EFTA02728648: Jeffrey Epstein’s 1973 London Arrest: The Sword Stick Record
Snapshot
Person: Jeffrey Edward Epstein.
Event: Arrest recorded on March 13, 1973, in London, England.
Recorded charge: Unlawful possession of an offensive weapon described as a sword stick.
Recorded outcome: A two year conditional discharge and an order to pay costs. The date printed beside the outcome is ambiguous.
Primary evidence: EFTA02728648 in Epstein Data, the first page of a 53 page Department of Justice release. A separate 1981 SEC testimony transcript records Epstein’s own description of a British sword stick case.
Evidence status: The released page is a later agency record of an earlier event. It is not the original London arrest report or the underlying court file.
The released agency entry for EFTA02728648 places a sword stick charge in Epstein’s history years before his work at Bear Stearns. It gives a date, an arresting agency and a recorded disposition. His sworn SEC testimony eight years later describes the same kind of incident, though his explanation and the agency description do not answer every question about what happened in London.
What the London Entry Records
On EFTA02728648, the subject is named Jeffrey Edward Epstein. The entry gives March 13, 1973, as both the earliest event and arrest date. It names New Scotland Yard in London as the arresting agency and describes the offense as unlawful possession of an offensive weapon, a sword stick. The entry lists the severity as unknown. It also says the court and sentencing agency are not known in this database copy.
The sentence line appears to say conditional discharge for two years and payment of costs. It prints the date as 01-04-73. In a British day first format, that would be April 1, 1973. In a month first format, it would be January 4, 1973, before the stated arrest. The page does not specify which format was used or supply the original court document. Accordingly, the disposition type is identifiable, but the precise disposition date needs confirmation.
The text was copied into a later agency system. Its surrounding packet includes queries dated 2005. Those query dates do not change the arrest date to 2005, and the presence of an older event in a later record does not establish when every agency first learned of it. The 53 page PDF contains other investigative material, so the first page and its Bates stamp are the precise evidence for this London incident.
What Epstein Told the SEC in 1981
In the April 1, 1981 SEC examination, transcript page 17, an investigator asked Epstein whether he had ever been convicted or indicted. He answered that he had been convicted of a crime in Great Britain. When asked what it involved, he said he bought an antique sword stick and was told it could not be carried in the country and had to be shipped out.
His answer confirms that he acknowledged a British case involving a sword stick under oath. The investigator raised the subject by asking about prior convictions. Epstein did not give the year, identify a court or produce a judgment in this portion of the transcript. His account of buying an antique and the agency entry’s unlawful possession description are two different kinds of evidence: one is the person’s explanation; the other is a later record of a charge and disposition.
The EpsteinWiki early life timeline provides a place to situate this 1973 event. The SEC encounter belongs to a later chapter of his life, covered by EpsteinWiki’s Bear Stearns overview. Neither the sword stick entry nor the testimony establishes a connection between the British case and his later conduct at Bear Stearns.
Evidence Appearances
| Record | Identifier and location | What it shows | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency criminal history entry | EFTA02728648, DOJ PDF page 1 | March 13, 1973 London arrest, sword stick charge and recorded conditional discharge | Later database copy, with unknown court and ambiguous disposition date |
| Surrounding agency query | EFTA02728649, DOJ PDF page 2 | The adjacent query material includes a March 2005 record request | Does not show the original 1973 proceedings |
| Sworn SEC answer | SEC File No. NY 5395, transcript page 17, PDF page 19 | Epstein acknowledged a British conviction involving an antique sword stick | His answer gives no date or court file |
| Complete released packet | EFTA02728648 through EFTA02728700, DOJ PDF pages 1 through 53 | The scope and context of the compiled PDF | Many pages concern other investigative topics |
The EFTA number identifies the DOJ packet’s first page. It is not an EFTA identifier for the SEC transcript.
Related Sleuth Research
Leaks and Findings’ chapter on Epstein’s early London years discusses the sword stick entry and explores possible implications for his early movements. Its ideas about why he was in London and whom he knew there require separate evidence. The entry establishes a London arrest attributed to New Scotland Yard. It does not establish those proposed social connections or a motive for carrying the object.
A separate Leaks and Findings chapter on the 1981 SEC testimony discusses the British case. Read it beside the transcript: the SEC investigator specifically asked about convictions before Epstein answered. That detail matters when evaluating any interpretation that he brought up the conviction without being asked.
What Remains Open
The released entry supports a documented arrest and recorded conditional discharge involving a sword stick. The SEC transcript supplies Epstein’s later acknowledgment. The available pages do not include the original police report, the court judgment, a confirmed interpretation of 01-04-73, or evidence for broader claims about the purpose of his London visit.
The original British court or police record would help answer several questions. Which court handled the matter? On what date was the conditional discharge ordered? What amount of costs did the court specify? What exactly happened before the arrest? Until that record is found, those details should be treated as open questions.