Tova Noel And The Transcript From Her Congressional Testimony (Part 2) (6/18/26)

Summary

The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: Tova Noel And The Transcript From Her Congressional Testimony (Part 2)

Date: June 18, 2026
Host: Bobby Capucci

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Bobby Capucci continues his in-depth review and discussion of the congressional testimony transcript of Tova Noel, a former correctional officer at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York, where Jeffrey Epstein was held prior to his death. The episode explores Noel's personal background, professional history, the conditions and staffing within the Special Housing Unit (SHU), and the organizational dysfunction she describes, revealing critical systemic issues inside the MCC on the eve of Epstein's death.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tova Noel’s Background and Career Path

(01:30 – 03:45)

• Noel is originally from Antigua and moved to New York in 2011 after living in Pennsylvania.
• She completed high school at 16, served 6 years in the military (including a tour in Kuwait), and earned degrees in criminal justice and law.
• Prior to working at MCC, she worked for the United States Postal Service.
• Began her MCC career in June 2018, working as a correctional officer exclusively, never serving in other MCC roles.
  • Notable Quote (Noel, 02:45):
    “My role as a correctional officer was to oversee inmates to make sure that they're performing their daily tasks and the functions and to make sure that they're accounted for.”

2. Assignment to the SHU & Lack of Training

(03:46 – 10:41)

• Assigned to the MCC’s Special Housing Unit (SHU), also called “the shoe,” in June 2019, not by choice but due to lack of other open posts (seniority-based system).
  • Noel expressed discomfort and lack of familiarity with the SHU, as her initial training and shadowing were in regular units.
• The SHU was not considered a promotion within MCC.
• Noel reports never completing the special SHU training due to a workplace injury (Mar 2019 – Jun 2019 absence).
  • Upon return, her supervisor asked her to falsely sign and undate the training log.
    • Notable Quote (Noel, 09:12): “When I went to [the supervisor], she asked me to sign the training log to say that I completed the SHU training… I informed her that I did not complete the training. She told me not to worry about it … just to sign it because they need to pass program review.”
    • The supervisor’s name: Kimberly Shivers.
• Noel had no knowledge of what the SHU training actually entailed and did not know if other officers were similarly instructed.

3. Staffing Levels and Chronic Understaffing

(11:04 – 13:00)

• Noel describes typical night shifts: herself and two other officers (4pm-midnight), with a total of three staff instead of the required four; daytime shift only staffed by two officers.
• Supervisors (lieutenants) were present, but usually only in the building rather than on the unit.
• Noel confirms understaffing was chronic, leading to excessive—often mandatory—overtime.
  • Officers frequently volunteered for overtime in order to have some say over their post, rather than being randomly “mandated.”
    • Notable Quote (Noel, 11:44):
      “The overtime is not voluntary. It's mandated. But we volunteer because when you volunteer, you get to pick your post. When they mandate you, they put you where they want you to go.”

4. Overtime, Fatigue, and Task Completion

(12:27 – 14:20)

• Standard shifts were routinely 16 hours: a regular 8-hour shift immediately followed by an 8-hour overtime shift—four to five double shifts per week.
• Responsibilities included feeding inmates, distributing toiletries, conducting rounds, and following directives from more senior staff.
• Overwork contributed to incomplete tasks or tasks not done correctly, sometimes due to lack of staff, but also due to staff fatigue.
  • Notable Quote (Noel, 13:54):
    “Depending on the task, it probably can't get done because there's not enough people to get it done. Or sometimes it is enough people, but because they're tired, it doesn't get done correctly.”

5. Organizational Dysfunction and Delegation

(13:20 – 14:15)

• Noel admitted to primarily following the lead of senior officers rather than making independent decisions, reflecting a culture of “going with the flow” amidst crisis and understaffing.
• This disorganization likely impacted routine as well as critical operations within the SHU.
  • Notable Quote (Noel, 14:12):
    “I just kind of went with the flow of whoever I was working with at the time.”

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Falsification of Training Records (09:12 – 10:00)
  “She asked me to sign [the log] … I did not complete the training. She told me not to worry about it. She just [wanted] to pass program review.” – Tova Noel

• On Chronic Understaffing & Overtime (11:44 – 12:10)
  “The overtime is not voluntary. It's mandated ... when they mandate you, they put you where they want you to go.”

• On Fatigue Impacting Duties (13:54 – 14:15)
  “Or sometimes it is enough people, but because they're tired, it doesn't get done correctly.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-------------|----------------------------------------------| | 01:30–03:45 | Tova Noel’s background and career path | | 03:46–10:41 | Assignment to SHU and lack of formal training| | 11:04–12:26 | Chronic understaffing and overtime explained | | 12:27–14:28 | Impact of overtime, fatigue, and structure |

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Tone & Takeaways

Capucci maintains a serious and probing tone, meticulously examining the transcript without sensationalism but with a clear focus on the gravity of the failings at MCC. The episode frames Noel’s testimony as illustrative of the systemic dysfunction, staff shortages, and poor management that created the conditions under which Epstein’s death became possible. The host underlines the significance of these disclosures for ongoing investigations and public understanding.

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For more details, Capucci refers listeners to the episode’s description and promises continuation of the transcript review in subsequent episodes, as he strives to piece together the many parts of the Epstein story.

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End of Summary.

Transcript

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What's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to dive right back in to the Tova Noel transcript from her meeting with Congress. Question. Thank you. I see we have another member of Congress. Would he please identify himself for the record, Mr. Submarine Suhas Submaranium, Virginia's 10th district. Question? Thank you. All right, my time reads 10:18 and the majority's time will begin now. Question Ms. Noel, thank you again for appearing here voluntarily today. I'd like to start this interview by discussing more about your background. I know you mentioned it in your opening statement, but where are you from originally? Antigua. Antigua. And when did you first move to New York? I first moved to New York about. I first moved to New York, I want to say about 2011. What made you decide to move there? When I came to this country, I first lived in Pennsylvania and after I graduated high school, I moved to New York because I like New York better than Pennsylvania. I know you just did. So. But can you briefly, again, for the record, walk us through your professional career? I graduated high school at 16, went on to the military. When I turned 19, I gained an associate's degree in criminal justice. I went on to gaining a bachelor's degree, also in criminal justice and a minor in law. I completed six years in military, one tour in Kuwait. I worked for the United States Postal Service and then later on went on to work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons along with other employment. When did you begin working at the Metropolitan Correctional center in New York? June 2018. You mentioned your job right before that was working for the US Postal Service. Correct. Okay. What years did you work at MCC? 2018. June 2018 to August 10, 2019. How was it that you ended up working at McCarthy while I'm working at the United States Postal Service? I received a call from the MCC to gain employment there, and I accepted. So someone reached out to you? Correct. Okay. And why did you make that decision to start working there? Because I had the background in criminal justice and I wanted to pursue my degree field. What was your first role or position at mcc? Correctional officer. Were you ever assigned to more than one role while at mcc? No, ma'. Am. Can you describe what your responsibilities were in that role? My role as a correctional officer was to oversee inmates to make sure that they're performing their daily tasks and the functions and to make sure that they're accounted for. Question. And at what point were you assigned to the special Housing Unit? I was assigned to the Special Housing unit in June of 2019. Question. And for the purposes of the record, I'm going to be referring to the Special Housing unit as the shu. Spelled shu. Who first told you that you were going to be assigned to the shu? I don't recall exactly who told me that I was going to be assigned to the shu. Were you ever told that why you were being moved to the shu? So, based on seniority, you. You get to bid for your post, and the only post that was left was the shoe. How did you feel about being moved to the shoe? At the time? I didn't want to go to the shoe because I wasn't familiar with working the shoe. When I shadowed, I shadowed on regular housing units, not the shoe. Question. Okay, Ms. Fiera, bend. We have a new staff member that's entered the room. Will he please identify himself? Robert Edmondson, staff director, ranking member. Garcia, was working in the shoe considered a promotion to the rest of the staff at mcc? No question. Why not? Because it was a housing unit. Okay, so there was a difference between a correctional officer working the shoe or any other area at the mcc? Correct. Okay. What was your salary while working in the shoe? I don't recall exactly. Question. Okay.

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You.

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You worked at MCC for over a year? Yes. Was that your only job during that entire time, or did you have any additional sources of income outside of your salary? Additional sources of income was VA benefits. Were you receiving those the entire time? Yes. Mr. Emmer, in your opening, you referenced, was it a workplace injury? When did that occur? March. March of 2018. No. March of 2019. Excuse me. Thank you. And then when did you return back to work? June of 2019. Thank you, Ms. Fireabend. Question. So we're going to discuss Mr. Epstein's death and that night more specifically in a little bit, but I'd like to first get a better sense of the structure and the staffing roles at mcc. Okay. Question. So you never mentioned that you were first assigned in June 2019 to the shoe. Can you describe how the shoe specifically differs from other units at mcc? So, for a regular housing unit, the inmates are let out and they can move around, whereas in the shoe, you're locked in for 23 hours and you're only out for one hour. And it's a more secure area. The only inmates that out would be, like, the orderlies. Question. What are those? Answer. The orderlies are inmates that are considered to have privileges. They're allowed to, like, come out to clean or the law library. Question. Okay, I know you touched on this in your opening statement, but was there any special training that you had to undergo in order to be assigned to the shu? Answer. Yeah. Question. And did you complete the special training that was required? Answer. No. Question. Why not? Answer. Because I was out with an injury. Question. You mentioned going back one question, that there were orderlies in the shoe. Was Mr. Epstein considered an orderly? Answer. No. Question. Why not? Answer. I don't make the decision on who becomes an orderly. I don't know. Question. Okay. Do you know how it was decided? Answer. Of who becomes an orderly? No, I don't. Question. Okay. Back to the special training. Were you ever directed by supervisors to say that you have completed the training when you had not? Can you provide more details about what happened there? When I came back from the injury, I was told to report to the supervisor. When I went to her, she asked me to sign the training log to say that I completed the SHU training because that was my assigned post at the time. So I informed her that I did not complete the training. She told me not to worry about it. She just to sign it because they need to pass program review. Question do you know if there were other correctional officers that she told the same thing too? I don't know. Mr. Foy, may I have a word real quick? They go off record, they go back on Noelle. Oh, and when she asked me to sign, she also asked me not to date it. Why was that? I guess because the date where I was signing would've would have conflicted with the time that the training actually took place. Question and who was the supervisor? What was the supervisor's name? Ms. Noel Kimberly Shivers. Question do you have any idea whether that was an ordinary practice by supervisors for the shoe? Answer I don't know. Question Understanding that you did not complete the training, did you know what the training entailed? Answer no. Question okay, did you ever hear anybody talk about the training? Answer no. Question when you were in the shoe, what was the breakdown of your team? Answer like how many people? Question sure. How many total people on staff in the shoe? Answer so the shoe had myself and two other correctional officers on the 4pm to midnight shift. On the 12pm to 8am shift, it was two people. Question did you have people working over you? Could you clarify? Answer sure. When you were on shift, did you have any supervisors that were also working at that time? Answer yes. Question okay, how many of those were there? Answer the supervisor would be considered the lieutenants. So there's about, I want to say four or five lieutenants, all not on at the same time but rotating their shifts. Question okay, so when you were on shift from 4pm to midnight shift, it would be one, one other correctional officer and one to four lieutenants. Answers no. So on shift four to midnight, it would be me and two correctional officers in the shoe in the building, it would be the lieutenants downstairs in the lieutenant's office. About two or three maybe on a shift. Question okay, going back to the training, were you ever told to complete the training after you started working in the shoe? Answer for shoe training, no. Question okay, so you signed and then began working.

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Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohib visit spinquest.com for more details. Answer Correct Question okay, thank you. Did you know if the number of the people on staff in the shoe was typical or were you guys understaffed? Answer we were understaffed. Question how understaffed would you say? Answer it's supposed to be four people, not three. But it was three. Question okay, what kind of problems or issues did that cause the understaffing? Answer A lot of mandated overtime. So the overtime hours were not voluntary? No. Question okay, can I clarify that question? Sure. The overtime is not voluntary. It's mandated. But we volunteer because when you volunteer, you get to pick your post. When they mandate you, they put you where they want you to go. So because we know we're going to get mandated, we volunteer on the front end like I explained in my opening statement, versus getting hit with a mandation of on the back end to where they need you to go. Who is instituting the mandatory overtime hours on that day? Lieutenant Kanata. And how often would you or other correctional officers in the SHU have to work overtime? Every day. How many shifts would you work a week? 5 days of double shifts, but on your last day you can't be mandated, so it'd be four.

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Was every shift that you worked, did that include an overtime shift? Answer yes question so 8 hours plus gets interrupted by Tova answer another 8 question so 16 hour total shifts? Answer Correct Question what were your shifts like when you were working in the shoe? My shift was 4pm to midnight and I had one day where it was 2 to 10. How would you describe working a shift in the shoe? Answer when you come in for your shift at 4 o', clock, counts are being done and immediately after that you're getting ready to feed inmates. And after that I kind of always wait on the directive from the senior officer that I'm working with because I don't really know how to work the shoe. So whatever they ask me to do or tell me to do, I kind of lean on the senior person. Question Was Michael Thomas, was he a senior officer? Answer yes Question okay, On a typical shift, you said that you would feed the inmates. Were there any other responsibilities that you had on every shift? Answer Giving out toiletries, for example, toilet paper rounds. Question Were those responsibilities expected of you on every shift or do they differ? Answer in the shoe yes Question okay, did they differ by the time of day or the hour or the shifts that you're working? Answer no. Question Would you always complete all your duties? Answer to the best of my recollection, not all the time. Okay, why not? Answer because sometimes we don't have enough people. So depending on the task, it probably can't get done because there's not enough people to get it done. Or sometimes it is enough people, but because they're tired, it doesn't get done correctly. Emer, did you prioritize which tasks were most important when you decided or when some certain tasks weren't completed? Noel no, I just kind of went with the flow of whoever I was working with at the time. All right, 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.

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