In the post, Bangkok: Suttons Deserve Money, Mack Deserves Perdition, and Raniere Deserves to Win Appeal Based on ‘Ineffective Assistance of Counsel’, Bangkok touches on a number of points, some good, some bad, but mostly ugly.
Before I offer my comments to his various points, I want to say that there are some who think Bangkok is Dennis Burke, the former US Attorney for Arizona, who resigned in the midst of the Fast and Furious scandal.
Former US Attorney Dennis Burke. Does he post on this site pseudonymously as Bangkok?
The people making this accusation have provided no evidence to date that Bangkok is Burke. However, to date, Bangkok has not denied it either. I have also been asked which one of the two pictured individuals is Bangkok on his profile picture? [see below].
Bangkok and my comments are below our respective pictures.
Bangkok
Keith’s attorney was EXTREMELY ‘ineffective’ for failing to call Lauren back to the witness stand the next day.
Frank
I have little doubt that Keith Raniere’s attorneys will raise this issue on appeal, along with the judge halting Lauren Salzman’s cross-examination when she cried.
Bangkok
You had no problem letting Toni Natalie (a known liar) ask the judge for a ton of money, without raising so much as a fucken PEEP.
Frank
Toni Natalie, a pioneer among Raniere fighters, asked for $175,000 in victim restitution. She documented about $70,000 and the government is recommending she get $48,000 from the restitution fund.
It is up to the judge to decide how much anyone gets. The prosecution can only recommend amounts they think are fair, legal or appropriate.
Bangkok
Barb Bouchey asked for TONS of money even though she spent years assisting Keith…
My main point is that you, Frank, have no problem with Irish Barb Bouchey asking the court for millions, even though she assisted Keith to do harm for many years.
Frank
Bouchey claimed in her victim impact statement filed with the court that she lost more than $14 million because of Raniere’s victimization of her. She documented some $4.7 million for the prosecution in losses. The government is recommending she get $350,000, less than 10 percent of her documented losses.
Bangkok
If Barb Bouchey had followed IRS regulations (as his investment agent), she would have disclosed to the IRS that Keith had ownership of certain money/accounts/assets under her control.
The $1.5 million dollar ‘loan’ was a bogus loss. It was a ‘gift’ she gave to Keith —- because she LOVED him and worshipped him. He did not steal it from her. She gave it to her Vanguard.
Frank
Smart Boy That: Keith Raniere.
Once he and Bouchey were lovers, then they became estranged.
When Bouchey asked Raniere for the return of $1.5 million she says she lent him, which he lost in the commodities market, Raniere chose to show her the errors of her ways, using his students, Clare and Sara Bronfman’s money to help explain it to her via a series of lawsuits.
He was unable to prevail in court. But through discovery and depositions, Raniere was able to get many personal and scandalous details of his life for the first time onto the public record, which were the fodder for many sensational stories in the Albany Times Union, the NY Post, Vanity Fair and elsewhere – stories such as that he had a harem, and that he had lost more than $65 million of Bronfman money in the commodities market.
Keith Raniere and Barbara Bouchey. They were once lovers then they were enemies.
Bangkok
You’re an asshole, Frank. You’re guided by ‘bias’ and ‘friendship’ with these ex-NXIVM players. The Sutton family actually LOST REAL MONEY equal to that amount [$2.8 million] —– while the other alleged victims spent years helping Keith to perpetrate NXIVM misdeeds. You’re not being objective, Frank.
Frank
The government recommended 100 percent of the wealthy Sutton family’s claim for $2.8 million, allocating about half of the restitution money to a family estimated to be worth about $100 million and who agreed to drop their civil suit with NXIVM prior to Raniere’s arrest.
Both Natalie and Bouchey had a role in the battle with Raniere. Both were his lovers for a time – Natalie in the mid- to late 1990s and Bouchey in the early to mid 2000s. Both wound up getting indicted through his efforts – though not convicted.
Raniere wound up getting indicted at least partly through their efforts and was convicted. He sued both women. He did not win his cases but he cost them a significant amount of money and a lot of time and aggravation.
It would have been wiser for Raniere to have let these women alone. The fight dirtied him up a great deal and set the stage for the 2017 take down.
Bangkok
You now view Allison Mack as a victim —– even though she’s never repudiated Keith even one time. You’ve never read her courtroom statement. It did NOT repudiate Keith. It used the word ‘misguided’ once and that was it. It didn’t even say that Keith was misguided, it said that SHE was misguided in following his teachings, without ever saying that his teachings were bad or repudiating them.
Yet, you’ve LIED to your readers by saying that Allison REPUDIATED Keith, LOL.
Frank
As for Allison Mack, her allocution at her plea hearing was at times a little vague. But it wasn’t quite as weak as Bangkok suggests. I will republish the parts of it that refer to Raniere. To read it in its entirety click here.
Allison Mack on Keith Raniere
Allison Mack started her allocution by crying which interrupted the proceedings briefly, and elicited the judge’s concern. But she composed herself, began her allocution, and said, among other things:
As Your Honor is aware, I dedicated years of my life to an organization in which I and others truly believed, NXIVM. In the course of my time with NXIVM…. I became close with Keith Raniere….
I believed that Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people, and that my adherence to his system of beliefs would help empower others and help them. I was wrong.
And I now realize that I and others engaged in criminal conduct. My misguided beliefs and dedication of what I believed were the principles underlying NXIVM, Keith Raniere’s teachings, resulted in my agreeing to support the criminal enterprise that is alleged in the indictment.
The goal of the enterprise that I joined was to further and promote the objectives of Keith Raniere… and participated in some of the criminal objectives of the enterprise, and I conspired and agreed with others to commit certain racketeering in furtherance of this enterprise….
I was a member of secret society founded by, developed by, and ultimately led by Raniere. At Raniere’s direction, I and other women sought to recruit other women to join DOS…..
I knowingly and intentionally took and withheld property … referred to as collateral, which … DOS members would not want revealed because it would be personally damaging or ruinous…. [and] instill[ed] in them a fear that if the property was not delivered, we would expose collateral previously given to the organization, which could have been embarrassing and personally damaging to themselves or others, if released…
I knowingly and intentionally obtained the labor and services… being part of a scheme,… designed to make them believe that if they did not perform the requested acts … [there would be] the specter of the release of their collateral….
I concealed Keith Raniere’s role as the head of DOS and characterized DOS as a women’s only organization, knowing that Keith Raniere was the head of the organization…. having reviewed the charges against Keith Raniere in the most recent indictment and having many months to reflect on my own actions and motivations of others, I have come to the conclusion that I must take full responsibility for my conduct…..
I am very sorry for the victims of this case. I am also very sorry for the harm that I caused to my family. They are good people who I have hurt through my misguided adherence to Keith Raniere’s teachings….
