Smallville’s Allison Mack appeared in court this week on charges of conspiracy, and the plea is not guilty.
Mack wasn’t alone in her plea of not guilty, which has to do with Mack’s involvement in a secret society within NXIVM. That group was started by Keith Raniere, and Mack reportedly helped recruit women for the cult, women that were expected to have sex with their masters, with Raniere at the top of the chain (via the Toronto Sun).
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Raniere and Mack stood alongside Clare Bronfman and Nancy Salzman, who co-founded the group with Raniere. Previously the charges were sex trafficking, but that was changed to conspiracy and with it, Bronfman and Salzman were added as co-defendants.
Raniere, Mack, Bronfman, and Salzman have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, though Raniere is the only one currently being held without bail. Mack and Salzman are free on $5 million dollar bonds while Bronfman, who is the heiress to the Seagram liquor estate and fortune, is free on a $100 million dollar bond. On their way out of the courtroom, neither woman spoke to reporters, but Mack and Bronfman were cordial before the court session began.
While the others are charged with assisting in the recruiting and creating of the group itself, Bronfman is being charged due to her financial support. Reportedly she gave away tens of millions of dollars to support Raniere’s organization.
The judge revealed that the trial date for this case will start on January 7.
Marc Agnifilo, who is one of Raniere’s attorneys, said: “These were choices by grown adults about how to be with each other.” Agnifilo also calls the Justice Department the “morality police.”
The FBI does not feel the same way as Agnifilo of course, releasing the following statement.
“As alleged, this long-running conspiracy crossed multiple avenues of criminal activity, which included, among other things, electronic monitoring; identity theft; extortion; victim smuggling; and illegal trafficking of a victim after a period of unlawful confinement. The details of these alleged crimes become more and more grim as we continue to dig deeper into the conduct of this organization and its intended mission,” William Sweeney, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office said. “Today’s superseding indictment highlights our commitment to bringing justice to Nxivm’s many victims.”
Mack faces up to 15 years if convicted on conspiracy charges and up to 20 if convicted on racketeering conspiracy.
