For decades, the 7,600-acre Zorro Ranch sat about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, a sprawling property where locals whispered about “the Playboy ranch” and where Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls as early as 1996. No federal investigation ever searched it. No state probe ever touched it.
On Monday, that finally changed.
New Mexico lawmakers unanimously passed legislation creating a bipartisan “truth commission” with subpoena power to investigate what happened at Epstein’s ranch—the first comprehensive state-level investigation into the property where survivors say they were abused.
The $2.5 million probe will seek testimony from survivors, former ranch employees, local residents, and any state officials who may have known what was happening—or participated in it.
“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” said state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat who co-sponsored the initiative.
What the Commission Will Do
The commission, comprising four lawmakers, will begin work on Tuesday. It has authority to compel testimony and documents, and will deliver interim findings in July with a final report due by year-end.
Romero said testimony could be used for future prosecutions—a significant expansion of the investigation’s potential reach beyond simple fact-finding.
The legislation follows the release of millions of Epstein-related files by the U.S. Justice Department, which shed new light on activities at the ranch and revealed ties between Epstein and two former Democratic governors and the attorney general of New Mexico.
Decades of Allegations
Several civil suits have accused Epstein of sexually assaulting girls at Zorro Ranch. He was never charged for the alleged offenses. Romero said there was no record of federal law enforcement ever searching the property.
In a 2016 court deposition, survivor Virginia Giuffre testified that Epstein’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell told her to give former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson a “massage” at the ranch—a term Giuffre said meant a sexual encounter. Richardson’s representative called the allegation “completely false” in 2019.
Former Santa Fe massage therapist Rachel Benavidez accused Epstein of sexual abuse in the documentary “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” saying she was hired to work at the ranch.
In 2007, ranch manager Brice Gordon told the FBI that most masseuses Epstein used at the ranch were hired locally through the spa Ten Thousand Waves or by referrals. Spa representatives have denied providing or referring masseuses to Zorro Ranch.
The Political Connections
Epstein bought the ranch in 1993 from Bruce King, a three-time New Mexico Democratic governor who died in 2009. Over the years, Epstein contributed to the political campaigns of New Mexico Democrats, including King’s so,n Gary King, a former state attorney general, and Richardson. When contributions were reported in the press, the men pledged to either return the money or give it to charity.
Emails show Gary King flew on a plane chartered by Epstein when running for governor in 2014, with Epstein covering roughly half the $22,000 cost. King did not respond to requests for comment.
The ranch was sold in 2023 to Texas businessman and politician Don Huffines, whose spokesperson said he is prepared to cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.
Why Now?
Previous investigations stalled. Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas launched a probe in 2019 but put it on hold at the request of federal prosecutors to avoid “parallel investigation,” he said in a statement.
This time, the state is moving forward alone. Current Attorney General Raul Torrez has assigned a special agent to probe allegations that may emerge through the truth commission.
Victim advocates say the ranch has been overlooked for too long.
“Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, there were local politicians and other people who were aware of what was happening,” said attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose law firm has represented hundreds of Epstein survivors, including Giuffre.
What Comes Next
The commission begins its work on Tuesday. Over the coming months, it will hear from survivors, former employees, and anyone with information about what happened at the ranch. It will examine whether New Mexico laws failed to protect victims and allowed Epstein to operate with impunity.
A separate effort to extend the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault failed in committee over concerns about increased insurance costs for public institutions facing abuse lawsuits.
But the investigation itself will proceed, with subpoena power and a mandate to uncover the truth about a property that has remained shrouded in mystery for three decades.
For survivors who have waited years for accountability, the commission represents something they have never had before: a chance to tell their story, under oath, with the weight of the state behind them.
