Steve Tisch, a Tufts alumnus and donor whose name appears on several campus buildings, was revealed last Friday to have communicated frequently with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein about women, dinner invitations, football games and Epstein’s private island.
More than 3 million files were released by the Department of Justice on Friday under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed in November. The Daily reviewed hundreds of those files and found dozens of email correspondences between Tisch — a film producer and owner of the New York Giants — and Epstein. The identities and ages of most of the women discussed were not immediately clear, though some were identified as college-age. Tisch has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
“We’re continuing to monitor this matter and any unfolding information,” Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations at Tufts, said in a statement to the Daily.
Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, said at a Monday press conference that the league would look into Tisch’s connections with Epstein. It was not clear whether a formal investigation had been launched.
In a public statement released by the Giants on Friday night, Tisch distanced himself from Epstein.
“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments,” Tisch wrote. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”
Epstein solicited women for Tisch, with the two using euphemisms for prostitution
In several exchanges, Epstein offered women to Tisch, referring to them as “conquests” in a May 2013 email. “New one for you,” Epstein wrote, to which Tisch replied, “Who?”
The two also used euphemisms commonly associated with prostitution to describe women. In one exchange, Tisch asked Epstein whether a specific woman was a “pro or civilian.” In another June message, Tisch asked whether a woman was a “working girl,” to which Epstein replied, “nwver.”
In another June correspondence, Epstein told Tisch that he had a “new present.” Tisch replied by asking whether the “present” was in New York and later asked if he could “get my surprise to take to lunch tomorrow.” Tisch also separately asked whether there was “somebody in NY you wanted me to meet,” before discussing a specific woman’s background. Epstein described her as an “exotic” French-speaking girl but denied that she was a prostitute.
On several occasions, Epstein included Tisch on email chains with women. In one message, Tisch wrote to a woman named Veronika, “Jeffrey Epstein is very excited about you and I meeting each other. I like that idea. Do you?” He complimented a photo she had sent and offered times to meet.
Veronika told Tisch that she had “heard a lot of great things” about him and said she looked forward to meeting him. Epstein later interjected, telling Tisch that she was traveling and still attending university. He also said Tisch would have to organize her plane ticket if they wanted to meet.
Epstein and Tisch often planned and discussed meetups with women
On several occasions in 2013 and 2014, Tisch and Epstein planned meetings between Tisch and women whom Epstein had solicited for him. These conversations often centered on the women’s physical characteristics while also discussing their personalities.
Epstein maintained a degree of secrecy in his communications with Tisch, asking in one correspondence to “send me a number to call I dont like records of these conversations.”
The files also show Epstein communicating with women about meeting Tisch. One woman, identified as Katya, told Epstein that she had Googled Tisch and learned he was an Oscar-winning producer and owner of the Giants. “I’d love to meet him,” she wrote.
In a later email, Tisch asked Epstein whether coming over to Epstein’s home would mean “trouble.” Epstein responded by offering to invite “the russain Katya” and provided her contact information.
In another exchange, Tisch told Epstein about a lunch he had with a friend of Epstein’s assistant, calling her a “very sweet girl,” and asked for information about her. Epstein agreed to find information and asked Tisch whether he had reached out to a different girl whom Epstein described as “great a-- fake t--.” Epstein told Tisch that she was in acting school and had an older boyfriend, describing the girl as “trustworthy” and “earnest,” while referring to a third woman as “a civilian” who “rarely tells the full truth , but fun.”
Other email chains suggest Tisch met with specific women. In a June 2013 email, Tisch thanked Epstein, who replied that he was “glad to help.”
Epstein also asked Tisch how the meetings had gone. “How did polina do?!did you connect with Veronica?” he wrote in a May email. Tisch replied that “Polina did a very nice job” and that he was “waiting to hear back from Veronica.”
Epstein invited Tisch to his island several times and likely attended a Giants game in Tisch’s suite.
In multiple emails, Epstein told the Giants owner that he was in — or would be traveling to — the Caribbean, likely referring to his private island, Little Saint James, and invited him to visit.
“You are welcom to come to the caribean to visit. you will not suffer,” Epstein wrote in a January 2014 email. In his public statement on Friday, Tisch said he never accepted Epstein’s invitations to the island.
Tisch also invited Epstein to attend Giants games in 2013, according to Epstein’s daily schedules. A September 2014 email from longtime Epstein assistant Lesley Groff indicates that Epstein likely agreed to attend a VIP screening for “The Equalizer,” a film co-produced by Tisch, at an event Tisch was co-hosting.
In one correspondence, Epstein expressed an interest in continuing communications with Tisch regarding women. “I am happy to have you as a new but obviosly shared interest friend,” he wrote.
Josué Pérez contributed reporting.
