The dysfunctional federal jail in lower Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself faced yet another challenge Tuesday: A class action suit by inmates alleging “incompetence and indifference” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Five Metropolitan Correctional Center inmates, some of whom are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms or fear they’ve been exposed to others with the virus, filed the suit in Manhattan Federal Court. The inmates are considered vulnerable to the virus due to underlying medical problems or other factors.
“The MCC has responded to the spread of COVID-19 within its walls with a mixture of ineptitude and indifference that threatens the safety of inmates, staff, and the community at large. The MCC has failed to test all but a tiny fraction of the inmate population, including many symptomatic inmates who are almost certainly suffering from the virus,” the suit reads.
“The MCC’s treatment of those suspected of having COVID-19 is as ill-conceived as it is inhumane.”
The Daily News exclusively reported Monday on a contraband video that gives a rare look at unsanitary conditions inside the jail holding around 750 inmates — nearly double its intended capacity. In addition to probes into Epstein’s suicide, the jail is coping with a federal investigation into a loaded gun discovered last month in an inmate housing area.
The inmates’ lawsuit describes a dangerous mix of mistakes and mismanagement. A principal problem is the lack of testing — only eight inmates have been tested and five are positive, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
By contrast, 39 staff, who are able to get tests in the community, are positive. The News exclusively reported that MCC’s warden, Marti Licon-Vitale, is among those who tested positive, according to a source. Licon-Vitale is named as a defendant in the new suit.
Overcrowding, failure to separate sick inmates and a lack of cleaning supplies and masks exacerbate the ongoing problem, the suit claims. The inmates seek an array of improvements to combat the outbreak, as well as the release of vulnerable detainees.
The lawsuit mirrors one filed against MCC’s sister institution, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A federal public defender and other officials won a rare “site inspection” of MDC through that lawsuit, which is ongoing. Federal Defender Deirdre Von Dornum reported seeing correctional officers without protective equipment and inmates “begging” for medical treatment.
