NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government says it is shutting down an embattled federal jail in New York City after a slew of problems that came to light following Jeffrey Epstein's suicide there two years ago.
The federal Bureau of Prisons said Thursday the Metropolitan Correctional Center would be closed at least temporarily to address issues that have long plagued the facility, including lax security and crumbling infrastructure.
The facility, in a complex of government buildings in lower Manhattan, currently has 233 inmates, down from a normal population of 600 inmates or more.
Most of them are expected to be transferred to a federal jail in Brooklyn.
According to the Associated Press, the facility has housed famous inmates such as Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán and Mafia boss John Gotti.
The AP reported that the decision to close it comes after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco toured it and saw the conditions firsthand.
Since Epstein's death, the facility has long since been marred with inmates complaining of squalid conditions, including mice infestations and toilets leaking water, urine, and feces.
Officials gave no timetable on how long the closure would last.
