Admitted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein last year told a New York Times columnist he had potentially damaging or embarrassing information about a large number of rich, famous and powerful people.

"The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous, and powerful people, and had photos to prove it," Times' columnist James Stewart wrote Monday carrying the headline "The Day Jeffrey Epstein Told Me He Had Dirt on Powerful People."

"He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use."

Epstein died in his prison cell early Saturday from an apparent suicide. He was being held on sex trafficking charges and was facing 45 years in prison.

Stewart was interviewing Epstein because he had heard he was advising Tesla CEO Elon Musk, although Epstein did not offer any information on the rumor.

Instead, Epstein spoke about prominent names in technology circles, saying people in Silicon Valley "were hedonistic and regular users of recreational drugs" and he had "witnessed prominent tech figures taking drugs and arranging for sex (Mr. Epstein stressed that he never drank or used drugs of any kind)."

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