The notorious Lower Manhattan federal lockup where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself is scheduled to close — at least temporarily — amid horrid conditions and numerous allegations of corruption against jail guards, officials said Thursday.
The Metropolitan Correctional Center will shutter to address security and infrastructure issues.
It’s unclear when the closure of the facility — which has a typical population of 600 inmates — will happen or how long it will last.
Most of the 233 inmates housed there currently will be transferred to the federal facility in Brooklyn.
The move to close the embattled jail comes weeks after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s tour there.
“In an effort to address the issues at MCC NY as quickly and efficiently as possible, the Department has decided to close the MCC, at least temporarily, until those issues have been resolved,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that every facility in the federal prison system is not only safe and secure, but also provides people in custody with the resources and programs they need to make a successful return to society after they have served their time.”
Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide under the watch of two guards at MCC on Aug. 10, 2019.
New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File
The lockup — located adjacent to the federal courthouse in Manhattan — has long been plagued with security issues and other concerns, including Epstein’s suicide by hanging at the facility in 2019.
Two former guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, who were supposed to keep a constant eye on the pedophile that night later pleaded guilty to fudging documents the night Epstein killed himself.
Noel and Thomas dodged prison time in a deal with federal prosecutors.
Earlier this year, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York ranted from the bench about conditions at the facility and the federal jail in Brooklyn, saying they were “run by morons.”
Manhattan federal court Judge Colleen McMahon lamented that the wardens at the facilities cycle in and out and employees of the lockups fail to address safety concerns.
“There is no continuity, there is no leadership, there is no ability to get anything done. They lurch from crisis to crisis, from the gun smuggling to Jeffrey Epstein,” she said at the sentencing of a drug defendant.
Last December, a former MCC guard was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to abusing an inmate while he worked at the facility. Colin Akparanta, 43, was accused of abusing up to seven women at the lockup but pleaded guilty to just one count.