The Times Union, which ran an epic series of stories about the NXIVM/ESP cult back in 2012 entitled “Secrets of NXIVM”, is going to be conducting a panel discussion from 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM on Monday, March 18th, about the upcoming trial in the case of U.S. v. Raniere.
The discussion, which will take place at the Hearst Media Center at 645 Albany-Shaker Road in Albany, NY, will be led by Brendon J. Lyons, the newspaper’s State & Investigations Editor, who has written numerous stories about the cult and its leaders.
The three panelists who will be speaking at the event – and their descriptions – are as follows:
Catherine Oxenberg: An actress best known for her starring role in the 1980s Dynasty television series, is the author of “Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult.” Oxenberg waged a high-profile battle to get her 27-year-old daughter, India, to leave NXIVM. Oxenberg had attended a NXIVM course in California with her daughter, who subsequently joined the organization and eventually broke off contact with her family. India Oxenberg is among a group of women who were branded with the initials of Raniere and Allison Mack, a co-defendant in the case.
Catherine Oxenberg will be appearing at the forum – and hopefully selling more of her popular book on Nxivm and her efforts to rescue her daughter India. The book is entitled ‘Captive.”
Barbara Bouchey: A former girlfriend of Keith Raniere who grew up in Troy, was involved with NXIVM for nine years. She was a NXIVM board member and had been an investment advisor to Clare and Sara Bronfman, the liquor heiresses who have provided millions of dollars to support the organization. Raniere directed an avalanche of litigation at Bouchey after she resigned in 2009, including 13 lawsuits in four states and a computer-trespass criminal charge in Albany that was eventually dismissed. Bouchey spent more than $700,000 defending herself and provides a unique insider’s look at the pyramid-like organization that abruptly shut down in the wake of the indictments of its leaders.
Barbara Bouchey will be making her first hometown appearance to discuss Nxivm.
Michael J. Grygiel: An Albany attorney who co-chairs Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s National Media and Entertainment Litigation Group. He focuses on media law, with an emphasis on defending news and entertainment organizations from newsgathering and publication-related claims, including defamation, copyright infringement and invasion of privacy matters. He has successfully represented NXIVM defectors as well as Suzanna Andrews, who wrote a 2,010 expose — The Heiresses and Their Cult — for Vanity Fair. Andrews and others were later sued by NXIVM for accusations that they had improperly accessed the organization’s database. The case was dismissed.
Mike Grygiel won the gratitude of Nxivm victims for his splendid defense work for Vanity Fair against Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman et al. He also, to his credit, defended Toni Natalie, pro-bono, against Keith Raniere’s lawsuit against her, in his effort to try to get her patents away from her. The case never came to a conclusion since Raniere was arrested and never got the chance to prove he invented Skype.
Anyone who wants more information about the event can contact Shannon Fromma at 518.454.5479 or sfromma@timesunion.com.
We reached out to the Times Union to find out if the event will be available via webcast and were informed that although it won’t be live-streamed, a transcript – or at least an abridged version of it – will be available at https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/.
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