Disgraced NXIVM leader recovering from COVID-19
Lawyer: Raniere had “grueling” journey to prison in Arizona
NXIVM leader Keith Raniere is recovering from COVID -19 in his Arizona prison.
And the convicted sex trafficker has some new attorneys to help him attempt to legally recover from his federal convictions and 120-year prison sentence.
The new lawyers, who will be working on Raniere’s appeal, are closely tied to the fight against wrongful convictions — and are affiliated with Christopher Darden, a prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial.
Raniere, 60, the disgraced personal-growth guru known within NXIVM as “Vanguard,” was feeling good after contracting the coronavirus, according to Joseph D. Mcbride, a Manhattan lawyer who recently joined Raniere’s legal team.
“Keith is still recovering from his bout with COVID -19,” Mcbride told the Times Union. “Our understanding of the situation is that Keith began experiencing symptoms shortly after being transported from MDC but somehow did not test positive until arriving in Tucson.”
“To put it lightly, his journey from New York to Arizona was grueling,” Mcbride added. “Moreover, his legal team was unable to communicate with
him for long periods of time. Be that as it may, Keith’s spirit remains unbroken and he seems to be recovering well.”
That legal team, which at trial included lawyers Marc Agnifilo, Paul Derohannesian, Teny Geragos and Danielle Smith, now includes Mcbride and attorneys Steven A. Metcalf II, Martin H. Tankleff and Jennifer Bonjean, the latter of whom has represented comedian and convicted sex assailant Bill Cosby.
Tankleff, while in high school, was wrongfully convicted in 1990 for the murder of his parents, Seymour and Arlene Tankleff, and spent more than 17 years in prison before he was exonerated in 2007. He was admitted to the bar in February 2020.
Mcbride noted on his firm’s website that he became a lawyer after his younger brother, Anthony, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Joseph shares a bond with each client he represents, because he knows what it is like to have his family’s fate in the hands of an attorney,” the bio said. “Consequently, his brand of representation is holistic, collaborative, and
highly personalized. And his style of counseling displays an empathetic, innovative, and supportive ethos throughout the course of the attorneyclient relationship.”
Raniere, who lived for decades in Halfmoon and operated NXIVM on New Karner Road in Colonie, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in June 2019 on all counts, including sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy and racketeering charges with underlying counts of extortion, identity theft and possession of child pornography. Senior Judge Nicholas Garaufis
imposed the 120-year sentence on Oct. 27.
In early January, Bonjean asked the judge to keep Raniere in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he had been serving his time, because it would be easier to visit with him, and added, “to speak nothing of the health risks posed to all involved.” The judge rejected the request.
Raniere’s contracting of the coronavirus was first reported earlier this month by blogger Frank Parlato. Raniere’s attorneys had previously not revealed whether their client had the disease.