Hey, we just got off a long flight and saw that the Nxivm story blew up in a big way while we were in the air.
The big news is that defendant Nancy Salzman, known as “The Prefect” in Nxivm, is expected to plead guilty and become the first conviction in the complex six-defendant case.
Here’s what the breaking news stories are saying…
Albany Times-Union: NXIVM President Nancy Salzman is scheduled to plead guilty to an undisclosed crime on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, signaling a major victory in the Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of the organization’s leaders…
Federal prosecutors also told the court that Salzman and the other co-defendants “were aware of and facilitated Raniere’s sexual relationships with two underage victims … (including) a 15-year-old girl who was employed by Nancy Salzman and who— 10 years later—became Raniere’s first-line ‘slave'” in a secret club he had created to groom women to have sex with him.
New York Post: It was not immediately clear which charges Salzman, who is facing a racketeering conspiracy rap, is expected to cop to…
The 63-year-old registered nurse would be a powerful get for the government, given her longtime relationship with guru — and alleged sex trafficker — Raniere.
Frank Parlato: Regardless of whether her plea deal includes any type of formal agreement that requires her to testify against her co-defendants – Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman, Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman, and Kathy Russell – she will most definitely be called as a witness by the prosecution…
The big question – which may not be answered for some time – is whether she will get prison time. How good was the plea deal? Chances are she will not be sentenced until after the trial and if she cooperates with the prosecution, verifies the authenticity of evidence the feds have already gathered, turns over any other evidence she may have control of, and testifies against Raniere and her other co-defendants – which might include her daughter, Lauren – the prosecution may argue for a lighter sentence before Judge Garaufis. That’s a powerful incentive.
As always, we’re interested in your take. What do you think Nancy pleading guilty will mean for Keith Raniere …and the other defendants?
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on March 12, 2019 at 16:50
E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He’s written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology’s harassment of Paulette Cooper titled ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,’ and more recently a compilation of his stories, ‘Battlefield Scientology.’ He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world, as well as other subjects at The Underground Bunker. You can reach him by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you’d like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.)
