Joseph Recarey was a detective with the Palm Beach Police Department who conducted the initial criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein beginning in 2005.
When a parent reported that her 14-year-old daughter had been taken to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion and sexually abused, Recarey took the case seriously. He used traditional detective work: interviewing victims, running surveillance, identifying additional accusers through each victim’s social network.
Over roughly 18 months, Recarey identified approximately 36 underage girls who had been trafficked to Epstein’s home. He documented a systematic recruitment pattern, a payment system managed by female associates, and physical evidence at the property. His case file was detailed and, by most professional assessments, solid enough to support serious criminal charges.
Recarey referred the case to State Attorney Barry Krischer, who charged Epstein only with a single count of solicitation of prostitution — a charge that Recarey and others viewed as woefully inadequate. Recarey was reportedly frustrated by Krischer’s handling of the case.
After Krischer’s office fumbled the charges, the Palm Beach Police Department took the unusual step of referring the case directly to the FBI, bypassing the state attorney’s office. This led eventually to the federal investigation.
Joseph Recarey died in 2018 of heart failure, just before the Miami Herald’s landmark investigative series was published and before Epstein was arrested a second time. He did not live to see Epstein face federal charges.