All Things NXIVM

[FritzyRitz]

Here is the tribute thread to that lovely little self-help group headquartered in Albany, New York, headed by Keith Raniere, the World's Smartest and Most Ethical Man who is currently meditating on the ethics of the justice system while being housed, fed, and clothed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. (Your tax dollars at work!)

For those who are unfamiliar with his brand, Mr. Raniere -- who branded himself as "Vanguard" after some video game he used to play in the '80s -- gathered together women and girls of all ages and a select few got to be in his inner circle. For this, they were branded with a cauterizing gun, searing his initials into their flesh in a process that took about a half hour. This was done without any anaesthetic by a doctor who -- surprise! -- still practices medicine in New York State. Another doctor, a fiilm buff apparently, liked to perform experiments on some of these women while showing them snuff films. After more than a year of investigation, NY finally decided they shoudl pull his license a few weeks ago. Of course, he can appeal once all the noise quiets down.

The media would have you believe that this is just a kooky sex cult -- possibly something in the water in Albany, NY caused their hormones to go crazy. Tabloids loved the fact that Actual Hollywood Stars were in the cult -- thouogh its safe to argue that Allison's Mack's publicity for her stint in Smallville never gained her the worldwide notoriety she now holds as being a convicted defendent in the NXIVM trial.  Some of this obsession with Ms. Mack is due to the Frank Report giving us an Allison Mack update/obsession/fantasy from several of her fanboys just about every single day.  (Way to maintain a narrow focus!)

There's some pretty big names attached to this group. It's more than a "sex cult." On these pages, I hope you'll join me in diving deep to see what we can find out. 

Let's start here:

[DaJavoo]

Fritzy, have all trials concluded or are there more to be brought?

[FritzyRitz]

Fritzy, have all trials concluded or are there more to be brought?

There is no easy answer to that question. 

As you may remember, there were four charges, mostly dealing with child porn, that the EDNY dropped because it wasn't in their jurisdiction, they said. The NDNY had the option of picking them up and, following the main trial, there were many announcements that said the investigation was still continuing. And that Moira Penza, the lead prosecutor in the Raniere trial, would be helping with the investigation.

All of the defendents were supposed to be sentenced by September 25, Raniere being the last of the bunch. 

Then, the sentencing was postponed indefinitely because more time was needed to do the reports required to do proper sentencing. And a rumor started that "maybe" there would be further trials in the NDNY. I was in the middle of picking out what I would wear to view the trial when that rumor quickly died, and more people started saying there would be no trial. Still, there WAS that investigation that was ongoing, right?

And then, recently, Moira Penza -- that lead prosecutor, remember? -- announced she was leaving the feds to go into private practice. And guess who is applying to take her place -- Terry Geragos, one of Raniere's defense lawyers and daughter of celeb attorney Mark Geragos (He's the guy who got into that sticky mess with Avenatti a few months back).

So -- we have no sentencing scheduled, we have no movement on those vanishing indictments, AND a lawyer from the defense is now in line to join the federal prosecutor office. But wait, it gets better.

On October 31, there will be a hearing at which point Raniere will get to testify as to whether HE thinks there is a conflict of interest if Geragos is approved for the job. 

There is more to post and I will add it later today.

[Angry_Red_Man]

I"m glad you started this topic.

I didn't manage to contribute much in the previous incarnation. Y'all were on top of it and I couldn't find new tidbits, they'd already been posted. So I just read along.

Championship work by all involved in that.

[FritzyRitz]

I"m glad you started this topic.

I didn't manage to contribute much in the previous incarnation. Y'all were on top of it and I couldn't find new tidbits, they'd already been posted. So I just read along.

Championship work by all involved in that.

Not letting go of this one. If you (or anyone else) find anything, just post it here even if you think it's already been covered as a topic. Sometimes articles/vids that seem like a re-hash will often contain that one little jewel of info that leads to something else. That's why I called this thread "All things NXIVM."

[MysticPizza]

 Thank you for bringing this here .

[Heir]

.

[FritzyRitz]

Get ready for the NXIVM media blitz this fall. Every ex-NXie and profiteer is going to be looking to line their pockets with all kinds of "exclusives" on this group. 

Today was the release for Sarah Edmonson's book, Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life Amazon link here: https://www.amazon.com/Scarred-Story-Esc...1452184267 but you know you can buy books in other places, right? 

There are reviews of the book here: Refinery29 here: NYTimes and here: Globe and Mail The last review is probably the most extensive and sympathetic since it's a Canadian newspaper reviewing a Canadian actress/author. 

This Saturday, those of you with cable teevee (I'm not one of 'em!) will be able to watch Lifetime's movie: Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter. This is apparently loosely based on Catherine Oxenberg's book which you can see here at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Captive-Mothers-C...424&sr=8-1 and in my opinion, it's a pretty good read. It's interesting to note that the hardcover version has a photo of Ms. Oxenberg on the cover, but if you order the Kindle edition, the cover shows the branded flesh. Ah, marketers! 

But back to this Saturday's Lifetime movie event -- If you go here you can see a trailer for the movie. If the movie is anything like the trailer, it looks really super cheezy, and it's killin' me that I won't be able to view it. 

A few days after this, Toni Natalie's book, The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of Nxivm   will be released. My local bookstore is loading up on all these literary masterpieces but alas, when I inquired as to whether they would be able to spring Raniere for an inspire-the-author talk during the upcoming Banned Books Month, they said they wouldn't. Still, the Albany Times-Union is embracing the new worldview of Albany and hosting yet another festive occasion called NXIVM Exposed: A Post-Trial Talk starring Toni Natalie and famous cult-buster guy, Rick Ross. If you want some fun, make your plans to be there on October 1 and you can get your tickets here but better hurry cuz I'm sure they're selling quick. 

[FritzyRitz]

Qanuck has done a deep dive into NXIVM and especially from a Canadian viewpoint. This 10 part series on Twitter includes threads on the Bronfman family, Justin Trudeau and more, and is updated as more info comes forward. It's a very good read for connecting the dots and will give you a better understanding of why NXIVM isn't just some stupid "sex cult." 

https://twitter.com/TrueQanuck11/status/...6972422145

[FritzyRitz]

Frank Parlato just posted a piece in which he explores Barbara Bouchey's bizarre insistence that NXIVM had a lot of good, despite the fact that she has been really damaged by her involvement with them. He takes a pretty deep dive into many of her losses as well as attempts to reconcile just why she may be acting this way. Though it's a bit hard hitting at times, it really is a sympathetic piece toward Bouchey and others like her that have been harmed by this organization. 

If you read this piece, you will also note that Frank hints that there are some larger crimes that may have been committed and that he is investigating them. You may remember from "the other thread" that the Investigation Discovery folks have been working with Frank recently and yes, he, too will be having his moment of fame of the Discovery Channel (and I won't be able to see that either.   )

Here's a link to the story: https://frankreport.com/2019/09/17/no-ba...the-proof/