NEW YORK (NewsNation) — After another unsuccessful attempt to keep Sean “Diddy” Combs out of jail after his sex trafficking arrest, the music mogul’s lawyers say the federal detention center he’s being housed in has a track record of horrific conditions and rampant violence.
Combs, 54, was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday — a place that’s been described as “hell on earth” — after pleading not guilty in a case that accuses him of physically and sexually abusing women for more than a decade.
“The food is inedible, from what I’ve been told,” Combs attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters. “It’s way too hot in summer; sometimes there’s no heat at all. In the winter, the toilet water has been known to freeze. It’s violent. Someone like Mr. Combs might be a target for certain things. We can’t let that happen.”
The facility, the only federal jail in New York City, has been plagued by problems since it opened in the 1990s. In recent years, its conditions have been so stark that some judges have refused to send people there. It has also been home to a number of high-profile inmates, including R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.
In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said: “We also take seriously addressing the staffing and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn.” An agency team is working to fix problems, including by adding permanent correctional and medical staff, remedying more than 700 backlogged maintenance requests and answering judges’ concerns.
A judge on Wednesday denied a request by Combs’ lawyers to let him await trial under house arrest at his $48 million mansion on an island in Miami Beach, Florida.
Past violence at MDC Brooklyn
Detainees have long complained about rampant violence, dreadful conditions, severe staffing shortages and the widespread smuggling of drugs and other contraband, some of it facilitated by employees. At the same time, they say they’ve been subject to frequent lockdowns and have been barred from leaving their cells for visits, calls, showers or exercise.
In June, Uriel Whyte, 37, was stabbed to death at the jail. A month later, Edwin Cordero, 36, died after he was hurt in a brawl. At least four people detained at the jail have died by suicide in the last three years.
At least six MDC Brooklyn staff members have been charged with crimes in the last five years. Some were accused of accepting bribes or providing contraband such as drugs, cigarettes, and cellphones, according to an Associated Press analysis of agency-related arrests.
As of last November, according to court filings, MDC Brooklyn was operating at about 55% of full staffing, which was taxing to employees and added to its security woes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.