As the Alexander brothers’ sex trafficking trial approaches next month, details about the proceedings are beginning to take shape.
Several of the alleged victims will be allowed to testify under pseudonyms at trial, Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York ruled at a Thursday hearing.
The women are among other accusers tapped by prosecutors to share their experiences with one or more of the brothers, who are facing charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, among other crimes. Former top brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, along with their brother Alon, were arrested in Miami last December.
During the hearing, Caproni sided with prosecutors, who requested the court protect the identities of 17 alleged victims whose names have not yet been made public through litigation filed against one or more of the brothers.
Oren’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, pushed back against the use of pseudonyms, arguing that introducing too many fake names would confuse jurors and other witnesses, and block those outside of the courtroom from coming forward with potentially significant information about the alleged victims that could aid the defense.
“What the government is asking here is truly unprecedented,” Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo referred to a saying among toxicologists, “the dose makes the poison.” He added, “The dose here is tremendous.”
Though Caproni largely agreed with the government’s position, her decision came with a few caveats. Women with common names will take the stand using their real first names and a pseudonymous last name, while women who were minors at the time of the alleged attacks and those with easily recognizable first names will be allowed to use a pseudonym for both their first and last names.
Though their identities will be shielded from the public, defense attorneys for the brothers know the real names of the alleged victims. The court will also inform the jury and any attendees of the trial that the alleged victims called to the stand are testifying under fake names.
Agnifilo said that the defense would prefer the victims use their real first names only if the court was inclined to grant prosecutors’ request. But Caproni shot down his appeal, arguing that it would be “demeaning and infantilizing” to refer to alleged rape victims by their first name while other witnesses are called by their last name.
All three of the Alexanders have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“This case is being framed by the government as a sex-trafficking prosecution despite the absence of evidence of force or coercion, and the defense maintains that the government’s theory relies on recharacterizing consensual conduct as criminal activity,” a spokesperson for the brothers wrote in a statement. “Those issues, the defense expects, will be tested at trial.”
It’s unclear how many alleged victims prosecutors plan to introduce during the trial, though based on discussions in court, it appears they’re working with more than 20. The latest version of the indictment, which was filed last month, noted seven victims associated with substantive counts, while in a hearing shortly after, prosecutors mentioned another 17 alleged victims associated with the conspiracy charge.
Caproni previously said that while she won’t limit the number of victims prosecutors can call to the stand ahead of trial, she will not allow the entirety of its roster to testify in support of the conspiracy.
At another hearing last week, Caproni agreed to delay the trial from Jan. 5 to Jan. 26. By the time proceedings begin next year, the Alexander brothers, who are being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, will have been in custody for more than a year.
Not so fast…
Could 2026 be the year interest rates lose their rep as residential real estate’s boogeyman?
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by a quarter of a point, marking the third such move this year. While not directly tied to the federal funds rate, the central bank’s decision often influences fluctuations in mortgage rates, which have remained elevated over the past few years.
Though mortgage rates dropped in anticipation of the Fed’s announcement, they’re still above 6 percent, significantly higher than the historically low rates many homeowners secured during the pandemic. That discrepancy created a “lock-in” effect, where owners who may have already sold their homes by now are staying put to hold on to their mortgages.
If the last year is any indication, it appears mortgage rates will hover around 6 percent for the foreseeable future. It’s likely that for many sellers, time will start to outweigh a favorable rate, so in the absence of any drastic macroeconomic changes, we can finally put the hand-wringing over rates to bed.
NYC Deal of the Week
The most expensive deal to hit the city rolls this week was a condo at Extell Development’s 50 West 66th Street. The apartment traded for $22.7 million, or $6,700 per square foot, to an anonymous entity known as Little Tiger Love. Unit 43N spans 3,400 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Douglas Elliman’s Janice Chang and Timothy Hsu had the listing.
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