EFTA00188336 20A THE PALM BEACH POST FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2007 # The Palm Beach Post TOM GIUFFRIDA, Publisher | JOHN BARTOSEK, Editor | CHARLES GERARDI, General Manager | | :--- | :--- | | BILL ROSE, Managing Editor | RANDY SCHULTZ, Editor of the Editorial Page | | JAN TUCKWOOD, Associate Editor | | BARRY BERG, VP Circulation LARRY SIEDLIK, VP & Treasurer JOHN KELLY, VP Advertising GALE HOWDEN, VP Community Relations and Marketing LINDA MURPHY, VP Human Resources BOB BALFE, VP Operations LAURA DECK CUNNINGHAM, Director, Marketing Services DAN SHORTER, General Manager, PalmBeachPost.com # How will system judge Palm Beach predator? We soon will find out whether big money can buy from the criminal justice system what everyone assumes that big money can buy. The penalty news reports say part-time Palm Beach resident Jeffrey Epstein is expected to face suggests that he will plead guilty to something more than one felony count for solicitation of prostitution. A Palm Beach County grand jury indicted the Manhattan money manager on that charge in July 2006. But a guilty plea that does not recognize the age of the girls whom police say the billionaire paid for sex would be a disservice to the girls, an insult to the investigators who pressed the case and, for good measure, a general outrage. Palm Beach police have said that Jeffrey Epstein, 54, paid underage girls, one as young as 14, to come to his 7,200-square-foot waterfront home for "massage" sessions. Police said interviews with five alleged victims and 17 witnesses under oath, phone messages, a high school transcript and other items they found in Mr. Epstein's trash and home show that he knew how young the girls were. But after Mr. Epstein's attorneys told prosecutors about the girls' MySpace pages, which mentioned marijuana and alcohol use, State Attorney Barry Krischer sent the case to a grand jury, instead of filing charges himself. Blaming these victims, however, does not make them any more deserving of what happened. And Mr. Krischer's unnecessary handoff to a grand jury, after an 11-month police investigation, more than reinforced ## Jeffrey Epstein case comes to turning point. the public understanding that the more money the accused has, the bigger the break he gets. Mr. Epstein's legal team includes West Palm Beach defense attorney Jack Goldberger, Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, who worked on the O.J. Simpson murder case, and Kenneth Starr, who once pursued a president based on his lies about sex with young women. Federal authorities also stepped in, which stalled the state's case for another year. On Nov. 9, citing an unnamed source close to Jeffrey Epstein, Jose Lambiet of The Post wrote that the federal investigation is over, and Mr. Epstein is expected to serve up to 18 months and could be labeled a sex offender in criminal records. The charge the grand jury returned more than a year ago carries a maximum five-year prison term and no "sex offender" label. "This case," Mr. Goldberger told Mr. Lambiet, "is absolutely going to end without a trial within the next two months." State attorney spokesman Michael Edmondson would not confirm any plea deal. But, he noted: "The state attorney's hands are not tied by there being a single grand jury charge. That does not preclude additional charges." Jeffrey Epstein, like too many men in Florida, preyed on teenaged girls. The system should not let him buy his way out of that reality. # This time "With so much corrup around us, we are grateful to Palm Beach Post for reporting helped remove County Commissioners Tony Masilotti and Wa Newell and City Commissio Ray Liberti and Jim Exline," gie Williams wrote to The Post month. "... Now we want mortention paid to stopping gangs Elisa Cramer gun-related lence." "You see, we not elected cials. We are in newspaper us as a 'mug she a brief. We are MAMAs, Mo Against Murder sociation. As r ers of children who have been 1 by guns, we all wonder: Wher the guns coming from and w benefiting? We know we aren't "We are single mothers at work. Most of us work two job are the nurses you see in theancy rooms, the helpers at EFTA00188337 Funeral Home & Crematory, Stuart. Funeral Mass Wednesday. Innareill, Attillo, 80, of Stuart, died Friday. Young & Prill Funeral Home, Stuart. Visitation Wednesday and Thursday; funeral Mass Thursday. Kreitz, Mary, 86, of Jensen Beach, died Thursday: Martin Funeral Home & Crematory, Stuart. ## St. Lucie County Chalkis, Anne, 88, of Port St. Lucie, died Thursday. Yates Funeral Home and Crematory, Port St. Lucie. Galinls, Scott J., 40, of Port St. Lucie, died Friday. Tillman Funeral Home, West Palm Beach. Funeral today. ## Okeechobee County Tufts, Ernest Woodrow, 90, of Okeechobee, died Saturday. Buxton Funeral Home and Crematory, Okeechobee. ## ICES ## DOLORES H. ROSS realtor, avid golfer, bridge enthusiast Mrs. Dolores H. (nee Heintzelman) Ross died peacefully Sunday afternoon, February 10, 2006 surrounded by her family at her home in the Hawk Pointe community of Washington Township, NJ. She was 75. Born in Sunbury, PA., Mrs. Ross was raised in Groton, CT, and had lived in Coryngham, PA, Flourtown, PA, and Ponte Vedra Beach, FL before moving to Chatham Township where she had lived for 30 years before recently moving to Washington Township. She and her husband Bob Ross also maintained a home at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL for many years. Mrs. Ross had worked as a real estate broker for many years, most recently with Welchert Realtors Chatham office for over 15 years, retiring in 1995. She was a bridge enthusiast and avid golfer at the PGA National Golf Club at Palm Beach Gardens, FL and the Baltustrol Golf Club in Benghazi, IL. aggedly cheated on her, police said. Norman allegedly enlisted the help of McGee, a crack cocaine dealer, police also contend. In the August 2006 attack, Tackaberry was killed and Elijah's throat was slashed. John Tackaberry discovered them after arriving home from a date. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Norman and McGee, said attorney Gregg Lerman, who represents Norman. Tackaberry's relatives filled the courtroom Monday for the brief hearing, he said. A trial date for the pair may be set at their next court appearance scheduled for May. Norman, who had no criminal history, met McGee at a gas station. When McGee offered to sell Norman drugs, she declined, "I ain't answering no more he said. McGee also denied stabbing or slashing Elijah, who survived. "Don't do nothing to a little kid, man." He said that he entered the Tackaberry home to rob it to buy more crack. "A robbery that went bad," McGee said. Norman gave a much longer and detailed statement. She said McGee slashed Elijah's throat, then eventually admitted she cut the boy across the chest. The wound was a stab, not a cut, an officer told her. "I didn't think I jugged him that hard," Norman said. "I didn't want him to die. I did it to spite John." @susan_spencer_wendel@pbpost.com # Girl in sex-abuse suit alleges harassment The defendant she accuses is a part-time Palm Beach resident. By LARRY KELLER Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH — A lawyer representing one of two girls who recently sued part-time Palm Beach resident Jeffrey Epstein in federal court, claiming sexual assault, has asked a judge to stop Epstein and his attorneys from "continuous and systematic harassment." The girl, identified in court documents as "Jane Doe," 17, says a process server showed up at her place of employment on Feb. 1 to serve a subpoena for her deposition, originally scheduled for Feb. 6, even though her attorney had told Epstein's attorney twice that he would accept the subpoena on her behalf. Also, Jane Doe's attorney said he and Epstein's lawyer already had agreed to reschedule the deposition for another date. The girl's mother, who lives near Atlanta, also was served. About the same time, another man came to Jane Doe's workplace and said he was a lawyer who needed to contact her, the motion filed by West Palm Beach lawyer Ted Leopold alleges. "It can only be concluded that Epstein and/or his counsel are purposefully attempting to harass Jane Doe and her mother," Leopold said in his motion. Epstein attorney Jack Goldberger filed a written response saying there was no harassment, only a simple, routine serving of a subpoena. It's not the first time one of Jane Doe's parents has complained of harassment by the Epstein camp. Her father said in 2006 that private investigators aggressively followed his car, photographed his home and chased off visitors after his daughter accused Epstein. Jane Doe contends that when she was 14, she was recruited to go to Epstein's mansion to give him a massage. She says he engaged in sexual conduct with her at that time. Epstein is a wealthy Manhattan money manager who was indicted by a Palm Beach County grand jury in July 2006 on a single count of felony solicitation of prostitution. Police investigated him for 11 months, concluding that he engaged in sexual activity with several underage girls whom he paid to give him massages at his waterfront home. Epstein has maintained he did not know the girls were minors. © larry_keller@pbpost.com EFTA00188338 signs all of the city's checks and has the right to inspect all documents throughout the city. He suggested the original framers of the charter put the measure in place to provide some "checks and balances" within city government. Elected in March 2007, Masters has not suspended anyone. "It's one thing to amend the charter," Masters said. "But it's another thing to change the original intent of the charter." The city's charter hasn't been amended since 1973. The council created a charter review advisory board to comb the document, which produced the 21 proposed amendments. The proposals include See RIVIERA, 5B ▶ PALM BEACH GARDENS — Jill Coulter of Palm Beach Ash Wednesday at St. Ignatius Loyola Cathedral. For Christians, the faithful turned out at churches the Gerald Barbarito, head of the Diocese of Palm Beach # Part-time Palm Beacher faces another sex suit By LARRY KELLER Palin Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH — For the second time in two weeks, part-time Palm Beach resident Jeffrey Epstein has been sued for more than $50 million by a woman who contends that he engaged in sexual activity with her when she was a minor after Epstein enticing her to give him a massage at his home. More lawsuits may follow, Miami lawyer Jeffrey Herman said. "I'm aware of other victims," he said. "I have been contacted." Herman filed a similar lawsuit against Epstein on Jan. 24 on behalf of a girl identified as "Jane Doe," her father and stepmother. The * girl, now 17, says she was 14 when she gave Epstein a* sexually tinged massage at his home. The latest alleged victim is identified as "Jane Doe No. 2." She went to Epstein's Palm Beach mansion in 2004 or 2005 when she was 16, the lawsuit alleges. She says another girl recruited her to go there to give Epstein a massage. Once there, she alleges, she was led to an upstairs room with a massage table. Epstein came in wearing only a towel around his waist and told her to remove her clothes. She did, except for her bra and panties, according to the lawsuit. Epstein removed his towel, rolled onto his back, masturbated and touched Jane Doe No. 2 sexually, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in West Palm Beach on Wednesday. Jane Doe No. 2 was paid $200 afterward, and the girl who recruited her was given See EPSTEIN, 5B ▶ EFTA00188339 # I plaintiff's parents at odds over suit EPSTEIN from 1B $100, according to the lawsuit. The two attended the same Palm Beach County high school. Jane Doe No. 2 is now 19 and living in Virginia, Herman said. Both lawsuits contend that Epstein, 55, targeted "economically disadvantaged girls from western Palm Beach County" who were perceived as less likely to complain to authorities, or whose credibility would be questioned if they did. "Both complaints are full of lies," said Guy Lewis, former U.S. attorney in Miami and one of Epstein's many attorneys. Jane Doe No. 2's lawsuit "is an outrageous, defamatory copycat of the first." There has been a twist in the first Jane Doe lawsuit. Her mother in Georgia contends that her former husband — Jane Doe's father — consulted with neither of them before filing the lawsuit. She is asking a judge to halt the litigation until her daughter turns 18 in May and can make her own decisions. The mother asked in court filings to be added to the lawsuit, saying she "has suffered and will continue to suffer severe mental anguish and pain" as a result of Epstein's "reckless conduct." Jane Doe "just didn't want the lawsuit going forward with the father's involvement," said Ted Leopold, the mother's attorney. "She wanted to pursue it on her own. The father essentially did this on his own." Jane Doe has been estranged from her father since Thanksgiving, Leopold said. "That's why it's even stranger what he did," he said. The girl's mother is asking a judge in their divorce case to find the father in contempt of court for violating their divorce decree by not conferring with her on a matter involving their daughter. "The father has sole custody and has the right to make decisions on his daughter's rights," Herman said. Epstein is a wealthy New York money manager who has counted Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Britain's Prince Andrew among his friends. He was the target of a lengthy investigation into his activities with girls by the Palm Beach Police Department that resulted in his indictment in July 2006 on one count of felony solicitation of prostitution. That case is pending. Epstein has been sued in New York by a woman who says he had sex with her when she was 16. Herman said he has received calls from others making the same assertions in that state. Herman convened a news conference Wednesday on the middle bridge connecting West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. "This is the bridge ... these girls were recruited to come over and give a massage," he said. "When they crossed this bridge, they had no idea what was in store for them. This is a bridge of tears." Herman has described both Jane Does as typical teenage girls Epstein robbed of their innocence. But Harvard University law Professor Alan Dershowitz, another Epstein attorney, provided the state attorney's office with information gleaned from the myspace.com Web site two years ago showing that some of Epstein's alleged victims boasted of their alcohol and marijuana use. Herman said the girls' backgrounds aren't relevant to Epstein's purported behavior. "They don't have the mental capacity to consent to something like this with a grown man," he said. @larry_keller@pbpost.com 2005 BMW 325i - $24,975 White/Beige leather, #NH06465. n 2005 BMW 325CI - $28,900 Silver/Black leather, 28,000 miles #PL06618 2005 BMW 525I - 18,000 Silver/Grey leather, 2004 BMW 530i Sedan --- Blue/Cream, Sport, NAV, 3 | **2006 BMW 525I** |-----------| | **Blue/Auburn leather, 9,000** |-----------| | 2006 BMWW6 530i | - - - - - | | :--- | :--- | | Grey/Black leather, 21,000 | - - - - - |