Epstein scandal deepens after letters from celebrities and power brokers surface
Film director Woody Allen also wrote to Epstein, reminiscing about his dinner parties at Epstein's Upper East Side townhouse, which he described as "always interesting." Allen mentioned the diverse guests, including "politicians, scientists, teachers, magicians, comedians, intellectuals, journalists" and "even royalty." He also noted the service was often provided "by some professional houseman and just as often by several young women" who reminded him of "Castle Dracula where Lugosi has three young female vampires who service the place."Other letter writers were billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman, linguist Noam Chomsky and his wife, Joichi Ito, former head of MIT Media Lab, physicist Lawrence Krauss, and Harvard biologist Martin Nowak. While some declined to comment, Krauss said he did not recall the letter but remembered 'several lunches with very interesting discussions' at Epstein's home.PHOTOS SHOW EPSTEIN WITH GLOBAL POWER PLAYERSThe Times also published images of Epstein's seven-story mansion. The photos show a taxidermied tiger and a first-edition copy of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita -- a story of a man's sexual obsession with a young girl -- prominently displayed.Surveillance cameras were found in Epstein's bedroom and adjacent rooms. In the so-called "massage room," where many victims say they were assaulted, there were paintings of naked women, shelves stocked with lubricants, and a large silver ball and chain.Photographs on the walls show Epstein alongside longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell -- who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking -- as well as famous figures like Pope John Paul II, Mick Jagger, Elon Musk, Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Richard Branson, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.One photo frame displayed a dollar bill signed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with the note "I was wrong!" which the Times speculated might have been a bet payment.The mansion also featured eerie dcor such as framed prosthetic eyeballs near the entrance and a suspended sculpture of a woman in a bridal gown clutching a rope in the central atrium. A chalkboard with a map of Israel bore the signature of former Israeli Prime Minister Barak.Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death has fuelled numerous conspiracy theories, partly due to his ties to powerful individuals.- EndsMust Watch
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Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Indian Express
Inside Jeffrey Epstein's mansion: A Pope, a President, and a PM share space with Trump, and a note from Bill Gates
As questions about Jeffrey Epstein's life and death refuse to die down — much to the annoyance of US President Donald Trump — new details have emerged, including about the lavish dinner parties thrown by the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier at his New York mansion, according to a New York Times report. At these gatherings, celebrities, scientists, financiers, intellectuals, and several young women would rub shoulders as framed portraits of Epstein with a prime minister, a Pope, an oil-rich Prince and a President would keep them company. In a typed letter sent on Epstein's 63rd birthday, and accessed by the New York Times, Woody Allen recounted how the posse of young women who worked as assistants reminded the filmmaker of Count Dracula's castle, which was 'where Lugosi has three young female vampires who service the place'. Bela Lugosi was the actor famous for playing Count Dracula in the 1931 movie of the same name. The 'seven-story, 21,000-square-foot townhouse' is now under a shadow as the place where Epstein held gatherings of the who's who years after he became a registered sex offender. A framed photo at the estate shows Epstein with a young Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss, with longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell cropped out. Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, had split from Epstein in mid-2010s. Another photo shows Pope John Paul II, the head of the Catholic Church from 1978 till his death in 2005. SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk, who had a recent public falling out with Trump and alleged that the current US President was mentioned in the 'Epstein Files', peeks out from another. Former President Bill Clinton can be seen smiling with his arms crossed as he leans on a table while gazing at Epstein. There's British billionaire Richard Branson as well as former US Secretary of State Larry Summers. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and Cuba's former president Fidel Castro adorn two separate frames with Epstein the common link. Sharing space with these were other items: A framed dollar bill signed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with 'I was wrong!' written over George Washington's face and a chalkboard with a map of Israel that had former PM Ehud Barak's signature preserved by Epstein. NYT said Gates' message could be in a reference to a lost bet. Trump's former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon also looks out from framed photos in at least two rooms in the mansion, NYT reported. One of these is a 'mirror selfie' snapped by Epstein. The allure of the townhouse, a stone's throw from Central Park, was twofold. First was the chance to meet Epstein. The visitors found him to be 'fun, smart and curious'. The galaxy of individuals as diverse as 'politicians, scientists, teachers, magicians, comedians, intellectuals, an etymologist, a concert pianist' in a single room seemed like a chance too good to be passed over. And second was the prospect of mingling with the young women wandering about the property, NYT reported. The mansion itself was redesigned by Epstein with framed prosthetic eyeballs and a sculpture of a woman wearing a bridal gown held in the air by a rope. It also had his office with a taxidermied tiger on a rug and his suite that displayed a photo with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Going up the stairs took one to the now infamous massage room with paintings of naked women hanging from the walls. In this room, Epstein is said to have ordered teenage women, some still in school, to massage him while he lay naked. Court records and interviews with victims held by the NYT showed he sometimes 'raped or assaulted them'. The food could be 'meagre' and something as plain as Chinese takeout, filmmaker Woody Allen described in a letter. NYT, Epstein'ın Manhattan'daki malikânesine girdi: 🔺Tavandan sarkan gelinlik giymiş kadın heykeli 🔺Vladimir Nabokov'un romanı Lolita'nın 1955 tarihli ilk baskısı 🔺Clinton, Trump, Papa, Prens Salman'la fotoğraflar 🔺Ehud Barak'tan mektuplarhttps:// — serbestiyet (@serbestiyetweb) August 6, 2025 The photos accessed by the NYT show guests sitting across from each other in leopard-print chairs with a large rectangular table in the centre. Sometimes, a magician performed, while a chalkboard would be brought on other occasions for a guest to sketch a diagram or write a mathematical formula. Former Israeli PM Ehud Barak wrote to Epstein that 'There is no limit to your curiosity', adding that the New York financier who was found dead in his jail cell was 'like a closed book to many of them but you know everything about everyone.' There were suggestions for the dinner menu, including from media mogul Mortimer Zuckerman, who tried to convince Epstein to have a simple salad and whatever else 'would enhance Jeffrey's sexual performance.' Allen's letter mentioned how the spartan dinners of the earlier years took on a more refined form in the later years. The filmmaker, who has faced allegations of sexually assaulting his adoptive daughter, said that on his first visit, the food was very 'meagre'. 'So meagre, my wife [and] the ones sitting next to her kept mumbling, is this it? Is this all we're getting? After I leave, I may have to go to a restaurant'. But, the next time the couple came over, Allen writes that his wife took matters in her own hands. She said in a 'tactful way she has: there is going to be more food, isn't there? Under her badgering, the situation gradually improved and subsequent dinners offered buckets of Chinese food ordered from a local restaurant'. ... Read More
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Castle Dracula with WiFi: Inside Jeffrey Epstein's mansion where Trump dined and Chomsky wrote – while the walls watched
There are haunted houses, and then there are houses that haunt you. Jeffrey Epstein 's Manhattan mansion wasn't just another billionaire's gilded hideout. It was a gothic horror wrapped in leopard print, surveillance cameras, and unsettling proximity to power. Think Eyes Wide Shut directed by a deeply depraved real estate agent. It had all the trappings of wealth—heated sidewalks, a taxidermied tiger, seven floors of Versailles-by-way-of-psychodrama—and yet its most valuable commodity wasn't luxury. It was leverage. Because Epstein didn't just collect art or investments. He collected people. 1. Woody Allen , Castle Dracula, and the Buffet of Dread Woody Allen, no stranger to morally fraught dinner conversations himself, once described Epstein's townhouse dinners as something out of Castle Dracula. In a birthday letter written in 2016, he noted that the food was sometimes served by 'young women reminding one of Lugosi's three female vampires,' and that the host could be imagined 'sleeping in damp earth.' It was a metaphor at the time—ironic, absurd, a bit macabre. Today, it reads like prophecy scribbled on embossed stationery. In many respects [your dinners] seem like something out of Castle Dracula. The food is sometimes served by young women reminding one of Lugosi's three female vampires. One imagines you sleeping in a coffin lined with damp earth. Woody Allen, 2016 letter to Jeffrey Epstein. 2. A Bride in Suspension The centrepiece of the mansion wasn't a Picasso or a Monet, but a sculpture: a woman in a bridal gown, dangling by rope from the atrium ceiling. There was no plaque explaining its meaning—no artist statement to soften the blow. Just a suspended effigy in white, offering visitors their first glimpse into Epstein's twisted sense of decor. Art? Symbolism? A warning? You decide. 3. The Eyes Have It The foyer was lined with dozens of framed prosthetic eyeballs. You walked in, and the house stared back. Eyeballs from injured veterans, arranged not with reverence but theatrical morbidity. It wasn't just grotesque. It was intentional. A shrine to observation in a house full of hidden cameras. This wasn't decoration—it was declaration. Surveillance wasn't subtle here. It was theme. 4. Chinese Takeout and Leopard Chairs Despite owning a home that looked like Versailles had a fever dream, Epstein famously served Chinese takeout at his elite dinners. Guests—who included scientists, prime ministers, and the odd media mogul—queued up like office interns at a working lunch. They ate from plastic containers while seated in leopard-print chairs. The table was long, rectangular, and more boardroom than banquet. The contrast was the point: power doesn't need to impress. It just needs to control the guest list. 5. Lolita on the Shelf In his wood-panelled office, Epstein kept a green first edition of Lolita in plain sight. Not hidden in a library, not filed under 'literature,' but displayed proudly like a philosophical totem. Beside it sat photos of Epstein with world leaders and billionaires. You didn't need to read between the lines. The lines were underlined, highlighted, and set behind museum-grade glass. 6. The Selfie Wall of Power Photos were everywhere. Epstein with Pope John Paul II. Epstein with Bill Clinton. Epstein with Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Mick Jagger. Donald Trump appeared in a shot from 2000, smiling next to Epstein and a young Melania. Ghislaine Maxwell , present in the original photo, had been cropped out like a bad ex. These weren't memories. They were receipts. Social proof framed in walnut. 7. A Dollar Bill from Bill Gates One display cabinet contained a single-dollar bill signed by Bill Gates with the message 'I was wrong!' Whether it was a lost bet or private joke, it was another reminder: the smartest men in the world once stood in this house, smiled for the camera, and scribbled punchlines for a convicted sex offender. 8. The Bedroom with Eyes Photos show a camera mounted above Epstein's bed. Another in an adjacent room. Victims have long testified that the mansion was wired—an elaborate surveillance system capable of recording intimate moments, private conversations, leverage-in-the-making. This wasn't a panic room. This was a panic network. 9. The Letters from Academia's Olympus For his 63rd birthday, Epstein received warm, typed letters from men who taught classes on ethics, logic, and the scientific method. Noam Chomsky. Ehud Barak. Lawrence Krauss. Joi Ito. Martin Nowak. Woody Allen, too. 'A collector of people,' Barak called him. There were poems. Congratulations. Nostalgic recollections of dinner debates. They weren't defending his crimes—yet—but the silence spoke louder than their stanzas. 10. The House that Made the Silence Louder This wasn't just a house. It was a construct. A theatre of status, filled with smart people who ignored the script because the lighting was good and the wine was decent. It was a place where truth wore makeup and lies were dressed in tuxedos. Victims were allegedly trafficked here, assaulted here, silenced here. And still, the carousel spun. Photographers snapped. Guests arrived. Nobody asked why there were no family photos. Or why the massage room needed that much lubricant. Final Word Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, but the house lives on—in documents, in photos, in memories, and in the letters written by those who knew better and stayed anyway. It wasn't just a home. It was a mirror. And like all good haunted houses, it didn't just trap people inside. It showed them who they really were.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
New Epstein documents reveal his shocking connections and luxurious Manhattan mansion
Many people have gone more famous in their death than alive, but the man leading the list is none other than . The financier and sex offender, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019, had pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of solicitation of prostitution from a minor. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Over a decade later, the case was explored in depth, and Epstein faced charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy related to his alleged abuse of "dozens of underage girls" between 2002 and 2005. Ever since he came into the limelight, people globally have been interested in knowing more about his crimes and who was involved with him. Now, previously unseen letters written to the late sex offender, along with photographs from his seven-story Manhattan mansion, were published by the New York Times, giving a much-wanted glimpse into his connections and world. The segment of pictures and letters from popular artists and political leaders showcases Epstein's life in the years leading to his arrest. Letters reveal Epstein's shocking connections Image credits: X/@benryanwriter The letters revealed messages written to Epstein for his 63rd birthday in 2016 from influential figures such as director , former prime minister of Israel Ehud Barak, real estate billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman and linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky. 'Being neighbors, my wife Soon-Yi and I have been invited for dinner many times. Always accept, always interesting. Wide variety of interesting people at every dinner just about Politicians, scientists, teachers, magicians, comedians, intellectuals, journalists…' said Allen's letter reportedly. The 'Annie Hall' director also compared the dinners hosted at Epstein's castle to the 1931 movie adaptation of Dracula where 'where Lugosi has three young female vampires who service the place. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ' A letter from Barak and his wife describes Epstein as a "collector of people," concluding with a refrain that Epstein's friends may "enjoy your table for many more years to come.' Photographs of Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan mansion Image credits: X/@JerusalemDiary The New York Times also published photographs from the inside of Epstein's mansion showing him with figures such as Pope John Paul II, Elon Musk, Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro. While one photograph showed a framed dollar bill saying "I was wrong" and signed by billionaire Bill Gates, another frame showed American President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Epstein, clicked in 2000, but with Maxwell as well. One of the raging concerns when it comes to the Epstein files is the rich and powerful that were involved in his operations, either in the managing or receiving part. A month ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had sent his own letter to Epstein in a book for his 50th birthday in 2003, long before his crimes were public knowledge. He recently shared that he fell out with the financier after he "stole" Virginia Giuffre, who later became his victim, from Trump's spa at Mar-a-Lago in 2000. The Epstein files are still awaited by the public. On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee, led by Republicans, subpoenaed the Justice Department for the files, calling for the department to turn over all investigative material related to , his accomplice.
