Author’s Notes:
(1) Sorry for the delay in getting back to this series. Just a lot of things going on right now – and a lot of research time being devoted to Nancy Salzman’s upcoming sentencing.
(2) Sorry for using endnotes rather than including everything in the main body of this post. But including all this information in the text breaks up the flow of the information I’m trying to convey in an orderly and understandable manner.
(3) For any of you who think that I’ve embellished any of what I report with regard to any of the people I’ve called out in this series – P. David Soares, David Rossi, Steve Coffey, Pam Nichols, Mike McDermott, Ben Meyers, Steve Ose, etc. – just ask yourself why none of them has sent me a “Cease-and-Desist Letter” or brought a defamation lawsuit against me. Do you think it might be because they’re afraid of what would come out in discovery?
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In Part 1 of this series, I pointed out how hypocritical I thought it was for P. David Soares, the Albany County District Attorney, to announce that he was going to investigate whether former New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo ever committed the crimes of sexual assault or sexual harassment in Albany County as has been alleged by several women who have worked for or with the governor.
Yippee! Today is my last day as Governor.
In doing so, I pointed out that Soares had failed to prosecute any of the numerous corrupt elected officials who committed similar and, in some cases, more serious crimes while they were serving in office in Albany, NY during Soares’ 16+ year tenure as D.A. – and that all of those corrupt officials were eventually prosecuted and convicted by federal officials or the NYS Attorney General.
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In Part 2 of this series, I pointed out that throughout his tenure as Albany County District Attorney, Soares refused to undertake any investigation of the NXIVM/ESP sex cult/criminal enterprise – and, in the opinion of those with in-depth knowledge concerning his involvement with NXIVM/ESP, actually aided and abetted NXIVM/ESP.
The sign at the former headquarters of NXIVM/ESP.
Several of those who have detailed knowledge of NXIVM/ESP’s operations have stated that “Without Nancy Salzman’s involvement, there wouldn’t have been a NXIVM/ESP or a Vanguard”.
I believe a similar statement can be made concerning the important role that Soares played in the NXIVM/ESP’s “success”: Without Soares’ complicity, the entire NXIVM/ESP operation would have been shut down back in 2005 – and Keith would have never created Dominus Obsequious Sororium, the secret society that resulted in the branding of scores of women with Raniere’s initials: KAR.
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The Bogus Computer Trespass Charges
In the last segment of this series, I described how Soares and his henchman, Albany County Assistant District Attorney David Rossi, orchestrated what they knew to be baseless charges for “Criminal Computer Trespass” against John Tighe, Toni Natalie, and me (Although she was not part of the original case, Barbara Bouchey invited herself into it by doing precisely what we had been accused of doing several months after our homes had been raided and our electronic equipment was confiscated: i.e., accessing NXIVM’s website by using someone else’s credentials).
David Rossi, Chief Assistant District Attorney for Albany County – and Chief Henchman for Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares
This fiasco began when Rossi contacted New York State Police Senior Investigator Rodger Kirsopp on January 9, 2013 – and told him that Soares was planning to have a Special District Attorney appointed to investigate whether the three of us had actually committed a crime by illegally accessing NXIVM’s website.
Rossi explained to Kirsopp that Soares had decided to use a Special District Attorney in this matter because “…the victim/witness in this case had a prior relationship with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office”. Presumably, that explanation had to do with the fact that one of the complainants regarding the computer trespass claim was Clare Bronfman – who had also encouraged Soares to bring a grand larceny charge against me back in 2007 (That charge was dismissed at the very first hearing because of what the judge deemed to be a lack of credible evidence)
Rodger Kirsopp: He started out investigating NXIVM/ESP but ended up investigating the cult’s enemies.
Although Kirsopp knew that the server we allegedly accessed without permission was located in Saratoga County, he never raised any questions about that irreconcilable issue with Soares or Rossi. Instead, he just went along with the ruse – and re-opened the investigation he had closed just a few weeks before when he was informed that the Saratoga County District Attorney and the Office of the New York State Attorney General had both declined to bring any charges against John, Toni or me.
Rossi explained to Kirsopp that the Office of the Albany County District Attorney decided to pursue the matter after he had been contacted by Mike McDermott, one of NXIVM/ESP’s attorneys and the former Chief Assistant District Attorney under Soares (NXIVM/ESP was also represented by two other attorneys from the O’Connell & Aronowitz law firm: Steve Coffey and Pam Nichols).
Mike McDermott, President of the O’Connell & Aronowitz law firm
On February 26, 2013, Bruce Lennard was appointed to serve as a Special Albany County District Attorney to investigate allegations that John, Toni and I had illegally accessed a website that was hosted on a computer located in Saratoga County. If that sounds slightly off to you, it’s because it was.
Bruce Lennard
Over the course of the next several months, Kirsopp worked closely with – and met often with – Coffey, Nichols and McDermott. In fact, Kirsopp’s own “Incident Report” documents the fact that he met with one or more of them more than 44 times.
Here’s a summary of the major events that took place during that time period:
On March 22, 2013, Kirsopp met with Lennard to review what had occurred with respect to the investigation prior to that date (Note: The record indicates that, once again, Kirsopp did not raise any questions as to how the “crime scene” concerning the alleged illegal accessing of NXIVM/ESP’s server/website had moved from Saratoga County to Albany County).
On April 16, 2013, Lennard requested a review of the NXIVM/ESP server files to verify the accuracy and integrity of the information that had been provided to Kirsopp by NXIVM/ESP’s two (2) IT consultants, Ben Meyers and Steve Ose, and one of its attorneys, Pam Nichols (Note: Although the investigation had been going on for more than a year at this point, Kirsopp had still not done anything to verify what he had been told by Meyers and Ose about the alleged illegal accessing of NXIVM’s website).
Michelle and Ben Myers
On April 26, 2013, Lennard contacted Kirsopp – and provided details to him concerning his recent contact with NYSP Senior Investigator Terry Aubin.
On April 26, 2013, Lennard advised Kirsopp that he had been in contact with Clare Bronfman, Pam Nichols, and Ben Myers – and requested that Kirsopp contact Jack Goldenberg, a Brooklyn, NY businessman who had possession of a server that contained various emails to/from me, some of which were personal in nature – including several that contained health-related information and medical records (Goldenberg had purchased my former company out of bankruptcy – and, in conjunction with that purchase, had acquired all its computer equipment – including the one that I used on a daily basis).
mk10’s portrait of Clare Bronfman
On May 2, 2013, Goldenberg advised Kirsopp that an IT person representing Clare Bronfman had come to his company the previous Friday – and examined the server in question from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Nichols subsequently advised Kirsopp that it was actually she who had directed her own IT consultant, Alex Finn, to go to Goldenberg’s office and “…receive a copy of the actual server itself” (Note: Mr. Finn does business under the name Stockade Associates[1]). The record indicates that Kirsopp did not raise any objections to – and/or ask any questions about – these apparent interferences by Nichols with his investigation.
On June 5, 2013, Kirsopp advised Meyers that he was likely going to be contacted by the NYSP’s Computer Crimes Unit (CCU) to facilitate a search/imaging of the NXIVM/ESP server that had supposedly been used to host its website at the time that the alleged illegal accessing had occurred (Note: There is no mention in Kirsopp’s “Incident Report” as to why he gave Meyers this “heads up” concerning the analysis of the NXIVM/ESP server).
On June 19, 2013, Van Dusen and Kirsopp traveled to Goldenberg’s office in Brooklyn, NY to take possession of the server that supposedly contained various emails to/from me (Note: Although, as noted above, Nichols’ IT consultant, Alex Finn, had spent an entire day reviewing that computer’s hard-drive – and had even made a “mirror image” of it for Nichols – there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Kirsopp ever had the “hard drive” in that computer analyzed for tampering).
On July 7, 2013, Meyers signed a “Voluntary Consent Form” to allow the NYSP’s CCU to search the NXIVM/ESP server. It should be noted that there is no evidence to indicate that Meyers was authorized to give such consent on behalf of NXIVM/ESP (Note: Meyers was never an employee of NXIVM/ESP, let alone an officer or shareholder of the company).
On July 16, 2013, Van Dusen requested a date on which she could review the NXIVM/ESP server. According to Van Dusen, consent had been granted to review “…certain areas of concern”: i.e., the areas where the NXIVM/ESP website had allegedly been accessed without permission.
On August 8, 2013, Kirsopp, Van Dusen, Lennard, and NYSP Trooper Barry Friedman met to discuss the status of the investigation – and to plan the next investigative steps. It is unknown what Trooper Friedman’s role was in the investigation.
On October 3, 2013, Kirsopp met with Coffey, Nichols, and McDermott to discuss the status of – and give them an update concerning – the investigation regarding the alleged illegal accessing of NXIVM/ESP’s server/website. This pattern of meeting with (and even taking advice from) NXIVM/ESP’s attorneys continued throughout Kirsopp’s investigation – which would be bad enough in and of itself but which becomes much more problematic given the fact that these same attorneys were simultaneously pursuing civil charges against the same people that Kirsopp was investigating (Note: It is believed that NXIVM/ESP and its attorneys were hoping to use the criminal investigation being undertaken by Kirsopp as leverage in their multi-million dollar civil lawsuit)[2].
Stephen R. Coffey
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Pam Nichols
On October 8, 2013, Kirsopp met with Lennard to discuss the scope and targets of the search warrants that were to be served on Toni, John, and me.
On October 17, 2013, a “Search Warrant Application” was presented to – and approved by – the Hon. Kimberly A. Connor, an Acting Supreme Court Justice. The basis for the requested search warrant was detailed in an affidavit that was signed by Kirsopp – and that contained the following inaccuracies and misrepresentations[3]:
He failed to inform the Court that Mary Jane Pino’s affidavit was actually signed on January 30, 2012 – which was more than two (2) months before NXIVM/ESP filed a criminal complaint with the NYSP (Note: I believe that Ms. Pino was coerced into signing that affidavit by representatives of NXIVM/ESP). Nor did Kirsopp reveal that he had never conducted any follow-up interview with Ms. Pino to independently determine if she actually signed the affidavit and/or if the information in it was accurate and/or truthful.
He failed to inform the Court that in her affidavit, Pino stated that she had not logged on to the NXIVM/ESP website since 2008, whereas the truth is that she stated that she had not logged onto that website since 2003[4].
He indicated to the Court that he had “…first-hand experience in felony related investigations and arrests. Furthermore, I have attended the Computer Crimes Specialists training and regularly conduct investigations involving computers, computer devices, media storage devices and cellular phones”.Notwithstanding whatever IT expertise that Kirsopp may/may not have, the simple reality is that in this investigation, he relied exclusively on the opinions of Ben Meyers and Steve Ose with respect to the alleged unauthorized accessing of the NXIVM/ESP server/website – and never disclosed to the court that both Meyers and Ose worked for and were members of NXIVM/ESP. By withholding this critical information, Kirsopp misled the Court into thinking that it was reviewing the opinions of outside third-party IT experts when, in fact, it was reviewing the biased and flawed testimony of prejudiced cult insiders.
He indicated that the NYSP had taken into evidence data that was retrieved from the NXIVM/ESP server – which, in fact, never happened. Instead, what the NYSP actually “took into evidence” were various reports and summaries that were prepared by Meyers and Ose, all of which were tainted because of their membership and participation in the NXIVM/ESP cult. Once again, Kirsopp misled the Court into believing that it was reviewing objective third-party evidence when, in fact, that evidence was biased, tainted and unverified.
On October 23, 2013, the NYSP simultaneously conducted early morning raids at my home as well as the homes of John Tighe and Toni Natalie – and confiscated computers and various NXIVM/ESP-related materials pursuant to search warrants that were granted based on Kirsopp’s flawed affidavit and the tainted information that had been provided to him by NXIVM/ESP’s IT personnel. During the course of these raids, the NYSP confiscated four (4) computers and several boxes of alleged illegally obtained NXIVM/ESP-related materials from me.
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More Details to Follow About Soares & Kirsopp
In the next in this series of posts, we’ll discuss how Soares sought to further assist NXIVM/ESP by bringing in another of his former Assistant DAs to replace Bruce Lennard – who had apparently started to ask too many questions about the underlying basis for Albany County’s involvement in the matter. And we’ll see how being loyal to Soares can jet propel the career of someone who is more interested in their career than in justice.
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[1] In 2011, Alex Finn’s prior company, ActiveHost, was acquired by CornerStone Telephone, which was located on the 7th Floor at 80 State Street in Albany, NY. Thereafter, Mr. Finn worked as the Executive Director for CornerStone Telephone’s Data Center Company from February 11, 2011 until June 2013 at the 80 State Street location. It is believed that Mr. Quinn used his connections with CornerStone Telephone to create documentation to falsely indicate that NXIVM/ESP’s server was located there during the time of the alleged illegal accessing.
[2] It appears that Kirsopp worked very closely with NXIVM/ESP’s attorneys to synchronize his criminal investigation with the civil lawsuit that they had prepared on behalf of NXIVM/ESP against me and several other parties. It also appears that Kirsopp helped NXIVM/ESP and its attorneys to create the impression that NXIVM/ESP had acted as soon as it first suspected that its above-referenced server/website was being accessed by non-members (Note: Once it was shown that NXIVM/ESP had, in fact, not acted on a timely basis, all its civil claims against me and the other defendants in that matter were summarily dismissed with prejudice).
[3] It is believed that Kirsopp made these same misrepresentations to the Albany County Grand Jury that indicted John, Toni and me for “criminal computer trespass”.
[4] By changing the referenced date, Kirsopp led the Court to believe that NXIVM/ESP may not have been aware that multiple parties had used Ms. Pino’s Username and Password from sometime in 2008 until September 27, 2011, the date that NXIVM/ESP claimed it initially discovered the alleged unauthorized log-ins by multiple parties. This misrepresentation was a critical element in order for NXIVM/ESP to be able to pursue civil claims against me and several other parties — and it appears that Kirsopp knowingly made this misrepresentation to aid and abet NXIVM/ESP with respect to those civil claims (Note: All those civil claims were dismissed with prejudice once the U.S. District Court judge overseeing that case – the Hon. Lawrence E. Kahn – was informed about this misrepresentation).
