New Mexico Police Search Epstein's Zorro Ranch

Police in New Mexico conducted the first search of Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch near Stanley on March 21, investigating potential evidence of abuse at the sprawling property where the late financier spent about two months each year. The operation has renewed scrutiny of Epstein's ties to prominent state politicians, including former governors and a former attorney general, who accepted his campaign donations long after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida.

Zorro Ranch, spanning 7,500 acres about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, has long been alleged to serve as a hub in Epstein's sex trafficking network that spanned the U.S. Virgin Islands, New York and Florida. Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, along with a 2020 letter from the New Mexico Attorney General's office, describe the Old West-themed estate as a site of child exploitation. Epstein purchased the land in 1993 from members of the influential King political family, including three-term former Governor Bruce King, for approximately $3.75 million, a figure deemed fair market value at the time based on state university research. He developed it into what locals dubbed the...