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Jeffery Epstein: Man in the Middle - a venn diagram of his circle of influenced and influencers
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-man-in-the-middleMUCH LIKE the high crimes and misdemeanors of Donald John Trump, the illicit activity practiced by the late Jeffrey Epstein is so sweeping, so vast, and so heinous, it’s difficult to fully absorb. This piece is an attempt to sort out the mess.
I have read a great deal about Epstein, including Vicky Ward’s profile in Vanity Fair, where all talk of her subject’s dalliances with underage girls was excised by her editor—presumably under pressure from Epstein himself. Over the last two weeks, I watched “Epstein: Filthy Rich,” the remarkable Netflix documentary, which mostly concerns sex trafficking, and listened to “Merchant of Death,” Zev Shalev’s even-more-remarkable series of broadcasts on his Narativ channel about Epstein’s career as an arms dealer and money launderer.
“Filthy Rich” is interesting because it shows the places where Epstein lived, the shitty art on his walls, his crappy taste in clothes and furniture. And it’s one thing to read about him trafficking underage girls, and quite another to meet them and see pictures of what they looked like while he was abusing them. The man was a monster. “Merchant of Death,” meanwhile, delves into the under-reported, but possibly more critical, aspect of Epstein: his pocketbook. Who was this guy, and how’d he get so rich?
Shalev has an epiphany during his broadcast. Epstein, he explains, is really three things: First and foremost, an arms dealer; second, a money launderer and Ponzi schemer; third, a sex trafficker. When we think of Epstein in those terms, he becomes easier to understand.
A primary source of information on Epstein’s shadowy finances, one who participates in both the Netflix doc and the “Merchant of Death” broadcast, is Steven Hoffenberg. I’d never heard of him before, but his name is important to know. Hoffenberg was the CEO of Towers Financial, and as such presided over one of the largest Ponzi schemes in recent history. He was caught, indicted, convicted, and served 18 years in federal prison. Now, he is working to get the truth out about Epstein, whom he hired in the 1980s to help manage his criminal enterprise at Towers. So: Hoffenberg knew Epstein well, worked with him, was there; and he has zero incentive to lie about any of this. Indeed, his motive now is to see that Epstein’s rape victims—who in the 80s he did not know about—get restitution. Hoffenberg helps us connect the dots. And there are so many dots!
Like Bill Barr, Jeffrey Epstein occupies the center where a lot of circles on the Venn diagram overlap. Here is a breakdown:
I have read a great deal about Epstein, including Vicky Ward’s profile in Vanity Fair, where all talk of her subject’s dalliances with underage girls was excised by her editor—presumably under pressure from Epstein himself. Over the last two weeks, I watched “Epstein: Filthy Rich,” the remarkable Netflix documentary, which mostly concerns sex trafficking, and listened to “Merchant of Death,” Zev Shalev’s even-more-remarkable series of broadcasts on his Narativ channel about Epstein’s career as an arms dealer and money launderer.
“Filthy Rich” is interesting because it shows the places where Epstein lived, the shitty art on his walls, his crappy taste in clothes and furniture. And it’s one thing to read about him trafficking underage girls, and quite another to meet them and see pictures of what they looked like while he was abusing them. The man was a monster. “Merchant of Death,” meanwhile, delves into the under-reported, but possibly more critical, aspect of Epstein: his pocketbook. Who was this guy, and how’d he get so rich?
Shalev has an epiphany during his broadcast. Epstein, he explains, is really three things: First and foremost, an arms dealer; second, a money launderer and Ponzi schemer; third, a sex trafficker. When we think of Epstein in those terms, he becomes easier to understand.
A primary source of information on Epstein’s shadowy finances, one who participates in both the Netflix doc and the “Merchant of Death” broadcast, is Steven Hoffenberg. I’d never heard of him before, but his name is important to know. Hoffenberg was the CEO of Towers Financial, and as such presided over one of the largest Ponzi schemes in recent history. He was caught, indicted, convicted, and served 18 years in federal prison. Now, he is working to get the truth out about Epstein, whom he hired in the 1980s to help manage his criminal enterprise at Towers. So: Hoffenberg knew Epstein well, worked with him, was there; and he has zero incentive to lie about any of this. Indeed, his motive now is to see that Epstein’s rape victims—who in the 80s he did not know about—get restitution. Hoffenberg helps us connect the dots. And there are so many dots!
Like Bill Barr, Jeffrey Epstein occupies the center where a lot of circles on the Venn diagram overlap. Here is a breakdown:
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