Editor’s Note: This is a ticklish type of story to publish. After due deliberation, I chose to publish it because I think it not only might be true but it is also of interest to our readers. Our primary source would be in a likely position to know. However, misinformation is one of the hallmarks of federal prisons.
According to several sources, including one at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center [MDC], Keith Alan Raniere [Prisoner #57005-177] has been assigned to the United States Penitentiary, Tucson (USP Tucson) in Arizona.
If true, it will likely be the safest prison he could be assigned since USP Tucson has a high percentage of sex offenders and he will not be singled out as a “CHOMO,” [child molester] as he would in a typical maximum security prison.
If Raniere is assigned to USP Tuscon,he will be in a safe environment without being in protective custody, which is essentially solitary confinement.
About 70-80 percent of prisoners at USP Tucson are sex offenders, Ralph Miller, a retired Bureau of Prisons employee who specialized in sex offender designations in the Designation and Sentence Computation Center, told the Detroit News in 2018.
According to Miller, USP Tucson is the nation’s only federal facility classified as high security that also has a sex offender management program.
Among other charges, Raniere was convicted of sex trafficking an adult woman, and of racketeering, of which predicate acts include possession of child pornography and exploitation of a minor, a 15-year-old Mexican girl, identified by her first name only, Camila.
Though not normally the kind of company he might choose outside of prison, being surrounded by sex offenders may be welcome for Raniere since in most maximum-security prisons, sex offenders, especially those whose crimes involve children, are targeted by other prisoners for violence and abuse because they are considered to be the lowest and most detested inmate among the hierarchy of prisoners.
Supporters of Raniere should not breathe easy yet, since the Bureau Of Prisons typically does not confirm or announce assignments in advance of a transfer for security reasons. Thus, Raniere may be assigned elsewhere.
Last month, Raniere reached out to this writer to announce he feared being killed in prison. Frank Report published audio tapes of Raniere speaking from prison warning he would likely be killed in a maximum-security prison. More than 50 media outlets reported the story, including the New York Post, The Daily Mail and the SUN.
When Will Raniere Be Transferred?
With COVID lockdowns at MDC, with courts suspending proceedings because of the pandemic, and with restitution hearings not yet scheduled, it is unclear when Raniere will be transferred. Raniere has a right to be present at his restitution hearings where determinations are made as to which victims get how much of Raniere’s considerable assets; no restitution hearings have been scheduled and are unlikely to be scheduled prior to February.
Raniere inherited some $8 million from the estate of Pamela Cafritz one of his girlfriends. The estate assets have been frozen pending resolution of restitution and other matters. It seems likely Raniere will remain at MDC to be close to the Brooklyn court and his New York City attorneys until restitution is settled by the sentencing judge, which might occur by mid-February.
Tucson Prison
If Raniere is assigned to USP Tucson, he may find it commodious. The 584,000-square-foot facility is situated on a 640-acre property, which is almost the same acreage as the Silver Bay campus in the Adirondacks where Raniere held Vanguard Week, a 10-day Nxivm retreat to celebrate his birthday, which is August 26. Raniere is 60 and has been unable to attend Vanguard Week since 2017 on account of being incarcerated.
USP Tucson holds around 1,500 inmates.
Prison rules require Raniere to make his bed daily, keep his cell clean and not display any sexually provocative photos on his locker or cabinet, according to the Tuscon penitentiary handbook, as reported in the Detroit News.
Here are a few photos found online of the facility.
Raniere will be required to wake up at 6 a.m. for meals and work. The uniform is normally khaki pants and a khaki shirt.
Raniere can communicate with friends via the prison’s email system, one that does not allow attachments. He will also get a phone access code to make phone calls. It is unknown if the BOP will prohibit contact with his Nxivm followers.
He may also avail himself of correspondence classes and continuing education, according to the prison handbook.
Since USP Tucson offers a Sex Offender Management Program (SOMP), Raniere may be required or incentivized to attend the treatment program, though Raniere vehemently protests his innocence. His supporters say Raniere will not admit to being a sex offender even if the program requires it.
High Profile Prisoners at Tucson
Brian David Mitchell, a former street preacher and pedophile who was convicted in 2010 of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart.
Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team physician, convicted on federal charges relating to the possession of thousands of child pornography images and who was accused by girls and women of inappropriately touching them when examining them.
While Raniere had to endure the victim impact statements of 12 women and two men at his sentencing, Nassar sat for days at his sentencing while 150 girls and women made victims statements.
Edward Oedewaldtwas arrested during the largest child pornography prosecution in US history.
Louis Eppolito a former NYPD detective who was convicted in 2006 of carrying out murders and sharing law enforcement intelligence disclosing the identities of witnesses for the Gambino Crime Family. {a reader pointed out that Eppolito died last November.]
Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a former US Congressman from California, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from company owners in return for awarding them contracts to produce military equipment. [Editor’s note: Cunningham has reportedly been released from prison.]
Jaan Laaman, who carried out robberies and bombings at corporate and government facilities in the 1970s and early 1980s and who has a following of supporters who consider him a political prisoner.
Ross Ulbricht, who is serving two life sentences plus 40 years at USP Tucson with no possibility of parole after he was convicted in 2015 for operating the Silk Road marketplace, which was an online black market known for selling illegal drugs.
In other news…
Clare Bronfman Status Updated by BOP
As noted by one of our readers, Clare Bronfman’s status has been updated by the BOP – and now reads as follows
CLARE BRONFMAN
Register Number: 91010-053
Age: 41
Race: White
Sex: Female
Located at: Brooklyn MDC
Release Date: 06/29/2026
Her projected “Release Date” appears to be correct: i.e., it’s 85% of her 81-month sentence. She may also qualify for a halfway house some six months before her release, which means she might be outside prison walls by January 2026. She is awaiting a permanent prison assignment, which may be the MDC.
Lauren Arizona Attorney Seeks to Appear in Brooklyn
Lauren Salzman’s Arizona lawyer, Andrea S. Tazioli, has made a motion seeking permission to appear in Brooklyn federal court to represent her.
Tazioli is not a member of the New York bar and needs special permission to appear. This suggests sentencing for Salzman, who was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, may be coming soon.
Salzman was the government’s only cooperating witness who testified at the trial. She faces a maximum of 40 years. Her cross-examination was famously stopped by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis after she started crying, prompting Raniere’s attorneys to make a motion for a mistrial, which was denied by the judge.
The suspension of her cross-examination will undoubtedly be a major issue raised on appeal.
KAR is incorrigible. If anyone thinks that therapy will work on such a pompous ass –who all but proved such incorrigibility during his statement prior to sentencing when he admitted no culpability for crimes committed– they are almost as delusionary as the man himself.
Also, there is no way KAR should have access to email or phone communications for at least several years.
Well, we landed on the moon. And broke the sound barrier. Almost anything is possible.
I’m concerned about Keith’s ability to send and receive e-mails. (This is not possible in our prisons.) I’m sure the competent authority would be watching them, but there’s still a way to communicate with your followers in “flower language.” He should be locked away from them, because there are fanatics enough to carry on the cult under a new name and a new title. We should close the loophole. I hope he’ll be required to do therapy where the opposite happens as usual. He doesn’t dictate.
Raniere in a sex offender program? Just imagine him being interested/receptive/compliant with therapists (who will not be nearly as smart as he is) and willing to take advice that contradicts his pompous rationalizations for his having sex with underage girls. But, hey, he might become popular with the other inmates/pedophiles in Tucson, when he explains, reaffirms to them that there’s nothing wrong with the sex they had with kids (so says the smartest man in the world ). I’m from Salt Lake and remember Elizabeth Smart’s case well–her abductor thought his kidnapping and abuse of her was sanctioned by God, all of which served his vulgar self-centered delusions–much like you-know-who.
I’d be amazed/laughing at that, too.
12/15/2020
COVID-19 Inmate Test Information
No. of Inmates with Positive Tests
No. of No. of No. of
Pending Inmates Inmates Inmates
with with with
Completed Pending Positive
Tests Tests Tests
TUCSON USP 1220 2 639
FLORENCE ADMAX USP 66 3 4
Frank, how soon is “soon” for LS sentencing?
COVID rules in this, unless Lauren would waive an in person hearing for sentencing. Maybe she will since she was a cooperating witness. In that case, perhaps we will see something in January or February.
Covid-19 is fake news!!!!
…..That’s why Vice President Pence was first in line for a vaccine.
LMAO @ the Suckers who believe in the Covid-19 hoax Trump perpetuated.
When Trump and Rudy succumbed to Corona, immediately went to the hospital for treatment and were fine. LOL
Meanwhile my wife has been sick for 2 weeks!!!!!
Oh Bangkok——the anticipation must be too much to bare. You must be as giddy as a virgin school girl on prom night waiting for that cherry to get popped. Soon you’ll have a very special pen pal. Mmh?
Knowing how much Keith likes chili sauce on his cheesy pizza, sex offender placement in Tucson seems benevolent.
Lots of Latinos in AZ, too, he can practice his Caesar Chavez schtick on.
Frank: FYI – Epolito died last November.
And Ross Ulbricht might be getting his “get outta jail free” card as well – reports coming out that Trump is considering clemency.
Ross Ulbricht deserves at the very least 10 years in prison. He should not be pardoned. He actively sought out to hire a hit man to kill multiple people. Pardoning Ross is beyond disgusting. IMO
Who did he want dead? 😐
Former employees/coworkers he thought were ratting him out. One happened to be ‘ratting’ him out or cutting a deal depending on your perspective.
Any way you look at it good old Ross helped to facilitate organized crime on a scale that runs into the billions not to mention the people who OD on drugs they purchased on his website. And not to mention the sale of illegal firearms some of which ended up killing innocent people.
If Trump pardons Ross, he is pardoning a complete pussy ass scum.
I am rejoicing, now he can shut the f up crying about it. What is next on his list to moan about?
I don’t care what’s more comfortable or safe for Keith, he belongs in a hole in Colorado, unable to influence and teach other predators with short sentences.
Exactly!!!
Seems a very likely final destination for Raniere. As well as having a high population of sex offenders, it will also have a high population of people with other diagnosed or undiagnosed personality disorders, as the two are often comorbid. Maybe he’ll get some group therapy and get to know himself.
I believe Eppolito worked for the Lucchese crime family, not the Gambinos. He did have 2 relatives who were members of the Gambinos, however.
Finally, Raniere’s “disciples” might have something correct, in that Keith Raniere really does appear to be incapable of facing who he is, in accordance with his own motivations and his harmful actions against the well-being of others, whether those others were fourteen years old or happened to be in their forties, etc.
One question comes to mind. If Raniere’s devotees can see that he is in denial about himself and his behaviors, what about their own denials, still being publicly bruited about in his name, with such deep insensitivity to the damages that he has done to so many others? What is that thang you Raniere disciples still follow? A flabturd?
If Raniere were authentic, he would be quite unlikely to carry fear about his death. A mere transformative experience and one we all get. But gee whiz, he has been bitching anxiously like an abruptly deposed Faerie Queen. What are his fears? No faith in himself?
It is too bad if taxpayers have to foot the bill for Raniere’s maintenance at all. This grotesque ruin of a “man” ought to pay his own bills, for food, housing and anything else that he “needs.” Let his ill-gotten gains be drained to aid in keeping Raniere shelved somewhere where he can harm no more, or at least to minimize the effects of his inherent, twisted malevolence, which he is so damned invested in denying and dismissing, as meaningless or misunderstood.
“Hopeless” could be branded into the creases of his forehead, just to warn everyone that Raniere continues to regard himself as above everybody else and believes that his monstrous acts were not only fine and dandy, but so “fucking therapeutic.”
Okay, goody goody. Now, this mess can sit around and therapize himself for the rest of his godforsaken life. He can be his very own dashboard Jesus bobblehead. That oughta work out, huh?
Thanks, Frank, for every bit of the news here. What about that “hapless ballerina-accountant,” though? What is she, unworthy of gossip? Yes, I am laughing!
Speaking of shivs, lots of points are well prepared to stick it to Nancy Salzman. Even Shiva himself could deliver heaps of disgust to her, from toe to head, as one more motherfucking mother, greedy and power-maddened, one for entire centuries of life to want very much to forget, but who carries a dark heart and mind, which we need to remember.
As a clarion call and as a warning about how false that “call” can really be, beneath its deceptively cozy, “friendly” disguises. I have seen the likes of her before and dearly wish to be alert enough never to listen to one like Nancy Salzman again, not for a nano-second. Trust thy self. Then there is no invitation offered to a Nancy or to a Keith and these people can steal no more trust, idealism or love.
Tuscon, eh? Arizona mafia have anything to do with that?!? Haven’t heard about them in awhile…
Re Lauren Arizona Attorney:
An attorney from Arizona. That’s odd.
Anyone know why?
Did someone in Arizona with contacts help Keith Raniere procure his future lodging?
Or did someone with prison contacts in New York help extradite Keith to Arizona?
Mmh????
Money change hands?
Prolly not. Not since Bangkok did his jackknife off the back of the caboose. Aerie-Zona! The eagle might be here again, to re-zoom. Or mebbe not. À votre santé, Nice Guy.
À votre santé
Had to look that one up. Thank you!
If assigned to Tucson, Vanguard may well attempt to befriend Ross Ulrecht who is a certified genius computer programmer. Raniere’s might foolishly think he is on mental par with Ulrecht.
A wonderful book coveringg Ross’ history creating and running the infamous SILK ROAD internet drug marketplace is in print. Read AMERICAN KINGPIN for the story of how he was tracked and captured.
Not happy that he will have access to e-mail and a phone. KAR is still gonna try to be KAR, that’s all he has left. Hopefully, they will not allow any contact with his followers but he always seems to find a way. He is, after all, the smartest man on the planet. Not.
Ulbricht is not a genius computer programmer, lol. If you read American Kingpin, you should know that. That book also doesn’t tell the entire story. You can watch his side of things in the multi-part ‘The Targeting & Caging of Ross Ulbricht’ on YT. Though, for perspective, I suggest you also see ‘The Dark Side Of The Silk Road’ by Barely Sociable, also on YT.
The singer Linda Ronstadt comes from Tucson.
Her ancestors from Germany were among the first European settlers in Tucson.
To welcome the Vanguard to his new home here is an appropriate song.
Linda Ronstadt ~ Poor Poor Pitiful Me
I love Linda! My favorite song is Different Drum. I did not know this song. Thanks for sharing. I love 60s music. It is my favorite. What is your favorite shadow?
Nancy here. I love “Silver threads and golden Needles”…cannot mend this heart of mine. And I dare not drown my sorrows, in the warm glow of your wine. You can’t buy my love with money, cause I NEVER was that kind…Silver threads and golden needles cannot mend this heart of mine.,, !
This one goes out to Keith Raniere:
https://youtu.be/GKAtM9xS-fA
Well, I like the idea of Tucson. It seems geared for both his safety and a more reasonable prison existence. He can have interactions with others, but will be physically far removed from his remaining Albany crew. And who the heck knows; he might benefit on some level from counseling, if it is required. I still hold that we cannot speculate too much on that topic because Keith has never been forced to confront his own issues – just surrounded by yes people and enablers.
That’s funny. The thought of Keith sitting down with a prison counselor, and making progress on his issues, is smile provoking.