked with monitoring deceased finance mogul and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at the time of his death in a New York jail agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors in which they admit to falsifying records from that night, in exchange for community service and no jail time.
Prison workers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas kept logs that indicated they made the required wellness checks on Epstein on the night of his death, which is shrouded in controversy.
After being charged with falsifying records in 2019, the guards admitted in May 2021 “that they ‘willfully and knowingly completed materially false count and round slips regarding required counts and rounds.’”
