What Is the “Black Book”?
Epstein’s “black book” refers to a leather-bound address book containing over 1,500 names and contact details — phone numbers, email addresses, and in some cases notes about individuals. It became public in a highly unusual way.
How It Became Public
In 2004, Alfredo Rodriguez, an Epstein household employee, stole the address book and attempted to sell it to law enforcement as evidence. The FBI seized it. Rodriguez later tried to sell a copy and was convicted of obstruction of justice (he died in prison in 2014).
In 2015, Gawker Media published the full address book, which had been obtained through court proceedings related to Rodriguez’s case.
What’s In It
The book contains names across several categories:
- Royalty: Prince Andrew (listed with multiple numbers), other European royalty
- Politicians: Bill Clinton, John Glenn, Ted Kennedy’s phone number
- Business leaders: Dozens of prominent CEOs and financiers
- Scientists and academics: Multiple MIT and Harvard connections
- Models and modeling agencies: Connected to Jean-Luc Brunel’s network
- Massage/service providers: Many of whom may have been victims
The book is a contact directory, not an evidence log. Having a phone number in Epstein’s address book means he had that person’s contact information — nothing more and nothing less.
Notable Annotations
Some entries had handwritten notes next to them — some mundane, some that raised eyebrows. A few entries had names crossed out.
”Modeling” References
A section of the book contained names and numbers that investigators believed were connected to Epstein’s victim recruitment network, including references to young women connected to modeling agencies.
What It Proves — and Doesn’t
Being in the “black book” establishes:
- Epstein had that person’s contact information
- May indicate they had some relationship with Epstein
It does NOT establish:
- That the person knew of Epstein’s crimes
- That the person participated in any illegal activity
- That the person ever communicated with Epstein using those numbers
The book is best understood as evidence of Epstein’s extraordinarily broad social and professional network — spanning the highest levels of government, business, science, and entertainment.