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COURT CLERK: This is number two on the calendar, matter of Jeffrey Epstein.¶
Your appearances please.¶
MS. GAFFNEY:¶
for the People.¶
Good afternoon, Your Honor.¶
MR. LEFKOWITZ: Jay Lefkowitz and Sandra Musumeci¶
for Mr. Epstein.¶
THE COURT: Mr. Epstein is not here.¶
MR. LEFKOWITZ: That’s correct.¶
THE COURT: Are you waiving his appearance?¶
MR. LEKWOWITZ: Yes.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Your Honor, this case is on for a SORA hearing this afternoon.¶
The People did receive the board’s recommendation of a Level Three. However, we received the underlying information from them and also had some contact with Florida, and we don’t believe that we can rely on the entire probable cause affidavit.¶
I don’t know if the board sent that to you as well.¶
THE COURT: I don’t know why you cannot rely on¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Because in Florida of all of the victims in that probable cause affidavit, they actually only went forward on one case. There was only an indictment for¶
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year old, he was an adult obviously, he was a Marine, a 17 year old came up to him and one thing lead to another and he had sex with her and the People would not agree to a downward modification on that.¶
So I am a little overwhelmed here because I see — I mean I read everything here, I am just a little overwhelmed that the People are making this application.¶
I could cite many many, I have done many S0RAs much less troubling than this one where the People would never make a downward argument like this.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: I agree with Your Honor, it is incredibly unusual for us to make a downward argument. But the problem is the one thing that we have from the board is it seems to be in contradiction to their own guidelines which if something was not indicted, you are not supposed to rely on it.¶
THE COURT: They obviously took that into consideration.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: And I tried to reach — I reached the authorities in Florida to try to see if they had all the interview notes or other things that we can then subsequently rely on that might be considered clear and convincing evidence, if they had interviewed these women on their own, and they never did. No one was cooperative and they did not go forward on any of the cases and none of them¶
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Even though the first prosecutor left, presumably the prosecutor’s office has the file.¶
THE COURT: I would still call the prosecutor.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Anything from these women they would have forwarded it to us.¶
THE COURT: I don’t know that, I think you have to speak to the prosecutor.¶
But be that as it may, I hear your argument.¶
Anything else?¶
MS. GAFFNEY: I mean that is why I don’t think we can, I don’t think we are entitled to rely on this because they did not go forward.¶
THE COURT: The board made a recommendation.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: May I speak, Your Honor?¶
THE COURT: Yes.¶
MS. GAFNEY: Correct.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: Good afternoon.¶
I would like to bring a few additional points to Your Honor’s attention that don’t come across in the board recommendation.¶
The first is that Mr. Epstein is not a resident of New York, unlike most of these out of state, he has not changed his address and moved to New York, he maintains a vacation home in New York. His primary residence is the U.S. Virgin Islands.¶
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more than seven days or at least he has not since he has been registered. He has no intention to ever be here for longer than a period of ten days.¶
Like I said, he does notify the authorities when he is here. He fully understands the reason for voluntary registration, he wants to be compliant with the Federal SORA law which requires wherever you own a property to register.¶
To require Mr. Epstein to register as a Level Three offender in New York would actually require him to come to New York more than he does normally, it would require him to come every 90 days and renew his registration.¶
He is very diligent in registering with New York authorities.¶
All of the other jurisdictions that have considered his case have determined that he either not register at all or register at the lowest level, and he has been more than compliant with all of those requirements.¶
Your Honor, we would join in the prosecutor’s application.¶
THE COURT: I am sure you would.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: By way of background, we have been in contact with the prosecutor’s office on this matter since I believe certainly since Mr. Epstein got his notification, which I believe was in August. We have met with the¶
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Mr. Epstein plead to two charges, one was an indictment which is an offense that is not registrable, it is a Florida indictment for —¶
THE COURT: Then why does he have to register¶
MS. MUSUMECI: It was a second offense that he plead to —¶
THE COURT: That is registrable.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: That is registrable.¶
That offense was by information and that is the only registrable offense, that is what the DA’s office is considering in doing their scoring.¶
The indictment which was the only case that the prosecutor even prosecuted through grand jury is not even a registrable offense.¶
THE COURT: He plead guilty to a registrable offense.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: Yes.¶
THE COURT: What did he plead guilty to?¶
MS. GAFFNEY: He plead guilty to the procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.¶
THE COURT: Procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Right.¶
THE COURT: How old was she?¶
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consensual intercourse with him and 17 is not registrable or criminal under New York law.¶
And the prostitution aspect of having intercourse with a 17 year old is not registrable conduct.¶
THE COURT: Why does he have to register here?¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Because it is a register able offense in Florida, New York State board of examiners —¶
THE COURT: Recognizes it.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: Recognizes it, yes.¶
THE COURT: I have had many cases like that where it was not registrable here but it was in the state where the person came from and New York recognized that.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: Your Honor, we are not saying that he should not register. Mr. Epstein has already registered and recognizes his duty to register.¶
THE COURT: I am glad of that, very glad of that.¶
I am sorry he may have to come here every 90 days.¶
He can give up his New York home if he does not want to come every 90 days.¶
Anything else?¶
I rely on the board.¶
MS. MUSUMECI: Your Honor, we would reserve our right to appeal Your Honor’s ruling.¶
THE COURT: Of course, do so.¶
MS. GAFFNEY: For the record, Your Honor, he is¶
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