New York State Police Senior Investigator Rodger Kirsopp has been involved with NXIVM-related matters for the past decade – and during that time, he has proven to be quite a mysterious figure. His first known involvement involved an investigation into the origin of Gaelen, the child whom NXIVM leaders first claimed was privately adopted by the now-deceased Barbara Jeske – but who, as readers of Frank Report know, was actually the child of Keith Raniere and Kristin Keeffe.
Somehow, during the course of that investigation, Kirsopp seemingly got turned around – and went from investigating Raniere and his sex slaver NXIVM cult to investigating several of the people who were trying to expose the realities of the Raniere/Bronfman crime syndicate. People like John Tighe, Toni Natalie, and Joe O’Hara.
But before he went over to the other side, Kirsopp was contacted by John Tighe about comments that had been left on his Saratoga In Decline blog which indicated that Raniere had been having sexual relations with underage Mexican girls – and about some very graphic death threats that Tighe had received. Tighe met with Kirsopp at the State Police barracks in Malta, NY to discuss the matter – and, according to Tighe, at Kirsopp’s direction, Tighe left behind the passwords that would allow Kirsopp to access John’s blog so that he could track down the sources of the comments about the underage girls and the death threats (According to Tighe, Kirsopp told him that because he couldn’t officially accept that information, Tighe should write it down on a piece of paper and leave on the table on his way out) .
Fast forward a few months – and here’s Kirsopp leading the early morning raid on Tighe’s residence to seize all his computers (Simultaneous raids were also being conducted at the residences of Toni Natalie and Joe O’Hara). And, lo and behold, a few weeks later, the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit discovered child pornography on Tighe’s computer.
Eventually, Tighe, Natalie, and O’Hara were arrested on charges that they illegally accessed the computer that hosted NXIVM’s website with the sign-in credentials of Mary Jane Pino. Although Tighe pled guilty to that charge as part of a broader plea deal that also included the child porn charge, Natalie and O’Hara refused to do so.
During the course of fighting the computer trespass charges, Natalie and O’Hara discovered that Kirsopp had met more than 44 times with attorneys representing Raniere and Clare Bronfman. That included Steve Coffey, Pam Nichols and Mike McDermott – all of whom worked for the O’Connell & Aronowitz law firm in Albany, NY (That, of course, is the same law firm that was involved in the attempt by Raniere and Bronfman to obtain the bank records of – and other personal information concerning – several federal judges in the Northern District).
Natalie and O’Hara also discovered that the original computer trespass investigation had started in Saratoga County – which made sense because that’s where the computer that hosted NXIVM ‘s website was actually located. But after then-Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy refused to bring charges against anyone, Kirsopp immediately began working with the O’Connell & Aronowitz attorneys and the Office of the Albany County District Attorney, P. David Soares, to bring similar charges in that venue.
Not once did Kirsopp question how NXIVM’s computer magically jumped over the Mohawk River from Saratoga County to Albany County – and he even went so far as to swear, under oath, that the NXIVM computer was located in Albany County at the time of the illegal accessing, a claim that he must have known was false.
Kirsopp also claimed, under oath, that Ben Myers was an Internet Technology Specialist who provided consultant services to NXIVM – but he failed to disclose that Myers was, in fact, part of the NXIVM cult. In addition, he falsely claimed that in her affidavit, Mary Jane Pino said she had not signed onto the NXIVM website since 2008 – when, in fact, what she said was that she had not done that since 2003.
Even after the charges against Natalie and O’Hara were subsequently dismissed, Kirsopp insisted that they could only get their computers back after they had been “wiped clean” because that was the NYS Police’s “standard policy”. But Natalie and O’Hara proved that to be a lie – and eventually got their computers back intact (Subsequent forensic analyses have turned up some very interesting facts as to what happened to those computers while they were being held by the NYS Police – but that will be the subject of another post at some point in the future).
Kirsopp, of course, also has at least one other interesting connection to NXIVM. That’s because he’s the law enforcement official who helped Kristin Keeffe and Gaelen escape from the clutches of the NXIVM cult. Interestingly enough, as soon as she and her child were free and clear, Keeffe stopped communicating with Kirsopp – which led him to try and track her down by other means.
Rumors have circulated for years that Kirsopp was somehow compromised by NXIVM – and there has been at least one formal request for the NYS Police’s Internal Affairs Unit to investigate his relationship with the cult and Kristin Keeffe. It is not known if any such investigation was ever undertaken or, if so, what the results of it were.
Kirsopp also was involved in investigating child sexual abuse allegations involving Esther Carlson’s son. But that investigation also did not lead to any charges — and witnesses subsequently claimed that there had been a cover-up – a cover-up that Kirsopp helped NXIVM achieve.
So, why did Rodger Kirsopp ask for the passwords to John Tighe’s blog? Did he lie about what John Tighe said to him on the morning of the raid? Kirsopp claims that Tighe said “Please don’t tell my wife what’s on my computers”. Tighe claims that what he said, “All of the computers and the guns in the house belong to me – and please don’t shoot me”.
What caused Kirsopp to stop investigating all the illegal activities of the Raniere/Bronfman crime syndicate that he had been told about – and to, instead, start persecuting those who were trying to expose NXIVM?
Rodger Kirsopp – a most mysterious man…
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
What better place for a pedophile to be than in the position of “investigator of pedophiles”?
If you folks believe there is a cover up to protect Kristen Kreuk, wait until you see the cover up to protect all of the politicians, police, prosecutors and judges who helped make Upstate New York a Happy Home for NXIVM.
NXIVM survived and thrived because Bronfman money purchased protection from corrupt politicians, kinky cops, rotten prosecutors and dirty judges.
On top of that unscrupulous lawyers rented themselves out to NXIVM and the Bronfmans to warp the civil court system into a tool to file bogus, frivolous lawsuits to harass Raniere’s and the Bronfmans’ real and perceived enemies.
For years, as long as NXIOVM only dealt with local politicians, the grifters and their fanatical female followers lived a charmed existence.
NXIVM looked untouchable.
NXIVM looked bullet proof.
Until the demented Keith Raniere and his craziest female follower Allison Mack dreamed up a nightmare from the darkest pages of Edgar Allan Poe.
In the middle of suburban America Raniere and Mack created a demented dungeon worthy of any Edgar Allan Poe story.
A dungeon where white middle class women were tortured and turned into sex slaves.
And they made this nightmare real down to the aroma of burning flesh from the slaves.
Raniere and Mack, being quite stupid, failed to realize that their dementia would go beyond the corrupt local authorities and bring ion Federal scrutiny.
To this day Raniere and Mack don’t understand what they did.
And all of the little scams that Raniere and the Bronfmans pulled, all of the perversions of justice perpetrated by this band of lunatics, were exposed to the light of day.
Had Raniere and his knucklehead followers exercised a little more discretion and sanity NXIVM’s scams would stil be going strong.
Please spare us your drama. What you really know about NXIVM could fit on the head of a pin.
You prefer drama from the Drama Queen herself, Allison Mack.
No fuzznuts I don’t. Allie Wack is nothing in my life. No different to me than the millions of others who have committed crimes. I have a real life and real women in my life. Sorry that you have never had a real relationship with a flesh and blood female. Maybe if you not have wasted most of your life jacking off to fantasy tv starlets.
“Allie Wack is nothing in my life.”
Then why do you care what I say about that nut job?
Why do my statements upset you so much?
Are you one of these brain dead liberals who have to control what everyone says and writes and thinks?
Maybe so. But what prosecutors know directly from ex-members could fit in a 6 by 6 ft room!
Yea, some chicks brains are up her ass, and yet you are the one obsessed with her. Tells people all they need to know about you.
And what do we need to know about you?
That you are a NXIVM troll who bristles at the first criticism of Rainere’s sainted disciple.
As soon as you stop simply regurgitating what you read hear, and start guessing about things you don’t know about, your late arrival to the show becomes apparent. How you actually think Keith didn’t and doesn’t understand what he did is a head-scratcher. My unsolicited advise to you is that perhaps you should stop studying this site so much, and instead delve into readings on the different types of sociopaths.
“As soon as you stop simply regurgitating what you read hear, and start guessing about things you don’t know about,”
Would you rather I start guessing about things I don’t know about?
That doesn’t even make sense.
Where did you learn that kind of word salad?
From Rainere himself?
Did you learn at the feet of the Master Vanguard?
The truth is that Rainere got away with so much for so long that he thought the show would never end.
How else could one explain Rainere’s patent lawsuit against A,T & T and Microsoft?
Keith used to teach that. He also lives it.
He knows what he’s doing. He knows the risk of doing what he does. He does it anyways. He doesn’t feel guilt about it.
Why the AT&T lawsuit? He was probably bored.
“Guilt is a useless emotion”
The US government will teach Rainere and his top followers all about guilt.
As for the A,T & T law suit Rainere and Clare Bronfman, these two self-proclaimmed geniuses, should know that using the court system on frivolous legal issues can be an expensive endeavor.
And their attorneys should have known better.
In law, frivolous litigation is the practice of starting or carrying on lawsuits that, due to their lack of legal merit, have little to no chance of being won.
In the United States, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and similar state rules require that an attorney perform a due diligence investigation concerning the factual basis for any claim or defense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frivolous_litigation
– Guilt is a useless emotion. Keith used to teach that. He also lives it.
The first sign of a sociopath.
Thank you Frank
Just finished Catherine Oxenberg’s book. Thought it was an interesting read. Are there plans to review it on here? What do people who have been following this cult or who were in it think of the book? Is it accurate? I was surprised that she took so many of the cults courses. From interviews she gave at first, I thought she went to just one and only her daughter kept going. Oxenberg said Rosario Dawson had to leave the introductory course because someone died. Does anyone know more about Rosairo’s involvement with the group. Did she return and get more involved. I searched and found an article on here saying that Rosario had taken trainings and is supportive of Keith Raniere as are Jennifer Anniston and Gerard Butler. Is this still true? Is there more information on their training and support. I would think the involvement of Anniston and Butler would get more attention. They are much bigger names than Allison Mack who has rarely maybe never received any national press outside of this cult story.
We all want to be Scott free.
Ban the Scott.
During the Spring of 2012 the Times Union story broke about NXIVM. Later that year, Southern Saratoga County was turned upside down when 2 very popular Shenendehowa HS students were killed in a crash by an impaired driver (drugs, alcohol and texting were all involved). Another Shen Student and a Shaker High student suffered serious injuries in the accident.
Rodger Kirsopp was the State Police Investigator in the case. What is interesting is the driver Dennis Drue, (who was represented by former NXIVM attorney Steve Coffey) also accused Rodger Kirsopp of lying https://dailygazette.com/article/2013/08/16/prosecutor-drue-was-texting-minutes-leading-northw
Drue was convicted and members of the Shen community deemed Kirsopp a hero for helping to bring Drue to justice. When Kirsopp’s name came up with neighbors on the subject of his involvement in NXIVM, my neighbors found it hard to believe that Kirsopp could have assisted the dark side. I had this conversation on more than one occasion.
A common problem with police nation wide is “testilying.”
Lying under oath.
With police now wearing body cameras more and more have been caught testilying.
Police perjury (or testilying in United States police slang) is the act of a police officer giving false testimony. It is typically used in a criminal trial to “make the case” against a defendant believed by the police to be guilty when irregularities during the suspect’s arrest or search threaten to result in acquittal.
It also can be extended further to encompass substantive misstatements of fact for the purpose of convicting those whom the police believe to be guilty, or even to include statements to frame an innocent citizen.[1] More generically, it has been said to be “[l]ying under oath, especially by a police officer, to help get a conviction.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_perjury
Testilying is a huge problem, as is false claims of police brutality.
Body cameras have had a positive impact on both of these problems, to the point where activist groups that capitalize on these problems are now advocating that body cameras be removed!!!
Good post Frank. This is the direction the blog needs to go. More on the corrupt politicians and law enforcement that enabled and participated in the corruption. And it goes from the head down. Yes it will be dangerous, just ask your fellow Buffalonian Tom Baurlie. His factual criticism of the Cuomo New York mafia has caused many problems for him.
This whole thing reeks of a setup. Hopefully, the Feds will give him a new trial.
In other news, Flowers alter-ego, Scott Johnson has returned. Let the trolling begin, oi.
Shlomo
Scott is a male from Texas.
I’m a woman from Canada.
2 separate people.
Really.
I’m not sure why you think I’m Scott, but if we’re going to play that game, I’m pretty sure you’re writing under a variety of names, including Heather, Benny, and formerly John Jacob Jinglemiere Schmitt.
You don’t fool anyone .
For those of us who has the misfortune to spend time in the area (apologies to people who like it there for their own reasons), there is really nothing whatsoever shocking about corruption in upstate NY.
Everybody knew that anyone doing anything significant in the area lived or died by Joe Bruno Sr.’s sword, and he had free flights with Bronfman Air.
I am not sure what I could actually see that would sway my opinion away from Tighe’s innocence. I hope he gets his transplant soon, and then gets his name cleared.
Frank, Nice that you are digging into this more as most here think that John was set up.
Don’t know if the feds are looking into this but, the more that you write about these nxivm atrocities the
more of a chance they will. Hopefully some that have left will hand out info on this. What a sham!
We need Kristen to speak out. Imagine what it’s like to be a pregnant woman, pushed to stay in her own house for a year, to have a baby in her house, so that no one knew she was pregnant. And from there to have everyone lie and say that the baby was not keith’s, but rather adopted. What the F? Is there a public record of his birth? How about a paternity test?
We need all these cowardly anonymous commenters to speak out with their real names, or at least with a consistent fake name that links to a known ID. Frank, you need to ban anybody who doesn’t do the above, it is ruining your comments section. Do it, NOW!
And apparently “Ban so-n-so. Do it, NOW!” is the new “LOL”
That’s a great idea Scott! Considering many of the articles you read on FR come from anonymous sources, and those sources also comment here anonymously-and of course would stop being informants if they were required to use there real name, This blog would be some much better without all the inside information.
I also get instructions from a static channel on TV, like channel 10. I change it to Channel 10 and if I relax, the static man comes out of the screen and talks to me.
The baby was born at Albany med…