Jeffrey Epstein case: Here are the main players in the early case and where they are now
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The Jeffrey Epstein saga began — and could have ended — in Palm Beach County in 2006. The Palm Beach Post sued in 2019 to find out why it didn't. Now, a judge has decided that secret documents detailing what happened are not going to be released, if at all, until after July 1, when a new law on releasing them takes effect.
The Jeffrey Epstein case, 19 years long and still going, began in Palm Beach County in 2005 with one 14-year-old girl and her stepmother reporting to Palm Beach police that she had been molested by a wealthy man on the island. It would blow up into a global epic involving hundreds of survivors coming forward.
It would ensnare a prince, CEOs and almost taint two former presidents, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Yet so much of the early case involved roughly two dozen teenage girls, many of whom attended Royal Palm Beach High School, where friends recruited friends, saying they'd earn money giving an old guy massages.
Read The Post's 2019 investigation: Jeffrey Epstein case, the first failure: To the first prosecutors, Epstein's victims were prostitutes
Jeffrey Epstein, serial sexual predator
Jeffrey Epstein was a wealthy financier with a mansion on El Brillo Way in Palm Beach who sexually abused and trafficked hundreds of underage girls in his lifetime. He also owned estates in Paris, New York, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which were described as places he sexually abused girls. He pleaded guilty in Palm Beach County to two prostitution-related felonies in 2008. He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence in a private wing of the Palm Beach County stockade with permission to leave the property under work release 12 hours a day, six days a week.
Nearly a decade after he was released, New York prosecutors charged him in July 2019 with sex trafficking minors, among other charges.
Where he is now: He was found hanged in his jail cell nearly a month after he was arrested in New York. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide.
POST EXCLUSIVE: Never-before-seen Jeffrey Epstein biography surfaces
Barry Krischer, Palm Beach County state attorney
Barry Krischer in 2006 was the first prosecutor ever to consider criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein. His office became involved in 2005 as Palm Beach police conducted its investigation into Epstein and the sexual abuse of underage girls. Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter said Krischer was at first gung-ho but then cooled after Epstein's dream team of defense attorneys showed up. Krischer's office never reached out to or interviewed any of the girls who accused Epstein of molesting or raping them, according to state attorney's office records. In a highly unusual move, Krischer called a grand jury to consider the case.
Where he is now: Krischer retired as state attorney in 2009 after 16 years in office. He edits a criminal justice community newsletter for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.
Jeffrey Epstein's victims
Several survivors have spoken out over the years, but women such as Courtney Wild, Virginia Giuffre, Michelle Licata and Jena-Lisa Jones are but a fraction of as many as 500 victims of Epstein's sex trafficking and abuse. These four women were attending Palm Beach County schools when they were cast into the clutches of one of the world's most prolific sexual predators.
Wild was attending Lake Worth Middle School; Virginia Giuffre, Wellington and Royal Palm Beach high schools; Licata, Royal Palm Beach High; and Jones, Seminole Ridge.
Victims' attorney Brad Edwards has said he believes Epstein had as many at 500 victims, maybe more.
Where they are now:
Wild, 36, had a victims rights bill in her name introduced in Congress. She recently wrote a letter to JP Morgan Chase executive Mary Erdoes, saying, “JP Morgan was Epstein’s right hand in allowing him to become the most abusive sex offender in history.”
Giuffre, 40, has reportedly secured a book deal and settled with Prince Andrew for millions of dollars. She has said the prince raped her in 2001 when she was 17. In 2022, she dropped a lawsuit against Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz, saying she may have been mistaken when she accused him of sexual abuse.
More: The Palm Beach Post sued to find out why Jeffrey Epstein wasn't stopped 15 years ago
Lanna Belohlavek, chief child sex crimes prosecutor
Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek led the prosecution against Epstein during the grand jury proceedings. She discredited her own witness, the only victim to testify, with the girl's MySpace pages, which simulated sex and depicted what appears to be drinking and drugs. Belohlavek said more than once that there were no victims in this case.
Where she is now: Belohlavek, formerly an assistant state attorney in Fort Myers, now practices for the Provo Law Firm there.
Daliah Weiss, child sex crimes prosecutor
Daliah Weiss was on the Epstein case in the beginning but bowed out when Epstein hired the law firm where her husband was working. She was known as a hard-nosed prosecutor.
Where she is now: Weiss is a Palm Beach County circuit court judge.
Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr: Epstein's dream team of lawyers
Epstein took no prisoners. He picked high-powered lawyers and made sure they went on the offensive when it came to his defense. Among them:
Jack Goldberger — A local high-powered defense attorney who was close with Krischer.
Where he is now: Goldberger is still practicing criminal law in West Palm Beach for the firm of Atterbury, Goldberger and Weiss.
Alan Dershowitz — The famed law professor was in Palm Beach County as early as December 2005 to supply Krischer with opposition research, such as the 14-year-old girl's MySpace pages. Dershowitz was later accused in court documents of sexually abusing one of Epstein's victims. She said later that she was mistaken.
Where he is now: Dershowitz, still professor emeritus at Harvard, has represented former President Donald Trump in recent years.
Gerald Lefcourt — A nationally renowned New York criminal defense attorney whose clients have included Abbie Hoffman, Black Panther Party leaders, Russell Crowe and real estate tycoon Harry Helmsley.
Where he is now: Lefcourt recently represented Andrey KuKushkin, a defendant with Boca Raton businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were accused of conspiring to circumvent federal laws against foreign influence in American elections by funneling campaign donations to a pro-Donald Trump super PAC. KuKushkin, a Ukrainian born businessman, was found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison.
Kenneth Starr — He was the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton's role in the Whitewater scandal and brought Monica Lewinsky to the fore leading to Clinton's impeachment. A former appeals court judge and solicitor general, Starr also was president of Baylor University. After he was accused of mishandling an investigation of sexual assaults, Starr resigned. In 2020, he signed on to represent former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. He said he was "in the room" when former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta made the controversial deal with Epstein that scuttled a federal prosecution.
Where he is now: Starr died in 2022 from complications of surgery. He was 76.
Roy Black — The criminal defense lawyer with the folksy style fought to keep a federal judge from throwing out Epstein's infamous plea deal because prosecutors hadn't notified victims before it happened. He was successful once Epstein died. Black denied that the deal was negotiated in bad faith and that the dream team went too far in digging into the personal lives of federal prosecutors — allegations launched in 2017 by former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta. Black established fame defending William Kennedy Smith in 1991 and getting him acquitted of rape charges in Palm Beach County. Black's third and current wife, Lea, was a juror on that trial. They both went on to star in reality TV shows, including a three-year stint by Lea on The Real Housewives of Miami.
Black represented the late conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh, accused of doctor shopping for pain meds (he got deferred prosecution for drug treatment); Justin Bieber, accused of DUI and pleaded guilty to reduced charges; and John Goodman, the Wellington polo club founder found guilty of DUI manslaughter in the death of Scott Wilson who drowned after Goodman hit his Hyundai and it overturned into a canal.
Where he is now: Black is still practicing law at age 79 and is a professor at the University of Miami law school.
Jay Lefkowitz — A nationally known attorney, he urged then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta to hold off notifying any victims of the hearing at which Epstein would plead guilty. None of them was ever told, so they had no opportunity to object to the deal or to give an impact statement at the hearing. Over roughly 10 months between Epstein signing the plea deal and the guilty plea, Lefkowitz and Starr took the matter to top Justice Department officials to get a better deal.
Where he is now: He is a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis in New York and a professor at Columbia law school.
Guy Lewis — Former U.S. attorney, Lewis was by Epstein's side when Epstein went into the Palm Beach Countycourtroom where he would plead guilty to two prostitution-related charges.
Where he is now: Lewis continues to practice law at his own firm in Miami.
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter became increasingly worried about how the prosecution of the case was going in 2006. He sent a personal letter to Krischer about two months before Epstein was arrested, expressing his concern about the "unusual course" Krischer's office was taking and suggesting that Krischer consider disqualifying himself. Reiter took the case to the FBI about two months before Epstein was arrested.
Where he is now: Michael Reiter retired from Palm Beach police in 2009 and established a security firm, Michael Reiter and Associates. He gave the commencement address at Florida Atlantic University in May.
Video: Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach home: What the victims saw and described to police
Palm Beach police detective Joseph Recarey
Palm Beach police detective Joseph Recarey passionately pursued the investigation of Epstein. He began leading the investigation about six months after the 14-year-old girl's stepmother told police she thought her daughter was molested by a wealthy man. Like his boss, Recarey became increasingly concerned about the prosecution of the case. After unreturned calls, he visited the State Attorney's Office in April 2006. That's when he learned Krischer was allowing Epstein to plead guilty to aggravated assault, a misdemeanor with no jail time. He was incensed that prosecutors did not consult with police first. Prosecutors then asked Recarey to write an arrest warrant. His warrant called for four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation. The charges, punishable by maximum 30- and 15-year sentences, respectively, could have sent Epstein to prison for decades.
Where he is now: Recarey died in 2018 at age 50.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jeffrey Epstein: Players in early prosecution in Palm Beach County
