Finally, because it was so hurtful
Toni Natalie wrote a book entitled, The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of Nxivm. In it, she claims she was “Patient Zero” for Keith Raniere and Nxivm.
That dubious claim aside, Toni’s book continues to free fall on the Amazon Best Sellers Rank, now ranking at a nearly irrelevant ranking of #303,299 in books, on the website of the world’s largest bookseller. That poor ranking means Toni’s book, which she co-wrote with Chet Hardin, might be selling about one book per week.
The Program, a book written by Toni Natalie and, in surprisingly small print, Chet Hardin.
At one time, at its pinnacle, Toni’s book hit #68,543 on Amazon – which meant it was still doing poorly – at about 5 sales per week. In short, the book failed to attract readers, despite its boastful title and fanciful stories.
What is interesting about the failure of her book is that it’s, in a sense, ‘cheater’s proof’. Toni did her best to prevent me from contacting a number of sources, so she could hog them for her book – and what she hoped would be a follow-up podcast show. She went out of her way to prevent me from doing investigations into a number of matters – so she could get stories exclusively for her book and podcast show.
The irony is I wound up reaching all the sources she tried to block me from and Toni’s book – announced to great fanfare – fell flatter than an ugly, Botox enhanced pancake.
Toni Natalie, while pretending to be my friend and co fighter in the fight to bring justice to Keith Raniere, was secretly backbiting me at every turn. One of the most important sources Toni did her best to prevent me from speaking to was the family of Kristin Snyder.
My goal was not to write a book to profit off of them, but to sincerely try to find out what happened to Kristin. I even made a film with Discovery ID, which airs on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 9 PM ET – not for money – but to get their backing and imprimatur on the investigation.
The network worked with me as I traveled to Alaska, Washington, Texas, Albany, New York City, Sarasota, the Florida Keys and elsewhere to try to find out what happened.
Along the way, I made some startling discoveries, but the whole time I was filming, Toni did her best to block access to Kristin’s family who could have helped me much in the investigation. [She also tried to block access to Kristin’s spouse, Heidi Clifford.]
What happened to Kristin Snyder? She disappeared after leaving a Nxivm intensive on Feb. 6, 2003 in Anchorage Alaska and was never seen again.
Despite Toni’s best efforts at keeping the Snyder family and myself apart, I was able to make contact with them and it’s fair to say they no longer have anything to do with Toni Natalie [whose sister, Kim, refers to, as do others, as Toni Nata-LIE].
Toni’s strategy in keeping us apart was similar to her overall strategy: Keep people apart and make them go through her.
Toni often bragged – although at the time she said it to me I had no idea how invidious her agenda was – that, “While not everyone in Nxivm speaks to each other, everyone talks to Toni Natalie.”
[As an aside, I recall I once told Toni – because I trusted her at the time – that I was going to finally interview a certain gentleman for the first time on the record. She applauded, congratulated and encouraged me. Behind my back, which I only recently learned, she called the man’s wife, whom she knew, and advised her to tell her husband not to speak to me. It could be dangerous, she said.]
Toni kept the Snyder family from speaking to me by telling them I was a bad man, a dangerous man, not to be trusted. She told them they should put their trust in her. She would handle the media and get law enforcement interested in reopening the Kristin Snyder case.
“And, by all means,” she told them, “don’t ever talk to Frank Parlato.”
I would not have minded this so much if she was openly my enemy. But she pretended to be my friend, trying to work with me in helping solve the mysteries and crimes of Keith Raniere.
Meantime, as Toni pretended to be my friend, telling me she was trying to get me an interview with the Snyder family, she told me that Kristin’s mother was very old and nearly senile, just waiting to hop in the grave, a woman who wanted to hear no more about what happened to her daughter, but only to forget.
Toni also told me that Kim, Kristin’s sister, was, unfortunately, “mentally retarded” and incapable of helping me find anything out about Kristin, let alone being interviewed.
When I finally met Jonnie and Kim, I found Jonnie to be vibrant, healthy, attractive, a woman who very much wants to know what happened to her daughter. I found Kim to be bright and precocious, although she has had physical challenges in her life.
Unlike Toni, Kim never gave up her son and is raising him.
When Kim found out what Toni had been telling me and other people – that she was retarded, Kim was hurt and angry.
She was hurt to learn Toni had also told these same disgusting lies to Joe O’Hara.
She was pleased when Joe, who was the former commissioner of Social Services for the State of Missouri, offered to interview her and pen a letter regarding his opinion of Toni’s claim that she is mentally retarded.
For the first time in print, below is Joe’s letter to Kim.
I am publishing this because Kim wanted this published, preferably before we continue to disclose more information about her missing sister, which Kim has worked with me to procure on a nearly daily basis.
Joe O’Hara
Kim,
I just wanted to confirm that my belief that Toni Natalie’s allegation that you are “retarded” is baseless, unwarranted and wrong.
To begin with, I doubt very much that Toni even understands what the term means – and how it’s used from a scientific standpoint to identify a certain group of people. Instead, she probably uses the term to describe anyone who is simply different from her.
In your case, the label is entirely inappropriate. As your work – and your parenting skills attest – you do not have a low IQ. Nor do you demonstrate any of the characteristics or traits of someone who is truly retarded.
Having worked for many years in the fields of child welfare and special education, I believe that I am much more qualified than the average person to understand what the term “retarded” means. In this regard, that is not a term that I would ever associate with someone who has your capacities and skills.
While Toni’s behavior in this instance is inexcusable, I think it best that you treat it in the same way you would treat the ramblings of any other uninformed and ill-intentioned person. In other words, just ignore it – and move on with your life.
Stay strong!
Joe O’Hara
***
Frank Report will be publishing a great deal of new information about Kristin Snyder. Her sister, Kim, as well as Joe O’Hara and others, have been helping me accomplish this.
I think it is fair to record that not only I, but Joe O’Hara, who has had considerable experience in the field of human welfare, believe that Kim’s assistance is valuable, that she is far from the incompetent person Toni claimed she was, and that she is emphatically not mentally retarded.
Toni told Joe and me that she was only interested in protecting Kim from predatory media and other kinds of vultures. As I analyze it now, Kim has been much more helpful than Toni overall, and, as far as vultures are concerned, if the mug fits, one should wear it.
Toni Natalie AKA Nata-LIE
