Newly released FBI video shows Epstein butler trying to sell his 'little black book'
Shocking footage showing Jeffrey Epstein's former butler trying to flog his 'little black book' to an undercover FBI agent has been released.
Alfredo Rodriguez was seen bragging that 'Epstein himself' created it - and he wanted $50,000 (£37,000) to hand it over.
The 60-year-old, who died in 2015 after battling cancer, worked as a house manager for the disgraced financier at his Palm Beach mansion in the US state of Florida.
While he was employed by Epstein, Rodriguez claimed to have illicitly got his hands on a 'little black book' which included details of his boss' criminal activities.
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According to the butler, it contained the contact details of high-profile figures and Epstein's victims.
The footage of Rodriguez bargaining with the book was taken on 3 November, 2009, and he believed he was meeting a lawyer who was representing women who had been trafficked by the convicted sex offender.
However, he was actually sitting down with an undercover FBI agent.
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Revealing what he witnessed behind closed doors, Rodriguez explained he had been in tow when Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20 year sentence, went off to procure victims for Epstein.
"Ghislaine Maxwell was his former companion, a very powerful lady from England," he is heard saying. "She would go to the former Eastern countries in Europe and find girls for Epstein.
"And I knew that because I went with my wife. They used to have a computer [that was] so powerful, they used to have a water radiator to cool the computer. Because they used to download pictures like that, so fast."
When asked about what sort of snaps he was referring to, Rodriguez confirmed the images were of 'naked' girls.
He went on: "Naked, naked girls from Sweden, from Romania, from Czechoslovakia, from Brazil…very young, very young. 16, 17, they're teenagers. They even have braces, most of them...these are very young girls."
Rodriguez said he used to see young girls leave Epstein's home to head to 'comedy clubs, ice cream parlours or movies', adding: "There was a lot of movies...because they were babies."
He stole the 'little black book' he was trying to sell while working at the property between 2004 and 2005. Speaking of the book, Rodriguez told the FBI agent: "You will see a lot of important people [in] here."
Rodriguez also claimed to have witnessed Maxwell browsing a database of young girls on the aforementioned supercomputer.
It is believed that the video of his exchange with the FBI agent was taken two years after authorities ordered the butler to hand over any information he had on Epstein.
As shown in the footage, he did not give authorities the book to police and he instead tried to sell it. Rodriguez is seen being handed a big bag of cash before the 45 minutes of footage ends.
He was arrested for 'obstruction of official proceedings' shortly after the FBI sting and confessed that he had lied to investigators by denying he had any dirt on Epstein.
Rodriguez told cops he kept hold of the book as an 'insurance policy' as he feared his ex-employer could make him 'disappear'.
He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in April 2012, which is the same sentence Epstein received in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution - but the sex offender only served 13 months of his.
It is not currently known where the little black book is, however, it is believed that copies of it are out there.
The FBI said the black book 'would have been extremely useful in investigating and prosecuting the case' against Epstein.
When sentencing Rodriguez, US District Judge Kenneth Marra said: "If this book had been produced when requested, Mr. Epstein's sentence may have been significantly different.
"There is some logic to the argument that Mr. Rodriguez shouldn't be punished more severely than Mr. Epstein [who did] more egregious things than Mr. Rodriguez."
The video has since been removed from the Department of Justice website, as CNN reported that officials had failed to obscure the identity of the undercover agent.
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, US News
Olivia Burke