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3.82 MB
Extraction Summary
5
People
3
Organizations
5
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Fbi form fd-350 (newspaper clipping)
File Size:
3.82 MB
Summary
An FBI FD-350 form containing a Palm Beach Post article dated January 26, 2010. The article details the obstruction charges against Alfredo Rodriguez, a former employee of Jeffrey Epstein, who attempted to sell a 'black book' containing victims' names to an undercover agent for $50,000. The FBI affidavit by Special Agent Christina Pryor notes that this withheld evidence contained hundreds of victims and could have significantly altered the original federal case against Epstein.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Alfredo Rodriguez | Defendant / Former Epstein Employee |
Former butler/chauffeur charged with obstruction of justice for withholding evidence and trying to sell it for $50,000.
|
| Jeffrey Epstein | Subject / Employer |
Described as "sex-scandal-plagued" financier; Rodriguez's former employer.
|
| Susan Spencer-Wendel | Author |
Staff Writer for Palm Beach Post.
|
| Christina Pryor | FBI Special Agent |
Wrote the affidavit stating the withheld evidence would have been extremely useful.
|
| Dave Brannon | Assistant Federal Public Defender |
Attorney for Rodriguez, declined to comment.
|
Organizations (3)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Post |
Newspaper that published the article.
|
|
| FBI |
Conducted the sting operation and investigation.
|
|
| Federal Court |
Where Rodriguez is scheduled to be arraigned.
|
Timeline (3 events)
2009-11
Sting operation where Rodriguez tried to sell the book to an undercover agent.
Unknown (likely West Palm Beach area)
Alfredo Rodriguez
Undercover FBI Agent
2010-02-01
Scheduled arraignment for Rodriguez (implied 'Monday' after article date).
Federal Court
Locations (5)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of the reporting and likely the court.
|
|
|
Palm Beach; where Rodriguez worked and stole the book.
|
|
|
Location listed in the black book.
|
|
|
Location listed in the black book.
|
|
|
Location listed in the black book.
|
Relationships (2)
Rodriguez worked for Epstein as a butler, chauffeur, chef and houseman in 2004 and 2005.
Pryor wrote the affidavit charging Rodriguez.
Key Quotes (4)
"Rodriguez calling it the 'Holy Grail' or 'Golden Nugget'"Source
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Quote #1
"Had those items been produced in response to inquiries of state law enforcement officers or the Special Agents, their contents would have been presented to the federal grand jury"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021665.jpg
Quote #2
"Rodriguez explained that the information contained hundreds of additional victims and their phone numbers from diverse geographic locations including New York, New Mexico and Paris"Source
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Quote #3
"He considered it his property and should be compensated for it, and he feared the target of the federal investigation, Epstein, would make him disappear or otherwise harm him."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021665.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (4,184 characters)
FD-350 (Rev. 5-8-81)
(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)
(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)
Ex-Epstein worker faces obstruction charges
Date: 1/26/2010
Edition: MORNING
PALM BCH POST
Title: Ex-Epstein faces obstruction charges
Character or Classification: [Blank]
Submitting Office: 31E-MM-108067
Edition: MORNING
PALM BCH POST
Title: Ex-Epstein faces obstruction charges
Character or Classification: [Blank]
Submitting Office: 31E-MM-108067
The FBI says he tried to sell information to an agent.
[Photo Caption]: Epstein Papers listed Palm Beach sex offender's victims
By SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — A former employee of sex-scandal-plagued Jeffrey Epstein has been charged with obstruction of justice after the employee allegedly withheld critical information from federal agents — an expansive list of Epstein victims and witnesses — as investigators probed the Palm Beach financier for sexual exploitation of minors.
According to an FBI agent's affidavit, Alfredo Rodriguez offered to later sell the information for $50,000 — Rodriguez calling it the "Holy Grail" or "Golden Nugget" — to a government witness, who is not named in the affidavit.
The affidavit does not refer to Epstein by name, either.
In early November, an undercover FBI agent was sent in to make the buy from Rodriguez. Rodriguez, born in 1954, had told police that he worked for Epstein as a butler, chauffeur, chef and houseman, sometimes picking up and cleaning sex toys left behind after Epstein finished his encounters with the underage girls.
According to the affidavit, Rodriguez met the undercover agent and produced a small bound book and several sheets of legal paper, which he told the agent he had taken from Epstein's home while employed there in 2004 and 2005. Rodriguez then began counting his $50,000 payoff.
He was stopped, detained on the spot and questioned by agents, according to the
See EPSTEIN, 5B
See EPSTEIN, 5B
Information could have altered case
EPSTEIN from 1B
affidavit.
Rodriguez told agents of witnessing nude girls whom he believed to be underage at Epstein's pool area, of knowing that his former employer was having sex with underage girls, and of viewing underage pornography on computers in Epstein's home.
Special Agent Christina Pryor wrote that later review of the papers and book Rodriguez handed over revealed information "that would have been extremely useful in investigating and prosecuting the case, including names and contact information of material witnesses and additional victims."
"Had those items been produced in response to inquiries of state law enforcement officers or the Special Agents, their contents would have been presented to the federal grand jury," Pryor wrote.
The information allegedly withheld by Rodriguez may have been a tipping point in the controversial probe of Epstein. Federal prosecutors ended up striking an extraordinary deal with Epstein and his top-flight lawyers: agreeing to recall grand jury subpoenas if Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution-related felonies in state court, which he ultimately did.
Epstein received an 18-month jail sentence. He served 13 months and was allowed to leave the jail most waking hours of the day.
An attorney for Rodriguez, Assistant Federal Public Defender Dave Brannon, declined to comment on his behalf.
An unnamed government witness mentioned in the affidavit is likely one of the attorneys representing women in a gaggle of current civil lawsuits against Epstein.
The affidavit outlines how the unnamed witness had deposed Rodriguez, who denied having documents, then received a call from Rodriguez later offering to sell for $50,000 the "Holy Grail."
"Rodriguez explained that the information contained hundreds of additional victims and their phone numbers from diverse geographic locations including New York, New Mexico and Paris," according to the affidavit.
Rodriguez is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday.
Also in the affidavit are the reasons Rodriguez cited to the unnamed witness for why he withheld the lists from investigators: He considered it his property and should be compensated for it, and he feared the target of the federal investigation, Epstein, would make him disappear or otherwise harm him.
susan_spencer_wendel@pbpost.com
31E-MM-108062-224
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