The Madness of NXIVM Part 2

Keith Raniere {Vanguard} appeared to be on a roll. With the Bronfman sister’s money and with his faithful Lieutenant Nancy Salzman at his side Raniere branched out his empire to include such diverse groups as

…. World Ethical Foundations Consortium

…. Executive Success Programs, Inc.or ESP

…. Jness a seemingly harmless group of woman who claimed to only want a better understanding of Women in the world.

“Our Mission
Each person on this Earth holds a unique experience and perspective of life. Every perspective is valuable- each is a piece giving form, beauty and richness to the mosaic of humanity As women, each of us holds in our bodies and minds a unique perspective, an essential piece of this mosaic. “

Meeting in Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs they promoted themselves as a simple

“Mom's Group to share Introspective Friendship # Designing Women Friendship # New Friends # Cooking Friendship.”

Here is the contact info

Time: Thursday, Noon-2:00 pm Location: Clifton Park, NY Contact: Esther Chiappone Phone: (518) 859 0588 Email: estherc@nycap.rr.com”

But make no mistake, anyone who wished to join had to fill out multiple forms including a confidentiality agreement as seen on this sample application

“2. Participant acknowledges that she is capable of earning an appropriate living without using the materials, methods or information provided by Jness. Participant will not compete with Jness in any way throughout the world while a participant of Jness and for a period of 5 years after becoming inactive in Jness. For the pur- pose of this paragraph, competition is consid- ered any activity that can potentially take moneys or actual participants or potential par- ticipants away from Jness either directly or indirectly. Inactive means no longer attending any curriculum

1. All materials, methods and information con- tained in and represented through Jness, LLC (Jness) are essential assets of Jness acquired at great time and expense. As such, they are pro- prietary and confidential. These materials, methods and information cannot be copied, du- plicated, transmitted, taught or otherwise used, in part or in whole, directly or indirectly, with- out express written permission of Jness. Any breach or suspected breach of this or any of the tenets of these Participant Terms and Condi- tions may cause irreparable harm to Jness. Adequate remedies under law may not exist. Participant grants Jness injunctive relief and all remedies under law or otherwise should any breach or suspected breach occur.”

This was and still is a money making operation and only after one signed the consent forms and the application was checked and approved was one told of the fee structure

….. A Cappella Innovations was another of his brainstorms, hosting a concert at the Egg in Albany. Listing himself as

Keith Raniere Producer

Clare Bronfman President

Sarah Peters Educational Coordinator

Siobahn Hotaling College Group Coordinator

Kurt Walker VIP Liaison

Sara Bronfman Head of Marketing

Barbara Jeske Writer / Editor

Ivy Nevares Artistic Designer

Nancy Salzman!!Keeper of the Peace

Pam Cafritz P.R. Representative

Andrew Rozynski Pro Talent

Pam Cafritz P.R. Representative

I guess you could say he was diversifying.

But he was also drawing a lot of unwanted attention to himself.

First their was the nagging suicide of Kristin Marie Snyder age 35 who was in the midst of her second 16-day “intensive” program through NXIVM in Alaska when she apparently took her own life on February 6, 2003.

A note was found that read

A note was found in the truck that said:

“I attended a course called Executive Success Programs [also known as] NXIVM based out of Anchorage, [Alaska] [and] Albany, [New York]. I was brainwashed [and] my emotional center of the brain was killed/turned off. I still have feeling in my external skin but my internal organs are rotting. Please contact my parents…if you find me or this note. I am sorry…I didn’t know I was already dead. May we persist into the future…No need to search for my body.”

This death caught the attention of Rick Ross who is the publisher of

http://www.cultnews.com/

Mr. Ross is a Cult hunter extraordinaire. He started a campaign against Raniere, making it his mission to expose him as a conman, for his efforts he has been bombarded with lawsuits filed by Raniere, all of which have been tossed by the courts. But Ross’s writing were having an effect on NXIVM.

Their plans to build a 67,000 square foot complex in the town of Halfmoon were nixed after more than a hundred residents signed a petition saying they didn’t want NXIVM in their neighborhood. Mr. Raniere’s past as founder of a multi-level marketing business called Consumer Buyline which was labeled a “pyramid scheme” by New York Attorney General Robert Abrams and literally sued out of existence by several state attorney generals including New York, Pennsylvania and Arkansas became well known.

Far from deterred Raniere’s plans just moved father north where one of his admirers had just been elected Mayor. Val Keehn was riding high in Saratoga Springs firmly convinced she and her Keehnacs were destined to lead Saratoga into a bright new age. Her first order of business was the elimination of her political rival Tom McTygue and then changing the City Government through Charter Change to a 4 year Mayoral term in a strong Mayor form of government that she was convinced she’d be elected too. But like most of Raniere’s grandiose plans it fell apart with Keehn’s re-election defeat along with a rejection of her pet project Charter Change. In 2005, Former NXIVM legal consultant Joseph O'Hara, was quoted in print calling the company an "extremely dangerous group", and started a "Stop Nxivm/ESP Now Legal Defense Fund"

It was in this same period of time that another of Raniere’s pet projects was rumored to be moving along. Raniere had always been known for his large appetites for money and women. Now it became the job of loyal sidekick Nancy Salzman to find the one, his sacred vessel. The women who would be entrusted to carry his seed into this world, but first it was rumored that he would have to test drive a lot of women. In a sad footnote to this story it is alleged that one of his candidates was Salzman’s own daughter. I have that from inside sources who left Raniere after they realized the man was little more that a conman. I would like to stress that the girl was consenting and of legal age, and such speculation is pure conjecture and might be the work of disgruntled ex-insiders. No one knows for sure if this “Golden Child” exists or who the mother is, but Raniere has been know to brag about the child and its ability to speak five languages at the age of five.

Raniere's next project was to buy respectability for himself, something that had been severely tarnished by his multiple setbacks and scandals.

Now it was time for his biggest plan yet.

HELLO DALAI

Sara and Clare Bronfman, the Seagram's heiresses announced that the Dalai Lama would be coming to the Times Union Center in Albany, sponsored by the World Ethical Foundations Consortium, a NXIVM front. Again Raniere’s plans were dashed when as quick as he agreed to come, when learning of the groups checkered past he backed out. This time Raniere was determined to have his way.

Before this time I had always had a favorable opinion of the Dalai Lama, little did I know his past is just as cloudy as Raniere’s.

Seems the Dalai Lama has his own Buddhist-on-Buddhist problems with an open and violent confrontation with intra-Tibetan devotees of a fierce "protector deity" called Dorje Shugden, who claim that the spiritual leader of Tibet has curtailed their civil rights as part of a religious vendetta. The allegations of the Shugdenpas (as they are known) are hard to prove or disprove. But even a brief investigation provides a vivid look into what experts call "the shadow side" of Tibetan Buddhism, contrasting the tolerance and rationalism that the Dalai Lama represents globally and the theological hardball over mystical principles that he seems to play on his home turf.

And it seems the man can be brought for a price.

Keith Raniere through the Dalai Lama’s visit to Albany, thought he would be able to establish his significance, that is outside of his devotees within NXIVM. Enter the Bronfman sister’s money. How much they had to pay the Dalai Lama to change his mind and attend a much scaled down version of his talk at the 2,800-seat Palace theatre is unknown. But what is known is that at the end of his talk, Clare Bronfman announced to the audience that revenues for the event totaled $140,821 and costs were $283,570, so the consortium was out $142,749.

More than once, Bronfman apologized to the Dalai Lama, saying it wasn't good news, "in that I don't have any money to send home," referring to donations to the Dalai Lama's causes. "I apologize we have no gifts in that way," she said.

No money was raised for any charity but the Dalai Lama got his payday.

Part 3 Endgame