A Milwaukee headhunter who worked for Jeffrey Epstein to find staff for the convicted sex offender’s now-infamous island and ranch says he will not work with the financier “to the best of our knowledge now.”
Peter Mahler, who owned an elite staffing firm and a high-end boutique real estate company, exchanged dozens of emails with Epstein and his employees, mostly in 2013, according to documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Epstein was looking for a personal assistant and a manager to work on his private Caribbean island and ranch in New Mexico.
Peter Mahler 2016
When Mahler began working with Epstein, the financier had been convicted five years earlier of two prostitution charges, including soliciting children for prostitution, and was accused of sexually assaulting dozens of girls — an incident that has been widely reported. Epstein was a registered sex offender.
In 2019, Epstein was indicted on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to sex traffic in minors. An FBI memo said Epstein had more than 1,000 victims. In 2019, Epstein committed suicide in prison.
“While our company does not comment on the thousands of hirings and interviews we have conducted over the past three decades, I made an exception in this case,” Mahler said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The revelations about Jeffrey Epstein are abhorrent.”
Mahler confirmed that his company was seeking “professional administrative and property management positions” for Epstein.
“Those ultimately failed because he didn’t like the qualified candidates we identified for him to interview,” Mahler said. “Knowing what we know now, we would not cooperate with him under any circumstances.”
Will Lidstone, director of business development for Mahler Private Staffing, issued the statement in an email and declined Mahler’s request for an interview.
“At this time, Mr. Mahler will not participate in any interviews other than the written statement provided,” Lidstone wrote in a Feb. 6 email.
There is nothing in the emails between Mahler and Epstein to suggest any illegal activity. Mahler has not been charged or charged with any crime.
In 2008, Jeffrey Epstein was detained in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Emails with Mahler shed light on Epstein’s preferences for aides and his tendency to scold people who didn’t meet his standards.
In multiple messages, Mahler noted Epstein’s preference for Asian candidates. Mahler also concealed Epstein’s identity from the candidate, referring to Epstein as “Mr. Stone,” according to the emails.
Mahler did not answer questions about why he concealed Epstein’s identity from applicants or whether it was typical for his clients to express national or racial preferences for candidates.
Mahler also did not answer questions about why he was working for a convicted sex offender.
In an October 2013 email, Mahler reasoned to Epstein that he was frustrated by the lack of progress in the search.
“I’m writing this because I think you’re a good guy and you make me laugh, but you need to get out of your own way and let us help you,” Mahler wrote. “Xo. Peter. Let’s talk.”
Epstein paid Mahler’s company $25,000 for his services but refused to pay Mahler another $15,000. Based on the emails, the business relationship appears to have ended.
Mahler did not answer questions about whether he would return the $25,000 paid to him by Epstein.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee recruiter Peter Marler distances himself from Jeffrey Epstein
