Maxwell trial: Staff told ‘see nothing’
Ghislaine Maxwell told staff to “see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing” in a painstakingly detailed household manual for employees at Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion, a New York court has heard.
The 58-page document written by the British socialite told employees to respond to compliments by saying they “enjoy doing it”, to anticipate Maxwell and Epstein’s needs, and never speak to guests at the financier’s six-bedroom home unless addressed first.
It also included guidelines around how full tubes of toothpaste should be kept, what temperature the bathroom should be and where in a bedroom a gun should be stored.
“There were many, many, many rules,” said Juan Alessi, 71, a former house manager who worked for Epstein for more than 10 years, during his testimony for the prosecution during Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial.
He described the orders as “degrading” and, in court yesterday, likened his 18-hour days to “slavery”.
In the manual, excerpts of which were read in court, Maxwell wrote that staff were not to speak to Epstein’s guests, “except to answer a question directed at you”. “Respect their privacy,” it added. “Remember that you see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing.”
One-and-a-half pages were dedicated to “proper language”, with employees ordered not to use slang, such as “yeah,”, “gotcha”, and “I dunno” when speaking to guests.
Employees were ordered “never” to disclose the “activities or whereabouts” of Epstein or Maxwell “to anyone” who called at the house.
Other parts of the document detail how the mansion should be maintained, with meticulous checklists for luxury products to be kept at all times in various bathrooms.
Maxwell’s toothpaste had to be replaced once half had been used, and tissues when more than twothirds had been used. She always had to have a supply of Kiehl’s cucumber toner and cleansing moisturiser.
In the master bedroom, the manual said, a gun should always be placed in the bedside table drawer.
Maxwell’s defence team wanted to stop the manual from being presented at trial.
In a court filing weeks ago, they said the document “reflects a lifestyle that many jurors may find offensive”.
She denies all the charges.