Question
Who was Alfredo Rodriguez and what was his role in the Epstein case?
Answer
Alfredo Rodriguez was a former household employee of Jeffrey Epstein who became a significant figure in the case due to his actions regarding Epstein’s address book.
Rodriguez had worked for Epstein as a household manager. After ending his employment, Rodriguez retained Epstein’s address book — approximately 1,000 pages of contact information for nearly everyone in Epstein’s vast network.
When investigators were conducting discovery in connection with civil lawsuits filed by Epstein’s victims, Rodriguez was a potential witness with knowledge of his employer’s activities. However, rather than producing the address book to investigators, Rodriguez attempted to sell it — reportedly asking for approximately $500,000 for the document.
Rodriguez was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. He was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
The address book itself eventually came into the hands of investigators and later became public through various proceedings. In 2015, journalist Nick Bryant and ultimately Gawker Media published portions of the contact list.
Rodriguez’s case illustrates the layers of information that existed around Epstein’s operation and the various ways that documentary evidence was managed, suppressed, and eventually emerged.
Sources
- Federal court records, United States v. Rodriguez
- Gawker Media publication of address book contents, 2015
- Investigative reporting on the address book’s path to publication