A 2016 email exchange reveals Jeffrey Epstein received a high-dollar real estate proposal involving buildings leased by the Pentagon, with the broader portfolio featuring federal tenants including the FBI and U.S. courthouses, placing the disgraced financier in discussions tied to key pillars of the government.
The proposal came years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution of minors in June 2008, serving 18 months in jail and becoming a convicted sex offender.
Records show David Stern, who served as an intermediary between Epstein and former Prince Andrew, forwarded a real estate investment proposal, originally sent by Jonathan Fascitelli of International Government Properties (IGP), to Epstein, detailing an opportunity to purchase the Pentagon Center complex in Arlington, Virginia.
The two office buildings, located 1 mile south of the Pentagon, have been solely leased to the War Department since 1993 and serve as a "mission-critical asset" because the complex is the only property in Arlington, other than the Pentagon itself, with the ability to meet the space and infrastructure needs of the Department of War.
The Pentagon Center would have cost $387 million, with $116 million in equity required, and generated a net operating income of $27 million, according to the documents.
In 2015, the GSA renewed the Department of War lease on the complex, officially called the Polk and Taylor buildings, through 2025, according to FBI buildings and various U.S. courthouses, which Stern said "could be interesting."
Jonathan Fascitelli is the founder and chairman of Seregh and the former CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Real Estate.
"I had no idea my email was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein – or anyone else for that matter," Fascitelli said in a statement. "I learned of it through this email release and never had any contact or dealings with him."
He led the Philadelphia 76ers' new $1.5 billion arena development as well as significant projects for the New Jersey Devils, according to his commercial real estate occupied by government agencies (primarily the GSA); and Chris Penrose, a real estate developer specializing in Class A office buildings for the GSA.