EFTA00129591¶
[Rev. 05-01-2008]¶
UNCLASSIFIED¶
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION¶
Precedence: ROUTINE¶
Date: 09/02/2010¶
To: Newark¶
Attn: Trenton RA¶
SSA¶
Title: ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ;¶
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE¶
Synopsis: EC requesting Trenton RA to conduct interview of federal inmate, STEVEN HOFFENBERG, regarding captioned investigation.¶
Details: In October 2009, Miami Division opened an obstruction of justice case against ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ. RODRIGUEZ was the previous house manager and butler to Palm Beach County resident JEFFREY EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN was the subject of child prostitution, 31E matter, worked by Miami Division beginning in 2006. Investigation of EPSTEIN revealed that he brought underage girls to his home to perform massages and paid them to engage in sex acts with himself and one another. The U.S. Attorney’s Office entered into a non-prosecution agreement where EPSTEIN pled guilty to lesser state offenses in Florida state court. EPSTEIN was sentenced to a period of state prison followed by community supervision as a registered sex offender.¶
EPSTEIN’s victims filed suit against EPSTEIN in state and federal court seeking damages in civil litigation. During the discovery process, RODRIGUEZ was deposed by attorney BRADLEY EDWARDS who represented several of the victims. After his deposition, RODRIGUEZ contacted EDWARDS and advised that he had lists of additional victims that he had not previously disclosed to law enforcement during the criminal investigation or after being served with a subpoena in the civil case. RODRIGUEZ advised he would not turn the information over to the attorney but instead wanted monetary compensation. In November 2009, RODRIGUEZ attempted to sell the¶
S:\DRAFTS\PB2\¶
c\245.cjp.01.ec UNCLASSIFIED¶
72-MM-11327-46¶
EFTA00129592¶
UNCLASSIFIED¶
To: Newark From: Miami¶
Re: 72-MM-113327, 09/02/2010¶
information to a UCE for $50,000.00, which resulted in the above captioned case.¶
Also during the civil litigation, EDWARDS’ law firm contacted STEVEN HOFFENBERG as a potential plaintiff’s witness against EPSTEIN. HOFFENBERG is a federal inmate at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), inmate number 35601-054. HOFFENBERG was a former business associate or acquaintance of EPSTEIN. HOFFENBERG is serving a 20-year sentence for his role in a Ponzi scheme and securities fraud that was worked by the New York field office, 196C-NY-235483. Through correspondence, HOFFENBERG advised EDWARDS’ firm that he had information regarding JEFFREY EPSTEIN being involved in the murder of a Columbus, Ohio attorney named ARTHUR L. SHAPIRO. SHAPIRO was killed on March 6, 1985 in the Columbus area. The case remains unsolved. A review of ACS does not reflect HOFFENBERG offered this information as a proffer during the 196C matter. It should be noted that HOFFENBERG appears to have a history of mental illness. Since his incarceration, he has filed civil rights complaints regarding the facilities he has been assigned to.¶
It is requested that Trenton RA interview HOFFENBERG for information regarding JEFFREY EPSTEIN and his involvement or knowledge of the murder of SHAPIRO.¶
Descriptive Data:¶
Reference¶
UNCLASSIFIED¶
2¶
EFTA00129593¶
UNCLASSIFIED¶
To: Newark From: Miami¶
Re: 72-MM-113327, 09/02/2010¶
LEAD(s) :¶
Set Lead 1: (Action)¶
NEWARK¶
AT TRENTON, NJ¶
To interview federal inmate, STEVEN HOFFENBERG, BOP number 35601-054, regarding the murder of ARTHUR SHAPIRO.¶
UNCLASSIFIED¶
3¶