A Florida billionaire's secret non-prosecution deal with the feds in an investigation of conduct that eventually resulted in his plea to state-court prostitution-related felonies was unsealed today. And it revealed what an attorney for one of the more than 20 young women currently suing him for alleged sex-related conduct calls a sweetheart deal.
The feds agreed to recall grand jury subpoenas and not to prosecute financier Jeffrey Epstein or any potential co-conspirators, in exchange for his agreement to plead to the state-court crimes and reimburse victims' legal fees if they settle their civil lawsuits against him, reports the Palm Beach Post.
Police in Palm Beach began investigating Epstein after a relative of a 14-year-old girl complained that she had allegedly given him what the newspaper terms a naked massage at his $8.5 million home.
After pleading guilty in state court to felony solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution, Epstein was sentenced in July 2008 to 18 months in jail. He served 13 months, eventually spending as much as six days a week outside the facility on work release, the Post recounts.
"The Jeffrey Epstein matter was an experience of what a many-million-dollar defense can accomplish," Police Chief Michael Reiter told the Palm Beach Daily News when he retired.