A handwritten note believed to have been penned by Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, before his death, has been revealed by a federal judge in New York City after being hidden from the public for years. The U.S. District Court made the document public on Wednesday.
The note stated, “They investigated me for months — FOUND NOTHING!!!” and mentioned facing charges dating back years. Epstein expressed a sense of control over his fate, saying, “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye,” and dismissed the idea of showing emotions, stating, “Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!! NO FUN — NOT WORTH IT!!”
While CBC News could not independently confirm the note’s origin, it was not initially part of the documents related to Epstein’s case. However, a reference to a note found in one of Epstein’s books was included in a timeline explaining how it ended up in the possession of Nicholas Tartaglione, Epstein’s cellmate.
Tartaglione reported discovering the note after Epstein’s apparent suicide attempt in July 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where Epstein was later found dead while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The note became the subject of a legal dispute involving Tartaglione and his defense attorneys due to a conflict of interest. Initially sealed in May 2021 to protect attorney-client privilege, it was released on Wednesday following a successful petition by the New York Times.
The publication argued that any privilege had been waived by Tartaglione’s public discussions about the note’s content. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas supported this argument, ruling that the note should be public due to Tartaglione’s actions. The U.S. Department of Justice also acknowledged that the privilege had been waived by Tartaglione’s public disclosures.
Tartaglione, who briefly shared a cell with Epstein, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to four life terms in 2023. He has since filed an appeal.
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