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<v Speaker 1>What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein Chronicles. Larry Vassoski was never merely the man sitting

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<v Speaker 1>behind the controls of Jeffrey Epstein's airplane, and reducing him

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<v Speaker 1>to Epstein's pilot dramatically under states the position he occupied

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<v Speaker 1>in Epstein's world. For nearly three decades, Thesaski served as

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's longtime chief pilot, transporting them between the property, cities, islands,

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<v Speaker 1>and social circles that formed the physical infrastructure of Epstein's life.

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<v Speaker 1>He flew aircraft belonging to an extraordinarily wealthy man whose

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<v Speaker 1>existence depended upon mobility, privacy, and the ability to move

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<v Speaker 1>between jurisdictions with remarkable ease. That made Vysoski more than

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<v Speaker 1>transportation personnel, because aviation was one of the connective tissues

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<v Speaker 1>holding Epstein's sprawling operation together. Epstein maintained homes and operations

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<v Speaker 1>in New York, Florida, New Mexico, and the US vs.

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<v Speaker 1>Jann Islands while routinely traveling domestically and internationally. Vassoski was

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<v Speaker 1>positioned directly inside that system, repeatedly seeing who came aboard,

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<v Speaker 1>where they went when they traveled, and which employees coordinated

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<v Speaker 1>those movements. During the Glenn Maxwell's federal trial, Vsaski himself

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<v Speaker 1>became an important prosecution witness because his testimony supplied jurors

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<v Speaker 1>with an insider's description of Epstein's travel, properties, employees, and relationships.

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<v Speaker 1>He testified that Maxwell was effectively Epstein's number two and

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<v Speaker 1>described the extraordinarily close operational relationship between the two. Yet

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<v Speaker 1>Vassoski maintained that he never witnessed sexual activity aboard Epstein's

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<v Speaker 1>aircraft and denied observing the criminal conduct that eventually made

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein infamous. The unanswered question has therefore never been whether

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<v Speaker 1>Larry Vassoski was close to Epstein, because of the documentary

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<v Speaker 1>and testimonial record establishes that proximity beyond serious dispute. The

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<v Speaker 1>question is how thoroughly investigators ever attempted to determine exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what a man with that extraordinary vantage point actually knew.

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<v Speaker 1>The importance of Asaski begins with the simple reality that

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<v Speaker 1>Jeffrey Epstein was an extraordinarily mobile predator whose properties were

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<v Speaker 1>scattered across enormous distances. Epstein could wake up in Manhattan,

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<v Speaker 1>flight upon beach, traveled to New Mexico, continue to the

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<v Speaker 1>Caribbean and then move internationally. Because private aviation eliminated many

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<v Speaker 1>of the ordinary logistical obstacles confronting most people, someone had

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<v Speaker 1>to make that mobility possible, and for decades, the SASKI

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<v Speaker 1>occupied one of the most important positions in the machinery.

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<v Speaker 1>A private pilot serving the same employer for years inevitably

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<v Speaker 1>becomes familiar with more than the headings, fuel requirements and

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<v Speaker 1>weather reports. He learns routines, destinations, schedules, passenger habits, recurring employees,

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<v Speaker 1>and the peculiar preferences of the person paying them. Multiply

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<v Speaker 1>that experience across nearly thirty years, and the resulting institutional

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge becomes enormous. Flight logs associated with Epstein became some

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<v Speaker 1>of the most scrutinized documents in the entire scandal, precisely

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<v Speaker 1>because travel could establish proximity between people, properties, and particular

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<v Speaker 1>periods of Epstein's activities. Those logs do not prove criminal

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<v Speaker 1>conduct by every person appearing on them, something that must

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<v Speaker 1>always be emphasized, but they provide an invaluable map of

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's movements and his relationships. The pilot responsible for executing

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<v Speaker 1>those movements consequently occupied a position from which investigators could

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<v Speaker 1>reconstruct enormous portions of Epstein's life. When examining an enterprise

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<v Speaker 1>as geographically dispersed as Epstein's, transportation was not a side infrastructure,

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<v Speaker 1>transportation was essential to that infrastructure, and I think that

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<v Speaker 1>reality becomes more significant when the passenger compartment of Epstein's

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<v Speaker 1>aircraft is considered alongside the allegations eventually made by the survivors.

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<v Speaker 1>Vasoski acknowledged during Maxwell's trial that young women traveled aboard

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's planes, while insisting that he never witnessed sexual misconduct.

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<v Speaker 1>His testimony placed famous politicians, businessmen, celebrities, and other prominent

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<v Speaker 1>individuals aboard Epstein's aircraft at various times, although the presence

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<v Speaker 1>on the plane by itself establishes absolutely no participation in

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's crimes. What mattered about the testimony was the extraordinary

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<v Speaker 1>breath of Epstein's social universe and Vasaski's unusual position as

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<v Speaker 1>someone repeatedly moving through it. Unlike a dinner guest who

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<v Speaker 1>encountered Epstein occasionally, Vassasky was an employee whose job required

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<v Speaker 1>recurring exposure to the people entering and leaving Epstein's orbit.

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<v Speaker 1>Unlike someone who visited one Epstein residence, he traveled between

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<v Speaker 1>several of them. Unlike outsiders who could plausibly claim ignorance

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<v Speaker 1>of Epstein's daily rhythms, Thesoski existed inside the machinery responsible

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<v Speaker 1>for maintaining those rhythms. Now, none of those facts automatically

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<v Speaker 1>established criminal knowledge, much less criminal liability. They did, however,

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<v Speaker 1>make him an obvious potential repository of evidence about who

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<v Speaker 1>traveled where, how often particular passengers appeared, who coordinated their transportation,

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<v Speaker 1>and how Epstein's private aviation operation functioned. In any serious

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<v Speaker 1>investigation of a geographically dispersed trafficking operation, that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>witness would ordinarily warrant extraordinarily detailed scrutiny. The relationship also

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<v Speaker 1>stretched far beyond an ordinary employer casually hiring an interchangeable

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<v Speaker 1>pilot whenever he needed transportation. Epstein retained asaske for decades,

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<v Speaker 1>indicating a level of continuity and trust that few people

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<v Speaker 1>enjoyed in Epstein's frequently shifting universe of acquaintances. And that

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<v Speaker 1>relationship and the length of it matters because Epstein was

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<v Speaker 1>intensely dependent on loyal personnel who could make complicated arrangements

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<v Speaker 1>without requiring constant explanation. Private aviation involves flight planning, aircraft maintenance,

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<v Speaker 1>hangar coordination, passenger arrangements, ground transportation, security considerations, airport restrictions,

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<v Speaker 1>and constant communication when schedules change. Released Correspondence associated with

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein demonstrate that Vesoski remained involved in operational conversations surrounding

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<v Speaker 1>aircraft movements and logistical details. That's exactly what should be

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<v Speaker 1>expected from a chief pilot, but it also illustrates why

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<v Speaker 1>describing him exclusively as someone who flew the plane missus

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<v Speaker 1>La Pointe, a chief pilot servicing an individual with Epstein's

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<v Speaker 1>travel demands became part of the operational nervous system surrounding them.

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<v Speaker 1>Messages moved through that system, schedules were adjusted through it,

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<v Speaker 1>and Epstein depended upon trusted people to translate his impulses

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<v Speaker 1>into actual movement. Vesoski therefore possessed something investigators desperately seek

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<v Speaker 1>and complicated organizations, knowledge accumulated through years of repetition. Whether

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<v Speaker 1>he understood the criminal purpose behind any particular movement is

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<v Speaker 1>a separate evidentiary question, but his capacity to illuminate how

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's world functioned should never have been controversial. Then there

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<v Speaker 1>was Zoro Ranch, one of the most important, historically under

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<v Speaker 1>investigated locations in the entire Epstein story. Epstein purchased a

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<v Speaker 1>sprawling New Mexico property in ninety three and eventually constructed

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<v Speaker 1>a massive residence supported by its own aviation infrastructure, including

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<v Speaker 1>a private runway and hangar. Survivors later described abuse occurring

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<v Speaker 1>at the ranch, making the property something considerably more consequential

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<v Speaker 1>than just a billionaire's desert getaway. Yet, unlike Epstein's Manhattan townhouse,

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<v Speaker 1>Palm Beach residents, and Caribbean properties, the New Mexico ranch

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<v Speaker 1>did not receive the same kind of immediate federal search.

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<v Speaker 1>After Epstein's twenty nineteen arrests, New Mexico authorities have since

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<v Speaker 1>revisited what happened there, and finally, this year, investigators conducted

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<v Speaker 1>or a search after previously sealed information prompted additional scrutiny.

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<v Speaker 1>The property's isolation made aviation particularly important, because Epstein could

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<v Speaker 1>move himself, employees, and guests into an environment far removed

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<v Speaker 1>from ordinary public observation. Thesaski, as Epstein's chief pilot, was

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<v Speaker 1>naturally connected to that transportation system. And therefore to the

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<v Speaker 1>logistics surrounding the ranch. The reported transfer of roughly forty

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<v Speaker 1>acres connected to the ranch to Vasaski further underscores that

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<v Speaker 1>this was not simply an arms leng relationship between a

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<v Speaker 1>wealthy passenger and hired aviation labor. When an employer gives

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<v Speaker 1>a longtime employee valuable property adjacent to or associated with,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most secretive estates, investigators have every reason

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<v Speaker 1>to examine the nature, history, and purpose of that relationship closely.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that the forty acre issue is important not

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<v Speaker 1>because receiving land in itself is evidence of a crime,

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<v Speaker 1>because it's plainly not, but because it speaks to the

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<v Speaker 1>depth of Epstein's relationship with the sask Epstein had enough

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<v Speaker 1>confidence in his pilot to establish financial and personal ties

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<v Speaker 1>extending beyond an ordinary paycheck. Publicly released records and litigation

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<v Speaker 1>material have also described Epstein providing or facilitating financial benefits

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<v Speaker 1>and legal representation for members of the circle, including employees

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<v Speaker 1>whose testimony could potentially matter. Such arrangements demand careful examination

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<v Speaker 1>because economic dependency can shape relationships between powerful employerlayers and

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<v Speaker 1>longtime subordinates. Again, dependency doesn't prove conspiracy and loyalty does

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<v Speaker 1>not automatically equal criminal knowledge, but investigators examining a criminal

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<v Speaker 1>enterprise are supposed to map precisely these relationships because money, property, employment,

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<v Speaker 1>and favors can reveal how organization maintained its cohesion. Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>understood the usefulness of loyalty better than almost anyone in

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<v Speaker 1>his orbit. He surrounded himself with employees who handled discrete

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<v Speaker 1>portions of his existence, while he remained the central figure

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<v Speaker 1>controlling the resources. The sask occupied one of the longest

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<v Speaker 1>running positions within that ecosystem. The fact that his relationship

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<v Speaker 1>apparently included employment, travel, property, and other forms of financial

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<v Speaker 1>connection should have made understanding that relationship an investigative priority

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<v Speaker 1>rather than just a footnote. The newer releases of Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>related correspondence have made the simplistic description of Vasaski as

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<v Speaker 1>merely a cockpit employee even harder to sustain. Emails associated

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<v Speaker 1>with Epstein's operation repeatedly placed Vesask in communication concerning movements, scheduling,

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<v Speaker 1>aircraft availability, properties, and practical matters that kept epstein extraordinarily

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<v Speaker 1>complicated life functioning. Some communications were completely mundane, precisely as

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<v Speaker 1>one would expect from an employee responsible for aviation logistics,

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<v Speaker 1>but mundane communications are often enormously important when reconstructing how

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<v Speaker 1>an organization actually operated. Criminal enterprises do not spend every

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<v Speaker 1>hour sending messages explicitly describing crimes, because most of their

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<v Speaker 1>existence consists of scheduling, travel, payments, maintenance, and ordinary administration.

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<v Speaker 1>Investigators reconstruct enterprises by examining the connective material and determining

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<v Speaker 1>which people repeatedly appear at important junctions. Vasoski repeatedly peers

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<v Speaker 1>because transportation was one of those junctions. His correspondence with

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's employees, including people involved in scheduling and financial administration,

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<v Speaker 1>further illustrates how aviation intersected with the rest of Epstein's infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 1>The volume and duration of those contacts make it difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to characterize Vesosky as somebody standing outside Epstein's operational core.

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<v Speaker 1>They instead portray a longtime employee positioned at one of

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<v Speaker 1>the central logistical crossroads of Epstein's world, which is precisely

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<v Speaker 1>why the remaining unanswered questions surrounding his knowledge are so consequential.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, folks, we're gonna wrap up right here, and

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<v Speaker 1>in the next episode we're gonna pick up where we

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<v Speaker 1>left off. All the information that goes with this episode

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<v Speaker 1>can be found in the description box.
