Who is Nancy Salzman and Where Is She Now?

I got this question from a reader:

Mr. Parlato, you stated that you have word that Nancy Salzman has renounced Raniere. Has she rejected the [Nxivm] “tech”?

The EMs – recorded, analyzed, discussed, and filed away for future use? What of all of that?

I have to ask why all mum on Prefect? As if she did not factor into the whole weird, manipulative scene and had no connection.

To be honest, it is getting ridiculous. Nope. It’s sad, messed up Allison and that other gadfly, Kristin What’s-Her-Face. Oh, yeah. That sci-fi person (lol, she is in control), plus endless crap on [Barbara] Bouchey and [Toni] Natalie. We get it, Clare was a money move.

But! Hapless Nancy Salzman. Dear lord! Where is my update?

Here is my answer:

Nancy Salzman, 64, AKA Prefect, was one of the two founders of Executive Success Programs [1998] – later known as Nxivm [ca 2003].

In her role, she served precisely as Toni Natalie did with the National Health Network. Like Toni, Nancy’s name was listed as the owner of the company. But Keith always maintained control.

The difference between Toni and Nancy was that Toni and Keith were far too much the same – in their desire to control.

Nancy was happy to follow the leader.

Toni wanted more. And when Toni started cheating on Keith with her 12 years-younger employee – Scott Foley – she broke from Keith. She got Scott to leave his wife and abandon his daughter and, taking whatever assets she could get her hands on, she split.

In this taking the money – and in her amorous proclivities – she was more similar to Keith who also was a cheater. Indeed, Keith was cheating on Toni too.

But Nancy, on the other hand, was not as romantically involved with Raniere. They seemed to have had sex together – and emails introduced in evidence in the trial against Raniere make that evident.

They had a language that refers to “kisses” and Nancy writes to Keith at times in her closings “Love and Kisses all over.”

They also write about “wet kisses” which, when taken in context and with what we know [and the fact that Keith and Clare also used the same term], seems to mean cunnilingus and/or fellatio.

Nancy, however, was not really in Keith’s harem.

She was obedient, of course, as any harem member. But what kept her bound was her love of the glory of being the Prefect.

Keith enlarged her ego [she was #2 in a world mission to make a more “noble civilization”] and this former nurse and self-styled therapist [She studied hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming and prior to becoming a follower of Raniere was a corporate consultant whose clients included Con Edison and American Express] was permitted to make a pretty decent income in return for the work she did – at first to be the main teacher [and president] – and later to be the figurehead of Nxivm – other than Raniere.

Salzman was happy to be #2 – and promote Raniere as a god or near god to followers. She helped turn Nxivm into the cult it became.

Nancy had a fine talent of appearing to be genuinely concerned about students too – many of whom looked up to her as a woman who possessed unique wisdom and rare spirituality – second only to the Vanguard himself.

When Barbara Bouchey began to be displaced as queen of the Raniere harem, she created a lot of commotion for the top leaders of Nxivm. Bouchey, of course, was never much more than a tool for Raniere – who used her for recruiting and organizational work.

In the beginning, he stripped her of her wealth. Bouchey’s desire for a monogamous boyfriend [and hopefully husband] – which she foolishly thought was going to be Keith – was soon supplanted with the notion that Keith lived with three other women – one of whom was gay – who he mentored sexually with his magical sex techniques.

A few years later, that notion was supplanted with Barb’s realization that Keith had some 20 or more women he was fucking. Indeed, he was fucking everyone in sight. At first, it was painful, but thanks to Nancy’s EM therapies with Barb – it became OK for Bouchey.

Barbara learned [and Nancy taught] that “no woman could own Keith’s penis – but he could own the women’s vaginas.”

Barbara accepted that – through Nancy’s guidance – as long – and this was the trade-off – as Barb was his public girlfriend.

But when she saw the writing on the wall – she was getting older – and Raniere was bringing in younger and more attractive women – and elevating for a time Ivy Nevares – Bouchey began to flip out – and determined to break off with Keith – at least being one of the 20 women he had sex with.  But she stayed in Nxivm for she saw she said a lot of good in the teachings.

In order to transition Bouchey – Salzman was there every inch of the way – getting Barbara to accept these changes. This was one of Nancy’s prime roles – helping Keith keep the cattle in line.

Bouchey was systematically lied to by Keith and Nancy not only endorsed the lie but Nancy did countless EM therapy sessions on Barbara to keep Barbara in the cult and accepting all the changes – as she sequentially learned about Keith’s deceptions and her lessening role in his life.

This was a big part of Nancy’s role – to help cover for Keith’s lies.

Nancy, of course, found out at some point that Keith was a liar. But the money and the glamour [she had a clothing budget of about $40,000 per year] and the prestige of having fawning fools drool all over her – like she was some high-up guru – made it all worthwhile.

For a good number of years, Nancy made $200,000 or better – and on top of that, she was provided with a lovely house – just outside of Knox Woods.

Raniere used to walk over there in the mornings after a long night of fucking – and later – due to his erectile dysfunction – cunnilingus – and Nancy would make him breakfast and when she was lucky, get a little spiritual mentoring [sex] herself.

Enter the Bronfman Sisters

At first, Nancy was used as the main deceiver and fleecer of the Bronfman sisters. She became to them almost like a mother – pretending to love them dearly – and also their teacher – always building up Keith as the supreme teacher, nearly a lord of the universe.

Nancy put the fleecing operations in play and built Keith up to finish them.

In 2009, Bouchey, Susan Dones, and seven other important Nxivm women left.

Keith needed someone to blame – and saw an opportunity too. He elevated Clare Bronfman and blamed Nancy and her daughter, Lauren, for the loss. [Sara could not then be elevated for she was busy having an affair with the monk, Lama Tenzin – the special emissary for the Dalai Lama].

It was really Keith’s endless fucking around with women that prompted Bouchey [who lost her queen of the harem status] and Dones to leave Nxivm.  Dones thought it was immensely unprofessional to run an operation – based on life coaching techniques – where the leader – a man – was whoring around with all the attractive and semi-attractive women. It was predatory and it was unethical. And the fact that it was hidden and that Nancy and others worked hard not only to hide it but to recruit other women for his sexual excesses – all the while acting as counselors and coaches for these women – was truly immoral.

For Bouchey, she hated the idea that when she walked into a room where Keith was, the other women – the newer, younger women – did not always make way for her as they used to in the old days when she was his public girlfriend.

While Bouchey had known about Keith’s fucking around for years – it struck Susan as deeply inappropriate.  Bouchey wanted to leave for she was nowhere near the top of the harem anymore.

Dones and the others were offended by the deception and hypocrisy of it all.  They left and told Keith why they were leaving.

Keith blamed Nancy Salzman.

At this same time, Keith also ordered Nancy [and her two daughters Lauren and Michelle] to shun her ex-husband and the three of them kicked him out of their lives.  On the long list of evil – Keith ordered two women to shun their father  – and they – fools that they are – did so.

On Nancy’s list of accomplishments was that she brought both of her daughters into an ugly cult and they gave their lives to it. Her one daughter, Lauren, faces prison. Michelle has not been charged yet.

In 2009 after Dones led the seven women out of Nxivm – with Bouchey joining them – Keith – after blaming Salzman – elevated Clare Bronfman to second in command.

The former little “daughter” of Salzman – Clare – became her de-facto boss.  Clare took over behind the scenes operations – and Keith – utilizing her naturally vicious nature – began suing the hell out of his enemies – with her money.

Starting with Barbara Bouchey.

Nancy tolerated the behind the scenes changes – partly because she was still glorified and worshiped as the Prefect – and partly because she believed in her Vanguard – that he was doing these things for her own good and for the good of the world.

He even stripped Nancy of her salary and made her justify her monetary needs to little Clare Bronfman – who would then decide if she got the money or not. Nancy – who had helped fleece Clare out of tens of millions of dollars for Keith – now had to beg Clare for money.

Life went on.

Keith continued to lick and lie.  Nancy supported it.

And with Bronfman money being bled out of the two gullible, asshole sisters – by the tens of millions – it did not matter if Nxivm made a profit or not.

Nancy, of course, did her best to help make it profitable – she [and her daughter Lauren] helped smuggle cash in from Mexico – where Nxivm actually was profitable – largely because of the cash side of the business.

And Nancy continued to teach – and got her daughter into teaching as much as her.

Then one day, the rascal, Keith Raniere decided he would enhance his fun and start branding women – [and blackmailing them] to ensure their continued obedience and slavery.

When he was younger and more studly, he could keep a stable of women with his sexual prowess.

But now that he was limped dick’d – some of the younger, more comely women were disappointed. They had been promised a sexual experience that would be a spiritual awakening. They got a half flaccid, hairy, kind of flabby, with not very good hygiene, going down on them, and spouting word salad – and then when he could – he would ejaculate on them – and tell them this meant he owned them.

A lot of women fell for this – and Nancy would reinforce it as highly spiritual – did not completely swallow [no pun intended] it.

Keith needed something more powerful to keep them in – especially the younger ones – which he craved. Even women like Camila who he had raped when she was 15 – and was completely enamored with his spiritual greatness – were not always enthusiastic when ‘old limpy’ came in the middle of the night to make his half-cocked semen calls.

Keith began more and more to teach that his special style of cunnilingus – followed by his half flaccid ejaculation – was part of a grand scheme to make women more spiritual throughout the world.

Several young and desirable women who he did this with – on the basis that it was something highly spiritual – told me that this just did not pass their bullshit test. They tolerated it at first because they thought he was a great teacher but they suspected that he was just trying to get into their pants.

Some of the women avoided Keith. Telling him they liked the teachings but they preferred not to do the sex part.

This was happening more and more – and even Nancy and the other wing-woman could be of no help.

Keith, almost insane, then he hit upon a new plan. He came up with DOS – where he would have masters [he was the supreme master] and slaves – [all women] and to keep them forever in line, he would hold collateral over them [blackmail worthy material]- and for good measure he would brand them on their pubis as a forever mark of their slavery.

Keith Raniere Branded Nancy’s Daughter and She Was Not Pleased

Keith did not bother to tell Nancy he was branding women. She would not have approved perhaps and besides, she was too old.

And in time [2017], he even snagged Lauren and put the mark of the beast [K-R] on her pubis.

When Nancy found out about that, she was pretty upset [Sad to say, she learned it from the Frank Report]. She actually had her first known fight with Keith. But she quickly backed down when she realized Keith knows best.

And lest one think that her motherly instincts ever rose above her innate cupidity – she stayed with Raniere even after learning Keith had branded dozens of women including her own daughter.

Nancy Sees the Light – of Prison

When the feds arrested Nancy in July 2018 – and she was facing a long stint in prison – it was then and only then that she was ready to weasel out of Nxivm.

Not even considering what her daughter Lauren was facing [Lauren was also arrested] – and while also recovering from cancer [Nancy had a radical mastectomy] – Nancy was the first Nxivm defendant to pleade guilty – on one count of racketeering.  Sentencing guidelines are estimated to be 2-4 years.

Which takes us up to the present.

Since her arrest, Nancy is forbidden to speak with most Nxivm leaders as a condition of her bail terms – unless an attorney is present.

She cannot talk to anyone on the 2017 Coaches List.

Still, she talks to a number of people not on that list – former Nxivm members.

Most of them are now out of Nxivm and not on the 2017 Coaches List.

To these – according to several ex-Nxivm members   – she claims she was deceived by Raniere [for 20 years] and that he really is a fraud.

She, of course, knew he was a fraud for years – as she worked to defraud other women for him.  But now she has finally learned something more, she says.

She thought his fraud and hers was for the good of others – that the end justified the means.

Now, she thinks otherwise, she says.

But, if she had not been arrested, had Nxivm not crumbled, would Nancy still be at his side?

And does she still believe in the “tech”?

Would she be happy to earn a living from teaching it tomorrow?

She has no known income now.

She does not have the ability – in my opinion – to restart Nxivm – and her reputation is obviously tarnished.

When she gets out of prison [she will be sentenced most likely within the next few months but no date has been set as of yet], she might try to start some kind of alternate version of Nxivm.

 

But what was Nxivm anyway?

Nxivm – after all – was really only about fleecing, and stealing and having power over women – for Keith – and giving Nancy a fun lifestyle as a teacher, guru and much-admired businesswoman within its insular community.

There is a far darker side – of Raniere – who used Nxivm to destroy others – ruin them – and I am not certain Nancy actually understood that all along.

I wonder if she understood that he wanted her dead or destroyed – that he wanted her daughters destroyed – that he wanted everyone who he said he loved and wanted to teach – destroyed.

If you loved him, he wanted you destroyed. Hurt. Ruined. Dead. Suffering. Starved. Cancer-stricken. Sleep-deprived. Unhealthy. Bankrupt. And worshiping him.  [He actually fits the description of his own Luciferian in his teachings.]

In any event, this is what those who truly know Raniere know – he is a monster.

I think that may possibly be what Nancy meant when she told her various friends that she finally realized that Keith deceived her. She knew he was always deceiving others – but she thought he was being honest with her.

This was his talent – as he got other women to lie to each other for him – and hurt each other – he made each of them believe that he was being truthful with them – for they were the special one – the only one who could understand him and his good intentions. The others he would say to his various women needed to be lied to until they could grow up – and it was for their own sake.

Nancy believed that. [And, of course, the lifestyle she enjoyed helped her believe.]

What’s Next for Nancy Salzman?

She will be sentenced – and may do some time in prison – perhaps a few years- though she might get off with home confinement.

Then she will get out and live quietly – live perhaps off the cash Keith and she stole and she hid. [He won’t need it in prison – where he faces a minimum of 15 years when he is sentenced]

She is in now her mid-60s and in dubious health. Once she is out of prison, I think it is more likely we will hear very little about Nancy Salzman.  Her place in history – at least in the history of this sickening cult – is firm and important and is not one of hero.

She stayed until it crashed and burned.

Her public role is not likely to be one of redemption, though it’s possible. She might even go on a lecture tour or write a book decrying what happened to her and how others might avoid it.

Was she in part of victim? Perhaps.

Years ago, Keith – the all-knowing one – told her she was Adolf Hitler in her past life and that only he held the keys to her redemption.

He alone could guide her into salvation [or unification] and obliterate all her bad karma from being Hitler before.  She seems to have believed it and believed in Keith as her savior.

Now that she says she knows that Keith is not her savior – but really the opposite – she might look for another savior, a better one.

That quest might begin from within.

***