Biography

Epstein owned a private Boeing 727 jet and traveled in it frequently, logging "600 flying hours a year ... usually with guests on board". The jet was nicknamed the Lolita Express by the locals in the Virgin Islands, because of its frequent arrivals at Little Saint James with apparently underage girls.

His cellmate, former New York City police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, who was awaiting trial for four counts of murder, was questioned about Epstein's condition. He denied having any knowledge of what happened. Correctional staff suspected attempted suicide, but did not rule out the possibility that it was staged or that he was assaulted by another inmate.

Epstein implied that he had blackmail material when he told a New York Times reporter in 2018, off the record, that he had dirt on powerful people, including information about their sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.

Epstein's body was buried in an unmarked grave next to those of his parents at the I.J. Morris Star of David Cemetery in Palm Beach, Florida. The names of his parents were also removed from their tombstone in order to prevent vandalism.

Epstein's $77 million gilded Manhattan mansion (9 East 71st Street) was featured on the cover of "Architectural Digest" magazine in December 1995. The sidewalk directly in front has a heated surface so that snow and ice could never settle there during the winter months. Directly opposite Epstein's residence is a townhouse once occupied by Bill Cosby.