Thread by @KlasfeldReports

Good afternoon from New York.

Ghislaine Maxwell's trial resumes with testimony from Juan Alessi, who was in charge of running Jeffrey Epstein's house.

This morning, he told jurors Maxwell told him Epstein "didn't like to be looked at in the eyes."

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A couple of notes from the morning:

Today's first witness was Paul Kane, director of finance from NYC's Professional Children's School.

He was there to introduce about an application for a 12th grade student, which stated "financial responsibility" by Jeffrey Epstein.

This testimony, brief and clerical, paved the way for the second witness: government expert Lisa Rocchio, a clinical psychologist who spoke about the grooming process.

She spoke about, among other things, how perpetrators find ways to access victims that won't be questioned.

Jurors remained attentive during her testimony. On direct, Rocchio delivered testimony largely to them, and they maintained eye contact largely throughout.

— Especially as she described the "five stages" of grooming.

They roughly break down to:

1) Selection and identification of victims.
2) Obtaining access to victims.
3) Lies, deception and manipulation.
4) Desensitization to sexual content
5) Maintaining control

One female juror nodded as she got to number three.

More to come:

Juan Alessi is back on the witness stand.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, daughter of ex-FBI director James Comey, continues her direct examination.

Alessi is describing Epstein's Palm Beach house, using a blueprint of it submitted into evidence.

How it looks from the outside.

Earlier, Alessi said he was the one who painted it pink for Epstein:

They've moved from the drawing of the first floor of the house to one of the second floor.

As this foundational testimony continues, some highlights from what he said during the morning session.

Telling jurors he'll be turning 72 within weeks, Alessi is from Quito, Ecuador.

Referring to Maxwell, Alessi said: "She called me 'John.' Mr. Epstein called me 'John.' My name is 'Juan."

"She was a pretty girl," Alessi said of Maxwell. "Tall. Brunette."

He recalled Maxwell being with Epstein "95%" of the time.

Alessi described his relationship with Epstein as initially "cordial." When Maxwell came in, it turned "professional."

He says Maxwell told him: "Jeffrey doesn't like to be looked at in the eyes."

Hours were long: between 5 a.m. to 9 to 10 p.m., he testified.

When he first identified Maxwell this morning, he appeared to struggle for a moment. Maxwell's face was obscured by a face mask, but as their eyes met, she nodded at him.

"I think she is with the black sweater," he said, correctly.

Epstein and Maxwell were exacting, he indicated.

"The cars had to be immaculate," he said. "The house had to be run like a five-star hotel."

That was the morning session.

Now, back to the afternoon, they just finished their tour of the house — basically, scene setter testimony.

Alessi on Maxwell:

"She would sleep in Mr. Epstein's bedroom."

Alessi said he'd see "many, many, many, many" "females" in Epstein's house. (I don't have an exact count of the "many-s."

Most of them appeared to be in their late 20s, 20s, he said.

Asked if he saw "females" by the pool, he replied "hundreds of times."

Asked what percentage of the time they were topless, he said about 75% to 80% of the time.

Asked how many times he flew on Epstein's plane, Alessi initially responded "none" — then corrects himself.

He did take a ride on Epstein's first plane, the Hawker.

That's this one.

He didn't hitch a ride on Epstein's Boeing (left) or Gulfstream (right).

Alessi complained about the lengthy checklist of tasks they had him perform, which he said was made for 10 men, not one and a half.

He called it "very degrading" to him.

Cross-examination begins:

Pagliuca clarifies the date he left Epstein's employment, in 2002.

On redirect, AUSA Comey leads Alessi through the checklist described earlier.

"See nothing. Say nothing," one bullet said. "Respect their privacy."

Asked what he understood that meant, Alessi replied: "I was supposed to be blind, deaf [...] to say nothing."

"Never disclose" Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell's "whereabouts or activities," another bullet point said, according to Alessi.

Important bullet point:

—"Check fence for holes where Max can get out."

That's Maxwell's "Yorkie."

Remember "Jane's" testimony?

She testified when she met Maxwell, she was walking with a "cute little Yorkie."

Among stationary that Alessi was expected to tend to:

"Two sizes of Ghislaine Maxwell and Lady Ghislaine notepads."

Ghislaine Maxwell's father Robert Maxwell named his yacht the "Lady Ghislaine."

Alessi is now talking about two girls whom he said appeared to be underage.

Q: Who did you meet first, Jane or Virginia?

A: Jane.

His description of her:

Strikingly beautiful girls. Blue eyes. Long brunette hair. Tall. Very pleasant.

Alessi testifies he saw Jane with Maxwell and Epstein, when she wasn't there with her mother.

Alessi says he remembers picking up Jane in the school of the arts.

Flashback to Jane's testimony on Weds.:

"Q. And you also remember this Latin American driver for Mr. Epstein driving you up to the airport, correct?
A. Correct."

Analysis: Alessi has been corroborating multiple parts of Jane's testimony on the witness stand, on redirect.

Asked if he ever remembers Maxwell, Epstein and Jane going to the movies, Alessi replies: "Yes, they went to the movies."

Alessi testifies about seeing Virginia Giuffre at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's club.

Alessi on Virginia Roberts: "She looked young. She had blonde hair, and she had a long white uniform, like the nurses."

Alessi says that Epstein received "up to three massages per day."

Asked when Epstein would get his massages, he replies the morning, the afternoon and after dinner.

"After the movies," he adds.

Alessi testifies he remembers seeing Jane's name in the directory.

AUSA Comey has Alessi examine the directory.

Afternoon recess.

Quick clarification and correction:

Pagliuca earlier was not engaged in cross-examination. There was a voir dire over an exhibit. This is still direct examination.

We're back.

AUSA Comey's questioning continues.

Pagliuca appears to be challenging the admission of an exhibit in a voir dire.

Before trial, Maxwell's defense team challenged the admission of this exhibit (government exhibit 52), alleging it was "clearly altered."

h/t @TVolscho

Read that defense letter here:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Alessi describes cleaning up after Epstein's massages.

"I remember finding a large dildo."

Q: What did it look like?
A: It looked like a huge man's penis, with two heads.

Alessi says that he put it in Maxwell's bathroom, in a basket, because that's where it was.

There's a lot of other colorful testimony that I won't tweet out until I can properly contextualize.

Asked about why he left, Alessi responds: "I was sick and I was also very, very tired of the job."

Alessi admits (on direct) that he stole money from Epstein's house at a time his marriage was on the rocks and he was financially struggling.

Q: About how much money did it take?
A: It was about $6,300.

He says he paid it back, and he never saw Epstein again.

Direct examination concludes.

Rather than start cross with 13 minutes remaining, trial adjourns for the day.

A couple more details:

In addition to the "large dildo," Alessi testified that he found "back massagers."

Earlier this week, Jane told the jury Epstein liked to use "vibrators that were different sizes," including "back massagers that were, like, really, you know, painful."

This is a quick write-up of Alessi's testimony so far, which backed up important aspects of what Jane said on the witness stand and some details has Virginia Giuffre said publicly and in civil litigation.

More to come soon, @LawCrimeNews. lawandcrime.com/live-trials/gh…