{"id":1510,"date":"2026-05-18T11:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1510"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:40:06","slug":"the-strange-case-of-epstein-cellmate-and-quadruple-murderer-nicholas-tartaglione","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1510","title":{"rendered":"The strange case of Epstein cellmate and quadruple murderer Nicholas Tartaglione"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"344122c6-2ff4-4744-9163-9cba9a264a38\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A handwritten note with messy handwriting\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3e19158a549d181d4fa9ca1e5d3a72877051e32d\/0_0_5083_3389\/master\/5083.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.0304938028723\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">The note that Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s former cellmate said he found after Epstein&#8217;s reported suicide attempt on 23 July 2019.<\/span> Photograph: Jon Elswick\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"344122c6-2ff4-4744-9163-9cba9a264a38\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">The note that Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s former cellmate said he found after Epstein&#8217;s reported suicide attempt on 23 July 2019.<\/span> Photograph: Jon Elswick\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">The strange case of Epstein cellmate and quadruple murderer Nicholas Tartaglione<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>Epstein said retired cop turned cocaine dealer attacked him, then retracted claim, before he was found dead in jail<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">I<\/span>n the murky world of criminal misadventure, what happened at the Likquid Lounge in Chester, New York, on a night in April 2016 may have some bearing on Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s death in federal custody three years later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In many ways what happened there has become a conspiracy theory within a conspiracy theory. For while speculation about the actions of Epstein and his circle has long spread across the US, the Likquid Lounge is at the center of a fresh mystery of exactly how Epstein died.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">It was there, according to prosecutors, that 49-year-old retired cop turned cocaine dealer Nicholas Tartaglione lured four men, at least one \u2013 Martin Luna \u2013 with ties to the Mexican mafia. Tartaglione suspected Luna had stolen $250,000 from him and planned to confront him. Luna, 41, brought along two nephews and a family friend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Tartaglione allegedly forced one of Luna\u2019s nephews to observe as he beat and strangled Luna to death with a zip tie. Tartaglione and two others then took Luna\u2019s body, along with Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago and Hector Gutierrez, to his dog and equine animal sanctuary in Otisville, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"fd7cbc28-ade8-482b-aa3d-e7351989b19d\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-4 | 4\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/06\/jeffrey-epstein-alleged-suicide-note\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Alleged suicide note written by Jeffrey Epstein unsealed by federal judge<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The three surviving men were forced to kneel and were shot in the head, execution-style, and all four buried in a mass grave. Nine months later, after investigators connected Tartaglione to Luna, the bodies were unearthed. A neighbor said Tartaglione\u2019s property \u201csmelled like death\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Tartaglione was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. But it wasn\u2019t until 2023 that the bodybuilder, who had a patchy career as a police officer, was convicted and sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for the killings. He\u2019d pleaded not guilty, claiming that he\u2019d been framed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But in that time, while held at the now-abandoned metropolitan corrections center in Manhattan, Tartaglione was placed in the same cell as Epstein, the notorious sex trafficker whose scandal as roiled American politics. It was later reported they \u201cgotten along pretty well\u201d as cellmates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But after Epstein was found with injuries to his neck in July 2019 \u2013 an incident that Tartaglione alerted guards to \u2013 he initially said Tartaglione attacked him. He later retracted the claim, and prison officials concluded that Epstein had tried to kill himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Crucially, Tartaglione reported finding a note from Epstein hidden in a graphic novel he was reading but had not discovered it until four days later, after Epstein had been removed from their cell and briefly placed on suicide watch. Tartaglione passed it to his lawyers. Two weeks later, in what was ruled a suicide, Epstein was found dead in his cell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">That note was finally released last week, after the New York Times petitioned the federal court in White Plains, New York, where Tartaglione was tried.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThey investigated me for month \u2013 FOUND NOTHING!!!\u201d the note begins, adding that the result was charges going back 15 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt is a treat to be able to choose one\u2019s time to say goodbye,\u201d the note continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWatcha want me to do \u2013 Bust out cryin!!\u201d the note reads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cNO FUN,\u201d it concludes, with those words underlined. \u201cNOT WORTH IT!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But it has only turned up now because it became part of a dispute between Tartaglione\u2019s lawyers in the murder case and court-appointed lawyers assigned to fight the death penalty phase of the case should he be convicted, but prosecutors ultimately dropped their intent to seek that penalty before Tartaglione\u2019s case came to trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He was facing the death penalty at the time and his conduct in jail is a relevant factor in front of a jury whether or not they should they vote for death, says Tartaglione\u2019s trial lawyer Bruce Barket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere were some unsubstantiated allegations that he had assaulted Epstein when Epstein tried to kill himself the first time. We had the note, and we knew that wasn\u2019t true, but we thought we could use it for those purposes,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But initially, \u201cnobody was quite sure what it was, who wrote it, or who it belonged to, until several months later\u201d. Plus, Barket says, \u201cNick had a variety of other issues to deal with, chief among them would be defending himself against a quadruple homicide allegation. Once we got passed there was no allegation that he\u2019d harmed Epstein, it become irrelevant to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But the existence of the note has hardly quieted theories that Epstein was killed in jail. Mark Epstein, Epstein\u2019s younger brother, who has long maintained Epstein was murdered in his cell, has claimed the note is a forgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be hard to get some pro forger to forge a note,\u201d he told Business Insider. \u201cThat\u2019s the easiest f***ing thing in the world to do.\u201d He said the phrase \u201cbust out cryin\u201d line is a reference to the Little Rascals TV show the brothers had watched as children.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-ri3hap\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The line appears in Epstein\u2019s emails, he acknowledged, \u201cso they stole it from me to make it sound like it was him\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cEveryone is entitled to their opinion,\u201d says Barket, who adds that the using the note to bolster an Epstein murder scenario is \u201claughable\u201d since it would require someone to have access to Epstein\u2019s emails in 2019, six years before they were released by congressional order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere is no conspiracy,\u201d he says. \u201cThe idea that [Epstein] was murdered is absurd. He killed himself. He\u2019d tried at least one other time and he succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The idea that Epstein was murdered, he continues, \u201cis a great mission impossible. The idea that someone got to the 10th floor of a federal detention center and somehow snuck in, murder somebody, snuck out, and no one ever saw that person is kinda ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Theories that it could have been someone on Epstein\u2019s tier of cells is equally far-fetched, he says. \u201cThey\u2019re all a bunch of knuckleheads, no offense to my client, and they\u2019re all locked into their own cells at night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But in the carnival funhouse of the Epstein scandal, nothing is ever accepted as it appears. The intersecting Tartaglione story is no exception and it has been taken up by blogger Jessica Reed Kraus. Tartaglione left her a voice mail last week claiming that Epstein actually wanted to be placed back in the cell with him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cEpstein offered me money to not return to general population and stay in the box with him because he felt safe with me,\u201d he reportedly said on the voice mail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He also pointed out, \u201cIf I wanted to hurt Jeffrey Epstein, I could have hurt Jeffrey Epstein. I didn\u2019t hurt Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Tartaglione is seeking to appeal his conviction on the grounds that it was obtained on shaky evidence \u2013 no murder weapon, drug money or trafficking paraphernalia was ever found, and his DNA was not found on the zip tie prosecutors said he had used to strangle Luna.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">His appeals lawyer Inga Parsons provided a statement to Kraus. In it, she pointed to fact that Tartaglione was prosecuted by Maurene Comey, who also led the prosecutions against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cNick is retired law enforcement. He rescues animals. He is not a killer, nor is he a member of the Mexican cartel as the main cooperator, and the men who were killed by the cartel were cartel members. Nick Tartaglione is innocent and is unjustly serving life sentences for crimes he did not commit,\u201d Parsons said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">According to Barket, his former client\u2019s brief encounter with Epstein was neither helpful nor unhelpful to his case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt\u2019s an unfortunate sequence of events. I don\u2019t think it hurt Nick at all but it didn\u2019t help him. But it led to a long hearing involving me and my firm about our conduct around the note. All things being equal, I would have taken a pass on all this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/jeffrey-epstein\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/gun-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Gun crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/new-york\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=The%20strange%20case%20of%20Epstein%20cellmate%20and%20quadruple%20murderer%20Nicholas%20Tartaglione&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/nicholas-tartaglione-jeffrey-epstein-cellmate?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F18%2Fnicholas-tartaglione-jeffrey-epstein-cellmate&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/nicholas-tartaglione-jeffrey-epstein-cellmate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The note that Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s former cellmate said he found after Epstein&#8217;s reported suicide attempt on 23 July<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1510"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1513,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1510\/revisions\/1513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}