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Frank Parlato Jr.

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Frank Parlato Jr.
Born (1955-04-25) April 25, 1955 (age 69)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
OccupationPublisher
Known forFrank Report
The Lost Women of NXIVM
The Vow

Frank Parlato Jr. (born April 25, 1955) is an American publisher.[1][2] He publishes the Frank Report, Artvoice, and The Niagara Falls Reporter. Parlato is widely credited for bringing attention to the NXIVM cult when he published the article "Branded Slaves and Master Raniere" on June 5, 2017.[3][4][5]

NXIVM and federal case

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In 2007, Parlato was hired to work for NXIVM as a publicist.[6] He was fired the following year, and went on to blog about NXIVM on his own website, the Frank Report.[7] In 2019, he received wide media coverage for his efforts to bring down the NXIVM cult.[8] Earlier in 2015, Parlato was federally indicted on 19 counts, including fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy related to his management of the One Niagara Center in Niagara Falls, New York.[9][10][11] In 2018, prosecutors dropped the portion of the charges against him that related to defrauding Seagram's heirs.[12]

The Buffalo News, noting the changes in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York superseding indictment, reported that Seagram's heir Clare Bronfman went from the accuser in Parlato's case to the accused when she was arrested in 2018, also observing that Parlato broke major stories that led to her arrest.[13] Parlato and the United States government reached a plea deal on August 5, 2022. [14] Parlato pleaded guilty to a single count of failure to file an IRS form in 2010 for the receipt of more than $10,000 in cash.[15] On July 31, 2023, Parlato plead guilty to one count of felony tax evasion was sentenced to five months of home detention.[16][17][18]

Frank Report

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The Frank Report began publishing blogs and stories on November 30, 2015, ten days after Parlato was indicted. One of his first blogs on the Frank Report detailed his own indictment, some of which were "fueled by Clare Bronfman & NXIVM’s legal team" after he left the cult. A common tactic NXIVM used was to go after defectors with an onslaught of civil and criminal charges, often smearing and bankrupting their targets which Frank was originally hired to be a part of.[citation needed] The Frank Report has published thousands of articles about NXIVM,[19] DOS,[20] Keith Raniere,[21] and other issues including cults, criminal justice, and legal journalism.

NXIVM, DOS, and cult reporting

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In 2019, Parlato was the lead investigator and consulting producer of the two-hour Investigation Discovery documentary The Lost Women of NXIVM.[22] He also appeared in five episodes of HBO's docuseries The Vow: "Building Character", "Class 1 Data", "Blame & Responsibility", "The Wound", and "The Fall". Parlato also appeared in episode four of Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.[23] In both docuseries, Parlato is credited with helping women who the cult called "slaves" escape and ending the practice of human branding within the cult subgroup called DOS.

In the Starz TV docuseries Seduced, Inside the NXIVM Cult, India Oxenberg credits Parlato for preventing "slaves" from being branded and required to have sex with NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. In the final episode of Seduced, "Exposed", Oxenberg said: "As soon as the [Frank Report] posts started coming up, there were a ton of questions and a lot of chatter. My slaves left immediately after that. And none of them had to complete the seduction assignment or be branded. That was a huge relief."[24] Her mother, Catherine Oxenberg, who first revealed the existence of DOS to Parlato,[25] confirmed that Parlato's stories prompted women to leave the group. In Seduced, she says that as a result of seeing Parlato's blog, "[a] lot of DOS slaves started to defect."[26]

Catherine Oxenberg, India Oxenberg's mother, told Gretchen Carlson on the Lifetime special Beyond the Headlines: Escaping the NXIVM Cult,[27] which was about Parlato's work to expose the group that branded and blackmailed women and whose leaders were convicted of racketeering, sex trafficking, state law extortion, and sexual exploitation of a minor.[28][29] Several former leaders of DOS blame Parlato for destroying their sorority and the NXIVM community, blaming him for writing "distorted and highly-biased" stories based on the "skewed narrative" of a few whistleblowers, including Sarah Edmondson. Parlato's stories "effectively ended DOS. Everything ceased."[30]

Other reporting

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Prior to his investigative work on NXIVM, Parlato, through The Niagara Falls Reporter, reported extensively on the no-bid contract that the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company enjoyed while running boat cruises on the American and Canadian sides of the falls.[31] He reported that the Niagara Parks Commission circumvented efforts by Ripley's Entertainment and Alcatraz Media from bidding on the boat tour concession while secretly approving a 25-year renewal of the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company's license, while cutting its payment to the parks commission.[32][33]

In a series of articles, Parlato revealed that on the New York side, Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co. was operating rent free,[34] and that the company tried to trademark the name Maid of the Mist despite its use in tours and ferries since 1846.[35][34] At one time, Parlato owned the One Niagara Building and took issue with having to pay taxes while the Seneca Nation, a sovereign tribe, did not. He accused Senecas of "sucking the life out of Niagara Falls". Parlato sold the building and moved on while the Seneca remained.[36]

The stories were "hard-hitting and effected change".[37] The Ontario Parliament ordered the Maid of the Mist lease canceled and the boat tour put out to tender. The result was a winning bid by Hornblower Tours that was $300 million higher than the Maid would have paid had its lease not been canceled.[38][39][40] Responding to critics who said he and his Niagara Falls Reporter publication had an unconventional style, Parlato told The Buffalo News: "We don't follow anybody's rules; we follow our own rules."[31]

Federal prosecution

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Following a four year investigation, Parlato and business partner Chitra Selvaraj were federally indicted in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in November 2015.[41] Charges included fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion relating to Parlato's ownership and management of the One Niagara Building (former headquarters of Occidental Petroleum).[42] The matter was still in pretrial phase, with Parlato released on bond, when he was summoned by the federal court in Buffalo to appear November 2021 following an alleged incident in Florida with a girlfriend involving "battery, false imprisonment, and witnessing tampering".[43][44] The event was investigated as a bail violation.[45] The arrest warrant was rescinded, and the Court ordered Parlato undergo an anger management evaluation.[45]

Parlato accepted a plea agreement in August, 2022, pleading guilty to the willful failure to file the IRS form 8300 (26 U.S.C. § 7203 and § 6050I) when he accepted a cash rent payment of $19,000 from commercial tenants of the One Niagara Building.[46] The agreement also requires Parlato forfeit $1,000,000 originally seized during the investigation and to pay over $180,000 in restitution to the IRS.[47] A sentencing date has been postponed several times, most recently to July 31 , 2023[needs update].[48][49]

References

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  1. ^ "Buffalo News: Frank Parlato Speaks Out on Plea Deal Outside the Courthouse". August 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "Niagara Falls businessman pleads guilty to tax charge, will forfeit $1M". August 5, 2022.
  3. ^ frankparlato (June 5, 2017). "Part 1: Branded Slaves and Master Raniere; Sources: Human branding part of Raniere-inspired women's group". Frank Report | Investigative Journalism From Frank Parlato. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Italiano, Laura (March 29, 2018). "Alleged sex-cult leader used 'Smallville' stars to recruit women: witness". New York Post. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Dickson, EJ (May 6, 2019). "NXIVM Insiders Tell Us What to Expect From Keith Raniere's Trial". rollingstone.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 11, 2021. ... Frank Parlato, a former NXIVM publicist turned whistleblower whose independent reporting is widely credited with helping to spur the FBI investigation into the group.
  6. ^ Phillips, Hedy (October 6, 2020). "The Vow: Here's What We Know About Frank Parlato of the Frank Report". POPSUGAR Entertainment.
  7. ^ "Frank Parlato From 'The Vow' Has Faced His Own Legal Troubles". Bustle. October 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Mainstream Media Notes the Man Who Took Down a Sex Cult". The Niagara Reporter. July 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "TOP 10: Grand jury indicts Frank Parlato Jr., associate on federal charges (4)". Niagara Gazette. December 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Fairbanks, Phil (November 20, 2015). "Developer and newspaper publisher Parlato indicted on fraud, money laundering". The Buffalo News.
  11. ^ Pfeiffer, Rickand; Gambini, Philip (November 21, 2015). "Parlato facing 19-count federal indictment". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
  12. ^ Fairbanks, Phil (May 24, 2018). "Feds drop charges that Frank Parlato Jr. stole from Seagrams heirs". The Buffalo News.
  13. ^ Fairbanks, Phil (July 24, 2018). "Seagram's heir goes from accuser in Niagara Falls case to accused in NYC case". The Buffalo News. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  14. ^ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5304724/294/united-states-v-parlato/ [bare URL]
  15. ^ "Parlato pleads guilty in One Niagara fraud case". August 5, 2022.
  16. ^ "Buffalo News: Frank Parlato Speaks Out on Plea Deal Outside the Courthouse". August 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "Frank Parlato sentenced to home confinement for five months; fined $10,000 for tax crime". July 31, 2023.
  18. ^ Pfeiffer, Rick (December 22, 2022). "Judge grants second postponement of Parlato sentencing".
  19. ^ Parlato, Frank (February 21, 2023). "Search Results For - NXIVM".
  20. ^ Parlato, Frank (February 21, 2023). "Search Results For - DOS".
  21. ^ Parlato, Frank. "Search Results For - Raniere". Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "Lost Women of NXIVM | Watch Full Episodes & More!". Investigation Discovery.
  23. ^ ""Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult" Exposed (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  24. ^ Oxenberg, India (2020). "Exposed (ep. 104)". Seduced:Inside the NXIVM Cult. Season 1. 80 minutes in. STARZ.
  25. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (October 11, 2020). "Why HBO's 'The Vow' Doesn't Capture Catherine Oxenberg's Reunion With Daughter India".
  26. ^ Oxenberg, Catherine (2020). "Exposed (ep. 104)". Seduced:Inside the NXIVM Cult. Season 1. 80 minutes in. STARZ.
  27. ^ Oxenberg, Catherine (2019). "Escaping the NXIVM Cult". Beyond the Headlines With Gretchen Carlson. 25 minutes in. Lifetime.
  28. ^ "Nxivm leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison". BBC News. October 27, 2020.
  29. ^ Hong, Nicole; Piccoli, Sean (October 27, 2020). "Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Press Release - February 22, 2021". The Dossier Project.
  31. ^ a b "Artvoice, Niagara Falls Reporter to combine resources". Buffalonews.com. October 3, 2015.
  32. ^ "MAID OF MIST CORPORATION v. ALCATRAZ MEDIA, LLC, 06-MC-64E". Casetext.com.
  33. ^ "Niagara Falls Reporter Analysis". Niagarafallsreporter.com.
  34. ^ a b "Astounding Difference in Price Paid, and Service Between Maid and Hornblower". Niagarafallsreporter.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  35. ^ "Landmark Delaware North trademark battle hearkens back to Maid of the Mist". Jewishbusinessnews.com. January 28, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  36. ^ "Lightning rod in the Falls Businessman Frank Parlato Jr. Stirs the pot, but does he make things better?". December 14, 2008.
  37. ^ Sommer, Mark (October 3, 2015). "Artvoice, Niagara Falls Reporter to combine resources". The Buffalo News. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  38. ^ "Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist boat tours dumped by Niagara Parks Commission". The Toronto Star. March 9, 2012.
  39. ^ "End of an era for Maid of the Mist - Hornblower awarded contract". Niagarafallsreporter.com. February 22, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  40. ^ "Maid Of The Mist A New York Nightmare: Canadian Hornblower Niagara A Class Act". Niagarafallsreporter.com. July 8, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  41. ^ "Local Businessman And Associate Indicted On Fraud And Money Laundering Charges". www.justice.gov. November 24, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  42. ^ "Indictment" (PDF), United States of America v. Frank Parlato (Court Filing), no. 1:15-cr-00149, Docket 1, W.D.N.Y., January 20, 2015, retrieved January 25, 2023 – via Recap (PACER current docket viewPaid subscription required)
  43. ^ "Assault warrant rescinded for Parlato". March 3, 2022.
  44. ^ "ORDER SUMMONS ISSUE FOR BAIL VIOLATION as to Frank R. Parlato, Jr. Signed by Hon. Richard J. Arcara on 11/15/2021. (JLV)" (PDF), United States of America v. Frank Parlato (Court Filing), no. 1:15-cr-00149, Docket 254, W.D.N.Y., January 20, 2015, retrieved January 25, 2023 – via Recap (PACER current docket viewPaid subscription required)
  45. ^ a b Pfeiffer, Rick (March 3, 2022). "Assault warrant rescinded for Parlato". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  46. ^ "Niagara falls businessman pleads guilty to tax charge, will forfeit $1,000,000 | Internal Revenue Service". www.irs.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  47. ^ Besecker, Aaron (August 5, 2022). "Frank Parlato faces prison term after plea to IRS charge, agrees to forfeit about $1 million". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  48. ^ Pfeiffer, Rick (December 22, 2022). "Judge grants second postponement of Parlato sentencing". Niagara Gazette. CNHI. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Yahoo.
  49. ^ "Docket for United States v. Parlato, 1:15-cr-00149 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
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