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. After publication, a spokesperson for CBP said: “Any claims of misconduct are thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken as necessary.”
"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."
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”.