Prince Andrew was friends with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Andrew was friends with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein's former "mentor" has revealed how the disgraced paedophile would boast to his friends about how he was going to sell Prince Andrew's secrets to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.
Steven Hoffenberg also revealed Epstein called the Duke of York his "Super Bowl trophy" and that the pair's friendship began years earlier than the royal claims.
Hoffenberg helped Epstein mastermind one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history before the two were caught by the FBI.
Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000. Photo / Getty Images
In an interview with The Sun, the born-again Christian, who is now helping his alleged rape victims with their cases, says he has decided to reveal the "75 per cent about Epstein" that no one has known before.
He says he is the only person who knows these facts.
"I'm the only eyewitness, who can tell what Epstein said about the intelligence, rapes and finances," he told the British newspaper.
"He always explained to me what he was up to. He acquired his first royal connection in the early 90s, he told me about it. He got it from [Ghislaine] Maxwell and used it substantially. That was the Super Bowl to him, it was the most important relationship to him.
''Epstein did meet Prince Andrew around 1991, this was said to me by Epstein. Epstein was very pleased with meeting the prince and it was in the UK.
Prince Andrew was friends with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
"Epstein knew he could manipulate Andrew. That's a solid fact. Epstein's ability to manipulate was extraordinary. If he wanted to, he could have been the President of America.
Epstein's former "mentor" says Prince Andrew was "vulnerable" to Epstein.
"Andrew respected Epstein highly and was tremendously impressed, so that's what made him vulnerable to Epstein.
"This was a trophy friendship, it was his strongest bond, even more than Clinton's."
Hoffenberg says Epstein's blackmail plots became more involved as time went on.
He revealed Epstein's plane was known as the "Lolita Express" and there was a roster of underage girls for the parties Epstein threw for his friends, including Prince Andrew.
Everything was recorded at those parties so that Epstein could then use it for some kind of financial gain, and also given to Mossad, which Maxwell was linked to, Hoffenberg said.
"He told me that Ghislaine Maxwell was going to be the breakthrough to bring him into that orbit - to be able to part of the agency in Israel - and that's what did occur," he said.
"They created the plan of installing the honeypot cameras and had taken over the house in Manhattan [given to him by his billionaire client Les Wexner] to blackmail the politicians.
"He then took over the house in Florida and put in cameras. The cameras were to record rapes, it wasn't just about gathering intelligence, but compromising the politicians.
Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein photographed in March 2017 for the New York State Sex Offender Registry. Photo / via AP
"When he befriended Andrew, he had a deal with the Israelis to gather the intelligence and information from people who Epstein took into his homes and his plane.
"I remember Andrew was at many of his events when he took over the house in Manhattan, that was in the early years," he said.
Hoffenberg added that "Andrew didn't understand he was being used".
"He would discuss tactics with me speaking of Andrew as a trophy, a tremendous friend and benefit in his social network, he'd brag about it. It was a big, big, big issue with him.
"Andrew had a weakness for the girls and fast life, Epstein provided that fantasy. Andrew would then give intelligence that Epstein would give to Israel. This was happening when I was working with Epstein," he added.
Hoffenberg, one of the closest people to Epstein, says he was someone who could "get under the skin of anyone and manipulated some of the most important people in the world".
In an infamous BBC interview, Prince Andrew claimed to have met Epstein in 1999 and played down the extent of their friendship, saying they did not spend much time together and were not that close.
