Guest View: I dated Lauren briefly; her mother tried to recruit me

[One of the advantages of monitoring the comments and eliminating the hostile ones, is finding a gem like this. This one showed up as a comment but is certainly worthy of its own post.]

By Stephen Donnelly

I dated Lauren Salzman briefly when she was working as a rather young acolyte within the Executive Success Program, an executive development program they were trying to sell local companies in the Albany, NY area.

I was, and still am, with the firm Rose & Kieran and our executive management team thought ESP might hold some value for us. After the first couple of meetings it became clear to us we weren’t buying what they were selling. I think the weekly “exercises” they assigned each of us were considered irrelevant, so we severed our business relationship. However, I thought Lauren rather cute, so I pursued a more personal connection.

Almost immediately Lauren starting suggesting I meet her mother, Nancy. I agreed to and Lauren set up an appointment with her at their offices on New Karner Road in Colonie. She introduced me to her mother and left us alone to talk. Nancy started asking me about my upbringing, probing personal questions, etc., which went far beyond the boundaries of normal introductory conversation.

Nancy Salzman [left] with her daughter Lauren. They followed the smartest and most ethical man in the world – their co-defendant Keith Raniere. Consequently, no other men but beta males could be allowed into their organization.
She said their organization needed men like me and she harped on all of her accomplishments in the business world, citing vague examples of how she helped turn ConEd around.

Subsequently, I was invited to their home in Clifton Park. Lauren’s bedroom was upstairs next to Nancy’s. I showed up, we all sat in the kitchen that evening and her mother proceeded to repeat everything she had told me in our previous meeting. It seemed like she was trying to convince me of something. I put up with it because I was more interested in Lauren. Moments later Nancy suggested we go upstairs to be alone. I went to Lauren’s room while Nancy followed behind. We entered Lauren’s room and her mother watched from the hall as Lauren closed the door. Eventually, we started making out on the bed but the entire time I could hear Nancy wandering about in the hallway. I thought it odd, stayed a bit longer, said my goodbyes and took off.

Lauren loved to talk about the different levels of leadership within ESP to which she aspired and almost obsessed about it. However, a couple of days after my visit to her home she asked me to lunch. When I got out of my car at the restaurant parking lot, she walked up to me and flatly stated she couldn’t see me anymore. I asked for a reason. She gave none and walked away.

I always felt her mother was trying to recruit me but couldn’t be sure. Once the issues with this organization came to light, I was convinced of it.

Strange people. Still wish I got in her pants that night, however.

 

About the author

Frank Parlato

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  • I didn’t: but if she is like any of the other Nxian babes, she’s most likely dead weight. Except for for my lil twirlybird Sara in her prime.

  • This story illustrates the character of one of the most indecent, malevolent souls that ever lived — not “Hitler” but a wicked woman who needlessly whored her own daughters and put them up, reared them up, to abetting every manner of “Vanguard’s” evil-doing for her own gain and glory. Hitler’s waiting for you in hell, “Dr. Laura.” Gina pities you in Heaven.

    • Yup, I agree! I never understood why Keith chose Hitler references though. Quite bizarre. His subjects, from what I gather, actually believed this bullshit about reincarnation? In some ways, I think Nancy made some really hasty leaps of faith that she could support her two daughters on her own. Unfortunately, she got a bit too over her head While the Salzman name is getting dragged through the mud, Nancy’s daughters will suffer the consequences the most because they are still relatively young and have more years ahead of them. From the pictures of Gina that I have seen on this site, she looks like such a very sweet girl. I’m just so sorry she got mixed up in this. You, my friend, are the best and only person to tell her story. Godspeed.

  • NXIVM obviously used some elements of Scientology. Did they also use the Children of God flirty fishing technique to recruit people?

  • Leon nailed it. I spent time in the Clifton Park-Saratoga Springs area and knew about NXIVM. I always thought it was a cult from hearing about it from people that had some involvement with it. I was also surprised that a couple of famous names had been involved. I remember when they brought the Dali Lama to Albany and I realized it was another New Age scam. However also heard rumors of it being a sexual cult. I just attributed that to the New Age free love. Heard the rumors that Lauren was a pretty good fuck in those days. Also used to hear about the celebrity stalkers the NXIVM kooks had to deal with. Raniere did not like competition from what I understand. Used to see some of those chicks on occasion at the Mocha Lisa. Don’t ever recall seeing Raniere but then I did not go to the coffeeshops and pubs to look at pudgy middle aged guys .

        • With friends like Schlock Johnson, who needs trolls? Keep going after those attorneys, Schlock. Won’t be hard to find you for service of a nice, fat class action slander suit. Least you could do is hit Clare up for your defense fund.

          • Just chiming in here in support of Heidi, Flowers – how are you related to this case? Were you at one time related to any circumstances involving the defendants? It appears to me that Heidi has already lost her younger sister. To me, that’s pretty significant, wouldn’t you say?

          • Supporting Heidi against WHAT exactly? I don’t understand what you’re insinuating, TK. I’m not allowed to disagree that a “class-action slander suit” is not a possibility here?

          • Like this…”Not exactly a stroke of genius for a marketing director” …Do you really think some one will want to comment again after that comeback ? Read the responses! Not everyone may be as thick skinned as yourself or others.

      • I thought if was an insurance firm? Not that it makes a difference, but that’s the info that comes up if you Google the name of the company.

        The picture Frank posted is the LinkedIn profile pic, so I wonder if Donnelly agreed to have his photo posted here, considering someone could easily be impersonating him with a fake story.

  • Three questions:

    1) Do you think she had a Jackson 5 bush?

    2) How did you navigate your way through that beak?

    3) Why did you try to get into the pants of such a physically ugly she-monster?

  • Sounds awfully like Nancy was trying to pimp her daughter out. Then again we knew she wasn’t going to win any mother-of-the-year awards. Maybe by working on a plea deal, she will finally have a chance to make amends somewhat.

    • Agreed. Most mothers would check out their daughter’s boyfriend out of concern for their daughter. Nancy only seemed to be sizing him up for ESP potential.

  • What year was this? As you were focused on Lauren is it possible Nancy was trying to use her NLP and brainwashing techniques on you?
    Possibly you were simply too strong emotionally to fall for whatever ploy they were using despite your interest in Lauren. You must have somehow made it clear you had no interest in Nxivm programs.
    You might try contacting her again, I understand she’s single at the moment.

  • What a strange story. And what the hell were they trying to set up in Lauren’s bedroom? The narrator maybe regrets that he didn’t seal the deal that night, but no doubt he was better off leaving when things started to get strange.

  • Oh you mean getting rid of the comments that calls you out on your bullshit sources on Allison Mack and Kristin Kreuk? Yeah you people cannot take constructive criticism being abunch of babies/

    Oh by the way i tell ShadowState to becareful if he knows what’s good for him.

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: frankparlato@gmail.com

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