Allison Mack pleaded guilty today before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis to Counts 1 and 2 of the second superseding indictment: Racketeering and Racketeering Conspiracy.
In conjunction with her Count 2 plea, she also admitted to racketeering acts 10 and 13: State Law Extortion and Forced Labor (Because these were predicate acts rather than separate counts in the indictment, they do not carry a separate sentence).
With each felony count comes a possible 20-year maximum sentence. There is no minimum sentence.
Given her lack of a previous criminal record and the applicable sentencing guidelines, however, she will probably land in the 3-5 year sentencing range.
She will be sentenced on September 11, 2019 at Noon.
Her plea deal is exactly the same as that of Lauren Salzman. And this is a tremendously fortunate plea deal for Mack since she will avoid all sex-related charges, charges that could have landed her in prison for more than 15 years and required her to register as a sex offender when she was released.
Although no such agreement was announced, it is expected Allison will be a cooperating witness against the remaining defendants in the case – which, at this point, include Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman, and Kathy Russell.
Our correspondent Village Diane was on the scene and reports on Mack’s allocution:
Miss Mack started out by saying, “I’m here to plead guilty.” And then she broke down and started crying, enough so that the judge asked her if she wanted to take a moment, to which she said “No.”
She was still in tears as she spoke about the past year of her life. [She was arrested on April 20, 2018]. She spoke of the past year, as “a year of introspection.”
After seeing the second superseding indictment, she realized she was mistaken in who she placed her trust with and who trusted her.
She said, “Looking back at what I have done the past 10 years,” she said, “I have come to the conclusion that I must take full responsibility for my conduct and that’s why I am pleading guilty today,”
She said she met many “wonderful people and some of whom, I now realize, were not” and she joined Nxivm at a time when she was lost and wanted a community. She believed the people she was with were trying to be better people.
She said she was trying to help herself and others.
“I joined NXIVM … to find purpose,” she said. “I truly believed I found a group of individuals who believed as I did.”
She thought Keith Raniere was trying to help people, but now she realized he wasn’t.
“I believed Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people,” she said. “I was wrong.”
She participated, she admitted, in criminal conduct resulting in her agreeing to support a criminal enterprise from 2016 to April 2018. She was aware of the criminal objectives of the enterprise.
She admitted she withheld property from Jane Does #5 and #8. She admitted that she committed acts that made women fearful she would release their collateral if they did not do what she demanded.
She admitted she made false representations regarding DOS – and concealed Keith Raniere’s role as the leader of DOS.
“I was a member of a secret society,” Mack admitted.
She said she obtained “collateral” on several women so they would go along with NXIVM’s demands.
As she continued to speak, her voice grew stronger. She said she had many months to reflect on her actions.
“I must take full responsibility.”
Then she started crying and said she was very sorry for the harm she caused and apologized “from the bottom of my heart.”
She apologized to the judge and the prosecution and to victims.
“I’m very sorry for the victims of this case,” she said. “I’m very sorry for who I’ve hurt through my misguided adherence to Keith Raniere’s teachings.”
She said, “I know that I am and will be a better person because of this.”
Her lawyers put their hands on her back afterward.
Village Diane had these additional observations:
Miss Mack is definitely off the Nxivm diet. She had rounded hips and a woman’s body now [another sign of her break from Raniere.] She had on a cream colored long sleeve shirt, with loose fitting black pants. She wore leopard sneakers. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun.
***
Mack and her lawyer declined to comment outside the courthouse.
Photo by Village Dianne
Photo by Village Dianne
K.R. Claviger adds to our report:
The third seat on The Plea Deal Bus has been claimed by Allison Mack.
The erstwhile actress, who played Chloe Sullivan on the TV series Smallville, has decided to cut a deal with the feds and avoid going to trial in the case of the U.S. v. Raniere Et Al.
Per the terms of her plea deal, Mack will plead guilty to Racketeering and Racketeering Conspiracy.
Based on the terms of the second superseding indictment in the case, Mack had been facing the following charges:
• Count One: Racketeering Conspiracy
• Count Two: Racketeering
• Count Six: Forced Labor Conspiracy
• Count Seven: Wire Fraud Conspiracy
• Count Eight: Sex Trafficking Conspiracy
• Count Nine: Sex Trafficking Regarding Jane Doe 5
• Count Ten: Attempted Sex Trafficking Regarding Jane Doe 8
*****
Although Mack will almost definitely end up serving time in federal prison, the exact amount of time she will serve – and the other penalties that will be imposed on her – won’t be known until she is sentenced on September 11th.
The two counts to which she pleaded guilty carry the following maximum sentences:
• Racketeering Conspiracy – 20 years
• Racketeering – 20 years
But just like the other defendants in the case who have pleaded guilty to various charges, Mack will undoubtedly receive less than the maximum possible sentence.
Mack was born on July 29, 1982 in Preetz, West Germany. At the time of her birth, her opera singer father, Jonathan, was performing there.
Since her indictment in April 2018, Mack has been living in her parents’ home in Los Alamitos CA under home confinement (The home was part of the $5 million package that Mack had to post in order to be released on bail).
Mack has a brother named Shannon and a sister named Robyn. It is not known if Mack ever tried to recruit either of her siblings into the NXIVM/ESP sex slave cult.
As part of her collateral that she gave to Keith Raniere, she wrote a letter to social services in which she claimed her nephews were abused (Raniere personally held all of her collateral).
Mack’s involvement with NXIVM/ESP began in 2006 when she was recruited by her Smallville co-star Kristin Kreuk to attend classes at the cult’s Vancouver Center that was run by Sarah Edmondson.
Almost immediately after they began taking classes, Mack and Kreuk were targeted by NXIVM/ESP leaders because of their “star power”.
Mack moved to Clifton Park, NY to be closer to Keith Raniere and basically abandoned her acting career at his direction.
She rose quickly through the ranks in NXIVM/ESP – and became one of Raniere’s favorites.
As evidence of his close relationship with Mack, Raniere allowed her to set up The Source, a “school” for wannabe actors.
Potential recruits for The Source were brought to wine and cheese parties, shown a 90-minute video of Raniere, and then told that he could jump-start their acting careers. Then they were asked to sign-up for a $10,000 introductory course.
*****
When Raniere decided to create Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), he chose Mack to be its leader – which was a significant slap-in-the-face to the somewhat older Lauren Salzman who been promised an “avatar baby” by Raniere.
Things came full circle when Lauren Salzman recruited Sarah Edmondson into DOS. According to Edmondson, she was initiated into DOS – and branded with Raniere’s initials on her pubic region – in a ceremony that was conducted at Mack’s home in Clifton Park.
*****
Mack was with Raniere when he was arrested by Mexican Federal Police on March 26, 2018 – and she was one of the women who jumped into a car and chased after the Mexican Federal Police as it transported Raniere to the U.S./Mexico border.
And so, Allison Mack completes the transition from semi-successful Hollywood actress to failed human being…
Viva Executive Success!
Allison Mack heads to court to plead guilty
