Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
In this episode, we're going to spin right back down
the Palm Beach for a refresher course on some of
the players that were on the stage during Jeffrey Epstein's
first prosecution. That way, all you folks know exactly where
your scorn should be directed. Like I said, today's article
(00:20):
is from the pom Beach Post and the headline Jeffrey
Epstein Case. Here are the main players in the early
case and where they are now. The author of this
article is Holly Boltz. The Jeffrey Epstein saga began and
could have ended in Palm Beach County in two thousand
and six. The pom Beach Post sued in twenty nineteen
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to find out why it didn't. Now a judge has
decided that secret documents detailing what happened are not going
to be released, if at all, until after July first,
when a new law on releasing them takes effect. Can
you imagine if this judge stands in the way of
this ruling, there has to be some sort of remedy
for that. Right. You mean to tell me that a
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judge can supersede a bill that's put into effect by
the lawmakers of the state. You got to take that
right to the Supreme Court of Florida. If this judge
bucks around and act stupid, it would ensnare a prince
CEOs and almost taint two former presidents, Donald Trump and
Bill Clinton. Yet so much of the early case involved
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roughly two dozen teenage girls, many of whom attended Royal
Palm Beach High School, where friends recruited friends saying they'd
earn money giving an old guy massages, and they had
Epstein dead to rights. All these girls came forward, they
all had the same corroborating story about what he was
up to, what he was doing, and the authorities down
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in Palm Beach, even with all of that evidence available
to them, they decided to take a different path and
give Jeffrey Epstein one of the most lenient sentences in
the history of lenient sentences. And then they wonder why
people are asking questions. Now, they're wondering why people want
these grand jury documents released. And as far as the
judge goes, what's he trying to hide? Who's he trying
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to protect? The players? Jeffrey Epstein, serial sexual predator, Jeffrey
Epstein was a wealthy financier pedophile with a mansion on
L Brio Way in Palm Beach who sexually abused and
trafficked hundreds of underage girls in his lifetime. Hundreds, I'd
say thousands, and I'd say that confidently. He also home
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the States, in Paris, New York, New Mexico, and the
US Virgin Islands, all of which were described as places
he sexually abused girls. He pleaded guilty in Palm Beach
County to two prostitution related felonies in two thousand and eight.
He served thirteen months of an eighteen month sentence in
a private wing of the Palm Beach County Stockade, with
permission to leave the property under work release twelve hours
(02:54):
a day, six days a week. Can somebody point me
to anybody else who's ever received deal like this? Oh?
That's right, you can't, because nobody else has ever got
the Homi hook up the way that Jeffrey Epstein did.
Nearly a decade after he was released, New York prosecutors
charged them in July twenty nineteen with sex trafficking miners,
(03:15):
among other charges. Where is he now? He was found
hanged allegedly in his jail cell nearly a month after
he was arrested in New York. The medical examiner ruled
it a suicide. Well that's it, folks. Pack it in
the medical examiner and Bill Barr told you that it
was a suicide, So that's all it could possibly be,
right right. Barry Krisher, Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krisher,
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in two thousand and six, was the first prosecutor ever
to consider criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein. His office became
involved in two thousand and five as Palm Beach Police
conducted its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the sexual abuse
of underage girls. Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Ryder said
Krisher was at first gung ho, but then cooled after
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Epstein's dream team of defense attorneys showed up. Krisher's office
never reached out to or interviewed any of the girls
who accused Epstein of molesting or raping them, according to
the state Attorney's office records. In a highly unusual move,
Krisher called a grand jury to consider the case. He
had him dead to rights. All he had to do
(04:24):
was prosecute the case and do his job. But he
couldn't even be bothered to do that. Instead, Oh, I'm
gonna impanel a grand jury so that I can pass
the buck, and that way we can have a little
bit of secrecy when we hook our boy Epstein up
here with that homie hookup we've been talking about, and
it's all transparent. You don't have to be a great
investigator to see what happened here. Where is he now?
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Krisher retired as a state attorney in two thousand and
nine after sixteen years in office. He edits a criminal
justice community newsletter for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.
Well isn't that fun? I bet he's collecting a pay too. Huh.
If these Grand Jerry documents say what I think they're
going to say, then maybe, just maybe he should lose
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that pension. Jeffrey Epstein's survivors. Several survivors have spoken out
over the years, but women such as Courtney Wild, Virginia Roberts,
Michelle Locatta, and Jenna Lisa Jones are bought A fraction
of as many as five hundred victims of Epstein's sex
trafficking and abuse. These four women were attending Palm Beach
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County schools when they were cast into the clutches of
one of the world's most prolific sexual predators. Wilde was
attending Lakeworth Middle School, Virginia, Roberts Wellington and Royal Palm
Beach High schools Lakata, Royal Pon Beach High and Jones
Seminole Ridge. And that was his mo He'd get these
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little high school girls, he'd recruit them, bring them in,
he'd groom them, and then he'd send them out to
bring their friends back. So when we talk about a
sexual Ponzi scheme, that's what we're talking about. And it
fits all of the parameters of a Ponzi scheme, except
the actual currency here wasn't money. It was human flesh.
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Victim's attorney Brad Edwards, said he believes Epstein had as
many as five hundred victims, maybe more, and I'm leaning
towards La Moore side. All of those women from Eastern Europe.
Remember how long this man was active in doing this,
and if he was molesting three to seven women a day,
as some reports have it, then the actual number when
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all is said and done, has to be staggering where
are they now? Wild thirty six had a victim's rights
bill in her name introduced in Congress. She recently wrote
a letter to JP Morgan Chase executive Mary Urdo, saying
JP Morgan was Epstein's right hand and allowing him to
become the most abusive sex offender in history facts one
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hundred percent. If it wasn't for the financial sector, Epstein
would have never been able to do what he did
with no repercussions. But when you have that kind of
power behind you, that kind of power base backing you up,
it's very difficult to hold you to account. Roberts forty,
has reportedly secured a book deal and settled with Prince
Andrew for millions of dollars. She has said the Prince
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raped her in two thousand and one, when she was seventeen.
In twenty twenty two, she dropped a lawsuit against Epstein
attorney Alan Dershowitz, saying she may have mistaken when she
accused him of sexual abuse. Lana Belolovic, Chief Child sex
Crimes Prosecutor Assistant State Attorney. Lana Belolovic led the prosecution
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against Epstein. During the grand jury proceedings, she discredited her
own witness, the only victim to testify, with the girl's
MySpace pages, which simulated sex and depicted what appeared to
be drinking and drugs. Belolovic said more than once that
there were no victims in this case. Can you imagine?
Can you imagine someone's saying that, And we're not talking
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about a defense attorney here. We're talking about somebody who
was the assistant state attorney and the chief of the
child sex crimes prosecution. And that's what she had to
say about Jeffrey Epstein and his behavior when it came
to what was happening in Palm Beach. Where is she now?
She now practices for the Provo law firm in Fort Myers, Florida.
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Next we have Dahalio Weiss, child sex crimes prosecutor. Dalia
Weiss was on the Epstein case in the beginning, but
bowed out when Epstein hired the law firm where her
husband was working. She was known as a hard nosed prosecutor. Well,
at least she had the good sense to accuse herself. Right.
Where is she now? Wewiss is the pom Beach County
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Circuit Court judge. Next up, we have Alan Dershowitz and
Kenneth Starr Epstein's dream team of lawyers. Epstein took no prisoners.
He picked high powered lawyers and made sure they went
on the offensive when it came to his defense. Among
them Jack goall Berger, a local high power defense attorney
who was close with krisher. Oh that's a shaka. Let
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me go and hire somebody who's close with the lead
prosecutor in the county where I'm being prosecuted. This is
what I'm talking about. When you're hiring a high powered lawyer,
you're not hiring them for what's going to happen inside
of the court room. You're hiring them for the deals
that they're going to make before you even get to
the courtroom. And that's certainly what Epstein was up to here.
(09:26):
Where is he now? Goldberger is still practicing criminal law
in West Palm Beach for the firm of Atterbury, Goldberger
and Weiss. Alan Dershowitz, the fame law professor, was in
pom Beach County as early as December two thousand and
five to supply Kerscher with opposition research such as the
fourteen year old girls MySpace pages. Dershowitz was later accused
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in court documents of sexually abusing one of Epstein's victims.
She later said that she was mistaken. Where is he now? Dershowitz,
still a professor at Harvard, has represented former President Donald
Trump in recent years. And for me with Dershowitz, the
biggest beef was the way that he went after these girls,
(10:08):
Like we're talking about fourteen year old girls. You're gonna
show up with an oppo packet, and then your buddy
Barry Krusher's office is just going to take that at
face value and destroy these girls. Absolutely disgusting. Let's see
those grand jury documents and then let's see what Alan
Dershowitz has to say. Gerald Leftcourt a nationally renowned New
York criminal defense attorney whose clients have included Abby Hoffman,
(10:32):
Black Panther Party leaders Russell Crowe, and real estate tycoon
Harry Hemsley. Where is he now? Left Court recently represented
Andre Kikushkin, a defendant with Boca Raton businessman Lev Parnis
and Igor Fruhman, who were accused of conspiring to circumvent
federal laws against foreign influence in American elections by funneling
(10:54):
campaign donations to a pro Donald Trump super pack. Kokushkin,
Ukrainian born businessman, was found guilty and sentenced to a
year in prison. Kenneth Starr he was the independent counsel
who investigated former President Bill Clinton's role in the Whitewater
scandal and brought Monica Lewinsky to the four leading to
(11:14):
Clinton's impeachment. A former appeals court judge and solicitor general,
Starr also was president of Baylor University. After he was
accused of mishandling an investigation of sexual assaults, Starr resigned.
In twenty twenty, he signed on to represent former President
Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. He said he
was in the room when former US Attorney Alex Acosta
(11:37):
made the controversial deal with Epstein that scuttled a federal prosecution. Oh.
I take a lot of umbrage with that. We all
know that it wasn't a cost to stop it. Stop
with the nonsense with a cost A Holy cow, This
man was nothing more than a convenient fall guy. Sure,
he's the one who was down in the office, but
do you really think he has that kind of ability.
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He's a middle manager that's like a manager at McDonald's
making a decision for the whole last corporation. It's never
going to happen. Where is he now? Starr died in
twenty twenty two from complications of surgery. He was seventy six.
Roy Black, the criminal defense lawyer with a folkesy style,
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fought to keep a federal judge from throwing out Epstein's
infamous plead deal because prosecutors hadn't notified victims before it happened.
He was successful once Epstein died. Black denied that the
deal was negotiated in bad faith and that the Dream
Team went too far in digging into the personal lives
of federal prosecutors, allegations launched in twenty seventeen by former
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US Attorney alex Acosta. Black established fame defending William Kennedy
Smith in nineteen ninety one and getting him acquitted of
rape charges in Palm Beach County. Black's third and current wife, Leah,
was a jur on that trial. They both went on
to star in reality TV shows, including a three year
stint by Leah on the Real Housewives of Miami. Black
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represented the late conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh, accused of
doctor shopping for pain meds he got deferred prosecution for
drug treatment. Justin Bieber accused of DUI and pleaded guilty
to reduce charges. And John Goodman, the Wellington Polo Club founder,
found guilty of dui manslaughter in the death of Scott Wilson,
who drowned after Goodman hit his hondi and overturned it
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into a canal. Where is he now? Black is still
practicing law at seventy nine and is a professor at
the University of Miami Law School. Jay Lefkowitz, a nationally
known attorney, he urged then US Attorney Alex Acosta to
hold off notifying any victims of the hearing at which
Epstein would plead guilty. None of them were ever told,
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so they had no opportunity to object to the deal
or to give an impact statement at the hearing. Over
roughly ten months between Epstein's signing the plea deal and
the guilty plea Leftkowitz and Star took the matter to
the top Justice Department officials to get a better deal.
They say it right here. They took it to top
Justice Department officials to get a better deal. Now, who
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do you think those top Justice Department officials are? Well
one of them was Mark Philippe, who was the Deputy
Attorney General at the time of the Epstein deal and
whose fingerprints are all over the Epstein deal. And wouldn't
you know it, what law firm do you think that
mister Philippe works for? Now? Well, that's right, Kirklen and
ellis the same place where Jay Lefkowitz was working. So,
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I mean, come on, what there was no connection there,
None of them knew each other, and the outcome of
Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution wasn't predetermined. Give me a break, Absolute
and utter nonsense. The Justice Department gave Jeffrey Epstein a
sweetheart deal because Jeffrey Epstein's high powered attorneys were good
friends with all the people at the Justice Department and
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they were able to weasel their way in and convince them.
Guy Lewis, former US attorney, was by Epstein's side when
Epstein went into the Palm Beach County courtroom where he
would plead guilty to two prostitution related charges. Where is
he now? Lewis continues to practice law at his own
firm in Miami. Pom Beach Chief Michael Rider, pom Beach
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Police Chief Michael Rider became increasingly worried about how the
prosecution of the case was going. In two thousand and six,
he sent a personal letter to Krisher about two months
before Epstein was arrested, expressing his concern about the unusual
course Krisher's office was taking and suggesting that Krisher considered
disqualifying himself. Writer took the case to the FBI about
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two months before Epstein was arrested. Where is he Now?
Michael Rider retired from the pom Beach Police Department in
two thousand and nine and established the security firm Michael
Rider and Associates. He gave the commencement address at Florida
Atlantic University in May and Michael Ryder is one of
the few heroes in this whole entire story. This is
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a guy that wouldn't leave well enough alone as far
as Epstein was concerned, and went all the way to
the FEDS. And if it wasn't for him, forget it,
we probably wouldn't even know half of what we know.
Palm Beach Police Detective Joseph Riccary Palm Beach Police Detective
Joseph Roccary passionately pursued the investigation of Epstein. He began
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leading the investigation about six months after the fourteen year
old girl stepmother told police she thought her daughter was
molested by a wealthy man like his boss. Riccary became
increasingly concerned about the prosecution of the case. After unreturned calls,
he visited the state attorney's office in April of two
thousand and six. That's when he learned that Krisher was
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allowing Epstein to plead guilty to aggravated assault, a misdemeanor
with no jail time. He was in sense that prosecutors
did not console with police first. Prosecutors then asked Riccary
to write an arrest warrant. His warrant called for four
counts of unlawful sexual activity with the miner and one
count of lewd and lascivious molestation. The charges, punishable by
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a maximum of thirty and fifteen year sentences, respectively, could
have sent Epstein to prison for decades, whereas he now.
Racari died in twenty eighteen at age fifty. All right, folks, well,
those are some of the players that were on the stage,
and those are some of the names that you should
familiarize yourself with because those are the names that we're
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going to be talking about when these grand jury documents
eventually drop. But I think one thing is absolutely crystal clear,
and that is that what happened in Palm Beach and
the deal that Jeffrey Epstein received were completely out of
line with the usual doctrine that is put forth by
the Department of Justice. And the million dollar question is why,
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And hopefully when these documents are released, we're a little
bit closer to that answer. All of the information that
goes with this episode can be found in the description box.