Keith Raniere to Be Sentenced in January

Keith Alan Raniere, AKA Vanguard, will be sentenced in January, according to an entry filed on the docket of his case.

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis has directed Raniere’s attorneys and the prosecution to suggest “one or more mutually agreeable dates in January 2020 for Defendant Raniere’s sentencing.”

It is not known if the other Nxivm defendants – Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman, Nancy Salzman, Clare Webb Bronfman and Kathy Russell will be sentenced before or after Raniere.

Originally, Raniere’s Nxivm cohorts were to be sentenced before him.

Russell, Nancy Salzman and Bronfman were scheduled in July and Mack and Lauren Salzman were scheduled to be sentenced on September 11.

Raniere was to be sentenced last – on September 25.

Then the judge postponed the sentencing dates ‘sine die.’

Apparently, the delay was occasioned by tardy sentencing reports which are prepared by the Pretrial and Probation Department.  Some speculated the delay might have been caused by the possibility of further charges being leveled against some or all of the defendants.

In any event, the day of reckoning is nearing for the Vanguard who faces a minimum sentence of 15 years for sex trafficking charges alone.

In theory, Raniere could – if he gets the minimum sentence – complete his sentence around the time of his 70th birthday.

He was also convicted on other felony charges including racketeering, forced labor conspiracy, and identity theft.

At 59, a 20-25 year sentence for the odious one could be a de facto life sentence. [I personally doubt the judge would sentence him to anything less without attracting a maelstrom of controversy in the media. This was a widely reported trial and the piggish one became known to the world as one of the cruelest, self-centered and ruthless hypocrites of recent memory].

In addition to the judge seeking a date in January for sentencing the varmint-  dates were set for the next Curcio hearing concerning the potential conflict of interest of one of Raniere’s attorneys, Teny Geragos, who is seeking to go to work for the EDNY.

Here is the minute entry:

Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis: Curcio hearing held as to Defendant Keith Raniere. Curcio counsel Avraham Moskowitz. Upon application from Mr. Moskowitz, the court continued the Curcio hearing until October 31, 2019 at 2:00 pm. The court further DIRECTED Defendant Raniere and the Government to submit supplemental briefing concerning whether the instant conflict is waivable. Defendant Raniere’s brief shall be filed by no later than October 4, 2019; the Government’s brief shall be filed by no later than October 11, 2019.

In the interim, the Government is DIRECTED to file under seal, by no later than September 18, 2019, a complete copy of Ms. Geragos’s application to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, including any cover letter and attachments, except that the Government shall redact Ms. Geragos’s home address and telephone number prior to filing the application with the court. If any party moves to unseal all or part of Ms. Geragos’s application, the court will permit Ms. Geragos to be heard on whether any additional redactions are warranted prior to deciding such motion.

Separately, defense counsel and the Government are DIRECTED to confer and shall be prepared to propose at the October 31, 2019 Curcio hearing one or more mutually agreeable dates in January 2020 for Defendant Raniere’s sentencing.

***

By the time the lordly one is sentenced, he will have spent more than one year and nine months in federal custody – which is not quite as long as he had Daniela confined to a room for kissing Ben Myers. [700 days]

The time Raniere spends in custody awaiting sentencing, however, will be applied to his sentence. {That did not apply to Daniella and, had she not escaped, she might be in the room today as far as Raniere – or Lauren Salzman – or any of her other associate captors was concerned.]

As for the other Nxivm defendants – all are presently subject to home confinement – with Clare and Allison subjected to the strictest conditions – being allowed out of their respective homes a few hours per week.

Nancy and Kathy are able to go out every day but are required to return home at night.  All of the defendants are required to wear ankle monitors.

The time the defendants spend under home confinement is not applied against their prison sentences. But the judge may take it into consideration and give them a lighter sentence if he deems it appropriate.

There are no minimum sentences for any of the other defendants and, conceivably, the judge could decide not to send any of them to prison –  deeming them, in the end, victims of the insatiable one.

It is ironic and characteristic of our criminal justice system that the criminally depraved, but wealthy heiress, Clare Webb Bronfman, faces the second lightest sentence. If the charges were based on true justice, this would not be so since her crimes were exponentially higher than, for example, Allison Mack’s.

Mack will almost certainly get more prison time than Bronfman – who, next to Raniere, was the most sadistic and punishing monster in all of Nxivm. But Bronfman was able to buy down her sentence – with a handsome $6 million payment to the DOJ – and the most serious charges were dropped against her.  The $6 million fine represented less than 3 percent of her net worth.

To put that in perspective, the typical U.S. adult’s net worth is $99,646. That would mean a $3,000 fine for the average American if it were compared to Bronfman’s net worth and the fine she paid.

Viva Executive Success.

Frank Parlato