Another Inside Report: The Vanguard Continues to Struggle – in Court and at MDC

In General

Things don’t appear to be going all that well for Keith Raniere AKA The Vanguard at his trial.

And, unfortunately for him, the same appears to be true at his current home-away-from-home, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, NY.

The Metropolitan Detention Center

Criminal trials are inherently stressful on defendants.

And the good folks who run MDC are adding to that stress for The Vanguard.

*****

To begin with, he’s being moved around the facility from one place to another for “security reasons”.

That means he likely has no access to the few meager items he possesses there.

The “good news” – at least from his perspective – is that he’s generally being placed in an isolated part of the prison, away from other prisoners.

Given his proclivity for hitting other prisoners’ fists and feet with his head, that obviously makes him feel safer.

*****

Meanwhile, his litany of medical problems continues to grow.

To begin with, his fourth pair of glasses may be the worst yet.

Vanguard’s glasses don’t seem to be the right size or the prescription. It’s curious, however, that he even wears glasses because he always claimed his patent-pending technology could cure his poor eyesight – only he didn’t have the time to do so when he was running NXIVM. He now has plenty of time and supporters would likely expect that he should be appearing any day now without his spectacles.

They’re the wrong size – which means that they’re constantly slipping down his nose.

And they’re the wrong prescription – which means that he’s constantly squinting to see things.

He also claims the glasses are giving him daily headaches.

*****

His orthopedic issues are also continuing to worsen.

Sitting in a courtroom for 8 hours a day – and spending an additional 3-4 hours per day in a holding cell at the courthouse and at MDC – prevents him from doing the walking that’s necessary to avoid flareups.

While we don’t know the exact nature of his problem, it appears to involve some sort of spinal arthritis.

Whatever it is, it apparently includes severe, chronic pain and discomfort.

And some of you thought there was no justice in the world…

*****

Meanwhile, The Vanguard is also having trouble with his legal team.

Marc Agnifilo [l] and Paul DerOhanessian [r]
After refusing their advice that he take a plea deal, he’s been berating them for the way they’re conducting their cross-examinations of the prosecution’s witnesses.

The only time he was satisfied was when Marc Agnifilo beat up Lauren Salzman so much that the judge ordered Agnifilo to stop – and shut the trial down early that day.

Lauren Salzman will be sentenced September 11, 2019 – after the full extent of her cooperation with the feds is known.

Raniere wants more of those witness-bashing routines because he’s hoping to force a mistrial in the case.

But Agnifilo is apparently not willing to piss off the presiding judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis, any more than he already has.

Which is why Raniere recently told some of the guards that he’s thinking of firing Agnifilo, a man he describes as “not entirely ethical”.

That is so funny in so many ways…

*****

The “smartest man in the world” is also unhappy with many of the rulings of Judge Garaufis – who has decided in favor of the prosecution on almost every issue regarding what evidence it can submit (More on that in a future post).

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis

But he’s also told some of his guards that he now thinks he has a better chance of getting bail if the current trial ends in a hung jury because the judge now understands that he’s “just a misunderstood man – and not a monster”.

Apparently, The Vanguard’s delusional issues are also growing.

*****

He still can’t believe that all of his co-defendants pleaded out in the case – and left him to go trial by himself.

He was particularly pissed when Lauren testified against him – and the same will be true if Clare Bronfman, Allison Mack, Nancy Salzman or Kathy Russell take the witness stand.

He’s also worried that Clare Bronfman might not be willing to support him in the future the way she has in the past.

MK10ART’s painting of Clare Bronfman. Has she abandoned her Vanguard? 

*****

And just to top things off…

Remember the two mystery women who were visiting him just before the trial started?

Turns out that they are paralegals who met with him to review some case-related documents – and not the prison groupies we speculated they might be.

Damn…Nothing seems to be going right for The Vanguard these days.

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41 commentsOn Another Inside Report: The Vanguard Continues to Struggle – in Court and at MDC

  • I’m sure there’s a pity party for KR somewhere, possibly near Albany…Party of 5, your table’s ready!

  • It sounds like someone has a jailhouse source or two – or more. Hopefully the accounts are reasonably accurate.

    Raniere’s difficulties with his attorneys sound about like what could have been expected. Someone who thinks he’s one of the world’s smartest men, but who has actually racked up a record of investments and legal cases gone very wrong, and has lived an out-of-touch life being coddled by female acolytes who bought into his blaming of his failings on others, has got to be a very difficult client.

    One thing that occurs to me, is that I wonder if Teny Geragos is not handling the cross-examination of female witnesses, which would be a typical strategy, because she refuses to work directly for Raniere. Or maybe it’s the other way around, and Raniere is so much of a misogynist that he doesn’t trust a woman to do such work.

    • orangecountydreams - OCD

      I fully expect him to sue Marc A. when this is over. That’s just the way he rolls. Nothing, nothing is ever his own fault.

      • Indeed – that, or include a complaint about ineffective counsel in an appeal.

        Typical for a hypocritical guru who preached responsibility, he takes none himself. He actually seems to have used pushing responsibility onto others as effectively blame, and guilt, as some of his prime tools of manipulation – people with a actual sense of responsibility, like Dani, ended up having that exploited by Raniere.

      • He can do it pro se and avail himself of the prison library. Hope they have Lexi/Nexis search.

  • Raniere was visiting a chiropractor even before he was arrested, no doubt from repeatedly landing hard after coming down from his above the net volleyball spikes.

  • Yellow Posted Notes...

    I’m not sure which is more amusing. The posted notes that never stop, or the fact that Agnifilo sharpens the Vanguards pencils several times a day – so he can keep them coming.
    It must have been part of his retainer agreement. Mark your never going to live this one down.

    • If sharpening a pencil takes one minute when all is said and done, Agnifilo is making close to $15 a pop.

  • Spinal arthritis? Musta been from walking 20 miles a day.

    As for AgniSTEALo, say it ain’t so Joe. The man is not a miracle worker. Aggie doesn’t cause snow storms when he thinks of a new legal strategy.

    The man can only work with what he has. Can’t polish a turd. VanCrook’s goose is cooked finally.

    You think the Judge is getting frustrated? What about the jury? The verdict is going to be like El Chapo 2. Delivered the same day.

  • KAR has always claimed special powers, so maybe he can walk thru this shitstorm and not get wet.

  • Krclaviger,

    Will Raniere get such protection when he goes to a regular prison?

    If charges are brought against him in the NDNY, will he stay at the MDC or be moved closer to Albany?

    Is he body searched each day he comes to court? No one wants to see a #2 pencil and some sticky notes getting back to the MDC by shoving them somewhere.

    How long will it take for his reputation to follow him to his new home away from the MDC?

    • Once Raniere has been sentenced, the BOP’s Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, TX will decide where he serves his time (See: https://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody_and_care/designations.jsp). In theory, he will be sent to a prison within 500 miles of Clifton Park, NY but given the crimes that he’ll likely be convicted of, there is a possibility that he’ll get sent to a prison beyond that range.

      If additional charges are brought against him in the Northern District, he will most likely be tried in Albany, NY. If that happens, he’ll most likely be housed in the Albany County jail during his trial.

      He gets a full body search on his way out of MDC in the morning – and on his way back in each night. I don’t know whether the EDNY guards also do body searches but they can if they feel they’re necessary.

      Regardless of where he ends up serving his time, his entire “jacket” (i.e., charges, convictions, etc.) will be known throughout that prison within 24-hours of his arrival. There is no greater rumor mill than federal prison.

  • Keith in the raw:

    NXIVM Trial- NXIVM Survivor’s Devastating Testimony

  • LOL Pyriel!!!!

    2 strip searches!

    Coming and going strip searches…

    The ‘going’ to court strip searches are so Raniere does not bring a shank to court.

  • Sign up for the Convict Success Program; taught by the most ethical inmate in Block C.

  • Clare Bronfman Breaking News or at the very least bad news for Clare Bronfman.
    Forbes News magazine just published the following article:

    “From Heiress To Felon: How Clare Bronfman Wound Up In ‘Cult-Like’ Group Nxivm”

    I do not usually post Nxivm articles from other websites because Frankreport does an awesome job of covering NXIVM. However knowing that a personal friend (Mr Forbes) of Bronfman senior published said article is hilarious and needs to be shared!!!!?

    • It’s a good piece from Forbes’ business perspective.

      I noted that they calculated that Clare Bronfman had poured $150 million into Nxivm – they probably took some care to figure that based on the best information available, and if anything erred on the conservative side.

      I also found it interesting that they explained how Raniere manipulated a sense of guilt in the girls about the source of their money from liquor and their grandfather’s bootlegging, into getting them to devote themselves to, and donate to, NXIVM. It looks to me like part of a pattern we’re starting to see, that he accentuated or even virtually manufactured guilt in those in his inner circle, and then worked it to his advantage.

      p.s. Edgar Bronfman attended Williams College (the most prestigious and rigorous of the “small ivies”) for a while, and the Forbes are a Williams family, so there may be some connection there. Don’t ask me how I know that….

      • I think Clare Bronfman will provide little Keith’s coup de grâce, by spilling everything she knows to the court. She might get off lightly, but he won’t.

        • It’s going to be extremely interesting to see how – and even if – Bronfman and Mack testify. Both have enormous “sunk costs” investments psychologically and in terms of their personal assets; and yet plenty of reasons to turn on Raniere to save themselves, especially as they come to terms with how they were deceived and exploited. Yet both have also not been away from Raniere’s sway long enough, to have necessarily gotten very far in distancing themselves, and could conceivably even still be mostly loyal.

          On the one hand Bronfman might seem to be the ruthless type to do what she has to in order to save her own hide, but there are also indications that she is actually not very confident or assertive, and might be a very weak and equivocal witness on the stand.

    • That did not explain how the Bronfmans joined NXIVM. Many people know but it’s withheld information.

    • Why not provide a link? I think its ok, FR isn’t a cult you know,

  • He must be a very difficult client. In most trials a very occasional note is passed from client to attorney, but KR seems to be taking to extremes and isn’t letting his lawyer do what the lawyer knows is best.

    • From what I’ve read here, his lawyer seems to have lost his motivation, and is just going through the motions.

  • Off topic…but was there any writings on here reporting about the cross-examination of Dani?

  • Perhaps that’s why Raniere is smiling so much.

  • ‘Which is why Raniere recently told some of the guards that he’s thinking of firing Agnifilo, a man he describes as “not entirely ethical”. ‘ Wicked people understand right and wrong. And if there has ever been a wicked person, it is Mr. Raniere. Wicked and full of pride and obscene and, I hear tell, very smelly.

  • He has given and given and given his sperm juice to so many. Maybe he needs replenishing, this incarcerated, woebegone vanguard. Blue light special! Nutritionally speaking, give him cum buckets for breakfast, lunch and dinner, freshly oozing that productive, executively successful, kind of fishy stench. Open up and swallow, Rasputin Asswipe. There’s an endless supply right in MDC. No need for any commissary supplies or offsite shopping or homecooking. Think of it as nonviolent nourishment. Here’s a straw.

  • He has seemingly amassed his own dedicated individual Wikipedia page as it was previously affiliated with the NX one when you searched for his name online for the latest news on the trial.

  • “long enough to be convicted for the murder of Gina Hutchinson”

    hear here

  • Maybe the guards will look the other way when Keith finally accepts his reality and attempts to strangle himself with his own bare hands. No, he would never do that. I’m just having a little fantasy at his expense.

  • Look, let’s be honest.
    All these women, especially Nancy, kept their cash cow, Keith, happy.
    It was quid pro quo.
    I mean, after a while, after they had been sucked in by Keith, and his flying monkeys and he had reduced them to servitude, depending on NXIVM for food, shelter, income, family, friends and he made sure to separate them from everyone and everything before NXIVM, when they had a moment to reflect it was OMG! I have burnt all my bridges. If I leave now, I have nothing, nada, zip so they stayed.
    What they didn’t understand is they had nothing, nada, zip by staying in NXIVM.
    Those who counsel families who lose a member to a cult advise them to keep the door open. Assure the family member they can always come back home.
    Catherine did and, thus, India was saved.
    Sadly, Dani’s family betrayed her.
    Nancy also betrayed the maternal love and protection she should have shown her own daughters
    No matter what age your child is, you are always their parent, there to guide, and emotionally, support them.

    Keith ruined many lives.
    Some women will never know the love of a spouse or the love of children they might have had.
    Careers, they might have had, will never be. That time has passed.
    Friendships, outside of NXIVM, will be difficult to find.
    Dating? Would you want your name associated with any of them? Forever in this day and age of social media?

    Keith destroyed lives.

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