JAMES PATTERSON the outcome may have been different. But they were not known to us at the time. A prosecution decision must be based on admissible facts known at the time. In cases of this type, those are unusually difficult because victims are frightened and often decline to testify or if they do speak, they give con- tradictory statements. Our judgment in this case, based on the evidence known at the time, was that it was better to have a billionaire serve time in jail, register as a Sex offender, and pay his victims restitution than risk a trial with a reduced likelihood of success. | supported that judgment then, and based on the state law as it then stood and the evidence known at the time, I would support that judgment again. Epstein’s treatment, while in state custody, likewise may encourage the view that the office should have been tougher. Although the terms of confinement in a state prison are a matter appropriately left to the State of Flor- ida, and not federal authorities, without doubt, the treat- ment that he received while in state custody undermined the purpose of a jail sentence. Some may also believe that the prosecution should have been tougher in retaliation for the defense’s tactics. The defense, arguably, often failed to negotiate in good faith. They would obtain concessions as part of a negotia- tion and agree to proceed, only to change their minds, and appeal the office’s position to Washington. The inves- tigations into the family lives of indiv

James PATTERSON Kennedy Smith. The prosecutors presented Epstein a choice: plead to more serious state felony charges (that would result in 2 years’ imprisonment, registration as a sexual offender, and restitution for the victims) or else prepare for a federal felony trial. What followed was a year-long assault on the prose- cution and the prosecutors. I use the word assault inten- tionally, as the defense in this case was more aggressive than any which I, or the prosecutors in my office, had previously encountered. Mr. Epstein hired an army of legal superstars: Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, for- mer Judge and then Pepperdine Law Dean Kenneth Starr, former Deputy Assistant to the President and then Kirk- land & Ellis Partner Jay Lefkowitz, and several others, including prosecutors who had formerly worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and in the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department. Defense attorneys next requested a meeting with me to challenge the prosecution and the terms previously presented by the prosecutors in their meeting with Mr. Black. The prosecution team and 1 met with defense counsel in Fall 2007, and I reaffirmed the office’s position: two years, registration and restitution, or trial. Over the next several months, the defense team pre- sented argument after argument claiming that felony criminal proceedings against Epstein were unsupported by the evidence and lacked a basis in law, and that the office’s insistence on jai

James PATTERSON fit the category we have to ensure the general population is not going to take their anger out on.” Although he understands that Epstein is a sex offender and has a sense of the scope of his alleged crimes, Bradshaw's also aware that the actual conviction was for a “low-level felony.” At the request of Epstein’s attorneys—a request that is con- firmed by a court order—Epstein 1s quickly granted “work release.” What it means in practice is that six days a week, for up to sixteen —sixteen! — hours each day, Epstein ts allowed to leave the Stockade to be driven by a designated driver in a car ear- marked especially for him to any one of three places: his lawyer Jack Goldberger’s office in downtown West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach office of a science foundation that he’s established, and his house on El Brillo Way. Despite the ankle bracelet he wears, it could be argued that as a fabulously rich prisoner with two of his own jets parked nearby, at the Palm Beach International Airport, Epstein might have posed a flight risk. Instead, every day of the week save one, he’s allowed to go to 3 = his lawyer’s, to go to his office, or simply to go home. Did the deputy in charge of Epstein go to the house on El g Brillo Way? Ric Bradshaw considers the question. “Yes.” he says, “he did.” Did the deputy go inside the house? “Yes, he did.” If so, the deputy might have encountered Nadia Marcinkova, ” who was staying on El Brillo Way at the time. He may also have 202

James PATTERSON Some wait a year before making their way to the courthouse, their date with the public defender, and an appearance betore the judge. Some get out much sooner, if only they can make bail. But there’s no bail without money— or at least collateral—and, of course, being without money is often what lands people in jail in the first place. Jeffrey Epstein could have posted bail for every single inmate in the Gun Club. But that’s just one of the ways in which Epstein is unlike his fellow inmates. He's an admitted pedophile now. Even a famous one. And, famously, pedophiles tend to fare poorly in jail. Luckily for Epstein, Ric Bradshaw, the sheriff in charge of local jails, transfers Epstein to the infirmary, where he spends exactly one night before being transferred seven miles up the road to a much smaller, safer location: the Palm Beach County Central Detention Center— or, as it’s known, the Stockade. “It’s not somewhere we'd put a serial killer” Ric Bradshaw says. Most of the residents here are addicts who take part in drug education programs, prostitutes, petty criminals, and drunks. It's a far safer place for Epstein to be, and, unlike other inmates a (except, of course, those being held in solitary), he'll end up with ~ his own cell, even his own wing, which he has to himself. % Epstein’s allowed to pay for a security guard, who sits outside the © cell and keeps watch. And he’s allowed any number of visitors. For a convicted felon, it’s an extraordi

JAMES PATTERSON “Is the Icarus story, someone who flies too close to the sun,” that journalist said in reference to “the agony” of Epstein's legal “ordeal.” “Did Icarus like massages?” Epstein responded. But after Epstein’s indictment, there were no more boasts. For the most part, he kept silent in public and retreated into his Eyes Wide Shut world. And when the New York Times did manage to get him to speak on the record, he spoke like a chastened man. Sitting on his patio down on Little St. James, Epstein likened himself to the shipwrecked Gulliver after he washes ashore on Lilliput. “Gulliver's playfulness had unintended consequences,” he said. On the eve of his departure, he had a few more things to say: “That is what happens with wealth. There are unexpected burdens as well as benefits. ...” “Your body can be confined, but not your mind....” “I am not blameless. ...” Outside of the agreement he'd signed with the prosecutor's office, this was the closest Epstein had come to admitting his guilt. But strange details were sprinkled throughout the story. He had formed a “board of directors of friends” who would coun- se] him on his behavior. And, seemingly for the first time, he'd hired a full-time masseur—a man. Readers of the New York Times might have wondered: Epstein was going to jail for eighteen months. What need would he have for a full-time masseur? The story’s last line hinted at the answer: in preparation for ~ incarceration, Epstein had set up an e-mai

JAMES PATTERSON perform one or more lewd, lascivious and sexual acts, including masturbation and touching the girl’s vagina. Consistent with the foregoing plan and scheme, Jane Doe was recruited to give Epstein a massage for monetary com- pensation. Jane was brought to Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach. Once at the mansion, Jane wads introduced to Sarah Kellen, who led her up the flight of stairs to the room with the massage table. In this room, Epstein told Jane to take off her clothes and give him a massage. Jane kept her panties and bra on and complied with Epstein’s instructions. Epstein wore only a towel around his waste [sic]. After a short period of time, Epstein removed the towel and rolled over exposing his penis. Epstein began to masturbate and he sexually assaulted Jane. After Epstein had completed the assault, Jane was then able to get dressed, leave the room and go back down the stairs. Jane was paid $200 by Epstein. The young girl who recruited Jane was paid $100 by Epstein for bringing Jane to him. As a result of this encounter with Epstein, Jane experi- enced confusion, shame, humiliation and embarrassment, and has suffered severe psychological and emotional injuries. | | by this.” BJ ” i a om ve “ ei’ Jeffrey Epstein: June 30, 2 n June 30, 2008, more Officer Pagan’s investig; age girls, Jeffrey Epst County jail. A few days earlier, Epstein New York Times. At the time, t (the line having long since blu Saint Jeff's. “I respect the legal process H

James PATTERSON in the meantime, Epstein began to settle out of court with his victims. In February of 2008, a Virginia woman who went by the alias Jane Doe #2 brought a fifty-million-dollar lawsuit against Epstein. At the time of their meeting, she claimed, Epstein was fifty-two years old. She was a teenager, and her complaint, which was made public, gave the rest of the world an early glimpse of what Epstein, and the inner workings of his secret world, looked like from a victim's perspective. “Epstein is a financier and money manager with a secret cli- entele limited exclusively to billionaires.” the lawsuit alleged. “He is himself a man of tremendous wealth, power and influ- ence. He maintains his principal home in New York and also owns residences in New Mexico, St. Thomas and Palm Beach, FL. The allegations herein concern Epstein’s conduct while at his lavish estate in Palm Beach.” The complaint continued: Upon information and belief, Epstein has a sexual preference and obsession for underage minor girls. He engaged in a plan and scheme in which he gained access to primarily economi- cally disadvantaged minor girls in his home, sexually assaulted these girls, and then gave them money. In or about 9004-2005, Jane Doe, then approximately 16 years old, fell into Epstein’s trap and became one of his victims. Upon information and belief, Jeffrey Epstein carried out his schemes and assaulted girls in Florida, New York, and on his private Island, known as Little St. J

JAMES PATTERSON causes had made him a player on that side of the political aisle. He had a famous Republican, Bill Clinton’s nemesis, Ken Starr, work- ing the other side. And just to make sure they'd covered the bases, Epstein’s team also recruited Roy Black—the lawyer who'd cleared William Kennedy Smith of rape and kept Rush Limbaugh out of prison for his alleged illegal drug use—and Jay Lefkowitz, a defense attorney who'd worked with US attorney R. Alexander Acosta at Ken Starr’s law firm. And so in September, the US attorney’s office reached a for- mal agreement with Epstein’s team: the United States would defer federal prosecution in favor of prosecution by the state of Florida. A non-prosecution agreement (NPA) was drafted; among other things, it assured Epstein that he would not be prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida for felony offenses involving the sexual abuse of underage girls. (By that point, thirty known victims had been discovered.) Instead it allowed him to plead guilty to state felony offenses for solicitation of prostitution and the procurement of minors for prostitution. The NPA established a procedure that allowed Epstein’s victims to sue him in civil court and took the extraordinary step of ensuring that “any potential co-conspirators” of Epstein’s would be immune from prosecution. “In consideration of Epstein’s agreement to plead guilty and to provide compensation in the manner described above, if Epstein successfully fulfills all of the ter

JAMES PATTERSON Pin “I had people in the community in Palm Beach who either made : “My responsibility was to comments directly to me or to others who relayed them to me that I Beach and preserve their con: didn’t need to take the tack in the investigation that we did, which is department for all,” Reiter sai [to] completely investigate it and then refer it to the FBI after the particularly under the crimin state case was resolved,” Reiter said in the deposition. “I had one the nature of our system, be ti ‘dividual who came to see me a couple of times about this.” | But along with handing t According to the chief, the individual in question was a | attorney, Reiter took another prominent Palm Beach politician. | letters—on Palm Beach PD | “Le said this wasmt necessary; this was a case that was really | victims in the case. very minor,” Reiter recalled. “The victims had lifestyles that ‘ He delivered the letters by don’t make them—shouldn’t make them believable to the police 1 department.” 4 “1 told him that those kinds of suggestions to me were : : improper and he should stop,” said Reiter. “That he had taken a F 3 couple of steps down the road toward something that could eventually constitute a crime. We talked several times. Early on ‘t didn’t end favorably. You know, this is an individual [whom] I had to interact with in my official capacity and in his official capacity as well.” The Palm Beach politician wasn’t the only one to pressure the police chief. “I received c

JAMES PATTERSON : c gotten into more fights there, growing depressed and withdrawn of America’s most famous from her sister and parents. Helplessly, her parents watched her | celebrity lawyer—Ken Sta spiral out of control. As they neared the end of their rope, they | had had Bill Clinton impeac sent her out of state. But after the move, Mary had fallen apart | team. completely. She used drugs, fell in with a bad crowd, ran away | As far as Mary’s parents from her relatives, and shacked up with a gang of drug dealers. 1 walked into an ambush. Eve When the gang was busted by local police, the dealers blamed , : playing defense on the side Mary for snitching and put out the word that they wanted her qd ond girl— Alison, who cla: dead. ; never testified in court at al “We had to move her again,” Mary's father explained. “We finally got her into therapy —she’s still seeing the therapist. And worst of all, she developed HPV. She’s already had to have a seri- ous operation.” Mary’s troubles didn't end there. On June 28, she was brought in front of the grand jury. She hadn't been briefed by the state attorney —she hadn't even met the prosecutors—and she had no idea what she would be asked. Almost immediately, she found that she was being treated more like a criminal than like a witness or victim. “The prosecutor produced a printout of our daughter's Myspace page,” Mary's father recalls. “Mary was stunned. She began to cry. The prosecutor accused her of all sort of things; it was

JAMES PATTERSON bridge to his home in Palm Beach. So in a sense we fail y. But the fact that Epstein would call a news program e and command them to order the programs traffic y—that says something about the man’s arro- ed to get : } the stor from his plan helicopter awa gance. And maybe his temper.” | | 3 Mary: July 2006 = a q n June 29, assistant s a Oe Detective Recarey th; BE: would be going to a ES convened for July 19. i On July 12, Recarey spok _ that she still hadn’t heard fr _ too, was odd, since Recarey 4 upon to testify. | 4 She was back in Palm Bez 4 » out-of-state relatives. 5 a All in all, it had been a ve _ “What ‘has happened to > father would say. ; Mary had been sent to < “her it was the wrong place at 178 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_009007

James PATTERSON If Epstein’s legal team had wanted to remove Weiss from the case, this would have been a good way to do it. Nine days later, Detective Recarey met with ASA Lanna Belohlavek, who told him that her boss, Barry Krischer, had asked her again to take the case to the grand jury. Recarey told Belohlavek that he had already requested arrest warrants for Epstein, Sarah Kel- len, and Wendy Dobbs. The Palm Beach PD had finished its investi- gation months earlier, he said, and had been waiting since then for the case to move forward. He asked her once more to issue the war- rants. Once again Belohlavek declined, saying that the original offer her office had made to Epstein’s old lawyer had been resubmitted to the new lawyer. When Epstein’s reply came, she would call. While waiting for that call, Recarey received several calls from Mary’s father, who told him that he was being followed by a green Chevrolet Monte Carlo—tailed so aggressively that other vehicles were being run off the road. Recarey ran the plates and found that the Chevy was registered to one Zachary Bechard of Jupiter, Florida. Bechard was a licensed private eye. “A funny thing happened in Palm Beach,” says Tim Malloy, who was working as a TV newscaster in South Florida at the time. “This would have been right around the time that Michael Reiter sent his letter asking Barry Krischer to recuse himself from the case. I didn’t even know what Epstein looked like, really, at the time. We had pictures take

JAMES PATTERSON originally, he said, “Let's go for it: this is an adult male in his fries who's had sexual contact with children of the ages of the victims.” He said this is somebody who we have to stop. And whatever we need, he said, in the state attorney’s office, we have a unit that’s equipped to investigate and prosecute these kinds of cases. And I didn’t have too many facts early on when I talked with him, but I knew that there were multi- ple victims and to our detectives they were believable. So when time went on and Mr. Epstein became aware of the investigation and his lawyers contacted the state attorney's office, they told me that. And from that point on, and I believe it was Mr. Dershow- itz initially, the tone and tenor of the discussions of this case with Mr. Krischer changed completely. [At] one point he sug- gested that we write [Epstein] a notice to appear, which would be for a misdemeanor. He just completely changed from not only our first conversation about this[ — when] he didn't know the name Jeffrey Epstein—till when he had been informed on Mr. Epstein’s reputation and his wealth, and I just thought that very unusual. I feel like I know him or knew him very well, the state attorney, and I just felt like he could not objectively make decisions about this case: that is why I wrote it. 174 Detective Recarey: May hief Reiter’s letter to t effect. Krischer did not arrest warrant was issued. A1 tive Recarey received a telep ney Daliah Weiss, who advis t

James PATTERSON Under “[Do] you wanna lose your virginity”: “I already lost it.” een caught with drugs and arrested. One of the victims has b ria’s Secret. From the She’s also been caught stealing from Victo state attorney's perspective, these girls look like compromised women. And if what they say abou make them prostitutes? As witnesses, they would be weak, Epstein’s side were exceptionally strong. Alan Dershowitz had represented Claus von Bulow, the Brit- ted of the murder of his wife, Sunny. s team when the former t Epstein is true, wouldn't that while the lawyers on ish socialite who was acquit Dershowitz had been on ©. J. Simpson’ acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole football star was Brown Simpson and Nicole's friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. And either one had had rich as von Bulow and Simpson had been, 0 the resources that Epstein was willing and able to deploy in his own defense. Neither of them had been intimate friends with his lawyer. As far as Reiter was concerned, none of that mattered. Evenif Epstein thought that the girls he'd molested were eighteen years they had lied to him—it didn’t matter under Flor- orried that in Epstein’s case exceptions more concerned with each old—even if ida law. The chief grew w were being made, and he grew even unreturned call that he made to the state attorney's office. On May 1, the Palm Beach PD asked the state attorney's office to issue an arrest warrant for Jeffrey Epstein. That same day, Chief Reiter

JaMES PATTERSON Atty Alan Dershowitz. The offer is 1 count of Agg Assault with intent to commit a felony, five years probation, with adjudication withheld. Epstein would have to submit to psy- chiatric/sexual evaluation and no unsupervised visits with minors. When asked about all the other victims, ASA Belohlavek stated that was the only offer made as to one vic- tim, [Mary]. ASA Belohlavek|’s] cell phone rang and went to voice mail. She checked her voice mail and played the mes- sage on speaker. The caller identified himself as Atty Guy Fronstin and acknowledged the deal made between them. Fronstin stated in the message, he spoke with his client, Jef- frey Epstein, and would agree to this deal. Fronstin asked to call off the grand jury as they would accept this deal. Belohlavek stated a probable cause would be needed to book Epstein in the county Jail and would let me know as to when it was needed. I explained my disapproval of the deal and not being consulted prior to the deal being offered. However I expressed that was only my opinion and the final approval would come from the Chief of Police. She explained to have Chief Reiter call Barry Krischer about the deal. I left the area and returned to the police station where I briefed the Chief about the deal offered. I checked my voice mail messages and discovered a mes- sage from [the] stepmother for the victim [Mary]. She was calling because the State Attorney's Office still had not returned any of her calls as to when they

James PATTERSON Fven so, Reiter was beginning to wonder if Krischer was stacking the deck in Epstein’s favor—if, thanks to the sway prosecutors have over grand juries, assembling such a jury wasn't an excellent way to let Epstein off with the lightest pun- ishment possible. Another unusual thing: the way Barry Krischer and the law- yers working for him ignored Chief Reiter's multiple phone calls as well as Detective Recareys— even though the police had been hearing from Epstein’s own lawyers. “(Krischer] and I had an excellent relationship,” Chief Reiter said in his deposition. “I was the speaker at his swearing-in cere- mony. And that he wouldnt return my phone calls—I mean, it was clear to me by his actions that he could not objectively look at this case.” In the incident report he ended up writing, Detective Recarey remembered a phone call that he received from Guy Fronstin, one of the lawyers representing Epstein. It was a message Epstein wanted to send, something central to the case that demanded explanation. The whole shit show swirling around him was just a misunderstanding—a misrepresentation— of Epstein’s actual interests and intentions. . Fronstin says Mr. Epstein is very passionate about massages, Detective Recarey would write. And: Mr. Epstein had donated over $100,000 to the Ballet of Florida for massages. And: The massages are therapeutic and spiritually sound for © him. That is why he has had so many massages. 166 Palm Beach Police Depar by Detect

JAMES PATTERSON of, and means of obtaining, oxycodone and hydrocodone. (A few years after Limbaugh's arrest, which coincided with Chief Reit- er’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the talk-show host settled with prosecutors, agreed to submit to random drug testing, and gave up his firearms permit.) Krischer himself, however, had been accused of sexual misconduct. In October of 1992, Jodi Bergeron, a legal secretary who'd worked for Krischer, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in the Palm Beach County circuit court. That suit was dismissed, but a few months later, the woman took Krischer to federal court, accusing him of making unwanted advances and demanding recompense for battery, negligence, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. Krischer had placed his hands, violently, inside her blouse, the woman said. He'd forcibly fondled her breasts, forcibly kissed her, and rubbed her shoulders while brushing her buttocks with his hands and knees, all while accompanying the gestures with verbal advances. When she declined those advances, the woman claimed, Krischer fired her. Krischer denied the allegations. At the time, he was making his fst run for the state attorney's office. The charges were politically motivated, he said. Members of a local chapter of NOW—the National Organization for Women—had stood by the lawyer, cit ing his efforts to stop domestic violence, among his other virtues. “1 am here to support Barry Krischer for the work his office did

JAMES PATTERSON No, she told him. She wasn’t Epstein type. The girls she'd seen at his house were very thin and beautiful and did not have tattoos. This massage therapist had several tattoos that were vis- ible, and on quite a few occasions Epstein and Ghislaine Max- well had made negative comments about them. According to a Palm Beach Police Department Incident Report filed by Recarey on July 25, 2006, the detective had also heard from Mary’s father, who said that a private eye had been to his house, photographing his family and chasing visitors away. Mary's dad had gotten the license plate — Florida E79-4EG. Recarey traced it back to one Ivan Robles of West Palm Beach. Robles turned out to be a licensed private investigator. Recarey informed the state's attorney’s office. Alison also contacted Recarey and told him that she'd been approached by someone who was in touch with Epstein. Alison had been told that she’d receive money if she would refuse to cooperate with the police. Those who help him will be compensated, she was told, according to Detective Recarey’s incident report. “And those who hurt him will be dealt with.” Recarey reassured the girl and told her that tampering witha witness in a case like this was a serious, arrestable offense. Then he told an assistant state attorney. The detective was leaving no i undotted and no t uncrossed. But he did wonder if the state attorney's office itself had become part of the problem. 162 Barry Krischer: April tat

James PATTERSON that involved a very noteworthy person and that involved a num- ber of underage females,” Reiter would say in his deposition for the suit that was later settled by Epstein. “That it was of a sexual nature. I was concerned that we had not reached all of the vic- tims, and we hadn't, I’m sure, at this point. I told him that I felt like the suspect would probably become aware of the investiga- tion at some point and that we should probably expect some con- tact from...Mr. Epstein’s lawyers. And I told him that | wanted to keep him very well informed on this and that I hoped that he would do the same. And that we would have to have more con- tact in making sure it was handled responsibly, intelligently, and appropriately as it moved forward.” Reiter would say that Epstein’s name did not seem to ring a bell with the state attorney. But shortly afterward, the chief became aware that in certain powerful circles his investigation was being looked upon unfavorably. “I had many people-related conversations...on the cocktail-party circuit that suggested we approach this in a way that wasnt necessary,” he would say. Michael Reiter was a good cop. A good man. But he was about to discover that when it came to men with the power and influ- ence Epstein wielded, fairness under the law was a relative, mal- leable concept. 160 ‘a . Detective Recarey: Feb: or months, Joe Reca been brought to Epsi and car-rental records according to a source withi: would identify forty-se

JaMES PATTERSON gas; weekends in the Hamptons, affairs with getting splashed all over the tabloids. a time, he and Epstein would good life. Parties In Ve beautiful women that end up It makes sense that, once upon have gotten along. “As for the girls,” Meister says, “that was ju seat them strategically at client dinners. When he went to the d take three or four girls with him. They'd take turns st business. He’d movies, he’ massaging his back, arms, and legs.” According to Meister, Epstem used to boast that he “liked to go into insane asylums because he liked to fuck crazy women.” “Who knows if it’s true?” Meister adds. “But I'm telling you, he used to say it.” From time to time, Epstein’s friends and acquaintances would see sides of Epstein that he'd grown much less shy about sharing. n Dershowitz to invest with a prominent in Kramer. Dershowitz did, and he 8, the fund Dershowitz had Epstein encouraged Ala hedge-fund manager named Or made a lot of money at first. But in 200 invested in lost a substantial amount. Afterward, according to a for mer associate of Epstein’s, Epstein appeared in Manhattan office. There, sources say, he told Kramer: in your interest to make Alan Dershowitz whole.” ervention worked, and Dershowitz recovered his Kramer's midtown “It’s very much Epstein’s int money. To people who'd known Epstein back behavior was out of character. But the thin that y iat in the 1980s, this kind of j g about Epstein was 4 2 > ou never could figure hi