The ex-pilot of Jeffrey Epstein testified Tuesday at the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell to have already transported personalities known as the ex-US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and actor Kevin Spacey, among others.
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Larry Visoski also identified Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Mr. Epstein’s passenger, but said he had no recollection of being in control of the plane while on board.
Mr. Visoski, who worked for the businessman for almost 30 years, is the first witness called to the stand at the trial for sex trafficking of Ghislaine Maxwell.
In Manhattan federal court, former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, has been appearing since Monday for recruiting underage girls from 1994 to 2004 and making them available to Epstein for sexual purposes.
She claims to be innocent and pleads not guilty to all six counts.
The financier, with whom she had had a relationship and of whom she was one of the main collaborators, had committed suicide in prison in the summer of 2019 before being tried.
In addition to confirming the presence of these personalities on board Jeffrey Epstein’s private “jet”, Mr. Visoski indicated that the pilot’s cabin door was always closed during flights, making it impossible for him to see what was going on on the plane, reports The New York Times.
Mr. Visoski, however, mentioned that the cabin door was not closed at Jeffrey Epstein’s request.
First hired by Mr. Epstein in 1991, Larry Visoski said the businessman had a Gulfstream-branded plane at the time with leather benches and a burgundy rug.
In 2001, Jeffrey Epstein purchased a Boeing 727, a larger aircraft than the one he owned before. The latter had different compartments, including a kitchen and a room he nicknamed the “Round Room” in which was a donut-shaped sofa.
The door to this room was also always closed, recalls the ex-pilot.
Larry Visoski continued his testimony by mentioning that Jeffrey Epstein occasionally introduced him to his guests when they boarded the aircraft, the New York Times added. Among these was a young woman identified by the court as singer Jane. The millionaire’s ex-pilot described her as “a mature woman with piercings and wearing blue powder on her eyes.”
The Crown attorney introduced Jane as one of Ghislaine Maxwell’s minor accusers. It is very likely that she testifies at the trial, indicates the New York media.
During his cross-examination, Larry Visoski claimed to have “never seen any sexual activity” on the plane. When asked if he had ever seen sexual acts involving underage girls, he replied “definitely not”.
According to Mr. Visoski, Ghislaine Maxwell was the “number two” of Jeffrey Epstein, who was often in charge of planning flights. The daughter of press magnate Robert Maxwell, who died in 1991, is prosecuted for sex trafficking of a minor and faces life imprisonment at the end of a trial which is to last six weeks.
– With Agence France-Presse
