Jeffrey Epstein’s New Mexico Network: Politicians, Ranch Staff, Scientists, and Local Contacts
Snapshot
Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Stanley, New Mexico, connected him to landowners, political figures, employees, contractors, scientists, and visitors. The connections varied. Some people sold land or provided services. Others corresponded with Epstein, received campaign contributions, worked at the ranch, or reported abuse there.
A person’s appearance in a record does not establish knowledge of or participation in Epstein’s crimes. This article states what each connection shows and distinguishes confirmed contact from a proposed visit.
The New Mexico Survivors’ Truth Commission continues to investigate the ranch. Publicly available records do not yet identify every employee, visitor, passenger, or local service provider.
Key Takeaways
The King family connection began with a land sale. Bruce King and his brothers sold the property Epstein acquired in 1993. Bruce’s son Gary King later had documented meetings, campaign finance dealings, and correspondence involving Epstein.
Political contributions do not prove personal relationships. Bill Richardson and Gary King had documented contact with Epstein. Reporting also identifies contributions to Jim Baca and Greg Solano, but the records reviewed here do not establish that either of those men met him.
Ranch staffing remains incompletely documented. Brice and Karen Gordon managed the property. Emails name several other workers, sometimes only by first name, while an FBI interview describes additional employees and seasonal staff.
Santa Fe’s science community was part of Epstein’s New Mexico orbit. Murray Gell-Mann acknowledged Epstein’s financial support. Geoffrey West agreed to meet him at the ranch. Joshua Cooper Ramo said he visited once.
Survivors belong in the evidence record, not in a list of Epstein’s friends. Rachel Benavidez, Annie Farmer, Virginia Giuffre, and an unnamed Jane Doe have provided accounts concerning New Mexico.
The King Family and Zorro Ranch
The Zorro Ranch property record identifies former New Mexico governor Bruce King and his brothers Don King and Sam King among the sellers when Epstein acquired the land in 1993. The purchase agreement names King family ranch and land entities. That transaction establishes a business connection. It does not establish what the sellers knew about Epstein’s later conduct.
Gary King’s document record shows a longer relationship. Gary, Bruce King’s son, later served as New Mexico attorney general. Reuters identified him as a party to the ranch sale. Records also describe campaign contributions linked to Epstein, a 2010 Santa Fe meeting, and a 2014 campaign flight arranged through an Epstein company.
EFTA00364043 documents Epstein’s instruction concerning the charter. EFTA01348584 contains a check from Epstein’s JEGE company to Gary King’s gubernatorial campaign. New Mexico Political Report also examined correspondence about campaign support through Epstein connected companies.
Deb Haaland’s 2014 campaign flight places her aboard the charter as King’s running mate. Her spokesperson said she had no interaction with Epstein and had not been told how the plane was arranged. The flight record does not establish a friendship between Haaland and Epstein.
Bill Richardson and Other Political Contacts
Bill Richardson’s EpsteinWiki profile documents campaign support and contact between the former New Mexico governor and Epstein. Larry Morrison’s account recalls seeing Richardson at Zorro Ranch.
Virginia Giuffre alleged that Ghislaine Maxwell directed her to give Richardson a “massage” at the ranch. Richardson denied the allegation through a representative. His documented contact with Epstein and Giuffre’s disputed allegation are separate parts of the record.
Reporting on Epstein’s New Mexico political contributions identifies Jim Baca, a former land commissioner, and Greg Solano, a former Santa Fe County sheriff, as campaign recipients. The material reviewed for this article does not establish that either personally met Epstein. The sheriff’s first name was Greg; references calling him “Jim Solano” should be corrected.
Zorro Ranch Managers and Employees
Brice Gordon’s FBI interview records his account of managing Zorro Ranch in 2007. He discussed staffing, Epstein’s visits, arriving guests, and massage therapist arrangements. Karen Gordon appears in ranch management correspondence and is identified alongside Brice in the Truth Commission’s account.
The ranch operations evidence review identifies additional staff in emails and payroll discussions.
| Person | What the record establishes |
|---|---|
| Wendy Martinez | Appears in ranch operations correspondence and daily logs |
| Cynthia Cano | Was hired as a ranch housekeeper in 2012 |
| Norma, surname unconfirmed | Was the housekeeper Cano replaced |
| Louella, surname unconfirmed | Appears in a ranch payroll discussion |
| Steve, surname unconfirmed | Appears as a ranch worker who moved onto the property in 2012 |
| Amber, surname unconfirmed | Is identified as Steve’s wife; that reference does not establish her duties |
| Marc, surname unconfirmed | Appears in a ranch task record |
| Carlos, surname unconfirmed | Appears in staff health insurance correspondence |
EFTA01797902 is among the records concerning Wendy Martinez. EFTA01888084 concerns Cynthia Cano’s hiring. EFTA01989977 contains the payroll discussion mentioning Louella.
Ean Royal has described living at the ranch as a teenager while his father worked there as a ranch hand. The reporting reviewed here withheld his father’s name.
An FBI interview with a Santa Fe area reflexologist describes approximately 30 visits to the ranch between about 1999 and 2008, primarily to work with Maxwell. The witness also described a local colleague who did massage work for Maxwell. Neither person should be identified by guesswork. The reflexologist said they did not witness the abuse alleged against Epstein.
Gordon described five or six full time ranch employees and additional seasonal workers in 2007. The surviving email list primarily covers later years. It cannot serve as a complete payroll for the ranch’s entire history.
Local Lawyers, Contractors, and Technical Workers
The 1993 closing record names John J. Kelly in a power of attorney concerning the land purchase. The Truth Commission recorded Kelly’s account that he represented the King family, did not recall direct dealings with Epstein as buyer, and learned of Epstein’s conduct through later reporting.
EFTA00310887 identifies Albuquerque attorney David G. Gordon as local counsel in the 2011 transfer of the ranch to Cypress, Inc.
The ranch construction and operations records identify Bill Whaley in well drilling correspondence and Casey Cook as a geology or well contact. They also identify Richard Barnett, an operating engineer who worked across Epstein properties, and Mark Tollison, a project manager involved in ranch work.
Richard Boltz’s communications correspondence concerns an internet relay system for the ranch. Boltz worked for an Albuquerque communications company. Later correspondence also mentions Hector, whose surname has not been established here, coordinating technical work with Brice Gordon.
James Herrera and Nena Herrera were interviewed as prospective ranch managers in 2012. An interview establishes consideration for the roles, not that either was hired.
A 1997 architectural drawing reported by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez bears the stamp of Cooper, Robertson & Partners. Its founders were Alexander Cooper and Jaquelin Robertson. The drawing identifies the firm, but does not establish that either founder personally designed the ranch or met Epstein. Bradbury Stamm is identified as a builder of the main residence; that company’s role should not be assigned to an individual without a corresponding record.
Santa Fe Science and Business Contacts
Murray Gell-Mann, a Santa Fe Institute cofounder, acknowledged Epstein’s financial support through the institute. That is a documented individual connection, separate from the fact that other scientists also worked at the institute.
Geoffrey West’s correspondence connects the Santa Fe Institute scientist with Epstein. Reporting on the released files says West agreed to meet Epstein at Zorro Ranch in 2012. Agreement to meet is not, by itself, confirmation that the meeting occurred.
Joshua Cooper Ramo’s correspondence record documents repeated contact with Epstein about meetings, introductions, and business matters. Ramo said he visited Zorro Ranch once for a lunch with academics in 2014.
A name collision can distort this research. Joshua M. Epstein, a researcher named in Santa Fe Institute publications, is a different person from Jeffrey Epstein. His appearance in a publication cannot be counted as evidence of Jeffrey Epstein’s participation.
Traveling Personnel and Prospective Ranch Guests
The Zorro Ranch evidence review records several people whose work, travel, or correspondence concerned New Mexico, although they were not necessarily New Mexico residents.
| Person | Documented New Mexico connection |
|---|---|
| Ghislaine Maxwell | Appears in ranch records and in federal allegations concerning Epstein’s New Mexico residence |
| Darren Indyke | Handled legal and entity matters involving the ranch |
| Richard Kahn | Handled ranch finances and payroll correspondence |
| Larry Visoski | Testified that he visited the ranch about five or six times a year during his employment as Epstein’s pilot |
| David Rodgers | Described the ranch layout and travel arrangements in pilot interview notes |
| Lesley Groff | Coordinated prospective ranch guests and travel |
| Danny Hillis | His office appears in correspondence about a proposed ranch trip |
| Jack Horner | Appears in a 2012 ranch booking |
| Martin Nowak | Appears in 2013 ranch travel arrangements |
| Ed Boyden | Appears in 2013 ranch travel arrangements |
| Greg Wyler | Appears in correspondence about sourcing communications equipment for the ranch |
| Caitlin Wakefield | Appears in communications associated with Richardson’s office about a possible visit |
| Woody Allen | Appears in ranch visit material, including correspondence coordinating a possible trip |
| Soon-Yi Previn | Has been identified in reporting among ranch visitors |
EFTA01875156 concerns the proposed contact with Danny Hillis’s office. EFTA02131416 concerns Ed Boyden’s travel arrangements. EFTA01975307 concerns Greg Wyler’s technical assistance.
Those records have different evidentiary value. A completed visit, booked itinerary, invitation, and equipment discussion should remain distinct.
Survivors and Witnesses
Rachel Benavidez, a former Santa Fe massage therapist, has said Epstein sexually abused her after she was brought to work at Zorro Ranch. Annie Farmer testified about her 1996 experience at the New Mexico property. Virginia Giuffre described abuse connected to the ranch and made the disputed allegation concerning Richardson.
An Epstein sentencing transcript records a woman identified as Jane Doe saying Epstein sexually molested her at Zorro Ranch when she was 15 in 2004. The Maxwell indictment separately describes alleged conduct involving a minor at the New Mexico residence in 1996.
These women belong in the New Mexico evidence record as survivors and witnesses. Their accounts do not make them members of Epstein’s social network. The identities of unnamed survivors should remain protected.
Evidence Appearances
- EFTA00269597: Brice Gordon’s FBI interview.
- EFTA00090036: FBI interview with the Santa Fe area reflexologist.
- EFTA00364043: Correspondence concerning Gary King’s campaign charter.
- EFTA01348584: JEGE check to Gary King’s campaign.
- EFTA01797902: Ranch operations record involving Wendy Martinez.
- EFTA01888084: Cynthia Cano hiring correspondence.
- EFTA01989977: Ranch payroll correspondence.
- EFTA00310887: Ranch transfer involving local counsel.
- EFTA01966493: Ranch communications system correspondence.
- EFTA01245366: Richard Barnett’s account of property work.
- EFTA01875156: Proposed Danny Hillis ranch trip.
- EFTA02131416: Ed Boyden travel arrangements.
- EFTA01975307: Greg Wyler and communications equipment.
- EFTA00019994: Sentencing statement concerning abuse at Zorro Ranch.
- EFTA01659394: Maxwell indictment describing the New Mexico residence.
What the Public Record Still Cannot Name
The surviving records do not provide a verified list of every person who worked at, supplied, visited, or traveled to Zorro Ranch. Some employees appear only by first name. Some passenger records omit names. Other communications describe planned trips without showing whether the person arrived.
The ranch’s purchasers after Epstein’s death and the officials investigating it in 2026 are part of its later history. They should not be added to Epstein’s personal network merely because their names appear in current property or investigative records.
Questions Still Under Investigation
- Who were all of the ranch’s employees and seasonal workers before 2009?
- Which local massage practitioners worked at the property, and what did each personally observe?
- Which proposed guests actually visited, and on what dates?
- What additional names can be established from complete payroll, invoice, vehicle, and flight records?
- What will the Truth Commission’s final report establish about visitors and public officials?
Sources
- New Mexico Survivors’ Truth Commission interim report
- New Mexico House Resolution 1
- Zorro Ranch investigation with linked evidence
- Zorro Ranch property history
- Gary King document investigation
- New Mexico Political Report on the 2014 charter
- New Mexico Political Report on Gary King’s correspondence
- EpsteinWiki profile of Bill Richardson
- EpsteinWiki account of Larry Morrison’s recollection
- Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez on the Zorro Ranch architectural drawing