Although it’s often difficult for the attorneys who are representing multiple defendants in a criminal case to all agree on the best possible legal strategies to employ against the prosecution, it appears that’s not going to be a problem in the current proceedings against Keith Alan Raniere AKA The Vanguard NKA Federal Prisoner #57005-177, Nancy Salzman AKA Prefect, Clare Bronfman AKA Legatus, Lauren Salzman AKA The Pelican, Allison Mack AKA The Pimp, and Kathy Russell AKA The Ballerina.
That’s one of the advantages when just one of the defendants is paying all the defense attorneys – and, in this case, where all the defendants have to defer to their leader, The Vanguard.
In the case at hand, it’s becoming increasingly clear that all the defense attorneys are following the strategies that are being developed by Raniere – who, of course, has often claimed to be “the smartest man in the world”.
Raniere, who barely made it through college with a 2.26 GPA, has no legal training whatsoever. He has, however, spent tens of millions of dollars of other people’s money pursuing a variety of baseless and frivolous legal claims.
And he reportedly stayed at a Holiday Inn back in the day.
So, almost 8 months after first being incarcerated at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY – and having lots of extra time to work on his impending criminal trial since he is unable to move around very much because his prison-issued eyeglasses don’t have his correct prescription and because the boo-boo on his toe still hasn’t healed – The Vanguard is hard at work on plans to disrupt the very capable prosecution team of AUSA Moira K. Penza and AUSA Tonya Hajjar.
Two recent filings provide some major clues as to some of the legal strategies that Vanguard has decided to pursue.
The first was in the motions to dismiss that were filed on behalf of Bronfman, Nancy, and Russell – and have already been reviewed in an earlier post.
The second was in the letter that was submitted “…on behalf of all Defendants…” by Alexandra A.E. Shapiro in which she warns the presiding judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis, that if he doesn’t grant all the recently-filed motions to dismiss all the charges against all the defendants, the defendants will be filing “…motions for severance and suppression”.
Let’s take a look at what those warnings are all about.
The threatened motion for suppression will undoubtedly involve the defense’s attempt to have some of the evidence against the defendants excluded from the trial for various reasons.
The typical reasons cited in a motion to suppress are as follows:
(1) The evidence was obtained illegally: The Fourth Amendment protects U.S. citizens from unlawful search and seizure of their property (i.e., without a valid warrant or without “probable cause”). In the case at hand, some/all of the defendants will likely challenge whether there was a proper legal basis for the search warrants that were issued for Nancy’s residence and Raniere’s sex lair – and/or whether those warrants were properly executed.
(2) The evidence is subject to attorney/client privilege: This argument has already been advanced by Raniere and Bronfman – and may eventually be advanced by the Mom-and-daughter Salzman defendants. At this point, it’s doubtful that Mack or Russell will try to invoke this claim – but you never know what kind of new legal theory The Vanguard may come up with for them
(3) The evidence has been handled improperly: In general, the prosecution has to ensure that there is a proper “chain of custody” for any evidence that has been seized. In the case at hand, it’s almost certain that Raniere will come up with some off-the-wall claims about how the prosecution has mishandled at least some of the evidence it’s gathered against him and his co-defendants. Since NXIVM has been known to tamper with evidence – and even fabricate evidence – in many of its legal proceedings, Raniere will likely assume that the feds are doing the same.
(4) The arresting officer failed to advise the defendant of her/his Miranda Rights.
It’s extremely doubtful that any of the defendants will have any valid basis to raise this objection. But since we’re dealing with Raniere and his acolytes, nothing can be ruled out.
RE: Motion To Sever Cases
The threatened motion for severance will, at a minimum, likely involve the defense trying to separate out the so-called “DOS Defendants” (Bronfman, Nancy, and Russell) from the so-called “Non-DOS Defendants” (Mack, Lauren, Raniere). But since Raniere is alleged to have been in control of every aspect of NXIVM and DOS, he will likely have to be included in both groupings.
The more interesting question is how the prosecution – and ultimately, of course, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis – will react to any such motion for severance.
While one might assume that the prosecution will vehemently oppose such a motion simply because it does not want to waste time doing two trials when one will suffice – and that the judge will be inclined to agree with the prosecution in the interest of judicial economy – there is always the possibility that they may go in the exact opposite direction.
What if in response to a motion for severance, the prosecution were to respond by asking for five separate trials: U.S. v. Raniere and Clare Bronfman; U.S. v. Raniere and Nancy Salzman; U.S. v. Raniere and Lauren Salzman; U.S. v. Raniere and Allison Mack; and U.S. v. Raniere and Kathy Russell?
Although there’s little chance that will happen, think how unlikely it would be for Raniere to go 5-0 in his trials.
It’s funny that the smartest man in the world knew so little about basic probability that his “strategies” when playing blackjack meant that he rarely had a winning session when he made his frequent visits to casinos. The thin gs is – he really hasn’t changed very much since then.
Be careful what you wish for, Vanguard.
Viva Executive Success!
“And he (Raniere) reportedly stayed at a Holiday Inn back in the day.”
That’s so funny and cracks me up. Now he resides at Brooklyn’s finest, the luxurious MDC. Bada Book, Bada Boom.
krclaviger, I get excited when I see that you are the guest writer here on FR; your articles always contain interesting analysis of the heart of the NXIVM/KAR matter.
Thank you.
What could possibly go wrong? Ha haha! Amateur hour is finally over for nxivm. As a dirty racketeering cult they can have no strategy for dealing with clean justice irl.
Ha! Some threat. Hope Keith appreciates your laying out his real options – 5x’s the risk — bet he never thought of it like that. Pisses me off Nx is threatening to force the Feds, US, to spend more to get these monsters and they prolly will make every motion 💩💩💩💩 possible, assholes. Comforting to know it ain’t gonna help and may be their own undoing, as ever!
Because blackmail has always worked out so well for Raniere before. Well, I suppose it has in Albany.
Still, I doubt their threat of a motion is going to force the judge to dismiss charges.
KAR likes his creature comforts, and now resides uncomfortably at the Brooklyn MDC. What a come down from “being Vanguard.”
This is what happens when a person thinks they are much more intelligent and well versed in subjects such as criminal law, than they really are. Criminal law and civil law (aka filing lawsuits against your enemies for monetary damages), are two completely different animals. KAR was not very good at civil litigation, either, as he lost virtually all the cases filed. The one with Rick Ross concluded with a compromise settlement of some sort.
KAR is not very clever at evading the law or concealing evidence, either. I think he was lulled into a feeling of security, based on his experiences with Albany, Saratoga, and the Northern District of NY. He probably felt invincible. Tossing his cell phone and encrypting emails are far from enough to trick law enforcement nowadays. And it’s fine to pretend you’re visiting your baby son in Mexico (even though you ignored your first son when you had access to him), but to high tail it to a luxury resort, leaving them behind to fend for themselves, is a dead giveaway of his true intentions. When in fear for his safety (as he claims), he chose not to shelter with his family but instead to surround himself with female servants (aka “fuck toys”).
There seems to be few bright bulbs in his female entourage as well. Nicki Clyne posted a picture of herself at a well known landmark at their “secret” location, for example. The women who finally reached KAR’s privileged circle smack of childish, self involved teens, posting endlessly to social media and posing for photo after photo wearing over the top, fake smiles, often sticking their tongues out, as if this were some clever sorority code.
Where is the evidence of any of them trying to do anything to advance the human race? The only one who might have had a slight tendency in that direction is Nancy Salzman, who might have believed that her work could indeed help others, and perhaps in some cases, it did. Maybe Lauren, too, before she got involved in DOS. KAR, on the other hand, has – successfully – made duping, conning, and gas lighting people his entire life’s goal, probably starting with “borrowing” money from his college roommate and his own father.
I am so sick of all of them. I hope the victims finally find a way to heal, and those who got gradually got sucked in through brain washing and come clean and enjoy our forgiveness. Then we can move on and hope this never, never, is allowed to happen again.
I agree with everything you stated OCD but I fear this can happen again and most probably is happening right now.
Leon, sadly, you are right. This kind of thing has been going on for a very long time, and most certainly will continue. As Scott Johnson correctly states, cults in and of themselves are not illegal – nor is “tricking” people, under most circumstances. In the human race, we must try to recognize and deal with sociopaths, which is hard for the average person. Most are inclined to believe in good intentions, or at least give the benefit of the doubt.
I am guessing people here think I am obsessed with the Jim Jones story (I am), but if one looks closely, it is very instructive – maybe a blueprint for NXIVM, much like Scientology.
In stealing from Ayn Rand and putting the info into lessons, Keith did a good job of teaching how to recognize sociopaths and psychopaths. Those modules were excellent because he was teaching how to spot people like him. I’m sure he also recieved a great amount of joy from this.
Amen, Orange. And maybe try to stop it sooner next time around. But the invincible, yes, are so until they’re NOT.
“The women who finally reached KAR’s privileged circle smack of childish, self involved teens, posting endlessly to social media and posing for photo after photo wearing over the top, fake smiles, often sticking their tongues out, as if this were some clever sorority code.”
Add abusive, manipulative, self-serving, selfish, ungrateful, and untrustworthy to that list.
“often sticking their tongues out”
Kendra Voth too has her tongue stuck out in her instagram pic.
Please stop insulting Lauren’s nose. She is really a beautiful and tender person. In person she is gorgeous. If you want to look at noses. Look at Frank Parlato’s nose. He’s got a Roman nose —- why it’s roamin’ all over his face! LOL. Seriously Lauren is a wonderful person and she doesn’t need body shaming right now.
I hear she has a new job sniffing luggage at the airport.
Lauren Salzman’s “nose” is a fucking beak. If you held out your hand with some sunflower seeds, the bitch would peck at them like a fucking parrot.
I’m not convinced Raniere is in charge of the legal strategies for all 6 defendants. There are too many high-dollar, seasoned, massive-ego lawyers involved. Plus, the recent story about splitting up the DOS/non-DOS defendants looks like the DOS defendants are being thrown under the bus, even though there are plenty of busses (crimes) to run them all over.
KAR believes he is the “smartest man in the world”, he believes he is far more intelligent than his attorney and those acting for the state and, hopefully, this will be his undoing.
This is a man who loves his creature comforts and incarceration must be almost intolerable for him. Keeping him caged prior to trial is a wise move since it should deter him from trying to delay the proceedings. He probably thinks he will be vindicated and freed after the trial and cannot fathom being found guilty.
One would hope the lawyers representing the other defendants are telling their clients the time has long passed to let KAR run the show. He would be the first to cast himself in the light and throw all the blame on those charged with him.
Keep in mind whoever is paying for the attorneys will instruct them to follow KAR if that’s what they want. The attorneys are following the money. Clare Bronfman is paying the money. Likely the attorneys have tried and given up on a sensible defense. We shall see when it comes to trial.
That’s exactly what he planned and is doing: Throwing everyone under the bus while trying to stay in the drivers seat so he can run them over!
With Clare paying for it all — she’s the one who has to wake up!
Letting this idiot pedophile run your defense may be setting up an insanity defense on appeal.
Einstein’s definition of insanity = trying the same method over and over again, and hoping for a different result.
What legally sane person would listen to this jackass. I mean I could see pee brain following every letter of every word, but not a rational being.
Listening to fat, stinky and stupid got you into your current predicament.
I really don’t see severance happening and I highly doubt the feds were sloppy enough for fatso to get anything suppressed.
I don’t think dummy knows he is playing in the big leagues now, they are giving him six swings and being the minor leaguer he is (and not an athlete) he will strike out. Look at his track record (no he isn’t a sprinter either) he hasn’t won a case yet.
Lauren Salzman AKA The Pelican. Haha! Lol! The Schnozorolla!
I think ‘Toucan Beak’ FDC Willard’s suggestion, is the best!!
Toucan brain in Willard;s case
Upon further review, I humbly agree. Henceforth, it shall be Lauren Salzman AKA The Toucan.
I’d choose The Great Gonzo. After all, it all seems like the Muppet Show.
Ha haha, you’re so right.