JEFFREY Epstein's ex-cellmate claims he's being threatened by prison guards not to talk amid mounting speculation over the paedo's suicide.

Ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione - who bunked with Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center - has been told to “shut up” and “stop talking”, his lawyer says.

3 Nicholas Tartaglione was bunked up with Jeffrey Epstein. He has told his lawyer he's being threatened into keeping quiet Credit: CBS

3 Epstein was found hanged in his New York cell on August 10 - sparking speculation he may have been murdered or helped in taking his own life Credit: EPA

The threats came as questions swirled about how accused sex trafficker Epstein was able to commit suicide in federal custody in New York.

Tartaglione was sharing a cell with Epstein during what’s believed to have been the 66-year-old’s first suicide attempt on July 23.

The two were then separated at the Manhattan facility before Epstein hanged himself on August 10.

Tartaglione's attorney Bruce Barket wrote in a letter to Judge Kenneth Karas that his client has since been threatened into staying silent.

'PRICE TO PAY'

The letter reads: “The clear message Mr Tartaglione has received is that if he conveys information about the facility or about [Epstein’s] recent suicide, there will be a price to pay."

It adds: "The correction officers know he has information potentially very damaging to the very people now charged with guarding him or their coworkers.”

The 51-year-old former police officer is facing the death penalty for his alleged involvement in four drug-related slayings in New York state.

While Epstein told his lawyers that Tartaglione was behind his July neck injuries, Barket fiercely denied that allegation.

Who was Jeffrey Epstein and what was he accused of? JEFFREY Epstein was a US financier who was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008. He was arrested on July 6, 2019 for sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York. Court documents allege that at least 40 underage girls were brought to Epstein’s mansions for sexual encounters. He pleaded not guilty to child sex trafficking charges in New York and faced 45 years in prison if found guilty. On July 18, a federal judge said that the disgraced financier presented a "danger to the community" and must stay in one of New York's toughest prisons while awaiting trial. The shamed financier was locked up amid fears he would flee the country. Epstein hanged himself on August 10 - just 12 days after being removed from suicide watch. But questions remained over how he he managed to take his own life without being stopped by guards.

Barket’s letter also cites the “deplorable” conditions including “a serious rodent and insect infestation” at the MCC as a reason to move his client - who is due in court on Wednesday for a hearing.

The MCC did not immediately return a request for comment from the New York Post last night.

The sex trafficking inquiry into Epstein is now focusing on several alleged co-conspirators.

They are believed to include Ghislaine Maxwell, 57 - the daughter of disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell.

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Prince Andrew has also been forced to distance himself from pal Epstein - whose alleged underage "sex slave" accused him of sleeping with her when she was 17.

He has always strenuously denied the claims made by Virginia Roberts - which were thrown out of a US court in 2015 by a judge who deemed them "immaterial".

“It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

3 Epstein was found dead in his cell just days after being taken off suicide watch Credit: Getty - Contributor

Jeffrey Epstein autopsy confirms death as suicide by hanging after paedo billionaire found dead in his cell

Parts of this article originally appeared on the New York Post