Palm Beach- IT looks like New York billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein got off easy when he was hit with a charge of soliciting a prostitute for a “happy ending” in Palm Beach.
Because if Palm Beach police had their way, Epstein, 53 – who surrendered last Sunday and is out on $3,000 bail – might have been whacked with far more serious charges of paying underage girls for sex.
But a state grand jury found the witnesses in the case were not credible and threw out all but the single charge of soliciting a hooker in his luxurious Palm Beach home. Epstein’s lawyers and friends now say he’s the hapless victim of a vendetta by Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter, whom they describe as a “born-again nut case.”
According to the police investigation, a copy of which was obtained by the Palm Beach Post, detectives took statements from 17 witnesses and five alleged victims. Haley Robson, 20, a Palm Beach Community College student who described herself as “like a Heidi Fleiss,” says she got naked to give Epstein a massage, then brought him six girls ages 14-16 for massages and sex at his home. She said they were paid $200 per session.
Cops also allege that Epstein’s personal assistant, Sarah Kellen, who hasn’t been charged, set up the liaisons and put fresh sheets on the massage table and supplied massage oils. Police searched through Epstein’s garbage and retrieved sex toys and feminine hygiene products.
Epstein’s Palm Beach lawyer, Jack Goldberger, told Page Six that the Florida state attorney concluded the cops had looked at evidence from a “one-sided perspective.” He added that Epstein had passed an extensive lie-detector test in which he was grilled about underage girls.
Epstein’s New York lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, said, “The prosecutor didn’t want to bring any charges in this case, but because of the craziness of this police chief, we have the charge of solicitation.”
Last night, WPTV in Palm Beach reported that one reason Robson’s testimony may have been dismissed is the kinky Web page she has on MySpace featuring photos of her female friends playing with sex toys. One friend even uses the name “Pimpin’ Made EZ.” Robson, who isn’t charged, also writes, “Do what you do to make that money, life is a gamble. Stay hustling.”
A spokeswoman for Reiter said, “We think our investigation speaks for itself.”