Summary5 min read

The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: Tova Noel and the Transcript From Her Congressional Testimony (Part 12)
Host: Bobby Capucci
Date: June 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Bobby Capucci continues his meticulous analysis of the congressional testimony of Tova Noel, a former correctional officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) during the night of Jeffrey Epstein’s death. The discussion draws directly from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report and focuses on critical timeline details, failure of the facility's surveillance systems, falsified records, management and staffing issues, and the reliability of key witnesses. Capucci underscores his goal of providing listeners with as much primary sourced information as possible to inform their own conclusions about the events surrounding Epstein’s death.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Security Camera Failures at MCC

[00:32] Capucci reviews the OIG finding that SHU (Special Housing Unit) security cameras failed to record footage from July 29, 2019, and the malfunction was not addressed prior to Epstein’s death.
- Replacement hard drives were obtained on August 9 but repairs weren't completed, so there were no recordings from August 9-10, only live feed.
- Noel testifies she was unaware of the recording failure and did not know who was responsible for repairs.

“I wasn’t aware that it [the camera system] wasn’t working.” — Tova Noel, [01:55]

2. Inmate Testimonies and Rumors

[03:35] Q&A regarding inmate allegations from the night of Epstein’s death:
- Noel denies all knowledge of reported statements from inmates alleging she or other guards were involved or trying to “cover it up.”
- Specifically denies knowledge of the rumor that officers were heard saying, “If he’s dead, we’re going to cover it up…” and claims of being accused by inmates (“Ms. Noel killed Jeffrey”).

“Never heard any of that.” — Tova Noel, [04:51]

When asked for her view on these allegations, Noel simply states:

“I mean, I’m not aware of anything like that being said, but they may say anything.” — Tova Noel, [05:02]

3. Falsification of Records and Criminal Charges

[06:02] Key questions are asked about the rounds and counts documentation:
- Noel initially denies criminal charges for falsifying prison logs, but is corrected by the committee; she then acknowledges charges were brought but later dismissed under a prosecution agreement.
Host Bobby Capucci points out the inconsistencies in Noel’s testimony and memory.

“How can you believe that Tova Noel is telling the truth when she can’t even get the basics right?” — Bobby Capucci, [08:42]

4. Details About the Counts and Rounds the Night of Epstein’s Death

[11:42] It is confirmed by Noel:
- Night shift counts (12am, 3am, 5am) in the SHU were not performed on the night of Epstein's death.
- Some counts took place on 10 South (other unit), where she assisted another officer (Adams).
- Admits that reports were altered to indicate rounds were done when they were not.

5. Documentation and Oversight

[15:24] Discussion of a sign posted to the SHU officer’s computer that read:
- “Mandatory rounds must be conducted every 30 minutes on Epstein as per God."
- Noel states she does not recall ever seeing this sign, nor understands what “as per God” refers to.

6. Chronic Understaffing and Management Shortcomings

[17:50] Noel expands on MCC’s failures:
- Cites chronic understaffing, excessive overtime, and its impact on security and routine (e.g., inability to conduct counts or rounds as required).
- Suggests that management’s inability to hire sufficient staff and secure equipment like cameras fundamentally undermined operations.

“Sometimes you have one staff member working two units. You can’t be in two places at one time, but there’s just no manpower.” — Tova Noel, [20:12]

7. Leadership, Routine, and the SHU Environment

[21:45] It was common for one officer on 9 South to assist on 10 South during counts due to staff shortages. This was not unusual, underscoring how frequently protocols were bent out of necessity.

“It was one [officer on 10 South] all the time.” — Tova Noel, [22:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On credibility of testimony:
“How can you believe that Tova Noel is telling the truth when she can’t even get the basics right? And this is the same thing we’ve seen time and time again with people that have come before Congress to talk about the night Epstein died.”
— Bobby Capucci, [08:42]
On staff awareness:
“I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t working.”
— Tova Noel, [01:55]
On allegations by inmates:
“Never heard any of that… I’m not aware of anything like that being said, but they may say anything.”
— Tova Noel, [04:51] & [05:02]
On understaffing:
“Sometimes you have one staff member working two units. You can’t be in two places at one time, but there’s just no manpower.”
— Tova Noel, [20:12]

Key Timestamps

00:30 – Capucci introduces the focus on Noel’s testimony and MCC camera failures
01:55 – Noel questioned about awareness of security camera issues
03:35-05:02 – Denial of knowledge about inmate allegations and cover-up claims
06:02-08:42 – Exchange about falsified records and criminal charges
11:42 – Breakdown of the counts and timeline on the night of Epstein’s death
15:24 – Discussion of "mandatory rounds" sign and its significance
17:50-20:12 – Exposé on chronic staff shortages and systemic problems at MCC
22:32 – Confirmation that understaffing was the norm on 10 South

Conclusion & Next Steps

Capucci concludes by highlighting the pattern of conflicting statements and memory gaps in Tova Noel’s testimony, framing it against the persistent problems of poor staffing and oversight at MCC. He emphasizes his intent to provide primary sourced information for listeners to make their own judgments and teases further transcript discussion in the next episode.

All reference materials for this episode are available in the description box.

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What's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up where we left off with Tova Noel and her chat with Congress. Question I'm going to reference the DOJ OIG report once more. It said that the MCC security cameras in the shoe failed to record any live footage starting on July 29, 2019, and that this malfunction was not discovered by MCC staff until August 8, 2019. MCC staff, however, then failed to take any action to fix this malfunction. Therefore, the security cameras did not record anything on August 9th or August 10th, the day of Mr. Epstein's death. It did, however, continue to broadcast live feed. It also says the report that MCC staff obtained the replacement hard drives necessary to repair the security camera on August 9, but did not complete the repairs to restore recording functionality. I know that you mentioned this, but did you know that the security cameras were not working? No Question. And you don't know who was in charge of making sure that the security camera system was repaired? No Question did you ever speak with anyone about this failure on August 9th or August 10th? Answer no, because I wasn't aware that it wasn't working. Question okay, do you have any reason to believe MCC staff purposefully or intentionally did not repair the cameras prior to or at the time of Epstein's death? Answer I don't have any reason to believe, but I don't know. Question Are you aware that the FBI conducted interviews on August 28 and 2019 of inmates that were present the night of Epstein's death? No Question Are you aware of any allegations that were made by any shoe inmates around that night? No Question did you ever hear that one inmate that was in the shoe, he recounted a series of remarks that he heard the morning of Mr. Epstein's death? No question. This inmate recalls hearing the officer shout, breathe, Breathe. And then he allegedly heard and officers say, dude, you killed that dude. Have you ever heard anything like that? Answer. No question. There's also a quote that he said he heard the female guard reply with quote, if he's dead, we're going to cover it up and he's going to have an alibi in my officers. The inmate also said that the entire wing of the prison overheard these remarks. And after learning that Mr. Epstein had died, the inmates were saying, Ms. Noel, kill Jeffrey. Never heard any of that. Did you ever hear any inmates make any accusation about Mr. Epstein's death? No question. What's your response? What do you think of these allegations? Answer. Of that? Yes. I mean, I'm not aware of anything like that being said, but they may say anything. Thank you. You're welcome. We discussed earlier that you altered the counts and rounds on the reports. Were you ever criminally charged with falsifying those prison records? Answer no. Foy. Altered accounts. What do you mean altered? Firebrand. Firebend. Excuse me. That you signed off, that you had completed them, when in fact you had not completed them. Foy. Okay. Noel. Yeah. No question saying that more accounts and rounds were done, then we're actually done. Noelle. No question. Were you ever. I'm sorry, I'm going to back up. Were you ever criminally charged with falsifying Bop records? Noel. No. Mr. Foy. Yes, you were. You were criminally charged. Noel. Okay. Foy. Right. I mean, were charges brought against you? Yes. That's what she's asking. Noel. Okay. Yes. So how can you believe that Tova Noel is telling the truth when she can't even get the basics right? And this is the same thing we've seen time and time again with people that have come before Congress to talk about the night Epstein died. So if you want to believe the narrative, go for it. My goal is to provide you with enough information from these official sources so that you can come to your decision with as much information available to you as possible. Charges were brought against you for. Yes. How many counts? Foy? We don't remember. Okay. And what was the result of those charges being brought against you? Noel? Foy dismissed. Noel Dismissed. Question. How come it was dismissed? Foy? Ask the government. They're the ones who dismissed it. Noel. I read in the report. Discussion off record. Noel comes back. So there was a Noel. Prosecution agreement to dismiss it, and as a result of that, it got dismissed. Question. So just to be clear for the record, you were criminally charged with falsifying Bop Records and that case, those charges were dismissed. Correct answer. Correct question. Thank you. I think we're wrapping up One hour's worth of questions. But I have just one final question for you. Is there anything that we have not covered or touched on today that you would like to provide the committee in the furtherance of its investigation into the crimes of Epstein and Maxwell? No, I think we can go off the record back on. Ms. Noel, just a few more questions for you and then we'll get you on your way. Thank you. When we left off, we were working through a timeline of the night of the 9th, the morning of the 10th. It sounds, I think, pretty clear. But just confirming for us, when we talk about counts from 12am to 3am and 5am counts, those did not occur, is that right? Correct. And it sounded from the IG report like maybe around the time of 12am count or somewhere in that window there was communication with Control about adjusting the numbers. You kind of mentioned this earlier. 73 or 72. What's your recollection of that mixup? To the best of my recollection, the count couldn't clear because the number was off. And I think it had something to do with that inmate that was not returning. So Control basically told me what the number is supposed to be. Were you the one that talked to Control? I honestly don't remember. Could have been. Alright, great. So there was no count conducted in the SHU, but upstairs on 10 South, I. I did count with Adams. Question. I've got that as well. And I'll get to that in the timeline. Thank you. As far as rounds, maybe just between Your arrival at 4pm and your 10pm count, did any rounds occur in that period? Answer a few of them. As far as I can remember. I don't know. Question. Any recollection of around what time or around how many of you're just not sure? Answer, not sure. Question. Okay. And then after 10 or 10:30, whenever that counting occurred through, let's say, delivering breakfast, were the rounds that occurred then? Answer no Question. There was a sign, a physical sign described in the IG report. It sounds like it was posted to the shoe officer, one of these shoe officer computers. And the sign said. I'll just read it. It's one sentence. Mandatory rounds must be conducted and every 30 minutes on Epstein as per God. And it sounded like at least a day. And an evening watch officer agreed that the sign was on the computer on that day and night. Do you have any recollection of ever seeing that? I don't recall the sign. Question. Even if it wasn't that night, ever seeing that sign? Answer, sign. No question. It would be tough to answer, but do you have any sense on what the as per God could be referenced to? No. You talked earlier about the MCC way. Could I just ask your opinion? It sounds like a lot of the issues we described today were widespread lack of training, understaffed overtime. What's your perspective? Do you think that the MCC was well run from a management point of view? No. What's your perspective on the extent to which it was either facing challenges or or was poorly run or needed to be fixed in certain ways? I later learned a lot of things that wasn't working. Like for example, the camera system. That would have been like an upper management thing. But as far as the shortages, it kind of makes it hard because sometimes management have less to work with and when you have less to work with, you're doing things that's not supposed to be done because sometimes you have one staff member working two units. You can't be in two places at one time, but there's just no manpower. And as far as what I learned also is this has been an ongoing issue and the union has asked for help or asked for more staff, but they don't get it. So I don't know that it was poorly ran because they just didn't have the people that to do the job. Question thank you. I think you said in your statement with the IG and I think a moment ago that you went up to 10 south to help the guard do his or her account Question counts, maybe both three and five. Is that correct? Answer Correct Question Was that ordinary in your experience? Yes. Question and why would that be? Because shortages. Again, there is one officer up there, so usually because there is two in the shoe, somebody will cross count with the 10 south officer. Question Would it have been normal for there to be one officer up in 10 south or was that an understaffing problem as well? Was that supposed to be two officers in 10 South? I know it's supposed to be two in 10 south, but it was one that night. It was one all the time. Got it. Did that officer in 10 south come ask you for help doing his or her I don't know counts? Answer no Question how did you end up doing it that you were helping the officer do the counts? Question because that's just. I know that somebody from 9 South goes up to 10 south to count. Question presumably ordinarily somebody in the shoe is also that midnight count and these other officers around the same time. Answer Correct Question what ended up being the difference as to why one was happening and why the other was not answer. So clearly I wanted to count because I went to 10 south but Thomas was sleeping so I didn't count 9 South but I went to 10 south to count his unit because he wanted to count. He was. So I counted up there and I came back down to my unit. Got it. He was awake as far as you could tell? Exactly. A lieutenant visited the SHU around 4am to perform around or what do you call it when a lieutenant Is that a counter around? To be honest, I don't know. I just know she comes around and supposed to do a walkthrough but I don't know as far as for the lieutenant what they classify it as. Do you recall was that around 4am answer around that time and is it right that the lieutenant went up and did a count or around in 10 south but not actually in the shoe? Is that correct answer? To be honest, I know she didn't do it in the shoe, but I can't recall if she did 10 south. All right, folks, we're going to wrap up right here and in the next episode, we're going to pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.