Federal investigators examined Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer who worked at the St Thomas airport to which Epstein regularly flew on his private planes before traveling by boat or helicopter to his private island, newly released documents reveal.
As part of that investigation, which did not result in any charges, investigators also issued subpoenas related to three additional CBP officers working at the Cyril E King Airport (STT) on St Thomas, documents show. The Guardian also identified two other CBP officers on St Thomas and in Florida who were in contact with Epstein, based on emails and text messages between Epstein, his staff and the officers. It does not appear the FBI ever investigated those two officers.
The FBI in New York opened a preliminary investigation in October 2019 after receiving a report that a long-serving CBP agricultural inspector “had ongoing friendship with Mr Epstein … while working for CBP Pre-Clearance in Saint Thomas for over 7 years”. The email establishing the investigation into the agricultural inspector, Timothy “Bill” Routch, is among the millions of files related to Epstein’s crimes that were released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) this month.
Federal authorities interviewed Epstein’s longtime pilot about the convicted sex offender’s contacts with CBP agents.
US Customs and Border Protection is the federal law enforcement agency tasked with overseeing the entrance of people and goods through US ports of entry, including airports. It claims to be “uniquely situated to deter and disrupt human trafficking”, and is one of the four primary US agencies tasked with enforcing federal anti-trafficking law.
In July 2019, federal prosecutors in New York indicted Epstein on charges of sex trafficking minors as young as 14 in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Following Epstein’s death by suicide in jail in August 2019, the attorney general of the US Virgins Islands – an unincorporated territory of the US that includes St Thomas and Epstein’s private islands, Little St James and Great St James – filed suit against his estate, alleging that Epstein “trafficked and sexually abused women and underage girls” on those private islands, using “private planes, helicopters, boat and automobiles to transport victims to, from and within the Virgin Islands”.
No CBP officer was ever charged for crimes related to Epstein, and the Guardian has not seen any evidence to suggest that CBP officers had direct knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s crimes. The FBI interviewed Routch and subpoenaed credit reports about him and three other CBP officers, but it is not clear whether the investigation went any further. The release of the government’s investigative files on Epstein has been delayed, redactions are inconsistent, and it is not clear how many more files will be made public.
Routch acknowledged interacting with Epstein “in the course of [his] employment”, visiting Epstein’s island, and being investigated by the FBI. He disputed many of the details contained in FBI and CBP documents. In emails with the Guardian, he characterized the FBI investigation as “a wild goose chase”, and said: “All my encounters were of a business nature … I never [witnessed] anything remotely related to trafficking.”
Epstein emailed and texted with CBP officers, invited them to his island, visited with them at the airport, and frequently sought to determine who was going to be on duty when he was traveling through STT, the released files show. Some officers received financial advice, others, small gifts, and employment opportunities. One officer was invited to perform the steel pan drums on Little St James on multiple occasions; Epstein tasked his assistant with helping another with an interest in accounting to find mentorship. That agent solicited Epstein for a “hard-money loan”, though he told the Guardian the loan never materialized.
Epstein also raised complaints about less-than-friendly treatment from other CBP officers with his friendly agents, twice eliciting promises from supervisors to look into the perceived ill treatment.
The Guardian contacted CBP and the Department of Homeland Security for comment. They did not respond by our deadline.
In March 2016, Jeffrey Epstein was burdened with logistical headaches. Eight years after pleading guilty to charges of child sexual exploitation, the billionaire continued to enjoy a jet-setting lifestyle, regularly travelling between his homes in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands on a fleet of private jets.
Travel between the mainland US and his compound on Little St James was complicated. Flights to St Thomas were treated like domestic flights, but flights departing St Thomas for a US airport had to clear customs and immigration control.
Epstein and his personal pilot, Larry Visoski, typically expedited this process by “preclearing” in St Thomas. Preclearance is a longstanding CBP program that allows travelers to go through CBP inspections at certain overseas airports rather than upon arrival. Emails between Epstein and Visoski suggest that they preferred to preclear whenever possible and that Epstein was often personally involved in those arrangements.
But on 1 March 2016, something went awry. About an hour out from Teterboro airport in New Jersey, a popular airport for private and corporate jets in close proximity to Manhattan, Visoski received a satellite call from his wife. A CBP officer had just called her as Visoski’s emergency contact and was threatening Visoski with some kind of fine. Visoski made contact with the Teterboro CBP officer, who told Visoski that he could “NOT let my passengers deplane and to bring the aircraft directly to the Customs building upon arrival”, the pilot later recalled.
Visoski informed the CBP officer by satellite phone that he had precleared customs in STT and eventually received what he described as “a sincere apology”. Epstein pursued the issue, however, seeking further information about CBP procedures at other airports and asking Visoski to get the name of the CBP officer’s supervisor.
Just two weeks later, another hiccup occurred. Upon arriving at the airport in Newark, New Jersey – and despite preclearing at STT – a CBP officer required Epstein’s passengers to pass through immigration control.
Darren Indyke, Epstein’s longtime lawyer, sent a formal complaint to the Department of Homeland Security’s private aircraft support office, noting that “in the course of N212JE’s numerous flights between St Thomas and Teterboro, and St Thomas and West Palm Beach, there has been a lack of uniformity in the clearance and pre-arrival requirements imposed by local CBP offices at each of those locations, and, at times, by different CPB officers within them”. Indyke followed up on 23 May and appears to have scheduled a conference call with staff from private aircraft support on 25 May.
But while Indyke was going through official channels, Epstein was taking a more direct approach. The billionaire emailed James Heil, a supervisory CBP officer based on St Thomas. “One off the passengers . a woman with an asylum application pending, work authorization and a social secirity card, was asked for her passport and in it given a B 2 tourist visa,” Epstein complained. (Epstein’s communications are littered with punctuation and spelling errors.) “The other passenger was stamped in as well , though they did not change her departure date.”
Heil offered to reach a supervisor “up there”, and said: “I apologize that you are experiencing these issues again.” It’s not clear what actions, if any, Heil took from there. Heil did not respond to queries from the Guardian.
Heil had been in direct communication with Epstein since at least 2014, documents show. An email from one of Epstein’s assistants suggests Heil was scheduled to visit Little St James by boat on 28 February 2014, though it’s not known whether the visit took place. Epstein regularly emailed or texted Heil about issues he had going through customs at various airports or to see if Heil was going to be on duty when he planned to depart STT.
The correspondence appears friendly. Epstein texted Heil a message of thanks on Christmas Day 2014. “It was my pleasure,” Heil responded the next day. “Feel free to utilize my not-so-insignificant IQ anytime, and also feel free to connect via social media. (We Brooklyn Boys stick together.)”
“Atta boy,” Epstein responded.
At one point during their text exchanges, Epstein, perhaps jokingly, invited Heil to “stop by at my house and I’ll make you an egg cream”. There is no evidence Heil took him up on the offer. On Christmas Eve 2016, Epstein texted Heil: “Just landed with your xmas cannolis . Where can I deliver them.” Heil was off work, so Epstein had his driver deliver the treats to Heil’s home. Twice, Epstein appears to have offered to bring Heil “something” from the mainland.
Epstein also regularly raised issues that he encountered with airport customs at STT and other US airports, and Heil said he was working to liaise with CBP officers in Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey on Epstein’s behalf. At times, Epstein discussed with Visoski whether they should ask Heil to approve overtime – in an apparent effort to arrange for Epstein to get precleared outside of CBP’s regular hours.
In November 2016, Epstein texted Heil that one of his agents had been “nasty”. “I will speak to him!” Heil responded. “I will handle it, formally.”
Records of Epstein’s direct interactions with the six CBP officers are mingled amid the bold-faced names that have dominated coverage of Epstein’s circle of influence. A memorandum of Epstein’s May 2013 schedule, included in an email to Indyke, records appointments with Mort Zuckerman, Leon Black, Bob Kerrey, Joel Klein, Joi Ito, Woody and Soon Yi Allen, and Tom Pritzker – as well as “Customs Agent Bill Routch”.
Routch is the first CBP officer to appear in the files, chronologically. Epstein appears to have begun contacting him in late 2012 and invited him to visit Little St James “for coffee” on 21 May 2013. Routch acknowledged visiting the island but said it was to perform an agricultural inspection of some trees.
In 2014, Epstein made contact with Heil as well as another agent, Jeff McNally, whom Visoski had flagged as being “nice”. McNally was scheduled for lunch on Little St James in May 2014, according to an email from one of Epstein’s assistants, though it is not known whether he attended. McNally did not respond to queries from the Guardian.
In 2015, Epstein got the name of another agent, Glen Samuel, from Heil, and asked Samuel to perform steel pan drumming on the island. Emails from Epstein’s assistants show that Samuel was scheduled to perform on the island at least twice, and that in 2016 he proposed offering regular lessons to Epstein’s “guests”. It’s unclear if the lessons ever occurred. Samuel did not respond to queries from the Guardian.
Epstein had received assurance from Heil that Samuel was allowed to undertake outside employment, but Samuel appears to have declined payment. “Mr. Samuel says he does not intend to charge you,” one of Epstein’s assistants wrote in an email. “He considers you a friend and was doing this for you. If you wish to give him something, he is appreciative, but there is no fee.”
Heil also appears to have introduced Epstein to Gerardo (Gerry) Martinez, a CBP supervisor at the airport in Palm Beach, Florida. The files show regular communication between Epstein and Martinez throughout 2018, with Epstein often flagging his arrival at the airport and seeking to meet. Epstein also complained to Martinez after “your guys busted my balls” when he told CBP agents that he was carrying $3,000 in cash but actually had $11,800. Epstein repeatedly followed up with questions about the regulations on carrying currency between the US Virgin Islands and mainland US, with Martinez sending the question “all the way to chief counsel”.
In March 2019, Epstein appears to have asked Martinez for help or advice in obtaining a new passport, writing: “can i call you , ? not sure =hat to do, i need to get a new passport with the sex identifier on =t. is it ok to travel back and forth to the Virigi= islands without a valid passport?” Epstein made three attempts to meet with Martinez at the airport in the ensuing weeks, though it’s not clear if they met or why Epstein would turn to a CBP officer for help obtaining a passport.
Martinez acknowledged interacting with Epstein when reached by the Guardian by phone, but did not immediately respond to further queries.
Epstein was arrested at Teterboro airport on federal sex trafficking charges on 6 July 2019, after flying in from Paris.
The emails provide extensive communication between Epstein and a St Thomas CBP agent, Alford Richards, with whom Epstein arranged more than a dozen meetings between 2015 and 2019. It is not clear how many actually occurred.
The emails show that Richards and Epstein first spoke about finance in August 2015, while Richards was working at the airport. Epstein had his assistants follow up, emailing Richards a link to Khan Academy, an online education company, as well as the billionaire’s advice that Richards start with “basic finance courses first”. Richards initially communicated with Epstein’s assistants, seeking further instruction on finance and investments, but was soon emailing regularly with Epstein himself.
“I’m in action mode right now and have dedicated everyday to getting there,” he wrote to Epstein about his plans for “financial freedom” in October 2015, after a meeting at Epstein’s helicopter hangar. “I only take advice from you and every time we speak i take every thing literal and go out and do it. I know this is the COST I must endure to get where I want to get and I will ‘never’ give up.”
In an interview, Richards acknowledged his numerous interactions with Epstein, including through meetings at Epstein’s office and on his private island “a couple of times”, but sought to minimize the extent of the relationship. “It wasn’t anything in-depth,” Richards said. “It’s like, hey this guy is rich, let me hear his opinions.” Epstein was well-known on the island as a billionaire, and Richards was “just trying to get some financial insight,” he said.
By email, Epstein counseled Richards to take accounting courses and had one of his assistants try to find Richards “hand-on experience” in accounting with a company on the island, through part-time work, an internship, or some kind of mentoring. The assistant contacted multiple local companies with which Epstein did business on Richards’ behalf.
Much of the advice Epstein gave was “stuff I already found out by reading my books”, Richards said, but it “felt good that little me, who is no one” was getting financial tips from a billionaire. The internship “never came to fruition”, he said. “He’d give me like, vague tips, and then that was it,” Richards said. “I just wanted some hints and to get better at my finances.”
Early in their interactions, Epstein tasked Richards with finding out whether the fuel supplier for commercial airlines at STT would also sell to him, calling it a “good project” for Richards. Richards made inquiries and responded within a day. (Richards recalled the incident and said Epstein’s request had been “over my head” and “out of my league”.) The pair shared links to articles about investment prospects (in Belize, Bitcoin, immigration detention centers, and local real estate) and Richard’s shared a number of business proposals with Epstein. They regularly arranged to meet around Epstein’s travel schedule.
In June 2017, Epstein and Richards discussed a forthcoming auction of local real estate. Soon thereafter, Epstein emailed Richards: “as you have asked me for hard money loan , please as= your supervisor if we can continue this converation.” Richards responded on 31 July 2017: “I spoke with my supervisor & was told that conversations on such a matter is ok, however, if I was to actually procure a hard money loan from you. It could or may be interpreted in a awkward way if I had to process you for official CBP travel business and the full terms of the transaction is not known or understood by certain individuals.”
Richards said that the request for a “hard-money loan” – a type of short-term loan typically used in real estate transactions – was not serious, but the result of him trying to “naively speak the jargon of a person that knows what they’re saying but not really knowing”. No actual loan was made, he said.
Richards said he never saw any hint of Epstein’s alleged crimes, which he described as “horrible” and “disgusting”.
“I just knew he was rich, and he had some issues with the law years ago,” he said. “To be associated with him is horrible, and I’m not that type of person. I can’t believe I actually was speaking to this horrible person, but you never know people’s life.”
On 30 August 2019, Routch stepped into his supervisor’s office in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he had worked since leaving the US Virgin Islands in 2016. “He respectfully requested to speak in confidence, closed the door, and appeared to be concerned, worried, and a bit shaken, about federal investigators looking into his past,” according to a CBP memo documenting the meeting.
It was just a few weeks since Epstein’s suicide in a New York City jail cell, and Routch had learned that a woman he had previously dated had alerted the FBI that Routch was “a known associate of Jeffery Epstein, had ongoing friendship with Mr. Epstein, and that while working for CBP Pre-Clearance in Saint Thomas for over 7 years, and assisted Mr Epstein for conducting human trafficking of underage females”, the memo states.
Asked how the woman would have known about this, Routch responded: “Everyone knew I was friends with Jeffery Epstein … I have been to his house, been on his boat, and flew in helicopter for whale watching.”
The memo was forwarded to the CBP Watch Commander, and then to an investigator with DHS’s inspector general’s office. The FBI opened a preliminary investigation on the matter on 10 October 2019.
The Guardian has not seen any evidence in the files to support the complainant’s allegation that Routch had direct knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
Routch disputes the account of the opening of the investigation provided in the CBP memo. In emails to the Guardian, he claimed that there had never been any report by a woman to the FBI, and that instead his supervisor “fabricated a story to send to the FBI to glorify himself”.
“In the course of my employment I ran into Mr Epstein several times,” he said. “All my encounters were of a business nature … I never [witnessed] anything remotely related to trafficking.
“I have done nothing wrong,” he added.
In May 2020, federal prosecutors obtained subpoenas for credit checks on Routch.
A July 2020 email memorialized notes from an initial conversation between federal prosecutors and attorneys for Visoski, who was asked about Epstein’s contact with Routch. Visoski did not recall Routch, though he acknowledged having his contact information in his phone, but he named Heil, McNally and Samuel as CBP officers with whom Epstein had some kind of relationship. “Some inspectors would delay JE for a while, whereas McNally and Heil wouldn’t give him a hard time,” the notes state.
Federal prosecutors went on to subpoena credit reports for Heil, McNally and Samuel. There is no indication in the files that they ever investigated Richards or Martinez.
The FBI and federal prosecutors interviewed Visoski about Epstein’s interactions with CBP officers in November 2020. Visoski related Epstein’s practice of making “small talk” with CBP officers during pre-clearance and said he had given “one or two helicopter rides to CBP officers to EPSTEIN’s private island”, according to an FBI memo. Visoski also disclosed that Epstein had asked him to call a CBP officer “approximately 20 times” when he was arriving at STT after the CBP office closed, to ask whether it could remain open to process their plane. The officer “denied their request 80% of the time”, Visoski said.
The memo suggests that investigators were investigating CBP’s potential awareness of Epstein’s criminal activity.
“Sometimes EPSTEIN would be traveling with a female who had a foreign passport,” it states. “EPSTEIN would argue with CBP that this did not pose a CUSTOMS issue and that it was an immigration issue only … Some passengers on EPSTEIN’s plane were college students with a letter from their college stating their purpose for travel. When questioned by CBP, EPSTEIN would intervene and argue about the fact that the plane had not left United States territory. Sometimes a CBP officer would take the passenger into another room to be interviewed … VISOSKI was not aware of any special benefits or gifts given to any CBP officers. VISOSKI had no knowledge of any CBP officer assisting EPSTEIN in trafficking underage passengers.”
Routch was interviewed by the FBI and an agent from DHS’s inspector general office on 7 April 2021. The memorandum of the interview provides insight into Epstein’s correspondence with individuals so far removed from his normal, elite circles.
Routch disputes much of what is contained in the memo, including the sequence of events that led to the investigation and the number of visits he made to Epstein’s island. He alleged that a CBP officer present during the interview “threaten[ed] me with physical violence” and that he was denied the right to have a union representative present during the interview.
Routch “thought it was a good idea to maintain contact with EPSTEIN because of his status, wealth and influence”, according to the memo. He “overly exaggerated” the relationship to others, showing people that he had Epstein’s contact in his phone, especially after his death. “It was an ego boost … because not everyone can say they know a billionaire,” according to the memo. He had not actually been whale watching on Epstein’s helicopter, though he may have lied about having done so to exaggerate the relationship, according to the memo.
According to the memo, Routch described ingratiating himself with Epstein through “mak[ing] sure he was being treated with fairness and respect by non-white US CBP personnel”, but said he never offered or received any special favors. Routch, who is white, told investigators that there was a “great deal of racial tension” in the Virgin Islands, and that “the ‘blacks’ disrespect the local white population”, prompting his concern for Epstein’s treatment. He said Epstein wanted to buy new computers for the CBP offices, as well as turkeys for CBP staff, but was told by a supervisor that they could not accept gifts.
Routch denied any knowledge or involvement with trafficking underage girls, but said he was aware of Epstein’s criminal conviction and that he assumed that “Eastern European women who took commercial flights to the USVI” were heading for Epstein’s island, according to the memo. When he visited the island for lunch in 2013, he claimed to see “three or four ‘nice’, ‘beautiful’ women swimming and having fun” but “did not notice anything unusual nor did he notice anybody who appeared to be in trouble”. “EPSTEIN always had older ladies with him, maybe in their 20s or 30s,” he said.
According to the memo, Routch visited Little St James a second time in 2014 or 2015 to inspect some trees that Epstein had imported for spider mites.
By email, Routch insisted that only one visit occurred. “We had lunch and we discussed trees he was importing,” Routch wrote. Routch suggested that the FBI may have misconstrued a single visit as two; the memo clearly refers to two visits, a few years apart.
Routch “was aware of EPSTEIN’s conviction involving the abuse of minors but supported EPSTEIN because he was a good guy”, according to the memo. He said he had also “heard” that Epstein may have been framed by a secretary.
Ultimately, he told the FBI, he “stood by EPSTEIN as he would any friend, even though he was, in reality, more of an acquaintance”.
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