Bennito L. Kelty

Oct 10, 2026 10:58AM ET

A reporter famous for exposing notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein is warning that one of his allies is about to take power.

Julie K. Brown, whose Miami Herald investigation into Epstein's sweetheart plea deal helped reopen the case against him, wrote in a Saturday piece for her Substack newsletter, "The Epstein Files," that Stacey Plaskett, who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands in Congress, is likely to become the territory's next governor.

Her rise, Brown argued, shows "that not everyone who helped enable Jeffrey Epstein suffered career-ending consequences."

Plaskett was "once a rising star in the Democratic Party," according to Brown, who wrote that the congresswoman helped Epstein secure millions of dollars in tax breaks and accepted campaign cash from him and his associates while running for and holding her seat.

Their relationship went beyond money, per Brown. "She was so close to him at one point that she was getting advice from him via text message in real time," Brown wrote, describing a February 2019 congressional hearing at which Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified.

Once those messages surfaced, House Republicans pushed a resolution to censure Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee. It failed by a narrow margin.

"So now she is aiming to become the USVI's first female governor," Brown wrote.

Brown noted that the territory Plaskett hopes to lead is the same place where Epstein sexually abused countless victims.

Critics, she wrote, believe Plaskett's "judgment and ties with a convicted child sex predator should raise questions about her fitness to serve as governor at a time when the USVI is facing a number of crises."

Those include a shaky power grid that suffers frequent outages and rolling blackouts, debt, a rising cost of living, and what Brown described as "a culture of government corruption that has plagued the territory for decades."

"Some could argue that Plaskett has only demonstrated that she is part of that same culture that looked the other way when it came to powerful people like Epstein," Brown wrote.

At a debate between Sen. Jon Ossoff and Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, Jon Ossoff confronted Mike Collins over his initial 2025 vote against releasing Jeffrey Epstein case files.

https://youtu.be/Sj56vUdI81U

Edit: For more context, the full debate is here and this exchange begins at 23:57 when Mike Collins accuses Ossoff of being part of the Epstein class for having Reid Hoffman as a donor for his campaign ads.

Read more

I have made a substantial update to my previous post located here:

Previous Post

The new post is on Substack because I can post more than 20 pictures there. My Substack is free, just close the subscribe pop-up. New pictures, DOJ files, research, timeline, emails etc.

All people mentioned in witness interviews/emails/pictures:

Ernst Gubler, Helga Gubler, Len InDelicato, Kaye [LNU], George Carroll, Fredy Frei, Steve Corniea, Siegfried Westphal, Adriano Marcet, Kuros Ghofli, Dalva Tschuor, Glenn Dubin, Eva Andersson-Dubin, Leon Black, Jimmy Savile, Shelly Lewis, Joachim Benke, Jeannette Brunner (Benke), Harvey Weinstein, Morgan Fairchild, James Lamparello (Dino Valentino), Sylvia Dixon, Sabine Müggler, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein

Reposting as this was deleted by Reddit's filters, I'm removing the embedded links in case that triggered something.

Hello,

I wanted to share some of the amazing work done by one of my forum members who manually transcribed hundreds of documents and media files over the last 8 months.

They provided the original justice.gov links for each, as well as the EFTA numbers, some are done in series or ranges where documents are split between files. Many of the more recent transcriptions also contain context to what the file is about and who it relates to.

I hope people can find these helpful and use them in other research, I think they are more accurate and detailed than what is usually AI generated transcriptions.

Audio and Video Transcriptions

• epsteinforums.org/viewforum.php?f=29

Text and Handwriting Transcriptions

• epsteinforums.org/viewforum.php?f=38

I don't take any credit for this work, just hoping it can help others.

edit: Credit to u/ej1738kohn for all this work!

(update) Found it it's Senator George Mitchell

Pictures taken by victim Teala Davies

https://jmail.world/photos?photo=EFTA00004070-0.png

31E-NY-3027571

The Trump/Epstein Reading Room will be in Detroit
Oct 19th - 22nd.

https://trumpepsteinreadingroom.com/detroit

Ro Khanna was asked how responsible certain members of Congress who are not for the release of the Epstein files are and how they play a part of the continuing pain of the survivors of Epstein.

Ro Khanna:

Well, the first responsibility is with Todd Blanche, who has not released the transcript, the documents, and has not prosecuted people.

But you also have a Congress that is literally standing with the Epstein class instead of the survivors. Why is Mike Johnson out there not just saying, “Okay, let’s get a vote”?

Why is not every Republican and Democrat on the discharge petition saying we want to see the rest of the documents and we want to make sure pedophiles are prosecuted?

You can’t lecture about law and order and lecture about going after sex traffickers and then sit there and not sign Massie and my discharge petition.

This is about standing up for young girls over pedophiles. It’s really that simple.

And shame on any member of Congress who’s not willing to sign it.

I just want to be clear: you can sign that discharge petition between now and November.

You don’t have to wait till the lame duck. You can call up Thomas Massie, call, text him, and you can put your name on it on any pro forma session. And that should be the test.

If you’re really for young girls, if you’re really going to stand up against the Epstein class, then sign the petition.

You know why some don’t want to sign the petition?

They don’t want to get on the wrong side of Donald Trump, and they don’t want to get on the wrong side of Mike Johnson.

They don’t want to get on the wrong side of the Epstein class, and more millions of dollars be poured in against them.

During the 2010 deposition, lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, questioned former model Adriana Ross about Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger, the top national security aide under the Clinton administration.

Ross was asked who Berger was and whether he was a "close friend" of Epstein's, according to the court documents.

That's somebody else that was affiliated with Bill Clinton at one point in time, correct?" Ross was questioned.

"He called the house within three weeks of the search warrant being executed. Did he tip off Jeffrey Epstein?" Ross was asked, the court papers show. For each question, Ross replied, "I refuse to answer."

https://www.businessinsider.com/model-asked-bill-clinton-security-advisor-tipped-off-jeffrey-epstein-2024-1

This is not a repost, but an update. Three months ago I posted a table similar to this one. I wrote:

The Oversight Committee has been doing a probe into Epstein and his accomplices for a while now. Testimonies and depositions have happened. They are checking up on transparency and federal mismanagement, on Epstein's circle. The sub reports on it now and then. Chitchat about a second EFTA (the transparency act) is going round.

Just to explain why, officially, there are ongoing investigations. Criminal investigations seem to have been ended with Epstein's death. So the only legal ways are citizens suing. Or Oversight finding evidence which could re/open criminal investigations.

So, it is important that Oversight keeps the ball rolling. Victims have done so for decades; I'd say it is a bit much to ask THEM again to keep doing the main work. We must applaud Oversight when they get shit done. We should speak up when things are lacking.

So I am asking:

What about Dershowitz?

This is so odd to me! Look at this timeline:

Alan Dershowitz (Epstein's defense attorney; Harvard) was asked to appear before Oversight (which is, as said, tasked to force officials to do things properly; hence, they check if Epstein cases are handled properly).

So, Dershowitz agreed to come by for an interview on July 20th.

And then he cancelled:

"five days before he was scheduled to appear for his interview, Dershowitz informed the Oversight Committee that he would no longer be able to provide testimony." [page 7 of CRPT-119hrpt831.pdf]

On July 21st, Oversight invited again (source), this time with stronger language:

• Setting a date for September 2nd.
• Warning him of possible compulsory action.

And: That date has come and gone. Hasn't it?

And there is no official statement announcing that Dershowitz did not show up; or that there will be consequences for that.

Also, I see little reporting about it all.

Get this: Oversight chairman James Comer talked about this issue on a random podcast (Sept. 15). Along the lines of: yeah, he did not show, bummer.

It's difficult not to question the committee's resolve. Why is there no official comment?

Keep in mind, tho:

Dershowitz missing a <voluntary interview> (!!!) is not the same thing as <defying a subpoena>. He did not. BUT! Oversight did <warn> him. They decided to use that language. So the ball is in their corner to follow through now! I am waiting for that.

Or are they picking their battles? They seem to pick one with Black. Are they overworked with that? Or is this too small a fish for them? Hard to believe, because this is about god damn Dershowitz.

Related links

"The original LA Times essay by Alan Dershowitz arguing to lower the age of consent to 15. " https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1ps2e96/the_original_la_times_essay_by_alan_dershowitz/

"Alleged letter from Alan Dershowitz to Epstein in 2002 about removing the focus of the Vanity Fair article from Epstein towards Clinton. The post got immediately deleted" https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1nc7gri/alleged_letter_from_alan_dershowitz_to_epstein_in/

"Dershowitz victim blaming" https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1qx7l4h/dershowitz_victim_blaming/

"Alan Dershowitz cancels his July 20th testimony." https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1uz9oc7/alan_dershowitz_cancels_his_july_20th_testimony/

Interviews I know of

Almost all interviews have to do with Oversight; some have to do with the Senate.

• Link 1 is always <either the official **transcript>** or <a good transcript with a watch-along video option>.
• Link 2 is always a researcher's transcript/analysis that focuses on contradictions between <statements made in the interview> and <what the Epstein Files say>.

Conrad Black was Pardoned by Trump In 2020 Black was convicted of fraud involving money diverted from Hollinger newspaper transactions and obstruction of justice.

Two emails dated November 6 and November 9, 2006, reveal behind-the-scenes legal coordination involving Leslie Wexner, Henry Kissinger and several influential figures connected to Hollinger International, the media empire formerly controlled by Conrad Black.

They appear in the context of the Epstein files and connect Wexner's legal affairs to a network of former government officials, billionaires, financiers and media executives.

1. What do the emails say?

November 6, 2006

An email from "dkiesq@.." to attorney Ronit Setton of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft states:

«We will join»

This indicates an initial willingness to participate in a proposed legal action.

November 9, 2006

Ronit Setton follows up, explaining that several former Hollinger outside directors were considering joining a lawsuit as plaintiffs.

Five had confirmed they would participate regardless of whether Kissinger, Meitar, Wexner or Chambers joined.

However, Henry Kissinger and Shmuel Meitar had decided not to participate.

According to Setton, Kissinger's attorney had previously described him as a "lightning rod", explaining that Kissinger did not want to take a prominent role unless a sufficiently large group participated.

Kissinger subsequently indicated that he would follow Meitar's decision.

Setton then asked whether Leslie Wexner would still participate despite their withdrawal.

The correspondence demonstrates that Kissinger and Wexner were part of the same legal coordination discussions.

2. What was Hollinger International?

Hollinger International was a major international media corporation controlled by Canadian businessman Conrad Black.

Its newspaper holdings included:

\- The Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom)

\- Chicago Sun-Times (United States)

\- The Jerusalem Post (Israel)

\- The National Post (Canada), through its earlier ownership

Hollinger became embroiled in a massive corporate governance scandal involving allegations of improper payments, self-dealing and misleading financial disclosures.

Its directors faced shareholder litigation over their oversight of the company.

3. Who else was involved?

Look at the names appearing on Hollinger's board or in the legal proceedings:

Individual| Background

Henry Kissinger| Former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser

Leslie Wexner| Founder of The Limited and Victoria's Secret; Jeffrey Epstein's longtime financial patron

Conrad Black| Media magnate who controlled Hollinger

Richard Perle| Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and influential foreign-policy adviser

Richard Burt| Former U.S. ambassador to West Germany and arms-control negotiator

Robert Strauss| Former Democratic National Committee chairman and U.S. ambassador

Marie-Josée Kravis| Business executive, philanthropist and wife of KKR co-founder Henry Kravis

A. Alfred Taubman| Former Sotheby's chairman and real-estate billionaire

Dwayne Andreas| Former chairman of Archer Daniels Midland

George Weidenfeld| British publisher and member of the House of Lords

Shmuel Meitar| Israeli communications and media businessman

James R. Thompson| Former governor of Illinois

Raymond Chambers| Financier and philanthropist

These were not simply newspaper executives. Hollinger brought together individuals from American foreign policy, international finance, publishing, government and corporate power.

4. Where does Jeffrey Epstein fit?

The clearest established connection is Leslie Wexner.

Wexner was both a Hollinger outside director and Jeffrey Epstein's longtime patron and financial client.

Epstein exercised extraordinary influence over Wexner's financial affairs for years.

The November 2006 emails therefore raise an important question:

Was Epstein involved in managing Wexner's legal response to the Hollinger litigation?

The emails reproduced here do not answer that question by themselves. They identify legal correspondence concerning Wexner, but do not establish Epstein's personal participation or show that Kissinger was communicating with Epstein.

Still, they provide a useful starting point for examining how Wexner's business and legal relationships intersected with the circles Epstein cultivated.

5. Another interesting connection: Kissinger, Perle and Conrad Black

Court documents identify additional relationships beyond their common Hollinger directorships.

Kissinger and Conrad Black were both associated with The National Interest, which received financial contributions from Hollinger.

Kissinger, Richard Perle and Black were also connected through Trireme-related investment entities.

This makes Hollinger particularly interesting as an intersection of media ownership, private investment and foreign-policy influence.

1. The bigger question

The emails do not prove an Epstein-directed conspiracy or wrongdoing by everyone named.

But they document something worth examining: Wexner and Kissinger were part of the same powerful corporate network, and Wexner's legal representatives were coordinating with other former Hollinger directors during the company's legal fallout.

That is the question the surrounding correspondence could help answer.

Sources to investigate:

\- November 6 and November 9, 2006, correspondence involving Ronit Setton and "dkiesq

\- In re Hollinger International, Case No. 04-C-0834, Northern District of Illinois

\- Hollinger International's 2005–2007 SEC filings

\- Hollinger International v. Black, Delaware Court of Chancery

The connections are documented. Epstein's specific role in these emails remains to be established.

https://contracts.justia.com/companies/sun-times-media-group-inc-50291/contract/977022/?\\_\\_cf\\_chl\\_tk=ZInh3A.WBZpyOga2kQ9oyydMpQh0VZs9KnF3Mwa1tbo-1791979135-1.0.1.1-5YeO7VEdotFPbMxymZV23952uQlULV\\_aLBhsIodv3Mc

Two emails dated November 6 and November 9, 2006, reveal behind-the-scenes legal coordination involving Leslie Wexner, Henry Kissinger and several influential figures connected to Hollinger International, the media empire formerly controlled by Conrad Black.

They appear in the context of the Epstein files and connect Wexner's legal affairs to a network of former government officials, billionaires, financiers and media executives.

1. What do the emails say?

November 6, 2006

An email from "dkiesq@.." to attorney Ronit Setton of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft states:

«We will join»

This indicates an initial willingness to participate in a proposed legal action.

November 9, 2006

Ronit Setton follows up, explaining that several former Hollinger outside directors were considering joining a lawsuit as plaintiffs.

Five had confirmed they would participate regardless of whether Kissinger, Meitar, Wexner or Chambers joined.

However, Henry Kissinger and Shmuel Meitar had decided not to participate.

According to Setton, Kissinger's attorney had previously described him as a "lightning rod", explaining that Kissinger did not want to take a prominent role unless a sufficiently large group participated.

Kissinger subsequently indicated that he would follow Meitar's decision.

Setton then asked whether Leslie Wexner would still participate despite their withdrawal.

The correspondence demonstrates that Kissinger and Wexner were part of the same legal coordination discussions.

1. What was Hollinger International?

Hollinger International was a major international media corporation controlled by Canadian businessman Conrad Black.

Its newspaper holdings included:

\- The Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom)

\- Chicago Sun-Times (United States)

\- The Jerusalem Post (Israel)

\- The National Post (Canada), through its earlier ownership

Hollinger became embroiled in a massive corporate governance scandal involving allegations of improper payments, self-dealing and misleading financial disclosures.

Its directors faced shareholder litigation over their oversight of the company.

1. Who else was involved?

Look at the names appearing on Hollinger's board or in the legal proceedings:

Individual| Background

Henry Kissinger| Former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser

Leslie Wexner| Founder of The Limited and Victoria's Secret; Jeffrey Epstein's longtime financial patron

Conrad Black| Media magnate who controlled Hollinger

Richard Perle| Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and influential foreign-policy adviser

Richard Burt| Former U.S. ambassador to West Germany and arms-control negotiator

Robert Strauss| Former Democratic National Committee chairman and U.S. ambassador

Marie-Josée Kravis| Business executive, philanthropist and wife of KKR co-founder Henry Kravis

A. Alfred Taubman| Former Sotheby's chairman and real-estate billionaire

Dwayne Andreas| Former chairman of Archer Daniels Midland

George Weidenfeld| British publisher and member of the House of Lords

Shmuel Meitar| Israeli communications and media businessman

James R. Thompson| Former governor of Illinois

Raymond Chambers| Financier and philanthropist

These were not simply newspaper executives. Hollinger brought together individuals from American foreign policy, international finance, publishing, government and corporate power.

4. Where does Jeffrey Epstein fit?

The clearest established connection is Leslie Wexner.

Wexner was both a Hollinger outside director and Jeffrey Epstein's longtime patron and financial client.

Epstein exercised extraordinary influence over Wexner's financial affairs for years.

The November 2006 emails therefore raise an important question:

Was Epstein involved in managing Wexner's legal response to the Hollinger litigation?

The emails reproduced here do not answer that question by themselves. They identify legal correspondence concerning Wexner, but do not establish Epstein's personal participation or show that Kissinger was communicating with Epstein.

Still, they provide a useful starting point for examining how Wexner's business and legal relationships intersected with the circles Epstein cultivated.

1. Another interesting connection: Kissinger, Perle and Conrad Black

Court documents identify additional relationships beyond their common Hollinger directorships.

Kissinger and Conrad Black were both associated with The National Interest, which received financial contributions from Hollinger.

Kissinger, Richard Perle and Black were also connected through Trireme-related investment entities.

This makes Hollinger particularly interesting as an intersection of media ownership, private investment and foreign-policy influence.

1. The bigger question

The emails do not prove an Epstein-directed conspiracy or wrongdoing by everyone named.

But they document something worth examining: Wexner and Kissinger were part of the same powerful corporate network, and Wexner's legal representatives were coordinating with other former Hollinger directors during the company's legal fallout.

That is the question the surrounding correspondence could help answer.

Sources to investigate:

\- November 6 and November 9, 2006, correspondence involving Ronit Setton and "dkiesq

\- In re Hollinger International, Case No. 04-C-0834, Northern District of Illinois

\- Hollinger International's 2005–2007 SEC filings

\- Hollinger International v. Black, Delaware Court of Chancery

The connections are documented. Epstein's specific role in these emails remains to be established.

https://contracts.justia.com/companies/sun-times-media-group-inc-50291/contract/977022/?\\_\\_cf\\_chl\\_tk=ZInh3A.WBZpyOga2kQ9oyydMpQh0VZs9KnF3Mwa1tbo-1791979135-1.0.1.1-5YeO7VEdotFPbMxymZV23952uQlULV\\_aLBhsIodv3Mc

*And there's another development: Trump also pardoned two other Hollinger executives, John Boultbee and Peter Atkinson, on December 23, 2020. *

Ellie Leonard's critique of Michaelf Wolff

I was just reading a post that linked the transcriptions of many handwritten notes and audio files but it seems to have been deleted. Can anyone help me to find this again? Thanks!

EFTA00578730

The war on Iran has become such a distraction (intentionally or not) that people are talking about anything BUT the findings on Epstein files.

We have to take our findings and discussions here to the mainstream again! We cant allow this f*ckers to keep going on as if nothing is wrong!

So I am proposing a coordenate effort:

Each one of us that read this pledge to publish on reddit in other communities that are not related directly to the Epstein files, put the link of the post here and we all go to the comment section and hype up the post, that way, it becames hot and Very evident.

If you would like to make tiktoks about it also, would be nice, put the link here. EVERYDAY must have a flood of Epstein files related posts all over the internet!

Lets organise and show them that they cant distract us!!!

https://substack.com/home/post/p-220384622

In 2015, Jeffrey Epstein decided he wanted two fully equipped ambulances, one for his island and one for his New Mexico ranch. The Montana dealer who sold him one says he never knew who the buyer was.

Note: I will update this piece with any responses I receive from the people and agencies I contacted.

The stretcher inside the ambulance Steve Apgar sold for Little St. James, in photos he sent Kahn in January 2016, before it shipped. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice, EFTA01138660, p. 2.

Special thanks to Reddit user u/originalmaja, who did the initial research on the ambulance and passed the story along to me.

In late 2015, Steve Apgar, a dealer in used ambulances, got a call from a man who said a client of his wanted "a relatively nice ambulance." The caller was Richard Kahn, Jeffrey Epstein's accountant. Kahn would not say who the person getting the ambulance was. "They did a good job covering up their real intent," Apgar told me in an interview.

That in itself was not unusual, Apgar said. Like many businesses, an ambulance dealer does not need to know who the buyer is, as long as the bill gets paid. He sold Kahn a used ambulance, and in late January 2016, it arrived on Little St. James, Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Little St. James, Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in June 2013. Photo: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.jpg).

Apgar's name is in the Epstein records, and people on Reddit had already tied him to the sale, he told me. But no one, journalist or otherwise, had ever asked him about it. He was eager to set the record straight. "I know the edits and information are 100% accurate and am happy to provide an accurate account of how I was deceived," he wrote after reviewing my notes of our interview. Given how people on Reddit treated him, it wasn't fair to draw conclusions about him from his name in the files without hearing his side of the story first. This is his account, checked against the records.

Epstein's reason for getting the ambulances: "especialy now that karyna is a doctor"

The idea first appears in the records on June 28, 2015, when Epstein wrote to Kahn and to Brice Gordon, who with his wife, Karen Gordon, managed Zorro Ranch and later Little St. James: "not sure why I have not about it before, but for both the ranch and the island especialy now that karyna is a doctor. I would like to buy two fully equipped ambulances. . ekg, oxygen, … etc." (EFTA02496132)

Epstein's June 28, 2015 email to his accountant, Richard Kahn, and his property manager, Brice Gordon, the earliest record of the ambulance plan. The stray "=" characters and the symbol after "oxygen" are encoding artifacts in the released copy. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice, EFTA02496132. Image by Soror FV, made with Claude.

Karyna Shuliak, his girlfriend, had been rejected at first by Columbia University's dental school in 2012, until Epstein "pulled some strings," the New York Times reported, and when her tuition bill came due in 2013, he told Kahn to "pay it" (EFTA00966987). By 2015, she was licensed as a dentist in the Virgin Islands.

The day after Epstein's email, Shuliak wrote to Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin, a physician who dated Epstein in the 1980s and remained close to him, according to the New York Times: "Jeffrey wants to purchase 2 fully equipped ambulance machines: 1 for the island, and 1 for the ranch." She asked whether Andersson-Dubin knew "somebody who could help us with the process, especially regarding all the equipment" (EFTA02303568).

Shuliak's June 29, 2015 email to Andersson-Dubin (bottom) and Andersson-Dubin's reply copying Shimony (top), read from the bottom up. The "=" characters, including the one where "1 for the island" should appear, are encoding errors in the released copy; the header times are as printed. Email addresses were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Source: EFTA02303568, p. 3.

Andersson-Dubin answered that she would look into it and copied Dr. Rony Shimony, a Mount Sinai cardiologist, "so we can brainstorm together." Shimony replied that "Head EMS colleagues friends & ER guys can set us up" (EFTA02303568, p. 3). On July 3, he recommended "a friend and colleague Morris Steinberg who's involved in the ambulance service and ran the NY Monroe department for 30+ years," who was "willing and very capable to help set up the two ambulances" and could "get the best pricing" (EFTA02303568, p. 2). When Shuliak asked for Steinberg's number on July 6, Shimony wrote, "I'll call you tomorrow & set up" (EFTA02303568, p. 1). The records reviewed for this story do not show whether Steinberg was involved in the purchase that followed. I was not able to find a way to contact him, and Shimony did not respond to questions about the referral.

Steve Apgar, the used-ambulance dealer: "How I Was Deceived"

Richard Kahn, Epstein's accountant, handled the purchase through Steve Apgar, a used-ambulance dealer in Kalispell, Montana, according to his 2016 email signature (EFTA00674390, p. 3). Apgar told me in a phone interview on Oct. 8, 2026, that he did not know at the time who his buyer was. "What people don't realize is that I got a call from a law firm that said that a client would like an ambulance," he said. "My job is to take pre-owned ambulances and sell them." The call came from Kahn, whose firm, HBRK Associates, was in fact an accounting firm. Apgar said his invoice was made out to HBRK, and the records match his account: in every email I reviewed about the sale, he dealt only with Kahn, and the invoice he attached to his quote for the second ambulance is a file named for HBRK and Zorro (EFTA00674390–92).

Richard Kahn, Epstein's longtime accountant and a co-executor of his estate, at his deposition before the House Oversight Committee on March 11, 2026. U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, via Wikimedia Commons.

Apgar joked that Kahn should be called Richard "Con" instead of Kahn. The joke, he wrote afterward, was about Kahn never telling him who the real client was. Had he known then what he knows now, Apgar said, he would not have done business with Kahn. He called Epstein "an evil, evil person" and said he would love to see everyone who had knowledge get "true justice." The truth, he said, sets everyone free.

Apgar gave me a lot of detail and explained how his business worked. He said that he and a partner bid on ambulances the federal government had retired, under a federal policy of trading them in at 100,000 miles or seven years. He said they had the vehicles sent to Bakersfield, California, and resold about 173 or 174 of them. He believes the ambulance that went to Little St. James would have been one of them, federally owned and certified to the federal government's ambulance standard, known as KKK-A-1822. "Every ambulance that we sold was certified for use," Apgar said. "They could be sold anywhere in the United States," he added, while other countries "didn't have any real standards." The certification label photographed inside the ambulance supports part of this: it was built by Wheeled Coach in May 2009 to the federal specification.

The certification label inside the ambulance: a "Star of Life" ambulance built by Wheeled Coach Industries in May 2009, certified to the federal specification KKK-A-1822 (partly obscured by glare in the released photo), as Apgar described. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice, EFTA01138660, p. 10.

Kahn asked whether the ambulance could be delivered to a port, Apgar said. On November 17, 2015, Kahn forwarded Epstein a New Mexico Department of Health inspection checklist that Apgar had obtained, and asked: "also not sure if you want to be state compliant or customize to your needs" (EFTA02671095).

In other words, Kahn was asking Epstein whether he wanted the ambulance to actually meet the New Mexico government's standards for ambulances, or to be equipped however Epstein wanted instead. No record shows which he chose.

Kahn's November 17, 2015 email to Epstein, forwarding the New Mexico Department of Health checklist Apgar sent him that morning. The "=" characters are encoding errors in the released copy. Email addresses and phone numbers were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. EFTA02671095.

Although I am not sure why, the island ambulance was bought first, in January 2016. The records tie it to a company called LSJ Emergency, LLC. Apgar's photographs of the vehicle, sent to Kahn on January 6, 2016, carry the subject line "LSJ Emergency, LLC – 2009 Dodge 3500 XLT – January 4, 2016" (EFTA01138660). Kahn forwarded the photographs to Epstein that afternoon with the note "more photos of ambulance." Epstein's entire reply was one word: "ghost?" It's not clear what he meant. The company appears again in the U.S. Virgin Islands government's 2020 lawsuit against Epstein's estate: a September 30, 2020 subpoena the government issued in the case lists it among the "Epstein Entities" (Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v. Indyke, ST-20-CV-014, subpoena). No record I reviewed describes anything else the company did.

Kahn forwarded Apgar's photos under the subject line "LSJ Emergency, LLC – 2009 Dodge 3500 XLT – January 4, 2016." Epstein's reply, in full: "ghost?" Email addresses were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. EFTA01138660. Image by Soror FV, made with Claude.

The vehicle was a Wheeled Coach ambulance with a stretcher, a built-in oxygen system, and a control panel with switches for a siren, warning lights and floodlights (EFTA01138660, pp. 2–4, 9). On January 5, 2016, Apgar wrote that he had loaded it with large and small oxygen tanks, a defibrillator and backboards (EFTA02475192). It cost $27,900, Apgar wrote, and with medical equipment and shipping to Miami, the total was $43,634, Kahn told Epstein. A month later, Kahn told Epstein that Apgar had no more high-mileage ambulances like the one bought for LSJ (EFTA01802067).

Oxygen cylinders for the Little St. James ambulance, from the same set of Apgar's photos. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice, EFTA01138660, p. 8.

Apgar required payment in full before the truck left Bakersfield, CA, so that he could leave the keys and paperwork for port officials in Miami. A woman then called him from the Cayman Islands to prepare to wire the money, he said, and he was paid before the ambulance was delivered. No record I reviewed shows that call. Deutsche Bank, in a review of Epstein's accounts later produced to federal prosecutors, listed two payments to "Apgar Ambulances" matching the total Kahn gave Epstein, from LSJE, LLC, an Epstein company used to run the island (EFTA01681865, p. 40). Why the ambulance was first tied to LSJ Emergency, LLC, in Apgar's photos, and then paid for by LSJE, LLC, is unknown to me. The bank's investigators also flagged small payments to a Manhattan CPR training company, noting the ambulance purchase (EFTA01681865, p. 42).

A driver took the ambulance to a marine terminal in Miami, and Apgar had the driver fly back to their home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Apgar himself lived in Montana and ran the business from there, he said. "Once it's at the marine terminal, we park it," Apgar said. "We can't deal with customs." The buyer was responsible for the shipping from there. Kahn told Epstein on January 5 that it would ship by the end of that week (EFTA02475192). Apgar had been promised delivery to Tropical Shipping's receiving facility in Miami on January 8, but on January 13 the facility still had no record of it. When Kahn asked, Apgar replied that "we do not track them," and Kahn and Daphne Wallace, who was sourcing equipment for the islands, spent that afternoon checking on it. On January 28, Kahn asked whether the ambulance had been released from customs. Wallace answered that it was on Little St. James as of that afternoon (EFTA00698524–26). Apgar does not know how it got from Miami to the island, he said, but he believes an agent Kahn had hired in the Cayman Islands was involved.

Kahn's January 28, 2016 question about customs (bottom) and Daphne Wallace's reply two minutes later (top). Email addresses were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. EFTA00698524.

That night, Ann Rodriquez, a member of Epstein's island staff, wrote to him: "Your ambulance is here :) it arrived this morning" (EFTA01789547). I found this email through the Substack Last Page First and its excellent reporting on the ambulance purchase. Epstein replied less than an hour later: "sleep in until i call thanks" (EFTA02474145).

Epstein's reply to Ann Rodriquez, quoting her message from the evening of January 28, 2016, New York time. The "=" characters are encoding errors in the released copy. EFTA02474145.

About two weeks later, Apgar said, Kahn called him back: "He can't release any information to you about the ambulance. Would you be able to sell another ambulance?" Again Kahn would not name his client: "I can't discuss who my client is," he told Apgar. "I would be happy to," Apgar recalled answering. "He wants what on it?" Kahn's answer, as Apgar remembers it, was "LSJ Ambulance." Lettering a buyer's chosen name on an ambulance is routine. The records show the name Kahn actually asked for was "Zorro Emergency" (EFTA00674390). Kahn said the client also wanted training from "someone who is qualified to give emergency medical technician training" and additional equipment in the ambulance, and asked Apgar to "let us know how many hours of training that would involve as well as overnight lodging."

The emails fill in the numbers. On February 10, 2016, Kahn told Apgar he was "getting some pushback on pricing" and asked for $49,000. Apgar replied that a 22,000-mile truck usually sold for $45,000 in Bakersfield and offered to drop the delivery and EMT trip to Stanley, the town near the ranch. Kahn proposed $50,000 even, with everything in the quote, and offered to wire a 50 percent deposit (EFTA00674390, EFTA02471715). The next day, Kahn sent Epstein photographs and the price: a 2003 Ford F350 with 22,000 miles for $50,000, including $6,714 in medical equipment and $3,386 for "Travel to NM & EMT training," lettered "Zorro Ambulance" on all three sides (EFTA01802067–68).

The deposit never came. On February 16, Apgar wrote that his crew had started on the truck but no wire had arrived after a week. Kahn forwarded the email to Epstein and asked whether to proceed. Epstein replied with one word: "Hold." (EFTA02471715, EFTA00674390) That "Hold" was never passed on to him, Apgar said. When he asked whether to go ahead with the New Mexico ambulance, Kahn told him: "My client has decided to go a different direction." The records reviewed do not show what Kahn told Apgar, and Deutsche Bank's list shows no second payment to him (EFTA01681865, p. 40). I found no record that a ranch ambulance was delivered.

Epstein's one-word answer, February 16, 2016, to Kahn's question whether to "proceed with ambulance or hold," with Apgar's email forwarded below it. The "=" characters are encoding errors in the released copy. Email addresses were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. EFTA02471715.

After that, Apgar said, he started "going deep." Kahn had mentioned a large ranch in New Mexico, and the second ambulance was to say "Zorro." Put together with "LSJ," that told Apgar within roughly a month that the ambulances were for Little St. James and Zorro Ranch. Epstein was not in the news at the time, he said. The timing fits: by February 10, 2016, Apgar was offering to deliver the second ambulance to Stanley, New Mexico, the town nearest Zorro Ranch (EFTA00674390).

After the sale

LSJ Emergency, LLC, the company named in Apgar's January 2016 photos, comes up again nearly three years after the ambulance arrived. In December 2018, a company called Tropical Shipping was holding packages addressed to LSJ Emergency, LLC because it needed a commercial invoice. The island's accounts payable office wrote that it had asked four people in the organization what had been ordered in the company's name and had received no answer (EFTA02311753, p. 2). Asked whether the packages were hers, Shuliak replied: "I have never heard about LSJ Emergency LLC, I wouldn't address an order this way" (EFTA02311753).

In other words, the island's own bookkeepers could not find out what the ambulance company was ordering, and Shuliak said she had never heard of it. The records reviewed do not show what was in the packages. Through her attorney, Shuliak declined to comment for this story.

Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, and FBI agents searched Little St. James on August 12 (EFTA00257920).

The aerial map in the FBI's paperwork for the August 12, 2019 search of Little St. James. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice, EFTA00257920.

On August 13, 2019, the public affairs office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York told colleagues by email that a reporter was working on a story about "what appears to be an unregistered ambulance operating out of the Epstein compound." The reporter had asked the local Virgin Islands government, which said it was "conducting their own investigation into it," and he speculated that getting the ambulance onto the island "would require help from customs and/or some other gov't entities" (EFTA00078409).

That reporter appears to have been J. Taylor, a Virgin Islands radio host: the same morning, Taylor emailed the office a tip about Little St. James, and his emails raise the same suspicion about customs. "To import a vehicle of this type, the above requirements need to be in compliance," he wrote. "This could mean A. Some corruption in customs allowed its importation. Or B. It was smuggled via shipping container" (EFTA00022633). The records I reviewed don't support either theory. They show the ambulance was shipped through Tropical Shipping in Miami, and that on the day it arrived, Kahn asked whether it had been "released from customs" (EFTA00698524).

If Taylor was the reporter, the only record of a Virgin Islands investigation comes through him. On August 14, Taylor forwarded prosecutors what he said an employee of the Virgin Islands' emergency medical services (EMS) agency had told him. "The vehicle has no registration of any kind," he wrote. "Required are Certificate of Need, ALS and BLS certification, Medical Director, Protocols, Staff providing care need to be USVI certified. ... None of these requirements we even attempted to be obtained." He added that there was "No record if it's importation is on record with USVI EMS," but that "It holds a USVI license plate" (EFTA00022633–35). Those are his claims; I have asked the Virgin Islands Department of Health what its inquiry found. The Department of Health, the Virgin Islands Department of Justice and the U.S. Justice Department had not responded as of publication. I was not able to find a way to contact Taylor. He signed his 2019 emails as host of the "Traffick Report Show," which I could not locate.

The radio host J. Taylor's August 14, 2019 email to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, forwarded among prosecutors. The claims are his and his source's; the suggestions of customs corruption or smuggling are his speculation, and I have found no record supporting them. Names and addresses were redacted by the U.S. Department of Justice. EFTA00022633. Image by Soror FV, made with Claude.

The question Taylor raised still matters. The Virgin Islands government licenses ambulances in the territory, and an ambulance operating on a private island with no registration, medical director or certified staff would be operating outside its oversight. In New Mexico, the legislature's truth commission has subpoenaed state records on "medical services, dental services, and ambulance services" at Zorro Ranch (Santa Fe New Mexican). This first part of my series on Epstein's private medicine has followed the ambulance from his first email about it to that 2019 question, with Apgar's own account of how the sale happened. Part 2 picks up where the ambulance left off: the emergency rooms Epstein ordered for Little St. James and Zorro Ranch in October 2016.

What this piece cannot establish

• What Epstein expected the ambulance to be used for, beyond his own words, "especialy now that karyna is a doctor," and whether it was ever used (EFTA02496132).
• Who, if anyone, was medically in charge of it.
• Why it was tied to LSJ Emergency, LLC, in Apgar's photos but paid for by LSJE, LLC (EFTA01138660, EFTA01681865, p. 40).
• Whether it was ever registered with the Virgin Islands' emergency medical services. The only account in the records says it was not, but that account is secondhand (EFTA00022633).
• Whether the Virgin Islands government investigated the ambulance, and what it found (EFTA00078409).
• Where the ambulance is now.

Responses

I contacted everyone named in this piece whom I could find a way to reach, along with the government agencies involved. As of publication, only two people had responded. Steve Apgar gave me his full account in a phone interview on October 8 and reviewed my notes by email. Karyna Shuliak declined to comment through her attorney, Maurice Sercarz: "On advice of counsel, my client will have no comment." No one else had responded, including Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, the co-executors of Epstein's estate; Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin; Dr. Rony Shimony; the U.S. Department of Justice; the Virgin Islands Department of Justice; the Virgin Islands Department of Health; and Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services. I was not able to find a way to contact Morris Steinberg, Brice and Karen Gordon, Ann Rodriquez or J. Taylor. I will update this piece if anyone responds.

A note on sources

The records cited here come from the Justice Department's Epstein Files Transparency Act release and are listed by Bates number below. Steve Apgar was interviewed by phone on Oct. 8, 2026, and reviewed and corrected my notes of the interview by email. Where earlier reporting covered the same ground, it is credited in the text. If you find something here that is plainly wrong, do not feel afraid of telling me so at [corrections@sororfv.com](mailto:corrections@sororfv.com).

Record

• Fall 2013. Shuliak's Columbia tuition bill; Epstein to Kahn: "pay it." EFTA00966987
• Jun 28–Jul 6, 2015. Epstein asks for two ambulances; Shuliak, Andersson-Dubin and Shimony discuss; Steinberg referral. EFTA02496132, EFTA02303568
• Nov 17, 2015. Kahn to Epstein, New Mexico ambulance checklist. EFTA02671095
• Late Dec 2015 – Jan 2016. Deutsche Bank list of notable payments: Apgar Ambulances $43,634; CPR training. EFTA01681865, p. 40, p. 42
• Jan 4–5, 2016. Apgar loads the ambulance (oxygen, defibrillator, backboards); Kahn to Epstein, "Ambulance update & photos." EFTA02475192
• Jan 6, 2016. Apgar photographs, "LSJ Emergency, LLC – 2009 Dodge 3500 XLT"; Kahn forwards them to Epstein, who replies "ghost?" EFTA01138660–71
• Jan 13–28, 2016. Ambulance missing at Tropical Shipping, Miami; Kahn asks about customs; Wallace: "The ambulance is on LSJ as of this afternoon." EFTA00698524–26
• Jan 28–29, 2016. Rodriquez: "Your ambulance is here"; Epstein: "sleep in until i call" (EFTA02474145). EFTA01789547
• Feb 8–11, 2016. Kahn to Epstein, Zorro ambulance pricing and LSJ cost. EFTA01802067–68
• Feb 10–16, 2016. Zorro ambulance negotiation; Epstein: "Hold." EFTA00674390, EFTA02471715
• Dec 11–12, 2018. LSJ Emergency, LLC packages held. EFTA02311753–55
• Aug 12, 2019. FBI search of Little St. James, aerial map. EFTA00257920
• Aug 13–14, 2019. SDNY public affairs emails on the ambulance; Taylor's emails. EFTA00078409, EFTA00022633–35

Earlier reporting cited in this story:

• Last Page First, "Ann Rodriquez: The Caretaker of Epstein's 'Little Saint James' Island"
• The New York Times, "Epstein Used Cash to Wield His Influence at Columbia and N.Y.U.," by Sharon Otterman, Feb. 10, 2026
• The New York Times, "Elite Doctors Served Jeffrey Epstein While Treating His 'Girls'," by David A. Fahrenthold, Azeen Ghorayshi and Maggie Astor, Feb. 28, 2026
• Santa Fe New Mexican, "'Zorro Smiles': Epstein's girlfriend was licensed dentist in New Mexico"
• Santa Fe New Mexican, "In 2023 interview with state investigators, Epstein ranch managers deny seeing wrongdoing"
• Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v. Indyke, ST-20-CV-014, subpoena listing "Epstein Entities"

Obviously several state actors are sending bot traffic to clog this subreddit.

Anyone know how to spot if the yandex data center strike affected traffic to this subreddit

Would be interesting to have a data point measuring how much traffic on this subteddit is state actor.

At the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, during a Trump campaign rally today (October 12th) a group of crowd members are seen surrounding and physically confronting a protester wearing a “RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES” t-shirt.

The protester was then thrown out by security.

Edit: here’s another angle and the protester being escorted out, it’s on my page so I don’t flood the sub with reposts.

https://www.reddit.com/u/FlackoFonsy/s/Xw4L7AdNIz

Here's a list of individuals who helped Epstein's child sex trafficking ring that currently have no direct wikipedia page:

Darren Indyke – Epstein's longtime personal attorney and co-executor of his estate. Allocated 50 million dollars by Epstein's trust and will.

Richard Kahn – Epstein's longtime accountant and co-executor of his estate. Allocated 25 million dollars by Epstein's trust and will.

Jack Goldberger (I'll do this one) - Epstein's Florida criminal defense attorney. Fraudulently used his own office's address as Epstein's supposed employer for his jail work-release program.

Janusz Banasiak – Epstein's Palm Beach estate manager during the period when Epstein's sexual abuse operation was under investigation. FBI records describe him admitting girls to Epstein's residence and paying them from household cash.

Alfredo Rodriguez – Epstein's Palm Beach butler and chauffeur. Called himself a “human ATM,” for paying girls $200–$300 per visit. Said he knew some girls were high-school age. Convicted of obstruction of justice for withholding Epstein's contact book from the FBI.

Sarah Kellen - A civil complaint described her as a key lieutenant responsible for recruiting underage girls and arranging appointments. Named as a potential co-conspirator in Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement. Former spouse of NASCAR drive Brian Vickers.

David Rodgers – Epstein's longtime chief pilot. Told the FBI he had flown young women for Epstein “all the time”; investigators specifically asked whether he had flown a 14-year-old.

Lesley Groff – Epstein's longtime personal assistant. Named as a potential co-conspirator in the 2007 federal non-prosecution agreement; accused of arranging appointments with victims and helping Epstein resist a federal subpoena.

Juan Alessi – Epstein's Palm Beach house manager for approximately 11 years. Testified that more than 100 women visited Epstein under the guise of massage appointments and that some appeared underage.

Valdson Vieira Cotrin – Main Paris-based household employee. Epstein made recurring payments to him from 2014 to 2019, financial records document an ongoing paid relationship with Epstein.