The guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) have seen the same look thousands of times
It’s what happens when prisoners who have been waiting to go to trial finally get their wish.
Gone are all the braggadocio and all the insistence that there’s no way a jury will convict them of anything.
After several days of trial – and in Keith Raniere’s case, more than 23 days of damning and lurid testimony – most prisoners become keenly aware that they’re likely going to be convicted on most, if not all, of the pending charges against them.
[A recent report by Pew Research Center indicates that in 2018 only 2% of those who were charged with federal crimes actually went to trial – and that 83% of those went to trial were convicted. Put another way, only 320 of the 79,704 people who were charged with federal crimes in 2018 went to trial – and won an acquittal).
And so, the reality of his situation has finally started to sink in for The Vanguard.
He’s described as “looking confused” and “out of it”.
But one thing he isn’t is quiet.
He’s been telling his temporary cellmates all about the trial from his perspective.
According to him, it’s his former “bitches and whores” – that’s how he describes them – who are causing all his problems.
He talks constantly about being betrayed – and how none of this would have happened if he had been allowed to be out on bail before the trial started.
Much of his anger is focused on three women: Clare Bronfman, Allison Mack, and Lauren Salzman – all of whom he describes as “really dumb bitches”.
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The Vanguard is also not happy with his lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo – who he refers to as a “little pussy lawyer”.
Apparently, Raniere wanted Agnifilo to be much more aggressive with his cross-examination of the female witnesses – like he was with Lauren Salzman.
Agnifilo told him that the only way to win this case was through “minimization” – and that any more attempts to beat up on the witnesses would cause the jury to turn 100% against him and Raniere.
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According to Raniere, Agnifilo has apparently told him that even if he gets convicted, they’ll have “some good issues” for an appeal.
And Raniere has told his cellmates that he’s also planning to appeal on the basis of “ineffective counsel”.
Neither of those appeals will likely be successful – but they’ll give Raniere something to do for the next 20 years or so.
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The guards have also continued to have fun with The Vanguard.
Twice in the last couple of weeks, the outfit that he was supposed to wear to trial could not be located. So, on those days, Raniere had to sort through clothes he had already worn to come up with an outfit for court.
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Meanwhile, the Hispanic prisoners at MDC have been following the trial closely – and are hoping that once it’s over, Raniere will be returned to general population.
That probably won’t happen because of all the “incidents” that took place the last time he was placed in that situation.
But it also doesn’t bode well for him in terms of serving out whatever sentence he gets when he’s found guilty.
Information about inmates is currency in prison – and, regardless of where he gets assigned, every other prisoner there will know everything about his case within days of his arrival.
And about one-third of all federal prisoners are Hispanic.
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Raniere will be kept at MDC until he is sentenced – which will likely be sometime in October or November.
After that, the Bureau of Prisons will assign him to whatever federal prison it deems to be most appropriate for him (More on this topic at a later date).
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We’re still expecting a verdict sometime near the end of this week – maybe late Friday morning or early Friday afternoon.
Whenever it occurs, the courtroom will be jammed with reporters, federal agents, defense attorneys for Raniere’s co-defendants, some onlookers, some wannabes, and some has-beens.
Such is the life of Keith Raniere…