When theZorro ranchwas bought in the 1990s, it was reported in the Albuquerque Tribune that a "mysterious stranger has come to Stanley with plans to build the largest home in New Mexico."
"Why did I buy a ranch in New Mexico in 1993? So that gives you some sense. I would have funded it in 1990. Los Alamos, which was the high-energy lab up in New Mexico, was losing all its scientists," said Epstein in a 2019 interview that was released by the United States Department of Justice in the Epstein files.
Epstein expressed interest in investing in new ideas.
"Because the scientists were going to be, they cut funding for high energy physics," said Epstein. "But the people who worked in Los Alamos would still be in the Santa Fe area."
In a 1995 interview Epstein did with the now-defunct Albuquerque Tribune, he said he was "security conscious" and described himself as a hermit and being afraid.
At the time, he employed two full-time people to manage the property and made them sign confidentiality agreements. Those employees told The Tribune they were "sworn to secrecy."
Gary King is from one of the last political dynasties in New Mexico. King's father, Bruce King, was governor and Gary himself is a former attorney general, former state representative and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.
The King family sold the land to Epstein when Bruce was in office. It was owned by Bruce and two of Gary's uncles.
"I am guessing that Jeffrey Epstein or somebody that he worked for was looking for land in New Mexico, saw that land listed, and that they reached out to the King Brothers to buy that land," said Gary King.
When Epstein purchased the land from the King Family, it included state owned property. That property was leased by the King Family for grazing livestock.
State officials now say when Epstein purchased the property, he assumed the leases for the state-owned grazing land, but it doesn't appear he used it for any agricultural purposes.
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard says her office is responsible for making sure people use state-owned land for its designated purposes.
"There have been cases where grazing leases are misused," said Garcia Richard. "They are not used for their intended purpose. I believe the grazing lease at Zorro Ranch was just one of those cases."
Zorro Ranch was a 7,600-acre ranch located 30 miles south of Santa Fe in a secluded area on the outskirts of Stanley, New Mexico.
The Get the Facts Data Team did ananalysis of Zorro Ranch blueprintsfrom March 3, 1998 provided by Eddy Aragon to Target 7 to see the scope and the arrangement of the floor plan. Images from Aragon were then added to the floor plans to show how the interior looked based on where the image had been taken.
