A question has been raised about Keith Raniere’s future in prison. And in which prison he might be housed.
Assuming his appeal is unsuccessful and he is not set free, he is set to spend up to the next 99 years with the Bureau of Prisons.
It has been speculated that his recent appearance at Brooklyn Federal Court for his restitution hearing might result in him getting moved out of the comparatively safe USP Tucson prison to a harsher prison – as a sort of retribution for what might be seen as cavalier behavior about the location and existence of the DOS slaves’ collateral, something he claims he has never seen and has no idea of where it is to be found today.
About 100 women gave graphic nude photos and other potentially reputationally damaging material about themselves to various DOS masters. None of it has been returned and Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis has told Raniere he must return it at once to the DOS slaves.
His statement that he knew not where the collateral is may have provoked the ire of the judge and perhaps the DOJ might have chosen to put a little pressure on Raniere for claiming ignorance. First, he was put in solitary – although that may have been for unrelated incident[s]. Though he sits in solitary now and will remain there for another 30 days.
After Raniere completes 60 days in solitary, he might be permitted to return to his unit or he might be transferred to a far less desirable prison.
One prison suggested to punish Raniere in a much harsher manner is USP Beaumont in Texas, a maximum-security facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas about 90 miles from Houston.
There he would join about 1,100 other mostly violent, mostly Mexican felons.
It won’t be fun there. In fact, USP Beaumont is informally known as “Bloody Beaumont” getting its name for the occasional murders that take place there.
At USP Tucson, Raniere lodges with a population of about 70 percent sex offenders, something he himself is designated as being.
In the ruthless world of prisons, Tucson was designed as an oasis for sex offenders so that they would not be targeted for violence and rape. Though it is a maximum-security prison, sex offenders do not stand out for special harassment at Tucson since they form the distinct majority of prisoners there.
In other max security prisons, sex offenders – especially child sex offenders – which Raniere is informally considered to be – are brutally targeted and must remain in solitary confinement or be abused.
A man like Raniere might even be killed in such a place if he ventured outside of solitary. Tucson was one of two safe maximum-security prisons in the very unsafe federal prison system.
If he winds up in Beaumont, it will be more than usually unsafe since not only are normal max security prisons unsafe for child sex offenders, Bloody Beaumont is the worst of the worst – especially for someone like Raniere.
Raniere’s child sex conviction was for a woman named Camila, who was 15 at the time she was abused. According to his conviction records, he was 45 at the time. The problem with Beaumont from Raniere’s standpoint is that most of the prisoners there are Mexican-Americans and Camila is Mexican.
Raniere will have a target a mile wide on his back or backside if he winds up there.
As our readers discuss below, it might be wise for Raniere to avoid this transfer to another facility and if he does know where the collateral is – or he could instruct any of his followers to return it – now is the time for him to be helpful.
Not only for his own good – but also for the 100 women who have to worry about it being released – even accidentally. The return of the collateral might give them some peace of mind and would be a good gesture on Raniere’s part – if he, in fact, does control it. For it cannot possibly do him any good whatsoever where he will be for the next 99 years.
Maybe Raniere has fudged himself badly enough to end up transferred to the Supermax where El Chapo is incarcerated near Florence, Colorado? That’s the ultimate for prison hell and certainly would keep him miserably isolated and could be heavy-duty enough to shove him all the way over the final edge.
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Shivani wrote back to Claviger
Thanks for your thoughts, and I will look into the Beaumont type of environment (etc.) – as it does look like a viable option for Raniere, if indeed he is to be moved from where he is now. Maybe.
The levels of potential violence from a large proportion of an Hispanic, or largely a Latino, imprisoned population appears to me to be a possibly lethal arrangement for Raniere, in particular. For he has messed with plenty of Mexican people especially, and there could be rage directed personally at him, and the strange, yet powerful decisions for wreaking direct vengeance upon him, and he has contributed to putting himself at considerably more risk now.
So this causes me to think a whole lot of conjoining factors over right now, as though two different sorts of big, metaphoric FISTS might be set up to wring Keith Raniere’s neck. And this could become his grand finale, rather than doing 120 years plus his probationary supervision, so to speak.
Raniere might’ve positioned himself to be in more direct danger via his own dysfunctionalities, and the prison system has the authorization, implicitly, to cut him down to what is, essentially, his own, egoic “size,” as a highly disorganized charlatan, who got by for so many years with a lot of help from his “friends” and fellow fiends, such as Nancy Salzman.
What an episodic dump truck chockful of fable coming inexorably at life itself and with so much historical impactfulness.
Here I envision what can be called a very loaded slate of symbolism-meeting-flesh, quite directly, possibly one mistake after another, since I view any vengefulness as both self-defeating and futile.
Claviger’s comment
Most of the prisoners who slapped Keith around when he was being held at MDC were Mexicans – and I don’t think that was a coincidence. So, if he gets transferred to a regular prison that has a substantial Mexican population, I suspect that it might not go well for him.
If he actually ended up in a place like Beaumont, he could only survive if he requested – and was approved for – a permanent slot in protective custody. Some prisons have separate SHUs for those inmates and others just include them in the regular SHU.
Notwithstanding my own experience in observing how the BOP interacts with some federal judges and some federal prosecutors, it’s also possible that Keith’s assignment to the SHU at USP Tucson just two days after his restitution hearing was just a coincidence. We’ll just have to see how things play out from here.
Bonnie Jean
I don’t know…Personally, I have no idea where many of my own old digital photographs, files, etc. are at. I have so many hard drives, CDs, memory cards, dead computers…and I moved to so many various places over the years…Never mind if I had other people handling it, I’d be even more clueless. I think there is a good chance Keith really has no idea where the collateral is…especially the stuff that was digital-only. And right now he is also not supposed to contact his former or current harem remembers, right? So he can’t ask them what they did with it either.
Claviger’s response to Bonnie Jean
I’ll have to go back and read exactly what Keith said to the judge when he was asked about the collateral. But I think that in addition to saying he didn’t know where it was, he also indicated – at least to some degree – that he didn’t know what the judge was talking about.
Regardless of what he said – or didn’t say – to the judge, if Keith directed all of his still loyal followers to turn over any collateral they have – or have access to – they’d do that. And that is the main point here.
Although Nicki is very careful when asked about Keith and the collateral – She usually says “Keith never possessed any of the collateral” – the FBI and the federal prosecutors are not interested in playing word games. Nor is Judge Garaufis.
So, if Keith wants to stay in his little safe and secure haven in Tucson – and not spend long stretches in the SHU there – he would be well advised to take an active role in getting the collateral returned ASAP.
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The Bulger Effect
After all, they are supposed to represent the law.
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Gullibility Prize Awarded Here
By the way, a tip of that hat belongs to those wonderfully naive souls who believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and that Bulger’s murder was not a murder for hire but merely an angry prisoner who could not contain his emotions.
And a tip of the hat goes to those who see no connection to Keith Raniere been trundled off to solitary just two days after appearing at a restitution hearing where his attorney berated the judge and got into a staring contest with him and where Raniere himself said he knew nothing about collateral – and during the lead up to his preparing for a supplemental brief on his appeal – the deadline of which is at the same time his solitary confinement ends making it nearly impossible for Raniere to participate in his own appeal preparation.
For more opportunities to believe in more comforting things of a similar nature, please send $5 to Frank Report for your “Free Test on the State of Your Government’s Honesty.”
Cash only, please.
Beaumont is not a SA compound. Meaning is not a sex offender compound. Sex offenders do not fair well in general population for the obvious reasons. Saying that… I hope he ends up in Beaumont.
[…] Erasend had this comment to make about my post To Avoid ‘Bloody Beaumont’, Raniere Might Be Wise to Order Return of DOS Slaves’ Collateral […]
So many self-righteous demons with such hot pokers.
But you’re against name calling.
—So many self-righteous demons 👹
Oh, the drama! Oh, the overwrought, poetic, and prosaic metaphor! Alonzo, you are a sophist ‘nonpareil’. Most charlatans, such as Scott Johnson or J. Z. Knight can only dream of climbing to such heights of sanctimony and asininity. I believe your head is so far up your ass, you can suck your own [redacted] in reverse. Oh, the bounty and glory to Alonzo!
Indubitably, God put you on the earth to torture us sinners with your infinite wisdom.
God, I have done my time in Alonzo Purgatory!
“Oh death where is thy sting?” Am I not worthy my Lord of ascending to heaven? Bring on the Rapture!
The only things worse than Alonzo are the Boy Scouts and the Taliban. I take great satisfaction that you are reading my musings, my esteemed colleague. You are an inspiration to lost and beleaguered souls who were let go (fired) from the Church of S Scientology. Miscavage didn’t wanna promote you. I just wanted to send you to Sea Org.
Jane Doe #5 testified that Kelly imposed strict rules, including making her call him “Daddy” and controlling what she wore and ate and where she was allowed to travel. Doe said Kelly made her have sex with several other women during their relationship and often collected collateral on her ― like recording a video of her lying and saying her father molested her ― so she was unable to leave the singer.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/searing-testimony-r-kelly-trial-rape-beatings-forced-abortion_n_61240ffee4b0ec33fa071b48
Speaking of naïveté, do people really think it’s possible to “get back” digital blackmail material? Like multiple copies can’t be made and sent God knows where?
It’s a joke about Raniere giving anything to anyone right now. I heard pens and pencils are limited in prison.
Wow, you give the judge and Feds way too much credit for giving a shit. The case is basically done except for minor cleanup. Would they like to end with a nice bow tie of collateral confiscated (the odds of the women getting it back are basically nil), then sure. Do they actually give a flying f#@$? Naw, it’s just a detail to mop up but since it doesn’t really impact this case or any future cases they have to deal with, it gets filed under “oh well.” They got cases scheduled already from now to the end of the year and all the work involved in them. The time to use the prison system as leverage has long passed.
Using Jeffrey Epstein and Whitey Bulger are bad examples. Raniere’s crimes compared to theirs is like saying someone that stole $100 is the same as the guy that robbed a dozen banks.
No one in the prison system knows or cares who Keith is. He might be “famous” to us but in the grand scheme of current crime, to call him D-List would be an exaggeration. At most, he might be a minor hero in the jail since he banged some hot woman and I am sure they like hearing stories of that and details on the collateral. I am also sure some of his victims hope he dies in jail but except for maybe a few of the Mexican politicians, few likely have the means or wiliness to try to get him killed.
In short, he is literally too much of a small fry to be worth the effort you think others are willing to give him.
Your points are well taken.
Right now in the EDNY the big case is the recently started R Kelly sex trafficking case.
Across the East River in Manhattan in November the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case is expected to start.
Barring some unexpected development the NXIVM case is essentially over.
There could be an unexpected development when Nancy Salzman is sentenced, if Salzman decides to spill either some pinto or some kidney beans, in any statements to attempt to mitigate her circumstances and to appear to come out against Raniere. Already she has sounded these kinds of criticisms in an effort to claim that he was deceiving her. Nancy trying to play victim?
Raniere too keeps screwing up by violating prison rules of behavior, and he is seeing the consequences. It is routine procedure to discipline inmates with punishment when known rules are not followed.
Raniere has kept up his sneaky ways. What has Nancy Salzman been doing since her arrest? The same actions as Raniere has. Let us see what Salzman does at her sentencing appearance and how Judge Garaufis responds.
There is always the chance that there can be more to come, and that isn’t only true with Nancy Salzman. Anyone involved could have more to add, even the NDNY could get off of its behind, though so far, so negligent
Something Raniere’s vanity would not be able to live with – hence the histrionics in the courtroom. His hissy fits might not make him as infamous as he would like but it’s enough to earn him some harsh correction from those who have to directly stomach his vexatious insolence.
“By the way, a tip of that hat belongs to those wonderfully naive souls who believe Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide..”
The FR is strong because of the facts. Posting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories undercuts its credibility……
While I’m not a fan of most of shadow’s work, FR articles literally predicted and all but guaranteed Epstein would be murdered. AND used logic to predict the murder would be made to look like a suicide. Not sure many places have more credibility in regards to Epstein than FR.
My working theory is that one of the first line slaves in Mexico has the collateral.
Punishment should be meted out by society just as justice is in the form of a fair trial and sentencing. Prisoners should not be punishing other prisoners no matter how heinous their crimes. It’s for us to decide, not them.
BOP needs to step up and stop this garbage.
And prisoners like Raniere should follow the rules. No matter how special they believe they are or how “unnecessary” the BOP directive may seem to know-it-all vanguard.
There are ripple effects from even the most innocuous-seeming defiance of prison protocol that can cause harm and death to other prisoners and employees.
If you had a loved one working or residing in the prison system,m you’d want them to be safe.
Agree that violence among prisoners is awful. And must be eliminated. But you have prisons full of criminals like Raniere. They almost all believe they are above the law. And that does not change once they are incarcerated. Keith has proven it to be true. Again. That’s why prisons need to be strict.
Thank you Marie White. You are an excellent writer. I wish you’d write more.
It appalls me to learn that the BOP and DOJ are allowing a prison such as this to persist. When the government uses the threat of violence, rape, and murder against the incarcerated to get what they want, it is not justice, it is cruel and unusual punishment. Beaumont is not a prison, it is a weapon, and that makes us no better than what you’d find in a place just like Mexico. We need to do better.
Well said
Come on. That is not entirely fair. Raniere broke the rules thru communication with a harem member. And involved at least one other inmate. There is probably more that you are not privy to
Did the punishment veer towards the harsher end of the spectrum? Maybe.
Are there other factors influencing the decision? Maybe.
But you undermine your own argument when you leave that information out of the piece. Keith broke the rules.
Maybe it’s pay for play. Keith’s ride or die cult followers feed you info and then you repay them by painting Keith as the ultimate victim. But it’s not a good look for you.
Keith already has highly paid lawyers. You don’t think they have it covered if Keith is being mistreated in prison? They won’t file a complaint? Let’s see if they do.
Keith has a long history of lying about his malfeasance. Nicki has a long history of covering for Keith. So do his other followers and your sources.
It’s not naive at all to assume the worst of Keith Raniere. It is naive not to do so.
Hopefully you won’t censor a response to your critique of this reader.
For Nicki to fork over the blackmail she would have to admit her complicity.
That could lead to both civil and criminal liability for her.
Moreover Nicki has said that the only blackmail material that has been released involved the FBI releasing Allison Mack’s blackmail.
I guess Nicki forgot the video of Sarah Edmondson that was released in Mexico.
An additional factor to consider:
Did people in NXIVM create a Dead Man’s Switch?
If several copies of the blackmail were created, some of which are located overseas, any attempt by the US DOJ to be too harsh on Raniere would result in a foreign holder of the blackmail material releasing it over the internet.
Perhaps the current Mexican stand off is the best the FBI can hope for.
Assuming she didn’t destroy the blackmail already.
Keith is a psychopath. As such, he thinks in terms of me, myself, and I. He also trusts only one person – me, myself and I. I really don’t think he gave the collected collateral to anyone. That is something he would keep for himself. The other women just have the collateral they themselves collected to pass on to Keith but I don’t think they have anyone else’s collected material. I just don’t think he is capable of that level of trust to give someone to the totality of collateral.
Nor does he strike me as tech-savvy. I doubt he has a dead man switch. If he were smart, he would have just stored it in a cloud account under fake info using a VPN connection. Easy enough to do and at the time Amazon and Google were allowing free unlimited photo and video upload so a free account would have likely could have contained all the collateral he collected. Instead, it’s probably on some 128GB thumb drive or SSD shoved into a hole somewhere – where eventually time and the elements will destroy its contents since he isn’t getting out of jail to retrieve it and, as of right now, doing anything with it does nothing to benefit him in any way. If he is going to do some revenge release, likely he will wait until the appeals process is exhausted.
I personally believe that Nicki handed the material, on a flash drive or external hard drive, to her attorney to place in a secure safe in the lawyer’s office.
As such, it is protected under attorney-client privilege.
However, I can not discount the possibility that copies were made and given to other NXians in overseas locations.
Go through the NXIVM saga and note how many NXians live in foreign nations outside the reach of US jurisdiction.
As for Raniere, he is a lazy, stupid man who left most of the details to his underlings.
C’mon, Shadow, you’re better than that.
Do you really think that just because a client turns something over to their attorney for safekeeping that the “something” is protected by attorney/client privilege and can never be obtained by law enforcement officials? If that were the case, every criminal defense attorney’s office would have a massive safe for storing guns, cash, stolen goods, etc.
Claviger, c’mon you know that Shadow is in fact, NOT better than that. He’s tried to make this same point before, and you told him the same thing before. But let’s not let common sense get in the way of a good ‘ol Shadow theory.
So of course this would be covered by attorney-client privilege. And they’d never have to worry about silly things like contempt of court, obstruction, conspiracy, or the countless other problems this would cause. Fuck that, Shadow knows it ALL.