Raniere’s lawyers accuse government of stonewalling on discovery- demand January trial; suggest up to 700 potential jurors needed to find 12 unbiased jurors

Lawyers for Keith Raniere filed a letter in court today accusing the Department of Justice of deliberately holding back important discovery materials for defendants as a ruse to delay the trial. They seek to get the judge to keep the previously set trial date of January 7, 2019.

Raniere’s defense team suggests the DOJ’s delay in providing discovery is a ruse to delay the trial.

In a letter dated September 11, 2018 to the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis, United States District Judge, Eastern District of New York, Raniere’s lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, details an array of allegations that accuse the prosecution team of being deliberately remiss in fulfilling obligations to provide discovery to defendants.

The government has an obligation to provide the defense with evidence it has collected in order for the defense to prepare for trial.

Among the delay tactics the defense accuses the government of doing is failing to identify the Jane and John Does in the superseding indictment – something the defense is entitled to know under due process – which provides that defendants have a right to know who is accusing them and of what crimes in order to prepare their defense.

While the Jane and John Does must be disclosed to the defendants, a protective order signed by the defendants will keep their names sealed from the public.

In another curious development, the defense has indicated to the judge that they believe it will take up to a month to seat a jury and that as many as 700 potential jurors may need to be called in order to find 12 unbiased jurors.

The next status conference will be held Thursday, September 13, to address these and other issues.

Read the entire letter to Judge Garaufis: https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-09-11-no-127-Agnifilo-To-Garaufis-discovery.pdf

***

The following are excerpts from the Raniere Defense Team letter with my explanatory comments following in bold

Raniere’s attorneys write that as to discovery:

To date, very little substantive discovery has been produced … and since Mr. Raniere and Ms. Mack’s arrest, the government has refused to (a) state what discovery exists, or (b) provide a timetable for when it intends to produce the remaining discovery….

On August 3, 2018, the government produced to defendants Raniere, Mack, Bronfman, Nancy Salzman and Lauren Salzman eight discs containing 39 gigabytes of data….,

Just last night at 11:07 p.m. on September 10, 2018, the government sent a discovery letter stating that seven categories of documents, emails, and/or videos would be available for the defendants to obtain….

FR: The defense now chides the prosecution about the discovery materials they have produced to the defendants:

At the July 25, 2018 status conference, the government stated it has “approximately 60 electronic devices and/or accounts.”…  The prosecutors represented that they “have produced substantial portions of that, but [] have a lot more to go.”…

In their August  3rd discovery letter, the government stated they are in possession of two email accounts, two iCloud accounts, a cell phone, a Dropbox account, and electronic devices obtained through the execution of two search warrants….

At Ms. Bronfman’s hearing on August 21, 2018, the government stated that they “now have an estimate that is approximately 12 terabytes worth of data.”…

It does not appear that the majority of these 12 terabytes have been produced. Nor has the government identified the nature of the discovery material constituting these terabytes….

[T]he warrants obtained in this investigation anticipate a two-step process …  first, the government obtains the entirety of the hard drive or email account …  then the government must undertake a search to identify items that fall within the scope of the warrant’s terms…. [T]he search warrant that the government has produced only authorizes the seizure of items that “constitute evidence, fruits and instrumentalities of the Subject Offenses,” not the seizure of entire accounts and devices….

FR: This is an interesting point. Usually in order for the government to get a search warrant of someone’s email, computer etc., they have to tell the judge, in advance, what kind of evidence – pointing to what kind of crimes – they are searching for. It is not usually a blanket search warrant to go on a fishing expedition collecting every bit of data in a person’s life etc. but must be apropos of suspected crimes. Consequently, after the search, the government must identify – in discovery – what items seized are relevant to which of the charged crimes. Discovery requires more than just turning over everything seized – but to identify which seized items relate to specific crimes that have been charged. And this must be done on a timely basis so that the defense can make motions and prepare for trial.   

Therefore, the fact that the government has only just turned over information is simply unreasonable.

Indeed, it appears that despite seizing a majority of the devices and accounts in March 2018 or even earlier, the government has either not yet searched many of these accounts and devices for items responsive to the warrant, or seeks to avoid producing to the defense the results of any searches performed. In the government’s August 3rd letter, it stated that absent an objection from
defendants, it would produce “full discovery copies” of electronic devices to all defendants….

FR: The defense did object to just getting copies of everything seized and demands that the prosecution detail the items that will be used in evidence against the defendants – and, as such, are responsive to the search warrants.  In addition, each defendant does not want the government to share with other defendants personal items that are not relevant to the crimes charged. 

Each defendant responded, through counsel, that he or she does not waive his Fourth Amendment rights and does not consent to the government seizing from his or her electronic devices or email accounts and producing to other parties personal and private materials as to which the government did not have a valid warrant authorizing seizure. In other words, material on electronic devices or in email accounts that is not responsive to the warrant may not be seized by the government, and
may not be shared with other parties.

In sum, each defendant declined to waive his or her Fourth Amendment right to privacy and insisted that the government follow the law and execute the search warrants and seize from the electronic devices and email accounts only the items which a Court authorized the government to seize…..

FR: The defense, omce again, alleges the prosecution is using delay tactics. 

On July 26, 2018, this Court ordered the parties to meet and confer regarding discovery….  Ms. Bronfman’s counsel proposed a date….   The government responded that the first step is to produce discovery and if a meet and confer is necessary, “we’ll be available.” ….   Ms. Mack … reached out for a date to meet and confer regarding discovery …  Again, the government responded that “it will be more productive and practical to meet and confer … after some productions of discovery have gone out….”

After the first discovery production, Ms. Bronfman’s counsel sent the government a letter laying out the issues that defense counsel would like to discuss with the government….  Ms. Bronfman asked the following questions:

• Please identify the 60 devices and/or accounts that will be produced and where they were seized or obtained from.

• When do you anticipate completing your review for responsive materials for each of the 60 devices and/or accounts?

• What other materials of significant volume outside of the 60 devices/accounts do you anticipate producing and what is the anticipated timetable for production? ….

Ms. Bronfman and the other defense counsel have not received a response to this letter.

Instead, on August 28, 2018, the government sent a discovery letter to all counsel that thirteen devices seized from 3 Oregon Trail were being made available to all defendants….. Two days later, on August 30, 2018, the government wrote …  that “due to an objection by counsel for another defendant, discovery copies of the materials identified in the government’s August 28, 2018 letter …. are being held from production to all defendants” … blaming the delay in producing this discovery on the defendant’s objection….

[It] appears the government has not complied with its legal obligations …  even though many of the materials were seized more than five months ago and the government has an obligation to execute search warrants of electronic storage devices promptly. As a result of this failure, the government has sought to force the defendants to waive their Fourth Amendment rights and, failing that, has simply not produced discovery to the defendants.

… on September 3, 2018, Ms. Bronfman’s counsel again wrote to the government, noting the government’s failure to produce discovery and requesting once again that the government provide information about what … the government will be producing and when….  the defense requested answers to the following questions:

• Is any discovery ready to be produced? If so, what does it consist of and what is the size of the production? When will it be produced?

• For which seized materials (from any warrants executed in the course of the investigation) has the government not completed the review process to identify items responsive to search warrants? What is the timetable for finishing that review process? What is the anticipated volume of that data?

• For which seized materials (from any warrants executed in the course of the investigation) is the government undertaking a privilege review process? How long do you anticipate that process will take? What is the anticipated volume of that data?

FR: The privilege review process is related to items seized that might be confidential based on attorney-client privilege. For instance, from the emails seized from Raniere’s account – emails to his attorney may not be used as evidence in court because they are privileged. Here, the defense is asking if the government has undertaken a review for privileged items.

The government did not respond to either of Ms. Bronfman’s letters… Thus, five months after the arrest of Keith Raniere and Allison Mack, and more than six weeks after the arrest of the other defendants, the government still has not begun to produce the bulk of the discovery in this case.

FR: The next issue the defense is taking up in this letter is the “Trial Date”. They want it set in stone.

Next, we write to reiterate that Mr. Raniere has not waived and does not waive his right to a speedy trial and requests that this Court keep the January 7, 2019 trial date….  Mr. Raniere was forcibly seized in Mexico at the behest of United States authorities in the absence of an international, or provisional, arrest warrant on March 26, 2018. …. Since the inception of this case, the government has maintained that Mr. Raniere must be remanded pending a trial and, yet, has employed every basis available to avoid a trial.

FR: The crux of the argument is that the government opposed Raniere getting bail and, at the same time, is denying Raniere a speedy trial by delay tactics.

[O]n May 4, 2018, Mr. Raniere requested a trial date of mid July 2018….  Because Ms. Allison Mack had been arrested in advance of the arraignment date, the Court set a trial date of October 1, 2018. So as to avoid the October 1, 2018 trial date, the government superseded the Indictment on July 24, 2018, adding four defendants.

FR: Here, the defense takes a leap from fact toward rank speculation and claims that the government only brought the superseding indictment to delay the trial. It offers zero evidence to support that claim. 

Defendant Raniere continued to press the Court for the October 1, 2018 trial date…..  However, in light of the additional defendants, the Court set a January 7, 2019 trial date….

We anticipate the possibility that the government will continue to deny Mr. Raniere a speedy trial while continuing to demand his pretrial incarceration. Therefore, Mr. Raniere requests that the Court keep the January 7, 2019 trial date, and that the government be directed to meet its discovery obligations immediately.

FR: That’s the gist of it – pushing for the January 7th trial date and for the prosecution to turn over discovery immediately.  

At Ms. Bronfman’s bail hearing on August 21, 2018, the government stated that “[w]e may be seeking to have the case designated as a complex case officially, given how much data that there is in this case.”…

FR: This is a clue to the direction the prosecution may take. Under federal procedures, the prosecution [or the defense] can seek to exclude time under the Speedy Trial Act by presenting evidence or arguments for a “complex case finding”.  If a criminal case is unusually complex due to the nature of the prosecution, the charges, the regulations that apply, the nationwide presence of witnesses and evidence, and a voluminous amount of discovery, judges have “in the interest of justice,” excluded time under the Speedy Trial Act. If the prosecution moves for an official “complex case” finding and the judge agrees, the trial may be postponed another six months or so even without a superseding indictment. 

The Raniere defense argues that the case is not complex just because the prosecution delayed in meeting their discovery obligations. This is debatable given the huge amount of discovery seized. However, since the government istechnically  supposed to be ready to go to trial at the time of indictment, just because there is a large body of evidence is not necessarily a reason to delay trial – since this evidence should have already been “digested” by the prosecution by the time of the indictment. Yet, as I have previously written, this case may have been moved far ahead of normal indictment schedule because Raniere was in hiding and might have been getting ready to disappear – and because many of the crimes he was charged with were still mongoing.

In this respect, it was a Catch 22 for the prosecution.  They had to nab Raniere before he disappeared, which started the speedy trial clock – and yet, they probably needed another six months or a year to fully investigate the huge array of crimes the Bronfman-Raniere organization committed.

One of the ways used to delay is to stagger superseding indictments as the investigation continues. This is what the government has done thus far. Each superseding indictment resets the speedy trial clock.

Another way is to get some extra time based on “complex case” exclusion. My guess is that the defense will successfully fend off [at least in part] the complex case finding and the government will speed up its discovery process.

[T]he fact that the government has not met their discovery obligations does not make this case complex. It should be noted that the search warrant on 3 Oregon Trail was executed on March 27, 2018 – one day after Mr. Raniere’s arrest. The government should have provided this material a long time ago. The fact that the government has failed to promptly fulfill its discovery obligations does not transform an eminently manageable case into a complex one.

Moreover, the government cannot now use its neglect as a basis to delay the trial date and keep Mr. Raniere in jail. Mr. Raniere
asserts his complete innocence and he desires a trial immediately. Failing that, he asks only that the January 7, 2019 trial date be kept.

FR: Next, the defense brings up the difficulty in finding unbiased jurors. With all the bad press Raniere – the alleged brander and blackmailer of women – has gotten, the defense acknowledges it may need a large jury pool to winnow it down to 12 unbiased jurors. The defense actually says it might take three weeks to a month to seat a jury. 

… Given the notoriety and length of this trial, we believe that the use of juror questionnaires is appropriate. We also believe that the Court may want to summon between 500 and 700 jurors. Therefore, we humbly propose that on January 7th, the Court orders the jurors and ask them to fill out juror questionnaires that will be agreed-upon ahead of time. We expect that all counsel will need time to go through the completed questionnaires and agree upon strikes for cause. Once that process is completed, the Court can bring the non-struck jurors to court for the continuation of jury selection and preemptory challenges. This would cause opening statements to be toward the end of January or early February 2019.

FR: Next, the defense wants to know the identity of the Jane and John Does who are referenced in the superseding indictment.

[T]he defense has repeatedly asked the government to disclose to all defense counsel the identities of the Jane and John Does named in Counts One through Seven of the Superseding Indictment. On August 14, 2018, counsel… [asked] for this information…. It is now four weeks … and the government has still not provided this information.

As the government is obviously aware of these identities, this is a task that should take a few minutes to complete. Yet, the government still has not responded, leaving all counsel to conclude that this refusal to provide the names is another way that the
government is seeking to delay the trial date and frustrating the defendants’ efforts to prepare for this trial.

FR: Obviously, the prosecution has to give names to the defense at some point – and just as obviously, the prosecution has those names.  It is not clear why they have not been provided.

On July 18, 2018, prior to the superseding indictment adding defendants Bronfman, Russell, Nancy Salzman and Lauren Salzman, defendants Raniere and Mack provided the government with a specific Brady request in the form of a letter.

FR: A Brady request is based on rights established in a United States Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). In that case, the Supreme Court held the prosecution must turn over any evidence favorable to the defendant. This is referred to as Brady Material. 

We believe that the government has been told by a number of people the government considers “DOS slaves” during proffer sessions with the AUSAs and the FBI agents assigned that no sex trafficking or other illegal conduct took place. These witnesses provided information which contradicts the factual allegations and theory of the prosecution.

FR: This is interesting. The defense is alleging that DOJ attorneys and the FBI interviewed a number of branded women – alleged DOS slaves – and that these DOS women said there was no coercion. 

Defense counsel believes, moreover, that when confronted with these accounts of alleged “DOS slaves” that no illegal conduct took place that the government attempted to “convince” these witnesses to the contrary.

FR: The defense is arguing that prosecutors may have tried to coerce or persuade DOS women to say they were victims when they were not. While I don’t think this is true in this case, I do know that this is a widespread practice in the DOJ and FBI – this bending, coercing, encouraging potential witnesses to testify according to the desires of the prosecution – sometimes offering them better deals or no prosecution at all if they lie, or embellish – as desired. This is so well known that it is not even necessary to debate it. However, I don’t think this was necessary in the Raniere case. Just the opposite: Women were abused and terrified. They gave collateral. Some say they were brainwashed. It is entirely probable that some of the DOS women are so confused [800 calorie diets, collateral, sleep deprivation, painful branding, fear of the Bronfman litigation machine, etc. can make one very confused] so much so that some DOS women may not even understand the extent of the abuse they underwent. I submit that some of the DOS crime victims still do not understand their victimization. If the prosecution pointed out some of this to them, they did well to do so. 

The defense is concerned with the propriety of this investigation in light of this information. The defense is moreover concerned that the government has ignored for close to two months a specific Brady letter on July 18, 2018.

Simply put, if the government has been told by someone it believes to be a “DOS slave” that nothing inappropriate happened, contradicts information alleged by any of its witnesses or that any defendant did not act with the requisite mental state required for the commission of the crime, that is the very definition of Brady material, and it must be disclosed immediately. Therefore, in
light of the fact that the government has ignored our July 18, 2018 letter, we ask the Court to direct the government to provide an answer to our specific Brady request.

FR: Raniere’s defense team wants any info on any DOS women who told the government they were happily branded and glad to give collateral and that they were not coerced in any way despite the vicious collateral assiduously collected and if they so happened to wind up being a “fuck toy” for Raniere – it was not done illegally but with gladness.

Whether there are such women and if there is such evidence, the defense is demanding that it be turned over at once – as Brady material. Finally, the Raniere team offers its “Conclusion”

In sum, the government has taken an aggressive position – we believe unreasonably so – in this case. It has caused the forcible seizure of a U.S. citizen [Raniere] in another country in the absence of an arrest warrant justifying that action and it has sought highly restrictive conditions for several peaceable citizens [NXIVM leaders Allison Mack, Nancy Salzman, Lauren Salzman, Clare Bronfman and {hapless fall girl} Kathy Russell] who lack any criminal record and have no history of violence. This is
exacerbated by the fact that the government is objectively deficient in timely providing discovery, providing Brady discolosures and basic particulars, such as the identities of the John and Jane Does. Rather than moving this case forward toward a trial in a legal and responsible fashion, the government seems far more intent on finding ways to avoid a trial.

We ask that the Court keep the January 7, 2019 trial date and that it order the government to do the things it is required to do in order to make that trial fair and in conformity with the law and the established procedures.

FR: I think this letter – good as it is – may not accomplish the intent desired. While it may prompt the judge to order the prosecution to speed up discovery, hand over Brady material, identify the Does etc., it may also speed up something else – the prosecution may expedite the next superseding indictment.

If this occurs, it may seem then that this letter is a tactical error on the part of the defense. It is not really.

The superseding indictments are inevitable. Raniere is sunk and they know it. But this is a long game strategy – a 15 round boxing match – where jabs can get points and knockouts are more likely to be landed by the prosecution.

The strategy is to keep the heat on the prosecution. Hold them to account whenever possible, try to wear them down a little – with jabs such as this letter – and maybe somehow accidentally land a harder blow. 

The prosecution is the champion here – they have the evidence and getting more all the time. The advantages are theirs since Raniere is guilty as hell.

Delaying or speeding things up isn’t going to change the outcome: Raniere is going away for years, probably for life. 

Meantime, the defense lawyers – before and after his conviction will still go home to dinner – that dinner being paid in part no doubt by the handsome Bronfman-Raneire fees in this case.

So jab away. 

 

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Frank Parlato

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Reality
Reality
5 years ago

There is no doubt you are an ignorant a-hole who shares the same nutsack with flowerpot

Heidi Hutchinson
Heidi Hutchinson
5 years ago

EXCELLENT Analysis, Frank! Jab away! Makes no difference, as you say. Raniere’s going away for life. The rest of us, who never existed in his world except to serve his destructive, murderous perversities, can only learn from this extraordinary, hellish experience.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

I’m not a lawyer (thank you, God!), but I recall reading she was considering flipping, and a part of that is giving up the speedy trial right. Since Raniere and her committed essentially the same crimes, they are being tried together and she was able to give up his right as well. One of the only times Raniere got f*cked instead of doing the f*cking.

Flipper
Flipper
5 years ago

Ok, so if you “flip” — cooperate with the prosecutors — you have to sacrifice your right to a speedy trial? Or do you mean that
was just a choice Allison may have made to show willingness to cooperate?

I did notice Allison’s “admission” to The NY Times that the branding was her idea was made — under duress and God knows what — back in December 2017 even though the NYT story, her “admission,” wasn’t published until after her arrest earlier this summer and was widely reported as if it were a fresh, determined “admission.”

Wonder if she’ll really “take the fall” in the long haul?

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  Flipper

Whether she ends up fllipping or not is not known, but at the outset of the discussion of whether to flip, it’s part of the deal. I don’t know if it is an automatic thing or was negotiated. However, it is logical the government should be given more time to investigate the additional information she is providing, and she should be willing to give up her right to a speedy trial, as the government is going to go easier on her for her cooperation.

Whether the branding (I don’t like that term, as it was a half hour of being under a cauterizing pen in the pubic area without any pain relief) was her idea or not is a minor point. Apparently, Raniere liked the idea, and the bigger, more provable crime was the blackmail, not the “voluntary” burning of flesh.

Keith
Keith
5 years ago

“Please save me some prison commissary money. Oh, please master, it would be an honor to eat bologna for the rest of my life if you would only grant me some hot sauce money.”

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  A Nony Mouse

Interesting how demented actors and actresses are, which we already knew – they were the perfect NXIVM marks.

High priced NXIVM lawyers over-bill their clients
High priced NXIVM lawyers over-bill their clients
5 years ago

These so-called “lawyers” have a little red cash register bell on their desk that rings every time someone makes a posting on this forum. Ding, ding, ding…

1. Marc Agnifilo – Brafman & Associates, P.C.
2. Paul DerOhannesian II – DerOhannesian & DerOhannesian
3. Danielle R. Smith – DerOhannesian & DerOhannesian
4. Jacob Kaplan – Brafman & Associates, P.C.
5. Teny R. Geragos – Brafman & Associates, P.C.
6. Brian Poe – Fort Worth, TX
7. Steven Kobre Kobre & Kim LLC
8. William F. McGovern Kobre & Kim LLC
9. Sean S. Buckley – Kobre & Kim LLC
10. Dennis Burke –Ballard Spahr
11. Susan R. Necheles – Hafetz & Necheles LLP
12. Kathleen E. Cassidy – Hafetz & Necheles LLP
13. Gedalia Stern – Hafetz & Necheles LLP
14. William Savino
15. Michael J. Sullivan – Ashcroft Group
16. David Stern Franklin Rothman, Schneider, Soloway and Stern
17. Robert Soloway p Franklin Rothman, Schneider, Soloway and Stern
18. Hector J. Diaz – Quarles & Brady, LLP
19. James L. Burke – Quarles & Brady
20. Andrea S. Tazioli
21. Justine Harris
22. Amanda Ravich
23. Michael S. Kelton – Abrams Fensterman
24. Edward Sapone – Sapone & Petrillo

These so-called “lawyers” likely charged each of their clients a $1,000 each for a total of $24,000 just to read this ONE COMMENT. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask their friends to post useless “fake” Scott Johnson comments just to make their little red cash register bells ring more often throughout the day!

Make a Bronfman lawyer rich!
Make a Bronfman lawyer rich!
5 years ago

Every time a Frank Report comment rings Cha-Ching! , A Bronfman-paid attorney sings!

Let’s all pitch in to bust that scumpod piggy bank so wide-open the cult won’t even be able to pay the electric bill to charge their torture laser pens next time!

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

Why go fake when you can have the real thing? Plus, the authentic one is much smarter than the fakes.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

As the real Scott Johnson, I resent having the imposter above use my name to post inane comments. Frank, ban this imposter NOW!

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

Oh no, where is your Texas flag?

Big J
Big J
5 years ago

Didn’t Allison’s attorneys make some choice which screwed up any speedy trial for Raniere?

@ Big J
@ Big J
5 years ago
Reply to  Big J

Not an expert but what I gather from earlier posts on FR is that as Raniere’s “co-defendant,” Allison has half a say in it and because she was arrested after Keith, she was on a new time-table as to her rights.

IDK why they’re co-defendants, if the must be, etc. Is there an attorney in the house? On the blog who can answer better?

Just Sayin'
Just Sayin'
5 years ago
Reply to  Big J

The judge has said several times that because Allison Mack waived speedy trial, it was a mute point for Raniere. Apparently when one co-defendant waives it, it waives it for everybody.

Just like how Nancy Salzman claiming attorney client privilege items were seized in the raids delays everybody’s lawyers getting discovery.

Just Sayin'
Just Sayin'
5 years ago

I think the prosecution trying to pretend their clients don’t already know who the John and Jane Does are is ridiculous.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  Just Sayin'

Did you mean defense lawyers vs. the prosecution? Defense lawyers are paid to know as many facts as possible, there is no room to pretend.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

To illustrate the complexity of this case, look at the potential defendants who might be vulnerable to indictment.

Sara Bronfman — involved with Rainbow Cultural Garden
Baset Igtet — a mysterious Libyan banker
married to Sara Bronfman
Kim Constable — involved with Rainbow Cultural Garden and a woman who wants to erase her friendship with sex trafficker Allison Mack
Doctor Danielle Roberts –the woman who branded sex slaves under Ms. Mack’s directionDoctor Brandon Porter — a
Doctor who conducted unauthorized experiments under Clare Bronfman”s direction.
Nicki Clyne — a woman who participated in the branding and enslavement of women
under Ms. Mack’s direction and who might have engaged in immigration fraud.

That makes for twelve defendants and the potential for future trials of other defendants in other NXIVM schemes.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

And how could I have forgotten Emiliano Salinas — the son of a corrupt ex-Mexican President with ties to the drug cartels?
That makes for THIRTEEN current and potential future defendants in this case.

Few RICO cases are as complex as NXIVM.

Shadowstate, Esq.
Shadowstate, Esq.
5 years ago

“Few RICO cases are complex as NXIVM”

Fascinating that after binge watching “Smallville” (and possibly “Perry Mason”) and a few visits to Wikipedia, you are making legal pronouncements. In your vast experience, what are some of the other complex RICO cases you have been involved with?

Feel bad for all the folks out there spending serious money and time getting a law degree when all they needed was a laptop and a TV Guide.

Possibly Counselor Omar will have you as second chair in his class action suit?

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

You should shut up Esq., you’re making a fool of yourself. In public. But please, go on and remove any doubt that you’re a fool.

Shadowstate, Esq
Shadowstate, Esq
5 years ago

Go sell some detergent.

Shadowstate, Esq.
Shadowstate, Esq.
5 years ago

I hope F. Lee Shadow takes you up on your offer to join you on your radio show. Your 15 listeners would be very excited to hear two sixtysomethings talk about what it is like to have no life outside of internet comment boards. Now go home and get your shine box.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)

Thank you for confirming that you’re a fool. Amway doesn’t sell detergent, it’s almost entirely internal consumption. That’s what makes it an illegal pyramid, dummy.

Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago

What about your girl India oh all knowing one?

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

Raniere and his lawyers want to play ‘hurry up’ because they know those TWELVE terabytes of data contain explosive information about NXIVM’s international crime wave involving money laundering and human trafficking.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago

Shadow, why do you think it would be to Ranieres advantage to speed up proceedings? Are his lawyers doing that to see what damaging information the prosecution really has about him?

Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

Careful there din-a-ling, shadowperv has high billable hours.

Just Sayin'
Just Sayin'
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

gee, why would somebody want to go to trial faster than prosecutors can actually examine all the evidence ? golly, I can’t imagine.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Sayin'

Yes Troll-shill
You should really change your name to “@Just running my Whore Mouth”

Doesn’t the prosecution have the final say in when the trial will start, no matter how much Keith’s lawyers whine about it? Are they just trying to get the names of all the witnesses now?

Flowers is so dumb.
Flowers is so dumb.
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

Look Flowers, the answer is obvious. You retarded cunt.

1) Cult members were under constant brainwashing & mental programming on a daily or weekly basis by Raniere, Prefect and Legatus. Got it?

2) But when Vanguard went to prison — and Prefect/Legatus were given bail restrictions preventing them from contacting many people — that situation has changed. Got it?

3) Therefore Vanguard, Prefect and Legatus currently have very limited ability to keep cult members brainwashed before trial.

4) If the trial gets delayed too long then more cult members will lose their ‘brainwashing’ and regain their ability to think independently —- and thus they’ll be much more likely to leave the cult and to testify for the prosecution.

5) However, if Raniere can go to trial sooner then there’s less chance of any cult members becoming de-programmed and testifying against him. Or at the very least, fewer cult members will defect the sooner the trial takes place (and therefore fewer potential witnesses against him).

That’s just common sense Flowers.

Even though I’ve always hated your fat ass, up until today I actually thought you were fairly intelligent before this post.

However, it sounds like you’re just a dumbshit who spent her youth whoring herself out to every guy she came across while getting gaslighted and dumped by everybody until you became a MAN HATER.

I just hope your daughter doesn’t turn out like her mama since that would be a tragedy that I wouldn’t wish upon any human being.

…and no, the prosecutor can’t just set whatever trial date she wants. Once she makes an arrest, a clock starts ticking. Even though Allison waved her right to a speedy trial and Keith is bound by that decision, the judge will still try to move the trial along as fast as possible under the circumstances, depending on whether new indictments happen or not.

How the fuck do things work in Canada? Oh I forgot, you spent your time whoring on the streets of Toronto instead of learning about Canada’s legal system. 🙂

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  Flowers

Frank needs a stupidity criteria for kicking people off of the comments section. Flowers wins, hands down.

Pull your head outta your butt, Flowers
Pull your head outta your butt, Flowers
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

I answered this question below in my other post, you fat Canadian twat.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago

Wow – such respectful language in these comments addressed to me.
Unbelievable that Frank allows this type of misogynistic abuse on this blog, considering the nature of Keiths crimes.

You do realize, don’t you Frank, that a lot of people are reading this comment section where you allow men to refer to the women commenting here as “stupid bitch ” , “dumb cunt” and accuse them of working as bookers?
Does not reflect well on you.

And in Canada it can take years for gang-related cases to go to trial. One of the Bacon brother gangsters has been sitting in pre-trail here for several years.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

*hookers*
Spell check 😠

Tony
Tony
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

Maybe it’s time for you to leave then. You really don’t add anything worthwhile.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

What do you add to these comments, Tony the troll?
Maybe it’s time for Frank to explain why he allows this type of over-the-top abuse that is being directed at people who post here by a group of very obvious trolls.

Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

Grow up. Learn how to handle yourself-wilting flower.

Flowers
Flowers
5 years ago
Reply to  Flowers

Learn to act like an adult, troll-shill. Your comments usually sound like they were written by a 13 year-old Jr. High student. Most of you troll’s can’t even use the words *your* and *you’re* properly. You sound like an uneducated group of morons.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  Flowers

Flowers, thanks for the English lesson, but the plural of trolls isn’t “troll’s.”

My Heart Bleeds - NOT
My Heart Bleeds - NOT
5 years ago

Someone needs to call the Vanulance for these poor defendants.

It’s their karma for dragging out all their cases against others

10+ years for the Ross Case
8+ years for Toni’s bankruptcy case, plus all the other crap they have dragged her through
?? years they have been coming after people like Joe O’Hara, Frank Parlato, Barbara Bouchey, Susan Dones and many others.

Right to a speedy, are they in such a hurry to spend the next 15 – 30 years in prison? No one but the Master himself wants a speedy.

Darth VanDouche
Darth VanDouche
5 years ago

LOL @ Vanulance. I think I should change my alias.

Well, I heard Karma is a bitch. She’d definitely hate to be any man’s sex slave.

Stick it out like Nelson Mandela VanDouche. It’s a lot easier to be a blowhard and get followers to post a picture of and quote by him on social media than it is to live it, isn’t it?

Of course, Mandela was fighting against apartheid for his people whereas Vanulance is fighting a moral noble cause – you know, to surround himself with a bunch of gullible women to do his bidding.

C. Rock and N. Mandela
C. Rock and N. Mandela
5 years ago

Chris Rock’s take on Marriage (and Nelson Mandela): Mandela spent 27 years in prison, getting beaten and tortured every day with no problem. He was subjected to hard labor. Then Mandela was released, spent six months with his wife Winnie, and said
“I can’t take this shit no more”.

Darth VanDouche
Darth VanDouche
5 years ago

[shrug].

I’m not sure how marriage was relevant to my comment about Vanulance sucking it up. He should use that “pain” module and the “no one can mess with your internal representation unless you allow it” bullshit he sold to others except when it came to any media against him to cope if they work so great. He can’t even stay consistent. But of course he can’t because he knows it’s all total bullshit.

C. Rock and N. Mandela
C. Rock and N. Mandela
5 years ago

Sorry for going off topic Darth but any mention of Mandela brings to mind the Chris Rock riff. Possibly the only (tenuous) connection is that Chris Rock was raised not far from the current residence of the Van(Prison)guard. Raniere was a few french fries short of a Happy Meal before he was incarcerated and would imagine “The World’s Smartest Man” is not thriving mentally/emotionally/physically/ethically
in his current environment.

Darth VanDouche
Darth VanDouche
5 years ago

– Raniere was a few french fries short of a Happy Meal before he was incarcerated and would imagine “The World’s Smartest Man” is not thriving mentally/emotionally/physically/ethically
in his current environment.

Good. He’s one of the most ungrateful, greedy, falsely humble, humble bragging, deceitful bastards I’ve ever had no pleasure in knowing. Evil people need to experience the evils they put other people through.

Let's give our host some cred here
Let's give our host some cred here
5 years ago

The annotations are a quite reasonable reading of the legal issues, from a non-lawyer. If the Does will be witnesses, the defense does have a right to know who they are. There are limits on how long the prosecution can delay the trial while building their case.

I am less sure what the rules are about massive data seizures. Is the prosecution required to say “this is all we will use” and nothing else?

AUSA needs more resources dedicated to this case
AUSA needs more resources dedicated to this case
5 years ago

Good question. Would that then limit the scope of the “issues” at trial? Personally, I feel if the prosecution gets enough evidence — I KNOW exists — to put Raniere and anyone damnably set on aiding and abetting him safely behind bars (or penniless and unable to be tempted by him, on the streets), it will be a joyful resolution for this scourge on humanity in the United States. Which, if you don’t know already, IS the only hope for mankind’s real freedom in the world today. Even still.

Just Facts
Just Facts
5 years ago

“FR: This is a clue to the direction the prosecution may take. Under federal procedures the prosecution [or the defense] can seek to exclude time under the Speedy Trial Act by presenting evidence or arguments for a “complex case finding”. If a criminal case is unusually complex due to the nature of the prosecution, the charges, the regulations that apply, the nationwide presence of witnesses and evidence, and voluminous amount of discovery, judges have “in the interest of justice” excluded time under the Speedy Trial Act. If the prosecution moves for an official “complex case” finding, and the judge agrees, the trial may be postponed another six months or so even without a superseding indictment.

This will be the direction that this is headed. Keep in mind the international element as well as money laundering tax evasion with all the front companies and probable child trafficking over international borders. Complex is understated. You are going to see some interesting things develop,.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Facts

To Just Facts:
You are 100% Right.
The NXIVM case is complex as any organized crime case ever presented in a US court.
It is international in scope and covers a complex array of crimes, some only related by the fact that the same people are involved in many different criminal activities.
The FBI has only scratched the surface when it comes to money laundering, tax evasion and child trafficking.
And some observers note the series of mysterious deaths surrounding NXIVM over the years.
Under RICO the US government can even prosecute conspiracies to commit homicide.

Just Facts
Just Facts
5 years ago

Of course I am right. I do not need the local attention whore to tell me that. I have forgot more about the NXIVM cult than you are ever going to know.

Scott Johnson (@ScottTexJohnson)
Reply to  Just Facts

I doubt that. Very much.

Shelby
Shelby
5 years ago

Even though I know it’s the law and that the law is there to protect the innocent as well, it really sucks knowing that Raniere and Clare will soon know the names of the John and Jane Doe’s. No wonder it is so important to keep Raniere behind bars and to prevent Clare from contacting other NXIVM members. If I were one of those witnesses, I think I’d be pretty terrified right about now.

Me Too
Me Too
5 years ago
Reply to  Shelby

@Shelby. I’m sure the DOS victims appreciate your empathy and understanding. What’s happening now with the light of day finally exposing these NXIVM hell beasts comes as a tremendous relief compared to the terror and havoc they wreaked under the cloak of “female empowerment” and dark, corrupt elements of the justice system that, prior to the “me too” movement regularly victimized those who reported sex crimes a second time.

All of Them Witches
All of Them Witches
5 years ago

Nothing like a deep pocketed client to fund a long winded letter. These attorneys might be a cut below white shoe level, but it seems as if they know where the (Clare) bear lies in the buckwheat.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

If the government has twelve terabytes of data, that is a massive amount of information.
A standard DVD holding one movie contains 4.7 gigabytes of data.
Twelve terabytes is almost 2500 movies.

AUSA Penza has already told the court there will be two new waves of indictments.

As for finding an impartial jury since Ncki Clyne worships Emiliano Salinas maybe Raniere would want Nicki to select the jury.

I STILL haven't watched a single episode...
I STILL haven't watched a single episode...
5 years ago

“AUSA Penza has already told the court there will be two new waves of indictments”

Not to mention the waves of nausea if the “12 terabytes” includes all 10 seasons of “Smallville”.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

Congratulations!
You just made the dumbest reply of the month!

I STILL haven't watched a single episode
I STILL haven't watched a single episode
5 years ago

Give me time, there are still 18 days left!

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

Watching Smallville will only tell you about the state of mind of the screenwriters, not Ms. Mack.
Her days of milking that show for fame are over.
Her obituary will read, “Allison Mack, a notorious sex trafficker and racketeer who left a career in television to become a gangster, passed away yesterday.”

I STILL haven't watched an episode
I STILL haven't watched an episode
5 years ago

Oh, and by the way, in my neck of the woods, an obsession with an unattainable woman half one’s age which has rendered one virtually housebound is beyond dumb and rather comical!

Meh
Meh
5 years ago

Well VanFake fucked that same woman so if a dbag like him can get such a woman who is “unattainable” then either 1) every nerdy goofy guy should start a brainwashing cult 2) the selective process of such a women is so bad she isn’t actually so.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago

I’m not housebound.
The woman in question is a major conspirator in a massive RICO case.
And anyone can attain her now.
Just pay her money because she’s pimping herself out like a common street hooker.

Blind Items Revealed #2
August 16, 2018

This former A- list mostly television actress from a hit almost network show will probably never get another acting job again. The thing is though, there are producers and directors who are willing to throw thousands of dollars her way to hook up with her just so they can say they did it. This includes males and females. She gets a dozen offers a day and asked someone in power to let her have the chance to meet them all without saying it exactly in those words.

Allison Mack
http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2018/08/blind-items-revealed-2_23.html

Just Sayin'
Just Sayin'
5 years ago

I think your reply was funny even though I have never suffered a single episode of Smallville.

SultanOfSix
SultanOfSix
5 years ago

12 terabytes of data? Holy moly.

That’s ~2400 DVD movies worth of data if one approximates a DVD at around 5 GB if I’m not mistaken.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago
Reply to  SultanOfSix

You’re right. That’s a HUGE amount of data.

onewomanarmy
onewomanarmy
5 years ago
Reply to  SultanOfSix

Right, a vast amount of evidence to get through – diligently. And there it is. Had nxivm perpetrated fewer crimes, of less importance, the process might have been speedy. But they didn’t. They built a criminal, racketeering enterprise of surprising proportion. As criminals it seems they will finally achieve some commensurate, you could even call it (at the hands of the) executive success.

shadowstate1958
5 years ago
Reply to  onewomanarmy

Well put.
Maybe these third rate actresses and stupid heiresses can’t make it in the legitimate world but they created an epic criminal conspiracy.
And they put it all down on computers.
All the FBI needs is the personnel to sort through it all.

About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” Parlato was also credited in the Starz docuseries "Seduced" for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Additionally, Parlato’s coverage of the group OneTaste, starting in 2018, helped spark an FBI investigation, which led to indictments of two of its leaders in 2023.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premiered on May 22, 2022. Most recently, he consulted and appeared on Tubi's "Branded and Brainwashed: Inside NXIVM," which aired January, 2023.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

Contact Frank with tips or for help.
Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083
Email: frankreport76@gmail.com

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