A note that has been described as a potential suicide note penned by disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unsealed this week by federal by Judge Kenneth M. Karas in response to a request from The New York Times.
It’s just a few short lines.
“They investigated me for a month – Found NOTHING!!!,” reads the first. Another line says “it is a treat to be able to choose ones time to say goodbye,” followed by “whatchya want me to do, Bust out cryin!” and “NO FUN – NOT WORTH IT!!”
According to The New York Times, Epstein used the “bust out cryin” and “no fun” terms in emails. He used the “no fun” phrase in his jail cell at the time of his death. As for the note unsealed this week, it was not in the cell where Epstein was found dead at age 66 in August 2019.
Court documents explain that this recently unsealed note was recovered by Epstein’s former cellmate at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, Nicholas Tartaglione, and it predated Epstein’s death by more than a week. Tartaglione is a former police officer who was later convicted of a quadruple murder who received four life sentences and has appealed his case.
Before his death in August, Epstein was found semiconscious on the floor of his cell with a makeshift orange noose around his neck on July 23. He had already pleaded guilty in 2008 to state-level charges of procuring a child for prostitution and was indicted shortly before his death on federal sex trafficking charges that could have resulted in a 45-year sentence.
“Following the July 23 incident, [Epstein] was placed on suicide watch,” Audacy previously reported. While he claimed at one point that Tartaglione was trying to kill him, the two men later said they did not have problems with each other.
Since Epstein was found dead, conspiracy theories have swirled round the case, due in part to his connections to rich and famous people, including current President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton as well as billionaires Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Richard Branson to name a few. Millions of documents released by the Department of Justice were recently released following pressure from the public and Congress.
According to the Times, Tartaglione said he discovered the note tucked in a graphic novel after Epstein was found semiconscious in July 2019. Though the note was not included in the extensive file releases by the DOJ, a chronology of the note’s connection to Tartaglione’s legal case was included.
“I opened the book to read and there it was,” he said of the note. Tartaglione added that it was on paper ripped from a yellow legal pad. He explained that he gave the note to his lawyers because he thought it would be helpful if Epstein ever made another claim that Tartaglione had tried to hurt him.
“The chronology document says that Mr. Tartaglione’s lawyers had a photograph of the note on a phone,” per the Times’ report. “They turned over the original copy of the note to the court in May 2021, nearly two years after Mr. Epstein’s death, according to a letter also made public by the court on Wednesday.”
That chronology also said that Tartaglione’s lawyers authenticated the note. However, the Times noted that it did not explain how. The outlet said it has not been able to verify that Epstein actually penned the unsigned note or that it was a “suicide” note. Epstein’s death has been declared a suicide by officials, but he denied that the July 23 incident was an attempt to take his own life.
In addition to the note, the Times also requested other documents related to Epstein. These include court transcripts.
“The Court reserves decision as to the remainder of the materials requested by the Times,” according to court documents.
