Jeffrey Epstein 'could have filmed Prince Andrew getting massages' says neighbour

The next-door neighbour of Jeffrey Epstein has raised the prospect that Prince Andrew was caught on video receiving a massage at the paedophile’s Florida home.

Billionaire Howard Lutnick suggested that the convicted sex offender “participated” in clandestine recordings of his high-profile guests, potentially using the material to blackmail them. Epstein’s former Palm Beach housekeeper, Juan Alessi, previously told the Mirror that the Duke of Yorkspent "weeks" at the sex offender’s Florida home during which time he received “daily massages”.

Now Lutnick, who is serving as US commerce secretary under Donald Trump, has described his former neighbour as the “greatest blackmailer ever”. He went as far as to suggest video recordings taken by Epstein were instrumental in securing the financier’s controversial 2008 plea deal for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

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Prince Andrew’s pal had been facing up to 20 years in prison after numerous girls came forward to allege they had been abused by him. Epstein, however, brokered a deal with prosecutors - to the fury of local police - that saw him evade multiple charges and plead guilty instead to one count of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The deal has long been criticised as a “sweetheart deal,” with allegations that Epstein handed over damaging evidence against high-profile associates to secure leniency.

Speaking about Epstein’s infamous massage sessions, Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, said: “They get a massage, that’s what his MO [modus operandi] was. ‘Get a massage, get a massage,’ and what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video.”

He then recounted an unnerving encounter at Epstein’s home: “I say to him, ‘Massage table in the middle of your house? How often do you have a massage?’ And he says, ‘Every day.’ And then he gets, like weirdly close to me, and he says, ‘And the right kind of massage.’” Disturbed, Lutnick and his wife promptly left.

The revelations add to the scrutiny faced by high-profile figures associated with Epstein, including Donald Trump, who denies contributing to a book of well-wishes for the paedophile’s 50th birthday, and Lord Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the US, who was sacked after describing Epstein as his “best pal” and urging him to fight for early release following the 2008 conviction.

Lutnick’s insight coincides with the release of documents by Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee, listing the Duke of York as a passenger on flights from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach, Florida. The royal appears alongside Epstein, his then-girlfriend and now convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, and two other individuals whose names are redacted. The Duke, 65, reportedly travelled on May 12, 2000, and again on May 16, 2002.

The jet, infamously dubbed the “Lolita Express,” was said to ferry underage girls to Epstein’s properties, including his private Caribbean island. Documents provided by the Oversight Committee also record a payment of $200 for a “massage for Andrew” on February 11 2000.

It is unclear whether this refers to the duke, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Several Epstein victims have testified that they were paid around $200 (£149) per massage. The recent revelations have revived scrutiny of the Duke, who faced longstanding allegations from Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to him by Epstein when she was a minor.

Andrews consistently denied the allegations. Despite her death in April, Giuffre’s allegations and a legal civil settlement with the Prince have remained a source of intense public and media attention, leaving Andrew’s relationship with Epstein under continual examination.

During the interview with Lutnick, he was pressed on the lack of information surrounding his former neighbour’s friends, which the Trump administration has been accused of suppressing.

He said: “I assume way back when they traded those videos in exchange for him getting that 18-month sentence, which allowed him to have visits and be out of jail. My assumption, I have no knowledge, but my assumption is there was a trade for the videos, because there were people on those videos.”

Epstein died in prison in August 2019, a death officially ruled a suicide, though conspiracy theories continue to suggest foul play.