Brothers were predators masquerading as party boys, New York court hears

"Three brothers, two of them real estate agents who catered to the jet-set crowd, used a playbook over a 12-year stretch that sometimes involved drugging women and girls before raping them, a prosecutor told a New York jury on Tuesday in an opening statement. Assistant US attorney Madison Smyser said the brothers used whatever means necessary including luxury accommodations, flights, drugs, alcohol and sometimes brute force to lure women into situations where they could be raped."

"Attorney Teny Geragos, representing Oren Alexander, urged the jury to reject the government's monstrous story. She said the brothers, who got out of college in 2008, were successful, ambitious and sometimes arrogant as they pursued women in nightclubs, bars, restaurants and online in what is known as hookup culture, hoping to have as much sex as possible. You may find this behavior immoral, but it is not criminal, Geragos said."

"She discredited the women who will testify, saying some of them were hoping to enrich themselves with lawsuits against the brothers and spoke of themselves as victims only after feeling regret that they had done illegal drugs or had sex outside of relationships with their boyfriends. Attorney Deanna Paul, representing Tal Alexander, warned jurors that the subject matter of the case was disturbing and would seem like an R-rated movie, especially after prosecutors portrayed the brothers as monsters."

Three brothers used a playbook over a 12-year stretch that sometimes involved drugging women and girls before raping them. Two brothers worked as real estate agents catering to a jet-set crowd and used luxury accommodations, flights, drugs, alcohol and sometimes brute force to lure women to vacation destinations such as the Hamptons. The pattern of pursuit occurred in nightclubs, bars, restaurants and online hookup culture between 2008 and 2021. The accused were characterized as party boys and womanizers who slept with many women. Some defenses portray encounters as immoral but not criminal and question accusers' credibility.

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