Maxwell recalls Epstein’s private Carribean islandpublished at 01:22 British Summer Time
01:22 BST
The first mention of Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean
came when Maxwell said that Epstein “tried very hard to keep me working for him”,
including by running a “tens of millions of dollars [budget] for his island
alone”.
She said the island was part of her purview of overseeing
Epstein’s budget, and that she was involved in any spending in relation to the property.
“The island was very rustic. I loved it,” she recalled, adding that Epstein was also enamoured with it.
She said that on
almost every trip for the first two years that he owned it, he could be
accompanied by a guest who was there to give their opinion on how to “develop”
the island.
She said Epstein would often travel with an “entourage”
including a “masseuse or a yoga person”. But on occasion, he would require a
local masseuse – man or woman – and so she would visit spas in St Thomas and St John to locate
one.
“Even though I say he would always travel with an entourage, sometimes he didn’t, and he wanted to have a massage locally,” she said.
She said it would be hard to convince locals to visit Epstein’s island, because it was a “schlep” and would require a boat ride that took several hours.
“It’s not like arriving with your massage table and stuff,” she said.