Government Exhibit 52 made its debut on the fourth day of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. The telephone directory contains the names and numbers of many of Jeffrey Epstein's wealthy and powerful friends, as well as some of the people who have accused him of crimes.
The book was introduced by the prosecution's witness. From 1991 to 2002 Alessi was the driver and butler at the Palm Beach house. He said the mansion was run like a five-star hotel. He was expected to keep a lot of money in his cars. He said there were many women who were topless who were around the pool most of the time. He said that the lady of the house, who he called the "lady of the house," took many photos of topless women and displayed them in frames on her desk. He said that it was obvious that Maxwell was in charge of the household. She slept in the bedroom with him.
The accuser who spoke about a "sweet, Latin American man" who chauffeured her between her house and Epstein's is known as "Jane". It was clear today that this was Alessi. He said he drove Jane to the house with her mother. He said he drove Jane to the movies. He said he drove Jane to the Palm Beach airport, where he saw her board a private plane, along with the other two men.
According to Alessi, 98 percent of the people who came to the house to give massages were women. When he came in to clean up after some of the massages, he found a large dildo with two heads near the massage table. He put it in a basket in the bathroom because he knew where it was kept.
A lot of the details were crucial to the case. The little black book was the real object of interest for the story beyond the story of Jeffrey Epstein, how he got his wealth, what he knew about his famous friends. A prosecutor took it out of its own dedicated accordion file, gave it to the defense team and judge to inspect, and then brought it to Alessi on the witness stand. He said he recognized many of the entries in the address book and that it was the kind of address book that would be at the house.
NPR reported before the trial started that the book would help establish who and what Maxwell knew, but we didn't get any juicy details. There were no boldface names. It is possible that we never will. The heavily redacted version of it is being put into evidence by the prosecution. There were arguments about what could be admitted. As the lawyers stared at each other, Alessi casually flipped through the book's pages and looked at them with interest.
At the end of the day, Alessi spoke about his time with the company. He was fed up and reading between the lines made him angry. He hated the way she ordered him to supplicate himself around her and Epstein, and the way she made him perform detailed tasks around the house. She told him not to look at a different part of the room when he spoke with him and to never make eye contact with him.
A few years after he quit the job, his marriage fell apart and he ran into financial difficulties. He made a grave mistake at that point. He stole $6,300 from the desk at the house. After seeing security footage of the theft, he confronted him. The full amount was paid back by Alessi. Even today, Alessi still seemed grateful for the mercy of Epstein.
He didn't have any affection for Maxwell. He said she gave him a huge manual that demanded more work than he could handle. He found many of the chores degrading.
Pages from this manual were entered into evidence by the prosecution. The closed-circuit screen allowed us to see them. The manual told Alessi to warm the creamer full of half-and-half for 25 seconds in the microwave. He was told to replace tissue boxes once they were full. It said that he must not tell anyone where or what he is doing.
An entry directed Alessi to place an eye mask on the bedside table. One of the things that Maxwell complains about is that she is not allowed to wear an eye mask at night. She has complained that guards shine flashlight on her face while she sleeps, and watch her when she uses the toilet. Maybe she should write a household manual for them?
Ghislaine Maxwell's trial opens with her lawyer diving into the water.
Ghislaine Maxwell is trying to talk about Jeffrey Epstein's famous friends.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers are trying to discredit her accusers.
