Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter clashes with Jeffrey Epstein over prosecution decisions

prison, followed by 15 months of home confinement. That would be a fraction of the time he would have to serve if he were to be convicted by a jury. Epstein's spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, said his client would have no comment. Dershowitz also declined to comment late yesterday. Palm Beach police records show that on March 15, 2005, a 14-year-old girl alleged she had visited Epstein's estate, where she partially stripped and gave him a massage during which he "pulled out a purple vibrator" and used it on her in exchange for $300. A further probe uncovered five young women who said Epstein had masturbated and touched their genitals during massages, the records state. A woman named Haley Robson - who described herself as "like a Heidi Fleiss" - later admitted bringing six girls between the ages of 14 and 16 to Epstein's house, according to cops. Despite the allegations, Epstein was only nailed on a single charge of soliciting a hooker - but it sparked a federal probe. Epstein's lawyers and friends have insisted he was the hapless victim of a vendetta by Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, whom they described as a "born-again nutcase." Palm Beach Post - 08/14/ 2006 Police chief's reputation helps discredit attacks By Larry Keller Palm Beach Post - Monday, August 14, 2006 In the case of Palm Beach financier Jeffrey Epstein, it seems, at times, as if two men are accused of wrongdoing: Epstein and Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter. Epstein, 53, was indicted last month on a charge of felony solicitation of prostitution solely because of Reiter's "craziness," one of Epstein's lawyers said. His department disseminated "a distorted view of the case" and behaved in a "childish" manner when the grand jury didn't indict Epstein on the charges it sought, another Epstein lawyer complained. To hear the Epstein camp tell it, Reiter, 48, is a loose cannon better suited to be the sheriff of Mayberry. They whisper that he's embroiled in a messy divorce. Reiter did in fact file for divorce from his wife, NAME REMOVED), last year, after 24 years of marriage. They have a son, 18, and a daughter, 14. The couple is scheduled to go to mediation next week, Aug. 16. Nothing in the court file suggests their split is particularly ugly. Reiter incurred the wrath of the Epstein camp as well as the state attorney's office for two reasons. First, he pressed for Epstein to be charged with the more serious crimes of sexual activity with minors. Second, he slammed State Attorney Barry Krischer in blunt language seldom used by one law-enforcement official concerning another because of what he perceived as that office's mishandling of the case. In a letter to Krischer written May 1, Reiter called his actions in the Epstein case "highly unusual." He added, "I must urge you to... consider if good and sufficient reason exists to require your disqualification from the prosecution of these cases." In short, Reiter told the county's top prosecutor for the past 13 years that he ought to get off the case. "It looks like a departure from professionalism," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021770