A "little black book" of names, phone numbers and addresses that belonged to the deceased financier and sex offender Jefferey Epstein — who hung himself in a Manhatttan jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019 — is going up for auction, Alexander Historical Auctions announced Friday.
The date book being sold by the auction house is not the same one discovered by the FBI and used in legal proceedings against Epstein. The book that is for sale dates back to the mid-1990s, when a musician found it lying on a sidewalk along Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
The musician kept the book in storage until 2020, when she realized who it had actually belonged to. She reached out to "several" media outlets, but none were interested. She ended up selling it on eBay to a graduate student in the northeast, who has owned it ever since.
The book was examined by forensic investigators at Applied Forensics at the request of journalists at Business Insider, to determine its authenticity, and a copy of their report is available to potential bidders, Alexander Historical Auctions said.
According to Business Insider, which contacted a number of people listed in the book, the 1990s book contains 221 names that did not appear in the book held by the FBI which dates to around 2004.
The 64-page book contains 386 individual printed entries with two handwritten entries penned on the last page. Along with information like addresses and telephone numbers for those listed, the entries include numbers for "aides, employees, parents, and even girlfriends" of those listed.
"Ninety-four of the names bear black, hand-applied checkmarks, and five have been highlighted in yellow," the auction house said. "These five names, including that of former president Donald Trump, are those of well-recognized financial and industrial figures."
Other notable figures listed in the book include "current presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr., attorney Alan Dershowitz, Frederic Fekkai, Christy Hefner, Sen. Edward Kennedy, and many dozens of other giants in the fields of finance, manufacturing, real estate, politics, film, television, law, fashion design, and so on."
From the very first entry — which includes the front desk and five apartment numbers for residence maintained by Epstein for girlfriends, models, and an attorney — there are clues to Epstein's "sordid past."
"An entry for 'Masseuse/Masseur' lists 24 women's names and numbers, some with pager numbers as well, with one bearing the descriptive: 'ugly back up,' along with eight women listed under 'Exercise people'," the auction house said.
Alexander Historical Auctions stressed that an individual's appearance in the book is not an indication of connection to Epstein's criminal activities, except for those already tried and convicted.
The "criminal relic" is being offered for sale by sealed bid. Alexander Historical Auctions will accept bids from May 15 until June 15. The top two bidders will be notified on June 16 and offered the opportunity to submit a final offer.
If the book fails to attract a "satisfactory" bid, it will go up for public auction in mid-July.
— with reporting by TMX
