Jeffrey Epstein's Cellmate Was Chosen Because Officials Thought He Wouldn't Hurt the Financier
"The staff here at MCC had hundreds of inmates to choose from, yet I was their first choice."
Published Feb. 3 2026, 1:40 p.m. ET
In July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was assigned a cell in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York. While there, he was screened numerous times by psychological staff, per the Department of Justice Office of Inspector Generals. This included a formal suicide assessment given July 9.
Epstein first attempted suicide on July 23, at approximately 1:27 a.m. Correctional officers responded to his SHU cell, where they found Epstein with an orange cloth around his neck. His cellmate said Epstein was trying to hang himself. Following this incident, the Psychology Department determined Epstein needed to be housed with a more "appropriate" cellmate, but that person was later transferred to another facility. The financier's first cellmate was meant to be a safe choice.
Jeffrey Epstein's first cellmate said he never touched the financier.
In a letter to the New York Daily News, which was added to the Department of Justice's so-called Epstein files, Nicholas Tartaglione said he never touched the financier. "I despise anyone who hurts children," explained Tartaglione, "but whatever was going to happen to him, I was not going to be a part of it."
Tartaglione went on to say the prison chose him as a cellmate because they knew he would never hurt or extort Epstein. "The staff here at MCC had hundreds of inmates to choose from, yet I was their first choice," he wrote. On July 30, the Psychology Department sent an email to over 70 MCC New York employees alerting them of the fact that Epstein needed a new cellmate. The Warden selected one that was approved by the Federal Board of Prisons.
Epstein's new cellmate, later identified as Efrain "Stone" Reyes, was transferred out of the financier's cell on Aug. 8. The U.S. Marshals Service sent two emails informing MCC staff that Reyes was being moved. A new cellmate was never installed. On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein reportedly died by suicide. He was alone in his cell.
Where is Nicholas Tartaglione now?
Reyes died in November 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while at the Queens, New York Correctional Center (QCC), per Prison Legal News. Tartaglione, a former police officer, was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in June 2024. In April 2016, Tartaglione orchestrated the kidnapping and murders of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez, per the DOJ.
Tartaglione had begun dealing drugs and believed Martin had stolen roughly $250,000 meant for the purchase of cocaine. The former police officer tortured Martin in an attempt to extract information from him. When that didn't work, Tartaglione strangled him to death with a zip-tie. He then executed Urbano, Miguel, and Hector via gunshots to the back of their heads because they had witnessed Martin's murder. Tartaglione is serving his time at USP Atwater in Atwater, Calif.