Binghamton University’s blog Pipe Dream posted what was supposed to be a simple celebratory piece about the lecture of a distinguished former student in their campus – but instead, it became another battlefield in the ongoing information war regarding the Keith Raniere appeal.
Danielle Roberts and Eduardo Asunsolo crashed the party with comments sharing their by now well-known allegations of prosecutorial misdeeds.
University blog got caught up in the NXIVM war
The piece in question is Alumna speaks about dismantling the NXIVM sex cult. ‘Moira Penza, ’05, was instrumental in the investigation and conviction of the Albany-based sex cult leaders in 2020.’
‘Students and faculty alike gathered in the Innovative Technologies Center this past Tuesday to listen to Moira Penza, ‘05, give a powerful lecture about her success in dismantling the NXIVM sex cult. The lecture gave a behind-the-scenes look at the process of the trial, the evidence put forward and, ultimately, what led to the conviction of the individuals involved.
Penza, a graduate of Harpur College, had double-majored in English and history before she studied at Cornell Law School. She described her decision to attend Binghamton University as “one of the best decisions of [her] life.” Now, she works primarily on behalf of victims of sexual violence.’
Nxivm prosecutors Tanya Hajjar, Mark Lesko and Moira Penza
The Pipe Dream goes into the unavoidable explanation of what the NXIVM prosecution was all about, and then describes some of the content of the lecture.
‘Penza led the audience through the factors and evidence that went into the trial, what needed to be proven in order to convict Raniere and others and how they did so. Ultimately, Penza and her team were able to convict Raniere on all counts of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. Raniere was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison.
At the end of the presentation, Penza addressed the audience with the lessons she learned through handling such a case.
“When you have the privilege to act on something, you do so,” Penza said.’
Harpur College hosted the Penza lecture.
The article interviews a few students present to the lecture. So far, so good.
‘Faculty were also moved by Penza’s words. Harpur College Dean Celia Klin described the pride she feels when seeing such successful Harpur College alumni such as Penza, and how this serves as a constant reminder of her purpose at BU.
“I know it when I see the students who are currently here, I believe in what they are learning and that they are going to make a difference in the world, but then I see it all the time in our [alumni],” Klin said.
The article details the wonderful achievements of Dean Klin, and it really would not have made news were it not for the fact that she was attacked on the comment section by fellow BU alumna Danielle Roberts.
Roberts has a scathing appraisal of Ms. Penza’s work, and pretty much accuses her of prosecutorial misdeeds. Drama at Binghamton U!
Roberts is also a Binghamton Alumna.
The Danielle Roberts Comment:
‘I’m also a Binghamton Alum, graduated Cum Laude. I let Erin Cody and Dean Klin know about the crimes and lying Ms. Penza participated in to win this case that “was very personal to her”. They decided to let her come to influence our pre-law youth anyway.
During this talk, not once did this prestigious lawyer mention anything about Truth or Justice, she rather explained how she played her cards to fit this case to her narrative/belief about the case and “win”. In my opinion practicing law should be the practice of searching for and upholding truth, not winning at all costs and possibly putting innocent people in jail for life.
Not once did Ms. Penza question if she could have been wrong. As a doctor, I know the authority of my words and the impact giving someone a diagnosis may have on the rest of their life. I always ask myself “what if I’m wrong?”
I don’t think this was a positive example to set for our aspiring legal students.’
NXIVM loyalists hijacked the comments section.
Another commenter responded to Robert’s comment by writing: ‘As a doctor it is good that you always ask what if you are wrong, if you are letting pride or hubris limit your critical thinking on a given patient. Apply that same principle to this case and ask yourself what if you are wrong rather than the convenient jump to conspiracy theories about the FBI where there is more than ample supporting evidence beyond this convoluted, obscure issue of photo metadata.’
Danielle Roberts does not think her analysis of metadata is obscure, but as easy to spot as a bikini.
