HOUSE OVERSIGHT 018934 enough dirt on the girls to m e prosecutors skeptical. Not only did some of the girls have issues with drugs or alcohol but also some had criminal records and other troubles, Epstein's legal team claimed. And at least one of them, they said, lied when she told police she was younger than 18 when she started performing massages for Epstein. After the meeting, prosecutors postponed their decision to take the case to a grand jury. In the following weeks, police received complaints that two of the victims or their families had been harassed or threatened. Epstein's legal team maintains that its private investigators did nothing illegal or unethical during their research. By then, relations' between police and prosecutors were fraying. At a key meeting with prosecutors and the defense, Detective Joseph Recarey, the lead investigator, was a no-show, according to Epstein's attorney. 'The embarrassment . on the prosecutor's face was evident when, the police officer never showed up for the meeting," attorney Jack Goldberger said. Later in April, Recarey walked into a prosecutor's office at the state attorney's office and learned the case was taking an unexpected turn. The prosecutor, Lanna Belohlavek, told Recarey the state attorney's office had offered Epstein a plea deal that would not require him to serve jail time or receive a felony conviction. Recarey told her he disapproved of the plea offer. The deal never came to pass, however. Future unclear after charge On May 1, the department asked prosecutors to approve warrants to arrest Epstein on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and to charge his personal assistant, Sarah Kellen, now 27, for her alleged role in arranging the visits. Police officials also wanted to, charge Rob- son, the self-described Midi Fleiss, with lewd and lascivious acts. By then, the department was frustrated with the way the state attorney's office ha