Jeffrey Epstein may be headed for more legal trouble. The New York Post’s Dan Mangan is reporting that the FBI is considering a probe into the alleged sex crimes of the mysterious money manager. Epstein was indicted by a Palm Beach grand jury for solicitation in connection with paying local teenage girls for massages during which he allegedly required them to strip down to their panties while he masturbated and touched them with vibrators. It is also alleged that in at least one incident he paid a girl $1,000 after he forcibly penetrated her. Epstein is also alleged to have employed a “sex slave” he allegedly claimed to have purchased from her family in eastern Europe to have sex with one of his untrained masseuses while he watched.
Palm Beach police, frustrated with what they reportedly view as a lack of dedication on the part of local prosecutors, have turned information over to the FBI. Mangan breaks news in his story by getting word from an FBI investigator that the feds are indeed following up on the case.
Mystery Mogul’s Teen-Sex Secret Bared in Probe [New York Post]
More of DealBreaker’s Jeffrey Epstein Coverage [Archives]
Jeffrey Epstein
This morning’s Palm Beach Post carries a lengthy article on Jeffrey Epstein. It mostly tracks what you’ve already read here or elsewhere but is worth reading if you haven’t followed all the details. Among the highlights:
Background.
• Jeffrey Epstein’s early career at Dalton and Bear Stearns.
• His earlier disputes with former business partners and Citigroup.
• Rumors that he left Bear Stearns under an SEC inquiry cloud.
• Also rumored to have been a spook of some sort.
• Mentored by Steven Hoffenberg “now serving a prison term after ‘bilking investors out of more than $450 million in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history.’
• His real estate: private island, huge townhouse in Manhattan, gigantic in new Mexico and a alleged teenage petting zoo mansion in Palm Beach.
• Powerful friends: top scientists, former Harvard president Larry Summers, Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman and Bill Clinton.
• Thought to have 15 clients but only one is known—the Wexner family, founders of The Limited clothing stores.
Women.
• Long linked to media mogul Robert Maxwell’s daughter Ghislaine Maxwell.
• Said to have also dated a former Miss Sweden and a Romanian model.
The Case.
• Investigation began after a mother heard her daughter discussing trips to Epstein’s place and contacted police.
• Private investigators working for Epstein contacted witnesses during the investigation.
• Disputes arose between prosecutors and police.
• An early plea bargain which would have kept Epstein out of jail fell apart.
• Alan Dershowitz flew to Palm Beach to paint the girls making the allegations against Epstein as lying, thieving, drug and alcohol abusing and unreliable.
• The “Heidi Fleiss” of Palm Beach is alleged to have brought six girls between ages 14 and 18 to Epstein’s house for massages.
While admitting that Epstein had girls over to administer massages, Epstein’s camp maintains he is innocent of any criminal wrong-doing. One of his lawyers even insists Epstein will emerge from the case with his reputation untarnished.
Jeffrey Epstein craved big homes, elite friends – and, investigators say, underage girls [Palm Beach Post]
Jossip—which along with DealBreaker, Gawker and the Palm Beach Post is just about the only media outlet covering the Jeffrey Epstein story—notes that terrorists have totally screwed any plans Epstein might have had to fly commercial this weekend. No batteries or liquids allowed on planes?
Which more or less means Jeffrey Epstein’s weekend is totally fucked. How can he enjoy a night of petting zoo on his private jet without massage oils and working vibrators? Talk about inconvenience.
Ah. Poor innocent Jossip. Epstein doesn’t fly commercial and you can bring whatever you want onto your private jet. This is what private planes are for. So even terrorists can’t fuck with your travel plans.
[Note: As we’ve said before, everything seems dirty when it is about Epstein, even perfectly ordinary phrases like “comes in handy.” Even "Palm Beach Post" is kind of icky and we're not sure why. We’re sorry. That’s not out fault. It’s either Epstein’s or those lying little drug addict sluts.]
[Another note: Shouldn’t we have gone with some version of “If Epstein can’t travel with lube and vibrators, the terrorists win?”—Ed. Uhm, are we still using that joke? If that hasn't jumped the shark, I just threw up in my mouth a little. Very funny. If we can still do these '—Ed' jokes, I think we can still do the terrorists win jokes.—Ed. I hope meta is still funny.]
Terrorists Totally Ruin Jeffrey Epstein’s Weekend [Jossip]
Jeffrey Epstein has launched an army of lawyers and publicists to clear his name and smear the girls who have accused him of sexual improprieties and solicitation, the Palm Beach Post reports this morning. Here’s a quick look at the line coming out from Epstein’s camp.
In Epstein’s army: attorneys Jack Goldberger, Alan Dershowitz and. Roy Black. New York publicist Dan Klores and an unnamed Los Angeles publicist.
The spin: these girls are liars, thieves and drug-users. The Palm Beach police are on a childish vendetta.
What Epstein’s camp admits: Epstein did have young women over to his house to administer massages. There is no explanation for why he was paying untrained girls upwards of $200 for massages.
What they’re denying: That Epstein had any knowledge the girls were underage or that Epstein had sex with any underage girls.
There’s a gap between what has been alleged and what is being denied, and that gap might be informative. Even if Epstein didn’t ‘have sex’ with the girls, did he have them strip and did he masturbate while they massaged him?
Ugh. Suddenly we’re back in Clinton-Lewinsky territory, trying to guess at what the meaning of ‘sex’ is.
Epstein camp calls female accusers liars [Palm Beach Post]
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Jeffrey Epstein
Joe Francis and The Girls Gone Wild Theory of Jeff Epstein
By John Carney
Joe Francis, the man who built an empire on young girls exposing themselves for his “Girls Gone Wild” videos, offers a completely self-serving theory about entrepreneurialism and sex to a writer for the LA Times magazine.
“Sex sells everything,” he says. “It drives every buying decision . . . I hate to get too deep and philosophical here, but only the guys with the greatest sexual appetites are the ones who are the most driven and most successful.”
This was crap when we first heard it as the feminist theory of capitalism—that successful businessmen were simply acting out their rape fantasies on the economy. And it’s truly disgusting crap coming from anyone who does the things Joe Francis is alleged to have done in the article—assaulting a reporter, getting a teenager drunk and more-or-less raping her, and generally being an ass. No idea about how much of this story is accurate but if even if it’s dimes-from-dollars, it’s awful stuff.
We couldn’t help but remember that Jeffrey Epstein is reportedly interested in alternative theories of evolutionary psychology. Maybe he and Joe should get in touch with each other.
‘Baby, Give Me a Kiss’ [L.A. Times Magazine]
We feel awful for letting you down yesterday. An entire day without a post on Jeffrey Epstein. No one should have to tolerate that kind of neglect. Unless, you know, they get their news from the New York Times.
A blogger at Verum Serum asks whether Epstein’s interest in alternatives to evolutionary psychology and the work of E.O. Wilson might offer an insight into his alleged behavor:
My question about all this is simple. Is there a connection between the two threads in Jeffrey Epstein’s life? Between his scientific beliefs about human nature and his behavior toward women (and girls)? Put another way, when you see people as something akin to insects, does that alter your behavior toward them? When you see human trust and kindness as merely adaptive behaviors, does that render you less trustworthy or less kind?
We’ll answer all four questions. Yes. Yes. Yes. No.
Patron of Evolutionary Science Kept Sex Slave [Verum Serum]
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Posted in:
Jeffrey Epstein
Pretty Much Most of the News That’s Fit to Print So Long As It’s Not About Jeffrey Epstein
By John CarneyIt’s three o’clock already and we haven’t even mentioned Jeffrey Epstein. We’d feel like we were neglecting our journalistic duties but that might make the nice folks at New York Times feel lazy. They’ve never once mentioned Jeffrey Epstein since the sex scandal broke, as Jossip points out.
So, fine. We are going to be obsessive …And we are going to point out — yet again — that a very rich and powerful man was accused of some really terrible things … and the New York Times has officially let a week go by without a single mention of his name.
Come on, Jossip. That’s unfair. We’re sure they mean to get around to the story. It’s just so hard to find room in the paper when it is so packed with hard news.
Jeffrey Epstein Still Immune From New York Times Coverage: Day 7 [Jossip]
As we mentioned earlier today, over on the very, very much Not Safe For Work Moneyshot blog, the pseudonymous Shermon McCoy claims that he’s been at Jeffrey Epstein parties in which Nobel prize winners and various wealthy folks were all surrounded by young, “nude eastern european girls, frolicking with them, and then proceeding into one big orgy party.” Uhm, okay. So who were these Nobel prize winners? So far we haven’t been able to confirm anything.
But we have uncovered published reports about a boondoggle orgy physics symposium in St. Thomas that Epstein organized, which was attended by Nobel prize winners Gerardus’t Hooft, David Gross and Frank Wilczek, and physicist Stephen Hawking. We don’t want to suggest that Hawking got all freaky with Epstein’s alleged sex-slave. Or that anyone did anything wrong or unbecoming. Or that any of these physics guys have ever had sex with anyone, for that matter.
But the story does suggest it wasn’t all equations and string theory.
Delegates from the University of the Virgin Islands and Antilles School also attended the reception, where a few free spirited physicists braved the dance floor.
“There is no agenda except fun and physics, and that’s fun with a capital ‘F,’” Epstein said.
Before the Epstein story broke we might have read that with a straight face. Now we cannot help but wonder exactly who these “delegates” were. Were they professors? Or students? And why do we think that the capital “F” wasn’t just for fun?
That’s probably completely unfair. But like we said before. In light of the allegations, everything we read about Epstein seems creepy.
Physicists Debate Gravity at St. Thomas Symposium [St. Thomas Source]
According to the anonymous author of TheMoneyShot, Shermon McCoy (har), our flood-the-zone coverage of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged personal pubescent predilictions is entirely based on one thing: we’re jealous!
All these people are, I suspect, just slightly jealous that they were never invited to a Epstein party.** Being one of those privy to just such an event- barely-legal (I hope!) Russian girls and all- I can say that I understand why. There really is nothing else I have ever experienced quite like it. Nobel prize winners, a bunch of people intimately involved in … cough! cough! Numerix cough! and cough! Prediction Company cough! cough!, Jeff himself, and some rich people who really don’t matter- all surrounded by 18-, 19-, and 20- (again, I hope!) year old nude eastern european girls, frolicking with them, and then proceeding into one big orgy party. It was really strikingly similar to Eyes Wide Shut. Without the costumes, that is.
Well, Sherman, we’ll admit that we’re jealous of your blog idea. Porn and finance! At the same time! Two great tastes that go great together. Why didn’t we think of that?***
But more importantly, we’re deeply curious about which Nobel prize winners have been known to frolick sans tweed with nude Eastern European girls. And we’re curious about the rich people who don’t matter as well. C’mon! Give us a hint!
** Well, that’s a little presumptuous, Sherman.
*** No, seriously. Why didn’t we think of that? Minkin? Carney?
Dealbreaker and More Jeffrey Epstein (NSFW) [TheMoneyShot]
We’ve been spending some time trying to clear away the murk and shine some light into the shadows of Jeffrey Epstein’s financial dealings in an effort to provide some, uhm, actual financial reporting related to the sex candal encircling the mysterious money manager. There’s not much that is publicly available but we’re still digging.
What we have discovered, however, is a brief document amending a credit agreement for RELIANT PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. The amendment replaces the administrative agent for the credit. But what caught our eye was the confluence of three DealBreaker subjects all in the same documents.
The signature pages include lines for Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, who is scheduled to appear before the SEC in connection with allegations of insider trading at Pequot Capital, as well at Jeffrey Epstein, who signs as trustee of the Wexner Children’s Trust II, part of the financial empire of The Limited founding family. And the agent who is being replaced? Goldman Sachs, where alleged insider trading crooks Eugene Plotkin and David Pajcin worked (not to mention the alma mater of that other DealBreaker obsession, Hank Paulson).
Now this is no doubt just a coincidence, and not really a conspiracy to make our heads explode. We should probably just take a deep breath and then post a Venn Diagram illustrating the connections but our diagramist is in meetings off-site.
One additional thought: this is probably the last time you’ll see Epstein’s name coupled with the words “trust” and “children” any time in the near future.
Reliant Consent, waiver and amendment [SEC]
Does the fact that Jeffrey Epstein taught high school math and physics at Dalton for three years creep anyone else out? Unless you’ve been depending on the New York Times for your news, by now you know that Jeffrey Epstein has been charged with felony solicitation of prostitution rather than even more serious charges of molestation and sex with minors. But the facts alleged in the police affidavit released on the Smoking Gun clearly spell out a taste for getting young, high school age girls to co-operate in some pretty raunchy scenarios. This raises the question: how long has this been going on?*
Did you go to Dalton in the mid-seventies? Epstein taught there from 1973 through 1975, when he left to take a job at Bear Stearns. We’d love to hear from you if you remember Epstein from those years, whatever your impressions—good, bad, ugly or totally perverse. Unless otherwise indicated, we’ll keep your comments completely anonymous. Send your comments to tips(at)dealbreaker(dot)com.
[* Editors Note: We know, we know. It may not have gone on at all. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. God loves all his little creatures. The allegations and charges are serious, though, and we don't think it's too early to start asking these questions.]
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