New Mexico state legislators have unanimously authorized what officials describe as the first comprehensive investigation into activities at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, where the deceased financier allegedly engaged in sex trafficking and sexual assault of girls and women.
The bipartisan commission will collect testimony from alleged abuse survivors at the property, situated approximately 30 miles south of Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital. State lawmakers are also encouraging area residents to come forward with information.
Epstein passed away in 2019 in what authorities determined was suicide while in a New York detention facility awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking allegations.
The four-member truth commission will work to identify visitors to the ranch and state officials who potentially had knowledge of activities at the 7,600-acre estate, or participated in alleged sexual abuse occurring in its hacienda-style main residence and additional buildings.
This Democratic-sponsored investigation intensifies political pressure to expose Epstein’s criminal activities, creating challenges for President Donald Trump following the Justice Department’s recent release of millions of Epstein documents that revealed new details about ranch operations.
The released documents show connections between Epstein and two former Democratic New Mexico governors, as well as a former state attorney general.
The House of Representatives legislation, which received unanimous approval, could create exposure for additional politicians connected to Epstein in the Democratic-controlled state, along with scientists, investors and other prominent individuals who visited the property.
The investigation carries a $2.5 million budget and includes subpoena authority, seeking to address weaknesses in New Mexico law that potentially enabled Epstein’s operations within the state. Committee work begins Tuesday, with interim results expected in July and a complete report due by December.
“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” stated New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat who helped sponsor the legislation.
Romero indicated that committee testimony could support future criminal prosecutions.
Victim advocacy groups praised the decision, noting that Zorro Ranch had received less attention from federal investigations that concentrated on Epstein’s Caribbean island and New York residence.
“Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico,” explained attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose firm has represented hundreds of Epstein survivors.
Among those survivors was the late Virginia Giuffre, who experienced abuse multiple times at the ranch, McCawley noted.
The U.S. Department of Justice referred comment requests to the FBI, which declined to provide a statement.
Multiple civil lawsuits allege Epstein sexually assaulted minors at Zorro Ranch, though he never faced criminal charges for these alleged incidents.
Romero stated there are no records of federal law enforcement conducting searches at what locals called “the playboy ranch,” where Epstein allegedly sexually abused a 16-year-old girl as early as 1996.
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas initiated an investigation in 2019 but suspended it at federal prosecutors’ request to prevent “parallel investigation,” according to his statement.
Current New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has designated a special agent to examine allegations that may emerge from the truth commission, according to spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez.
Democratic State Representative Marianna Anaya, a sexual assault survivor advocate who co-sponsored the legislation, is developing companion legislation to extend New Mexico’s statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault, which would enable civil lawsuits by Epstein’s alleged abuse survivors.
Epstein purchased the ranch in 1993 from Bruce King, a three-term New Mexico Democratic governor who died in 2009.
The financier transported guests and “masseuses” to the property and employed local massage therapists, ranch manager Brice Gordon informed the FBI in 2007, according to documents in the Epstein files.
In unsealed 2016 court testimony, Giuffre stated that Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell instructed her to provide a “massage” to the late former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson at the ranch. According to Giuffre’s memoir, Maxwell’s “massage” instructions meant victims should engage in sexual encounters with abusers.
Richardson’s representative Madeleine Mahoney stated in 2019 that Giuffre’s claims were “completely false.”
Gordon informed the FBI that most masseuses Epstein employed at the ranch were recruited locally through Ten Thousand Waves spa, a Santa Fe establishment, or through referrals.
Spa spokesperson Sara Bean stated in a recent phone interview that Ten Thousand Waves neither supplied nor referred masseuses to Zorro Ranch.
In the documentary “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” former Santa Fe massage therapist Rachel Benavidez alleged that Epstein sexually abused her when she was hired to work at the ranch.
Investment consultant Joshua Ramo disclosed Sunday that he visited the ranch once for a 2014 lunch representing professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, who attended the meeting. Ramo, who was then CEO of consulting firm Kissinger Associates, said he and Epstein met with business leaders and scientists approximately 14 times in New York between 2013 and 2016.
“I deferred to the due diligence of the institutions involved, assuming that his presence signaled he had been appropriately vetted,” Ramo said regarding the ranch visit. “I feel a deep sense of grief for the survivors of his crimes.”
Email correspondence shows Epstein contacted Ramo in 2015 about visiting Ten Thousand Waves, suggesting they meet for lunch in Santa Fe. Ramo replied, “I assumed we were meeting at the pink bottom ranch.” Ramo, currently CEO of consulting firm Sornay LLC, said he cannot recall that comment or whether they met that day.
Throughout the years, Epstein donated to New Mexico Democratic political campaigns, including those of Richardson and Gary King, Bruce King’s son and former New Mexico attorney general. When these contributions became public, both men promised to return the funds or donate them to charity.
Gary King traveled on an Epstein-chartered aircraft during his 2014 New Mexico gubernatorial campaign, according to emails in the Epstein files. Epstein agreed to cover approximately half of the $22,000 charter cost, with King paying the remainder. King did not respond to requests for comment.
