The 2009 sting centered on a contact book the former house manager called “insurance.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A newly released federal undercover video shows a former house manager for Jeffrey Epstein trying to sell what he said was Epstein’s stolen “little black book” for $50,000, a decade and a half after investigators first learned the contact book existed.
The footage, made during a 2009 sting in Florida, surfaced in a recent Justice Department dump of Epstein investigation records that has renewed attention on what authorities collected, what they did not, and how the government is handling sensitive material that can expose victims. The man in the video, Alfredo Rodriguez, later went to prison for obstruction after federal prosecutors said he lied and withheld evidence. The book itself has long been treated as a symbol of Epstein’s access to powerful circles, even as investigators have said a name in a contact list is not proof of a crime.
In the video, Rodriguez, who worked at Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion, meets with an undercover law enforcement employee posing as someone interested in Epstein’s contacts. Rodriguez says he took the book from Epstein’s household and kept it after leaving his job, describing it as protection in case Epstein came after him. He asks for $50,000 and says he believes the information inside could help victims and expose how Epstein recruited girls. Federal agents arrest Rodriguez as part of the operation, and the interaction becomes one of the clearest early snapshots of what insiders were saying about Epstein years before the financier’s 2019 federal sex trafficking case.
Rodriguez portrays the book as more than a list of phone numbers. He tells the undercover employee that the entries include names, addresses and other contact details, and he claims some belonged to underage girls. He also points to Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, describing her as influential and suggesting she played a central role in keeping track of people around Epstein. The video does not provide independent proof for those claims, and investigators have long said many records in the Epstein case contain unverified tips mixed with credible evidence. Still, the exchange shows how quickly Epstein’s staff understood that access and information were a form of currency around him.
Federal prosecutors later said Rodriguez crossed a line by holding back material he had been ordered to turn over. Court records from the time show he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after authorities said he lied to the FBI and failed to provide evidence he had taken from Epstein’s home. A judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison in 2010. Rodriguez later died of cancer, according to news reports, leaving some questions about the book’s whereabouts. While versions of Epstein’s contact lists have circulated publicly for years, the original item Rodriguez described, the one he claimed he took from the Palm Beach home, has remained a point of dispute.
The resurfaced sting video arrives amid a broader government release of Epstein case files that includes millions of pages of documents and a large volume of images and videos. The Justice Department has said it is working through a trove that requires extensive redactions to protect survivors and to avoid exposing identifying details. The scale and pace of the releases have drawn criticism from lawmakers and survivors’ advocates, who have pushed for transparency while warning against dumping material that could retraumatize victims. The appearance of the undercover video in a public batch has also raised questions about whether all sensitive elements were properly masked.
The renewed focus on a “black book” comes as federal records reviewed in recent years undercut a popular internet claim that the government was hiding a definitive “client list” tying famous men to Epstein’s crimes. Internal Justice Department memos described investigators finding strong evidence that Epstein abused underage girls, but little corroborated proof that he ran an organized trafficking operation on behalf of powerful men. Investigators examined homes, financial records, message pads and seized digital materials, and they pursued leads involving associates, but prosecutors said the evidence often did not meet the threshold for additional charges. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein, and she is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Even so, Epstein’s web of relationships remains central to public interest in the case, and the contact book has become a shorthand for that access. Past versions of Epstein address books have included a wide range of names from business, politics, academia and entertainment, a mix that reflects how Epstein cultivated status. People whose names appear in those lists have often said they did not know about Epstein’s abuse or had limited contact with him. Law enforcement officials have repeatedly cautioned that appearing in a directory, on a call log or in travel records does not establish involvement in criminal conduct. The records can, however, show who moved through Epstein’s orbit, and that is why each new release prompts fresh scrutiny.
In the undercover meeting, Rodriguez presents himself as both a former employee with inside knowledge and a man trying to protect himself from a wealthy boss. He says he fears retaliation and frames his decision to keep the book as a survival tactic. Those claims match a pattern described by victims and investigators in other Epstein records, in which money, gifts and intimidation helped keep people close and silent. Rodriguez’s tone in the video shifts between confidence and anxiety, as he negotiates a price and recounts what he says he saw in the household. His words offer an early, if self-serving, look at how Epstein’s staff talked about the visitors, the young girls and the secrecy that surrounded the mansion.
For investigators, the episode also illustrates how difficult it can be to secure evidence when witnesses believe information is worth money. Instead of turning the book over, prosecutors said Rodriguez tried to sell it, and they treated that as a threat to the integrity of the investigation. The case against him became a separate track from the larger Epstein probe, with Rodriguez punished for obstructing federal agents. That outcome has taken on new significance now that the government is releasing records publicly, because it highlights how carefully authorities once guarded the same types of material that are now being posted in batches and debated in public.
The Justice Department has not publicly said whether the original contact book Rodriguez described is in federal custody today, or whether only copies exist in the case files. The video’s release has already prompted calls for clearer explanations about what remains sealed, what has been redacted, and what further disclosures are expected. Federal officials have said additional Epstein records may be posted on a rolling basis as reviews are completed, with the next tranches expected to include more correspondence and investigative material from the mid-2000s and from the 2019 prosecution.
Author note: Last updated February 14, 2026.