Jeffrey Epstein liked to call his Caribbean island of Little St. James Little St. Jeff’s. Locals gave it another, far darker name: “Pedophile Island;” and sometimes, “Orgy Island.”
The financier, who has been charged with trafficking girls as young as 14, would come to his island as an escape from his daily life, according to Bloomberg. A former employee told the site that he would host young women on the island and bring them over on a 38-foot boat he named the Lady Ghislaine.
Epstein bought the island for $7.95 million in 1998 and spent millions more developing it with roads, palm trees and villas. He owns another private island dubbed Great St. James as well, along with Manhattan and Palm Beach mansions, a Paris apartment and a New Mexico ranch.
A commercial plaza on St. Thomas is home to at least five Epstein entities, including companies that hold his Gulfstream jets, Financial Trust Co. and a data mining company called Southern Trust Co. Epstein transferred his business operations to the U.S. Virgin Islands about 20 years ago.
Epstein used to visit his place in the Virgin Islands two or three times per month for Zen-like retreats, according to the report. Employees were not supposed to let Epstein see them while they were there.
He was also very interested in “pirate treasure,” the former staffer told Bloomberg. He would pay $100 for an old rum bottle, $500 for a broken plate that was more than half intact and $1,000 for an unbroken plate.
Epstein is now being held at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. A federal judge is scheduled to hear his bail request on Monday. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small