The Peoples Republic of NXIVM Springs?

In an explosive and carefully written story in today’s Times Union writer James Odato quotes that in a deposition given by local resident Barbara J. Bouchey of Asset Management, Inc. which specializes in financial planning, estate conservation and tax reduction strategies for affluent individuals, families and businesses. Bouchey testified that NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, who members call "Vanguard," and is regarded by supporters as an inspirational, empowering mentor, wanted to “Have his own country ,his own currency, our own way of doing things” and that is only one of the more outrageous claims laid bare in this expose.

NXIVM as any well informed reader of local blogs will tell you is a locally based cult that has many prominent followers. Led by Keith Raniere who is described in this article as a compulsive gambler on the commodities market who lost 1.7 million of Bouchey’s funds before turning to his zombie like followers the Seagram sisters Clair and Sara Bronfman’s who are now said to have been tapped according to the TU for up to 100 MILLION dollars. Bouchey who was also described as one of Raniere’s many ex lovers had a falling out with her Guru, and had previously been in Raniere’s inner circle before breaking with the group last year over her lost funds.

The article goes on to describe in carefully worded detail a complicated California real estate deal that went south and is now the subject of multiple lawsuits involving Frank Parlato in a $26 million dispute with Yuri Plyam over a West Coast real estate deal gone bad. Parlato's claims that the heirs, Clare and Sara Bronfman, were cheated out of millions of dollars. The Plyams, in turn, claim Parlato drove the project into the ground. "They're blaming us for stealing millions when, in fact, they owe us $300,000," Natasha Plyam told The Buffalo News. "They also claim my husband confessed to Parlato, which is preposterous. That's a total fabrication." Plyam had been Raniere’s commodities trader who claims that Raniere has lost millions but had boasted that he was one of the world’s greatest mathematicians and had developed a perfect system for beating the commodities market. Instead the “worlds smartest man” lost “tens of million of dollars”.Plyam’s attorney Green Ford asserts that Raniere access to funds started to dry up and that he bailed on the west coast real estate deal. Raniere of course took no responsibility claiming that “negative forces” were out to get him. He was concerned that if news of him gambling away millions and millions of dollars became public knowledge, he would look like a fool and even his most devoted followers would question his competence. It is believed that in the end Vanguard [Raniere] has lost over 65 million dollars in bad commodities and real estate deals in the last few years. Not very good for the smartest man in the world. Plyam’s attorney presents a rather sympathetic portrait of the Seagram sisters, Clair and Sara Bronfman’s who he describes as “naïve rather unsophisticated girls completely under the control of Raniere.

So what does all of this have to do with Saratoga Spring you ask? Well I’ll tell you. The membership in NXIVM is almost a who’s who of local business people and politicians. Many have taken Vanguards week long ESP or executive training program courses which are taught locally They [Clair and Sara Bronfman] are well know contributors to local politicians both Republican and Democrat. They have long sought to build a new world headquarters in Saratoga which in all probability would apply for tax exempt status as an educational facility. As I reported here first and was condemned by Andrew Bernstein, {who I suspect has ties to the group} an LLC as cover for NXIVM is in negotiations to buy the Adelphi Hotel. The Bronfman’s who already own 27 local properties and have access to hundreds of millions of dollars want it badly. Just as they paid millions to drag the Dali Lama here they crave acceptance and respectability, something I will never give them. Local Politicians with strong ties to the group and their millions include all the usual suspects. Val Keehn, Ron Kim [I can just see him tooling around in the Bronfman’s jet} Eileen Finneran, Brucie Rosch and many other members of Democrats for Change. They also have a great propensity for lawsuits. Even with the fairness of the TU article I would not be surprised by a NXIVM lawsuit. The last time I wrote about NXIVM, I suddenly found myself a subject of anonymous death threats. In other words folks these are not nice people and all I can say is bring it on. Remember folks they are among us. Before you sign that contact, or pull the level for a Politician or bed that hot chick/guy you have a right to full disclosure.

Ask, are you an intelligent self assured and emotionally stable individual who believes in free will or are you an emotionally bankrupt sorry sack of shit who needs to cling to a self help Guru-compulsive gambler to give you any sense of worth? You have a right to know

*Legal disclaimer; these are my opinions and no ones else’s. Don’t like them? Bite Me! The stakes are too high and your hometown is to important not to fight for.