Jeffrey Epstein's Society Friends Close Ranks – Connections to High‑Profile Figures

Date: Sunday, April 3 2011 03:49 PM Subject: RE: Daily Beast From: Peter Green <> Attachments: image001.jpg; image002.jpg You are mentioned ! Jeffrey Epstein's Society Friends Close Ranks by Alexandra Wolfe Alexandra Wolfe is a former contributing editor to Conde Nast Portfolio. She has written for publications including the New York Times, New York magazine, the New York Observer, and the Wall Street Journal, where she wrote design and lifestyle features for the Weekend Journal section. Before that, she was a reporter at the New York Observer. She is currently working on a book called American Coddle, about America's culture of entitlement. X Close e -+ No, back then Epstein was mid-makeover. He had monarchy in-house and famous faces at his table. Former Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne had just endorsed Epstein on his science foundation's website (which has been since removed). It seemed Epstein had joined the ranks of former President Clinton, director Roman Polanski, and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, whose sex scandals faded in comparison with their celebrity. The conventional wisdom among his friends was that Epstein has been victimized by greedy, morally dubious teenage girls and unscrupulous lawyers. "I've never condoned paying for sex, but if the young lady lied about her age it's her own fault," explained one socialite, who along with hedge-fund manager Wilbur Ross and real- estate magnate Leon Black hobnobbed with Epstein ata Southampton movie screening just two months after his release from "community control" in Florida. Much of Epstein's entrée into New York society can be credited to Ghislaine Maxwell, the superbly well- connected daughter of the late press magnate Robert Maxwell. Epstein started dating her in the 1990s. The romantic relationship ended after a few years, but they have remained close ever since. Last week two victims publicly alleged that Ghislaine procured them for Epstein, one at age 15 from a Mar-a-Lago country club locker room. [REDACTED], now 27, who was Epstein's sexual plaything for several years, told the Mail on Sunday. "Ghislaine sent me to a dentist to have my teeth whitened and I went for Brazilian waxes. He wanted me to look pre-pubescent." HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021090