FW: SDNY News Clips Monday, August 19, 2019
SDNY News Clips
Monday, August 19, 2019
| Contents |
|---|
| Terrorism and International Narcotics. 2 |
| Baktash Akasha. 2 |
| Public Corruption. 5 |
| Epstein. 5 |
| Civil Division. 16 |
| NYCHA.. 16 |
| Complex Frauds and Cybercrime. 18 |
| Elcock. 18 |
| Goldstein. 20 |
| Matters of Interest 21 |
| Terrorists Turn to Bitcoin for Funding and They're Learning Fast 21 |
| Officials Blast Barr For Criticism Of Progressive Prosecutors. 24 |
| 2nd Circuit Announces Selection of New Circuit Executive. 26 |
| NYPD Arrests West Virginia Man Over Subway Bomb Scare. 27 |
| Daniel Pantaleo Officer Who Held Eric Garner in Chokehold Is Fired. 28 |
| U.S. Prisons Chief Removed in Wake of Epstein Suicide. 31 |
According to WSJ, there were two prosecutors in DANY who handled Epstein's effort to get reduced sex offender level: Jennifer Gaffney and Pat Egan.
Documents Show Efforts by Jeffrey Epstein's Attorneys to Sway Prosecutors
WSJ
By Joe Palazzolo
8/18/19
Local prosecutors in Manhattan labeled Jeffrey Epstein a low-level sex offender nearly a decade ago, against the recommendation of a state panel of experts and to the shock of a New York judge.
Documents obtained through a public-records request provide new insight into how Mr. Epstein wielded influence within the criminaljustice system, as his lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP tried to prevent the financier from having to report to New York City police regularly or appear in a public sex-offender database.
Attorneys Jay Lefkowitz and Sandra Musumeci recruited the former state prosecutor in Florida who oversaw the original investigation ofMr. Epstein to speak with assistant district attorneys in Manhattan, the records show. In letters and a meeting with the Manhattan office, the defense lawyers dismissed Florida police allegations ofMr. Epstein's sexual encounters with girls as "inflammatory" and "unreliable" and portrayed him as a benefactor with a compelling life story who was "not in any way a typical sex offender."
They got what they wanted from Manhattan prosecutors but ultimately lost in court. Still, in the end, Mr. Epstein avoided the most onerous sex-offender requirements in New York, having established his primary residence in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Mr. Lefkowitz and Ms. Musumeci didn't respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
A spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said Mr. Epstein's lawyers dealt only with two prosecutors in the office on the sex-offender designation: Jennifer Gaffney, the deputy chief of the sex crimes unit, and Patrick Egan.
Mr. Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell Aug. 10, while awaiting trial on new sex-trafficking charges stemming from what federal prosecutors alleged was a yearslong scheme to procure and sexually abuse dozens of girls. A medical examiner determined the cause of death was suicide.
More than a decade earlier, Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a prostitute and "procuring a person under 18 for prostitution." The second felony charge required him to register as a sex offender in the state and other places where he had homes, including New York.
A Palm Beach police report cited interviews with several girls who described giving Mr. Epstein massages that turned sexual. But his lawyers worked out a deal with federal and state prosecutors that limited his exposure to the two prostitution-related counts and sent him to jail for 13 months with broad work-release privileges.
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After reviewing the police report, the New York Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders recommended in August 2010 placing Mr. Epstein in the category of offenders deemed at the highest risk of committing another crime.
If adopted by a court, the board's recommendation meant that Mr. Epstein would have to check in with New York police every 90 days and would be listed in a public database of sex offenders with his photo.
That fall, Mr. Lefkowitz and Ms. Musumeci said in letters to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that prosecutors should place little weight on allegations against Mr. Epstein that Florida prosecutors declined to charge. They argued for classifying Mr. Epstein among the lowest-risk sex offenders, who aren't listed in the public database and have to check in with police only once a year.
The Kirkland & Ellis attorneys offered to connect prosecutors to an unusual source to back up their arguments: Barry Krischer, the former Palm Beach County state attorney who oversaw the Epstein case in Florida would come speak to them about his investigation, Ms. Musumeci wrote in a Dec. 10, 2010, email to Ms. Gaffney and Mr. Egan in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The Manhattan prosecutors declined the offer, but they contacted then-current officials at the Palm Beach County state attorney's office to figure out why allegations against Mr. Epstein in the police report didn't lead to charges, according to Ms. Gaffney. Mr. Krischer didn't respond to a request for comment.
Guidelines for the New York Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders say that "the fact that an offender was not indicted for an offense may be strong evidence that the offense did not occur."
"After two months of seeking out additional information, I still had nothing more. At that time, I made a legal determination that I could not rely solely on the police reports," Ms. Gaffney said.
She informed Mr. Epstein's lawyers in a December 2010 email that the district attorney's office would consent to designating Mr. Epstein low risk.
Stephen Weber, a former member of the board of examiners who looked at Mr. Epstein's case, said it was "extremely unusual" for a New York district attorney's office to seek more lenient treatment for a sex offender than the board.
"Generally speaking, most [district attorneys] want an upward departure, never down," Mr. Weber said.
Ms. Gaffney had to defend her decision at a January 2011 hearing in New York Supreme Court.
"I am a little overwhelmed because I have never seen the prosecutor's office do anything like this," Justice Ruth Pickholz told Ms. Gaffney, according to a transcript of the hearing.
Ms. Gaffney agreed that it was "incredibly unusual for us to make a downward argument," but said the board of examiners had erred by relying on unproven allegations in the Palm Beach police report.
The judge sided with the board, placing Mr. Epstein in the most serious category of sex offender.
"He can give up his New York home if he doesn't want to come here every 90 days," Justice Pickholz said.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office changed its position after Mr. Epstein appealed Justice Pickholz's order, acknowledging that the allegations in the Palm Beach police report were reliable proof of criminal conduct.
The New York City Police Department never required him to check in, however, because his primary residence was in the Virgin Islands, an agency spokeswoman said. But he was entered in the sex-offender database his
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lawyers had so hoped to avoid.