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A federal judge in New York has unsealed a purported suicide note linked to financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The undated and unsigned document was made public following a petition from The New York Times.
The note, which remains unverified, was allegedly discovered by Nicholas Tartaglione, Epstein’s former cellmate and a former police officer serving a life sentence for unrelated murders. Tartaglione stated he found the note inside a book in their cell after Epstein was found on July 23, 2019, with injuries to his neck. The document had been sealed in a courthouse vault for nearly five years due to Tartaglione’s own criminal case.
The note reads, in part: “They investigated me for month — found NOTHING!!! It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!! NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!”
The words “NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!” are underlined, and the document is described as being difficult to decipher in some places.
Authorities have not verified whether Epstein himself wrote the note. The note was not referenced in the government’s official reports on Epstein’s death. Epstein’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner, and investigations pointed to errors by prison staff, including failing to properly monitor Epstein, as contributing factors.