As we await the days when the Nxivm defendants are sentenced, it might do some good to examine some of their behaviors in order to discern how much they seem to be victims and how much they were perpetrators.
Allison Mack is certainly one of the most studied on this website. Some think she is an innocent victim, a poor, brainwashed, gullible, infant-like, pure being, who was led astray by her faithful but misguided love for a despicable man, while others see her as a self-serving loathsome villain, a backbiting, malicious little guttersnipe who would do anything to anyone in order to rise in the ranks of her master, Keith Alan Raniere’s esteem and affection.
Here is a little known story that gives us a glimpse of Nxivm life and Allison Mack.
Esther Chiappone Carlson, who figured prominently in the disappearance of Kristin Snyder more than 17 years ago, has long been part of the group of inner circle women who supported Raniere’s various enterprises.
At one time, Esther was targeted by Raniere for inclusion in his harem. Esther moved from Alaska to Albany to be with him after Raniere misled the little lady by telling her that he wanted a monogamous relationship. After she left her husband in Alaska and brought her children to Albany to grow up in the Nxivm life, fully expecting to marry Raniere and have his avatar child, she found out that Raniere had a harem and no intention of giving it up.
In other words, he caused her to disrupt her [and her children’s] lives – based on his lie.
Curiously, Esther, after having numerous sexual encounters with the brilliant one, chose not to be in his harem and break it off, at least sexually [for the most part] with him. However, she chose to remain as his student and follow his teachings, knowing he was an execrable liar.
She, also being an execrable liar, agreed to a career of lying for him, offering other women the falsehood that Raniere was a celibate, far above carnal desires. That lie might have killed Kristin Snyder.
However, stay she did and lie for him she did, and Esther, in time, earned the coveted green sash, which one only gets by recruiting a shitload of people into Nxivm, mainly by lying about how great Keith Raniere is.
She got a lot of people to take intensives. Some wanted more than a single course and they took more – with Esther’s help and encouragement. Some became so enamored that they, like Esther, left everything and dedicated themselves full time to the teachings of the god-like Raniere.
Esther also helped with the women’s group Jness, which was an excellent field for harvesting women to the Nxivm courses and, if she were young and slender, to Raniere’s capacious bed and luxurious hot tub.
James Del Negro, a friend of Esther Chiappone Carlson.
Because of years of hard times faced by recruiters – since new students were scarce – Clare and Sara Bronfman funded much of the Nxivm operations for years. The bad press about Raniere, even well before he was exposed on this website for branding women, made most intelligent people, who were capable of using search engines on the internet, shy away.
Esther and longtime live-in boyfriend James Del Negro, both salesmen for Raniere’s courses, were often hard-up for prospects and consequently, they were often broke and actually lost their Albany area home to foreclosure – well before Raniere’s arrest.
Allison Mack promoting Jness, a women’s group founded by Keith Raniere. It teaches women to accept men as polygamists. The highest and most advanced women in Jness were invited to join DOS where they were permitted to be branded on their pubic area with Raniere’s initials.
To try to earn money, Esther and Allison Mack worked to recruit women into Jness, a women’s group founded on the teachings of the estimable Raniere, especially his teachings on women.
Jness had been under the direction of Pam Cafritz, but she got sick and subsequently died. After that, Esther and Allison worked together to run the organization.
During their close association, Esther noticed that Allison was losing weight. Esther found out that Allison was on a 500 calorie per day diet.
She told Allison it was insane to eat so little. Especially since she noticed that Allison would sometimes eat a meal then go to the bathroom and vomit.
Esther became highly critical of Allison, claiming she was concerned about her health.
Esther also tried to dissuade some of the Jness women from following Allison’s example.
Jness logo.
This made Allison angry. She said to Esther that their mutual master, their Vanguard, taught her that a 500 calorie diet is right for spiritually advanced women. Women do not need as much food or sleep as commonly believed.
“And let’s face it,” Allison said, “Esther, you are not as wise, as knowledgeable or as spiritual as Vanguard. Besides he is a scientist. He knows what’s best. Not you.”
Esther then committed an atrocious act of blasphemy in front of Allison and others. She said, “Vanguard or not, it is not healthy to eat and throw up every afternoon. You have an eating disorder. There is nothing spiritual about that.”
This insulted Allison. She was not only on a 500 calorie per day diet, but she was teaching other women to be on the same diet so they could realize their spiritual abilities. Esther was undercutting her authority with these women.
Fat Esther Chiappone Carlson said that Allison Mack was bulimic and it created a tempest.
It might have resolved itself without turmoil, had Esther just shut up.
Allison Mack before she went on the Raniere diet.
Lauren Salzman and Allison Mack give each other a hug. Allison lost weight on the Raniere plan.
But Esther kept nagging, pounding on Allison and spoke about it to other women in Jness.
One day, Esther brusquely told Allison, in front of others, that she knew the signs of bulimia when she saw it and it was her opinion that Allison was bulimic and should get help.
Allison again argued that this was 100 percent contrary to Vanguard’s teachings, which is that spiritually advanced women do not need more than 500 calories per day.
Allison began to realize that it was a case of either Esther or her – for they completely diverged in their point of view on diet. She went to her Vanguard, who told her that Esther was wrong and unable to understand his higher teachings.
Allison now set out to work against Esther. She went privately to many of the younger women in Jness, including some who would later become her slaves and got them to effectively shun Esther. Allison got enough support that Esther’s role in Jness was soon untenable.
Esther stepped away; Allison ousted Esther from Jness, then ate her lunch and as she often did, went to the bathroom and threw up.
It had not been hard for Allison to win this battle. Allison was young and beautiful and was a TV star. Esther was just an aging woman, living with a doofus.
Plus Allison had Raniere’s support.
Keith Raniere and Allison Mack.
After ousting Esther, Allison took charge of Jness, which became a fertile field for recruiting female slaves which were later collateralized and branded on their pubic region. Numerous DOS slaves came from the membership of Jness under Allison Mack.
Esther, who is still loyal to Raniere, sells MLM insurance, working with other Nxivm loyalists. She continues to live with loyal Raniere fool, James Del Negro, in Sarasota, Florida.
Allison currently lives with her parents under home detention in Los Alamitos, California, awaiting sentencing. No sentencing date has been set. Based on her appearances in court, and photos taken of her outside her home, although not fat [except by Raniere standards], she appears to be off the 500 calorie diet she fought so hard to promote.
She has also repudiated Raniere, saying she was misguided in following him.
