Long before the Frank Report was covering the doings of Keith Raniere and company, John Tighe and his Saratoga In Decline blog were uncovering much of the information we now know about the sinister and destructive cult.
Sadly, Tighe became a victim to the fight. He is in federal prison now – having accepted a plea deal on possessing child porn on a computer that was allegedly seized from his house.
Now is not the time to get into why there may have been planted evidence and a massive public corruption element to Tighe’s conviction. I trust this is currently being investigated by the FBI.
But for years Tighe was exposing the same crimes I have exposed – and nobody in law enforcement listened to him.
To bring the point home – and with John Tighe’s permission – I am going to republish some of his work.
It will show you how even though the crimes of Nxivm were well publicized for several years, somehow law enforcement in the Albany area was far more interested in criminalizing the enemies of Nxivm and not prosecuting the criminals of Nxvm.
Why is that?
Here is an interesting post. It was published on the eve of the Times Union’s 2012 expose series on Nxivm.
Tighe helped bring many of the shocking things reported in the Times Union series to light earlier – including Keith Raniere’s alleged pedophilia.
He also revealed that Sara Bronfman was going to marry Basit Igtet.
He called his post the “End of Nxivm” because he believed that the Times Union series would crater the cult.
We all know that that didn’t happen.
Here it is:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012
The End of NXIVM
Well, as followers of this blog know I’ve had a long-running interest in NXIVM. Starting when I broke the story of the NXIVM Golden Child Gailen, who turned out to be the son of NXIVM … Kristin Keeffe. That only became public after Keith Raniere hatched a bizarre story about a motherless boy from Michigan the cult adopted.
From then on, I was hooked and the more I dug, the stranger it got. Then things started happening to me. I was driven off the road, I had an attempted home invasion, my car repeatedly had its glove compartment contents thrown around but nothing was taken. Strange people started attending Mass and sat next to me while drawing on notepads of Ethics and Humanity. But then they told the NY State Police I was going to poison the drinking water of Silver Bay, site of Vanguard week and commit mass murder.
Yea folks, it got weird. But then the e-mails started from you, the victims of NXIVM. At first, some of you were shy, even shell shocked. Some came right out and said they thought I was part of NXIVM. But over time, you came to trust me and pour your hearts out to me. Stories of broken homes and broken bodies, of suicides and death, of nowhere to turn, endless lawsuits, burglaries, threats, and underaged girls, children really.
I encouraged many of you to go to the mainstream press where real journalists with credibility could have a greater impact than me. Some of you I sent to the police. And I struck back at NXIVM always using legal means; I dug and dug and dug.
Now I see that the Times Union is running the story
Secrets of NXIVM and Keith Raniere.
And while I don’t know what’s in it, I do know many of you spoke to the Times Union and if they print what I know, this will be one damming story. One the authorities can’t turn a blind eye to, no matter how much money the Bronfman brats have.
Speaking of the brats, I see Sara Bronfman is engaged to Libya national and President of the Independent Libya Foundation (ILF) Basit Igtet.
Did I mention he’s Muslim? Yes folks, Sara Bronfman, daughter of Canadian businessman and former long-time president of the World Jewish Congress Edgar Bronfman, is marrying a Muslim in June in France. I also understand she is studying Arabic and thinking of converting to Islam.
In discussing the role of women in Islam she wrote
“Since I have returned, many people have asked or made comments to me about the role and treatment of women in Muslim countries. Certainly, through my limited time in Libya and little interaction with women from Libya and other parts of the region, I have become no expert. However, my response has been that I wouldn’t be so quick to judge their situation through the lens of Western Culture. For me, they have something we have lost in our culture, and that is the preservation and respect of the differences between our genders. Perhaps my view is naïve, but I will be surprised if I am incorrect in believing that we in the West have a lot to learn from other cultures and that the role and treatment of women is just one of the many differences we are far from understanding about Islam.”
Not only that, I hear she is quietly exiting NXIVM and taking her money with her. That only leaves the dark and moody sister Clare to feed the NXIVM legal war machine.
And after this story or stories are published NXIVM’s going to need every dime.
Till Sunday morning when the Story comes out, Goodnight.
And now Gina, I hope your soul will rest in peace. This story is dedicated to you and all the other victims of NXIVM known and unknown.
POSTED BY BEN LIVES ON AT 12:03 AM
LABELS: CLARE AND SARA BRONFMAN, KEITH RANIERE, NXIVM, VANGUARD
21 COMMENTS:
Anonymous said…
You have done an amazing and powerful service for past and future victims of Ranier, Salzman and their pyramid scheme,NXIVM. Watch Coffey make another angry Vandenburg appearance. Hmmm or maybe not. If the Bronfman $$$ goes Coffey goes with it. Maybe Odata will get a Pulitzer. Is there a Pulitzer for blogs.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 6:44 AM Anonymous said…
Cannot wait for the TU tomorrow. Agree with 6:44 above. You have done a great job!!
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 8:11 AM Anonymous said…
Who is Gina and what happened to her?
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 9:11 AM Anonymous said…
This gang of self-absorbed, pretentious, greedy manipulating phonies needs to go down. I appreciate your commitment to shining the light on what’s behind the curtain.
Wonder how the affiliated D-list celebrities (aka narcissists who pose as humanitarians) will handle the bad PR in the mainstream press? Who will validate them now? I hope this article regenerates pressure to call on Sanitation…time to take out the well-heeled trash!
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 9:40 AM Anonymous said…
The world is already in a bad state. One which invokes cynicism in people at probably much higher levels than any other time period in history. This is reflected in a general aura of mistrust that seems to pervades the current atmosphere. How we got to this point would be a matter of considerable debate, and is perhaps irrelevant compared to the question of what to do about it now, which has no easy answer, and one which I have no intention of even attempting to answer.
Snake-oil salesman have existed throughout history. However, in the past, the scope of their affects typically were limited, often isolated to things such as sale of ingenuously medicinal, or other types of specious and hocus-pocus products. Perhaps this view is wrong, and only seems to be more correct because the human population was on orders of magnitude less, or simply because there is more publicity in today’s times due to mass communication, or both. Regardless, nowadays there appears to be a considerable prevalence of these snake-oil salesman selling new age philosophies, ethics, success schemes, the path to joy, happiness, etc.
As recent revelations have shown, here in this blog and elsewhere, Mr. Raniere appears to be just another one of these type of people in a long line of them, but one of the more insidious manifestations: a wolf in sheep’s clothing feeding on the vulnerable for nothing more than his own personal gain, however the latter may be manifested. Anyone with just a translucent view of reality, or a modicum amount of sincerity, decency, and goodness in his or her heart and conscience cannot but feel sick to their stomach when the deeds of these people become verified and known. Can one go lower than hypocrisy to the God given trust of goodness of that is intrinsic to the human spirit?
“Raised to the highest of the high, then debased to the lowest of the low. From a playful innocence to a lost soul that does not know.”
God save me and everyone from ever falling into such a condition.
Bad people who are overtly bad are easy to avoid. Those who prey on the gullibility of the human condition and their trust in times of vulnerability while putting on masks of sincerity and goodness for their own ulterior motives are not. But they cannot be looked upon with less than utter sorrow. Their deeds will be heavy fetters around their necks for the rest of their lives and maybe even more than that.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 10:13 AM Anonymous said…
Wait till Sara’s new husband comes home one day and says, “by the way, I’m going to take another wife. Oh, and here’s this great black abaya you should wear.” Yeah, that’ll really affirm her view of Islam’s love and respect of women.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 10:26 AM Anonymous said…
I have waited quietly but not so patiently for several months…waiting, waiting, and waiting…but resolved not to do anything that would get in the way of having NXIVM, Raniere, Salzman and their followers exposed for the liars and exploiters that they truly are. Well, guess what motherfuckers? THE TIME IS NOW…TICK, TOCK!!!!!!!!!!!
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 11:22 AM Anonymous said…
You can be sure the lawyers will be burning the midnight oil to halt the TU presses. I predict the piece will be watered down to protect against suits which will undoubtedly be filed.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 12:38 PM Anonymous said…
so let me get this straight, fifty percent of the bronfman money is no longer under the control of “I’ve had people killed for my believe” smelly raniere ??
and raniere knows that the world knows it too. Hope their lawyers read this blog so they can start understanding reality for what it really is…no bills being paid. The gravy train now has to be supported by Clare, the whole nxivm team is feeding off her not her sister, only matter of time till she runs out of money and daddy ain’t gonna give her any more…that’s fo sure.
Justice is a bitch but it always comes around.
Fuck nxivm and their mothers.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 1:09 PM Anonymous said…
Note to 12:38 PM – There is no chance that any attorney is going to succeed in shutting down the TU’s exposure of NXIVM and its leaders before that occurs. Thanks to the First amendment, that’s not how things work in this country. The best that NXIVM can do is sue after the story has been published. And given that NXIVM has apparently just lost half of its funding sources, that may be hard to do.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 1:57 PM Anonymous said…
Kudos to the TU and Odata for doing the right thing.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 2:36 PM Anonymous said…
John…
Deep congrats to you John and to Odata. What a service you have played for our community.
The next step is to get either the TU or other paper in our area to also expose how NXIVM infused themselves into local politics through Mayor Val and other members…and how their strategies of divide and accuse and distort became the the flavor of the new “Dems” and Charter Changers.
Saratoga was targeted … and many of the players are still playing.
Westside Supporter
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 5:13 PM Anonymous said…
It’s Odato, not Odata. And since he’s going to be a Pulitzer Prize winner, so learn how to spell his name!
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 6:30 PM Anonymous said…
I may wake up early and head to Stewarts for the paper. Sine it’s the closest one to the Vantard Compound, I’d better get there before his minions buy up all the papers. Good job JT, your perseverance has brought attention to these assholes and maybe your actions saved a few people too.
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 8:32 PM Agog with excitement said…
Does anyone know what time the Sunday paper goes on sale at Stewarts? Is it right after midnight? I don’t know if I can wait until morning for THE DATA! >:D
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 9:42 PM Anonymous said…
Note To Clare: How foolish do you feel right now? And how much more foolish will you feel if you accept VanTwit’s proposal?
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 10:37 PM Anonymous said…
Suggestion for Nancy: Do you the right thing for your daughters, go the FBI on Monday, and make a deal where they go un-prosecuted. ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME YOU ACTED LIKE A MOM?
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 10:39 PM Anonymous said…
Exactly what is up with all the Islam bashing on this site? It’s one thing to oppose this NXIVM thing, whatever it is, but I’m appalled at all the Islamophobic rhetoric and bigotry here. I only happened on this site after reading about NXIVM from a news article, but was disgusted by the Islam bashing instead of finding out what NXIVM is.
If someone wants to marry a Muslim, this is a problem for you? You know not even in Israel are people this bigoted against Muslims. In fact in Israel Jewish-Muslim intermarriage is very common. But apparently you are stuck in the Middle Ages with this “Muslims Are Evil” Crusader mentality.
Thankfully most people don’t share your anti-Islam viewpoints, and if you expect any decent, sane, rational people to listen to what you have to say about NXIVM (which I still have no clue what it is), I suggest you learn a thing or two about religious tolerance, stop bashing peoples’ religion, and stick to the subject at hand, which is NXIVM and not Islam.
FEBRUARY 12, 2012 11:50 AM Anonymous said…
excellent, another supporter of the religion of peace!
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 8:15 AM Anonymous said…
It’s interesting to me that a blog that is concerned with various injustices that occur in the Saratoga Springs area (in the opinion of the author of course, and possibly many other readers of this blog) has some amount of anti-Islamic dialectic. Why is that?
I can understand it in the case of this particular blog piece, since it directly references the religion, but I have read this blog on and off, and I have seen it a multitude of times, when it hasn’t even been relevant to the particular subject at hand.
I find it strange that a poster here is ridiculing the religion for the possibility of Sarah being forced to take a second wife and wear a burka. Has this ignorant person not seen the multitude of different types of female dress that pervade the Muslim world, from Indonesia to Nigeria, to even the Western world? Also, does he or she not know that a Muslim woman has a right to stipulate in her marriage contract that the husband cannot take a second wife without her permission or otherwise, and if he does, she can divorce him?
In the context of NXIVM, irony is manifested when one considers Odato’s new article in the TU where he states that NXIVM has a module that states that monogamy is not natural for men, and that NXIVM’s current leader – who is the “Vanguard”, i.e. at the forefront, or is the model, of the movement, has been alleged to have participated in orgies, is currently unwed and has never been so, and has resided with a minimum of three different woman concurrently for over a decade? So, would Sarah be going from a better condition or a worse one just by considering these facts alone? The readers can decide.
One wonders who these people are and what their purpose is.
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 10:14 AM Anonymous said…
February 12, 2012 11:50 AM –
In the past, similar posts by you and/or your fellow NXIANS on this blog have irritated me. It’s obvious to everyone that you’ve chosen to focus on one particular aspect of John’s post, and you are trying to discredit everyone and everything on this entire blog due to this one, minor aspect.
But now, these types of impotent efforts to discredit this blog appear almost quaint. You are fucked. NXIVM is fucked. Even IF you managed to turn someone off to this blog, it’s TOO FUCKING LATE. The T-U is merely opening the can of worms, and the rest of the mainstream media will be sifting through those worms and exposing you and your friends as piece of shit tax-evading, sexual-deviant protecting, bullying sleazeballs. Fuck you.
I hope you have a good lawyer, scumfuck. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH.
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
Could Tighe have been framed? Yes, it’s possible.
There is a software package called Back Orifice that has been around since the 90’s originally put out by a hacker collective called the Cult of the Dead Cow. No, I am not kidding. It’s a piece of client/server software to gain control of other computers remotely. Anyone that works in IT programming or technical support has heard of it. There are many versions and clones of said program. Using a version of Back/Orifice, one could gain control of abperson’s computer and plant incriminating files and then erase Back/Orifice and most traces the computer was ever hacked.
It is in the realm of possibility.
It’s not just a Frank Parlato fanciful conspiracy. Please Google it if any morons out there doubt me.
In regards to proving Tighe’s innocence, the original hard drive, assuming it still exists, would have to be gone over with a fine tooth comb by a computer forensic expert of some type. Tighe’s attorney would have to file something and an independent computer forensic person found that Tighe could afford. It would be a Herculean task the prosecution will fight every inch.
I felt I should give some constructive advice on how to help Tighe if he is indeed innocent. No body is going to confess to that crime. Tighe in his plea bargain admitted to the charges I do not no how the law works in this situation.
This article saddens me. How the victims were so full of hope that NXIVM would be stopped and finally justice. But no justice, the total opposite. People risking everything to stop them were set up, threatened, harassed, framed. It sickens me that they could sit back and laugh that they were protected and continue this shit for years more.
No surprise to me. That’s what happens when most people don’t come forward and work with each other.
Time for a real care package for John Tighe. How do we get one to him? How’s his lovely wife doing without him, I wonder? She could prolly use a little encouragement, too.
I would gladly send Mr Tighe a care package if the address is supplied.
Prayers that the Govt will figure out Tighe was framed and his conviction over turned. Separately: Weren’t their a bunch of hearings scheduled for today?
I ask the Insiders, who were Espians when this TU story exposing the cult came out, to please tell me–were you told to ignore it, or that it was a lie…and did any of your fellow Espians discuss it amongst yourselves and suspect it was true?
And if you were not located in Albany at the time, did you even know about it?
‘Now is not the time to get into why there may have been planted evidence and a massive public corruption element to Tighe’s conviction. I trust this is being investigated now by the FBI.’
This last little sentenced made me very happy!
Tighe must be the only ‘pedophile’ in the whole world who has one -ONE SINGULAR- illegal image on his computer. Cuz thats how pedophiles operate. Not.
Id est: Horsehit.
If there is any decency left in the world; this man will be set free.
I worry about Frank. I’d go to bat for him.
Tighe had a lot more than a single image on his computer, that is what he plead guilty to. Big difference.
This article hit me hard. It made me realise how ignorant and presumptuous its been of me to comment on a situation I know so little about. I now realise there are hundreds of victims that have been hurting a long time. I will continue to follow this story and pray that all these bastards end up in jail for life and these victims finally find peace.
I agree completely. I just started reading about it when Allison’s name hit the news last April. Gives one the sense of how long Keith reigned and abused/killed people. He needs to roast in hell.
Well stated sk. It’s terrible thinking how many people thought the TU article would be the beginning of the end but it went on for years afterwards.
I recall John hinting at his connections with Russian. I hope he has protection in prison, they do not go easy on sex offenders.
I think he would have been knocked off by now. Raniere may not be so lucky.
They would have a field day with the sultan,(Tee Hee)
Now that France is recognizing Sharia law, he can get half her $$$ and the kids. Yay for diversity!
Although believing there are two genders and differences between them may not take her very far these days.
Tighe is Evil. Keith did the right thing in stopping him.
Pea, but you don’t believe he was evil for the child pornography on his computer, do you? Just for trying to stop Keith. You have in fact admitted that sex with underage children is acceptable. #theirony
Pea:
Let’s talk evil.
Was Keith Raniere evil for having sex with Rhiannon, a 12 year old girl, some 60 times?
A course of conduct that emotionally damaged a growing young girl.
Raniere [statutory] raped her about 60 times she claimed.
After Raniere allegedly raped Rhiannon she flunked school and was placed in a reform school [‘he who has the most joy wins’]
https://frankreport.com/2016/02/20/after-raniere-raped-rhiannon-she-flunked-school-and-placed-in-a-reform-school/