A former mobster who spent seven months in the same jail cell where Jeffrey Epstein died says it would have been “impossible” for the disgraced financier to take his own life under the conditions at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York, as reported by The New York Post.

Michael Franzese, a former captain in the Colombo crime family, told NewsNation that he personally lived in the same cell where Epstein was found dead in August 2019 and that the layout of the cell would not physically allow for suicide by hanging.

“There’s just no way you are able to commit suicide. There’s just no way,” Franzese said.

“There’s no way to hang yourself, there’s nothing from the ceiling, there’s nothing from the bed.”

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Franzese added, “You’d have to be a midget, and work really hard to try to hang yourself, and I don’t think you could accomplish it.” He noted that there are no ceiling fixtures and the beds sit low to the floor, making it nearly impossible to create a hanging mechanism.

“You just couldn’t physically do it. It would be almost impossible to do it.”

Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial on federal charges related to child sex trafficking at the time of his death. He had previously been placed on suicide watch after an alleged prior attempt but was later moved to a different unit with standard monitoring procedures.

The night he died, guards reportedly fell asleep, failed to conduct required checks, and later falsified logs.

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In addition, surveillance cameras aimed at the cellblock reportedly malfunctioned and did not record the critical hours around Epstein’s death.

Franzese, who served time in multiple federal facilities, questioned that explanation. “As far as the cameras being off, I haven’t experienced that — I did eight years in prison and I haven’t experienced cameras being broken and a perfect storm of correctional officers not walking those cells,” he said.

“They walk in and they look in on you all the time,” Franzese continued. “Sometimes it’s embarrassing to go to the toilet because they’re walking past you and looking in the cell constantly.”

“I just can’t buy it. I cannot buy it, I’m sorry,” he added. “And I have no horse in this race other than my experience and the fact that I just couldn’t see it happening.”

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Speculation about Epstein’s death has persisted for years, despite the official ruling from the Department of Justice that Epstein died by suicide.

Last week, the Trump administration confirmed that a rumored client list of Epstein’s high-profile associates does not exist, and Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the DOJ’s conclusion that Epstein took his own life.

Image Credit: © Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Pam Bondi recognizes family and friends in attendance as she delivers opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on her nomination to be Attorney General of the United States on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

New footage from outside the cell was also released, reportedly showing no one entering Epstein’s cell that night.

The debate over Epstein’s death and the alleged lapses in federal custody continue to raise questions about the accountability of the justice system in handling high-profile inmates.

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