Original Article By Frank Bergman
Jeffrey Epstein allegedly told his former cellmate that federal prosecutors in New York offered to let him walk free if he falsely implicated President Donald Trump in his crimes.
The allegations were revealed in a newly surfaced pardon application.
Epstein, arrested in July 2019 on sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges, briefly shared a cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center with former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione.
At the time, Tartaglione was awaiting trial on a quadruple-murder case.
Tartaglione, 57, now claims Epstein confided that prosecutors pressed him to tie Trump to his crimes.
The allegation is detailed in a July pardon application obtained by The New York Post.
“Prosecutors … told Epstein that if he said President Trump was involved with Esptein’s crimes, he would walk free. in a petition to be pardoned,” Tartaglione wrote.
He also alleges Epstein said that then–lead prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of disgraced former FBI Director James Comey, told him “he didn’t have to prove anything, as long as President Trump’s people could not disprove it.”
The filing further claims Comey said the FBI was “her people, not his [President Trump’s].”
Tartaglione says Epstein insisted:
“President Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes.”
The documents do not specify what allegations prosecutors wanted Epstein to make.
Epstein, who had ties across political and corporate circles, faced charges that carried a potential decades-long sentence at the time of his death.
Maurene Comey, who led the prosecution in Tartaglione’s murder case, was fired by the Department of Justice in July.
She has not yet commented on the allegations.
Epstein’s Final Weeks in MCC
Tartaglione and Epstein shared a cell until July 23, 2019, the night the late pedophile was found with bruising on his neck in what officials called a suicide attempt.
Epstein was then moved to suicide watch and later assigned a different cellmate.
On August 10, Epstein was found dead in his cell.
His death was officially ruled a suicide, though persistent security lapses, missing video footage, and conflicting accounts from staff have fueled ongoing public scrutiny.
Tartaglione: Prosecution Manipulated Evidence
Tartaglione, a former Westchester K9 officer, was later convicted of murdering four men after suspecting an employee had stolen drug money. He is now serving a life sentence.
In his pardon request, Tartaglione claims he was framed. He alleges:
- A seized mobile phone was tampered with to add his name as a contact
- Video evidence was “altered, spliced, mutilated, and destroyed”
- A cooperating witness, Joseph Biggs, fabricated details after meeting prosecutors 30 times
Biggs later received a 17-year sentence rather than life after admitting to pulling the trigger in one of the killings and cooperating with the government.
At sentencing, the judge criticized Tartaglione’s conduct, saying he cared more about animals than the people he killed, calling him delusional and citing “overwhelming evidence.”
Safety Concerns After Epstein’s Death
Tartaglione says he has survived multiple attempts on his life inside federal custody since Epstein’s death.
He says the attacks include assaults that left him with a metal plate in his head.
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