Power behind creepy org

NXIVM — a secretive group headquartered in Albany — has had countless well-connected power brokers on its payroll, including the father of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The lawmaker’s dad, Doug

Rutnik, worked as an attorney for Nxivm for four months in 2004 at a rate of $25,000 per month.

“When he wanted to quit, he was falsely sued” on dubious grounds, said a source. “He ended up paying them back the $100,000 he’d been paid and signing a confidentiality agreement.”

Former members of Nxivm call it a cult and say its leader

Keith Raniere, aka Vanguard, has a secret sorority of young women who are branded with his initials and forced to hand over nude photos as “collateral.”

Rutnik was one of several lobbyists and power brokers Nxivm has hired, including Roger

Stone, Joe Bruno and Arkansas Judge Richard Mays.

The lawyer was a victim of Nxivm’s aggressive use of the court system, sources said. Court records show that the group, said to have spent more than $1 million a month on legal fees, has been involved in more than 50 lawsuits over the years.

Nxivm’s biggest financial supporter, Seagram heiress

Clare Bronfman, contributed $2,400 to Gillibrand’s 2010 campaign, records show.

“Gillibrand went after Bill Clinton for something that happened decades ago, but she’s done nothing about the women who are being branded and tortured right now, and right in her hometown,” an ex-member told me.

A spokesman for the senator said, “Sen. Gillibrand had never heard of this group until she recently read about them in the newspaper.”