The Albany Times Union has ranked the arrest and indictments of Nxivm leaders Keith Raniere, Nancy Salzman, Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman, Clare Bronfman and Kathy Russell as the second biggest story in the Capitol Region for 2018.
The number one story was the tragic limousine crash that killed more than two dozen people.
As for the Times Union – no media outlet has done more over a longer time than this newspaper – whose publisher is George Hearst.
Reporters James Odato, Dennis Yusko, and Brendan Lyons have time and again pulled back the covers on this dangerous group since 2003.
“For residents of the Capital Region, the revelation of NXIVM’s cult-like activities and the alleged criminal conduct of its leaders came as little surprise. The Times Union had extensively reported on the inner workings of the secretive group dating back 20 years, including a 2012 series that raised allegations Raniere had sex with underage girls and had used the well-funded organization to punish defectors and critics with crippling litigation.”
The Times Union also gave me a shout out in their story:
“The intensive and fast-moving federal investigation that began in Brooklyn last year followed a New York Times story that highlighted NXIVM’s secret women’s club and their practice of branding, which had first been reported months earlier by Frank Parlato, a former NXIVM publicist who runs various news blogs in Buffalo and has been at odds with the organization for years. “
Overall, the Times Union gives a great overview of what’s going on and brings into focus some of the important recent developments in the case.
It is one of the best stories I’ve read for a fast and good explanation of what the Nxivm case is all about.
I found this particularly interesting. It concerns Raniere’s condition in prison.
The Times Union wrote:
“For nine months, Raniere has been held without bond at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn that houses about 1,600 suspected offenders, including violent gang members and others charged with serious crimes.
“The 58-year-old has remained in the facility’s general population without incident, according to people familiar with his incarceration. A federal judge has rebuffed his attorneys’ repeated attempts to have him released on bond pending trial.
“For Raniere, his decades of living off the grid and controlling the intricate details of his followers’ lives have quickly faded. A man who declined to drive, vote or apply for a credit card — and who apparently falsely claimed he was the smartest person in the world and a brilliant college student — is now relegated to constant government oversight, and has no control over any of his daily activities.
“Still, ‘I have been impressed with his ability to withstand the pressures of incarceration, because no one wants to be there,’ said Paul DerOhannesian, an Albany attorney who is a member of Raniere’s defense team. ‘I think no one wants to be in jail, and he’s not pleased with that, but I think he’s more equipped than most people.'”
I wonder if this is true. Artvoice sources say he is not well equipped at all and has been faring poorly. The claim that he is now in general population is also interesting.
