Felon hired a private detective to ‘poison’ her pet, Toni Natalie claims in memoir.
Years before Keith Raniere was exposed as the leader of the NXIVM sex cult and found guilty of seven felonies, he spent his free time abusing his ex-girlfriend of 10 years, Toni Natalie claims in a shocking new tell-all.
In The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM, out September 24, Natalie recalled what the 58-year-old was like when she met him in the 1990s and how he managed to ruin her life up until his arrest in March 2018. She also accused him of employing people to abuse and stalk her – and even killing her dog.
As Radar readers know, Raniere was found guilty on June 19 of sex trafficking and racketeering, among other dangerous crimes, and is now sitting behind bars awaiting sentencing. The cult leader’s co-defendants included Smallville actress Allison Mack, NXIVM secretary Kathy Russell, and mother-daughter duo, Nancy and Lauren Salzman, who all pleaded guilty to counts of racketeering.
In the explosive book, Natalie explained that she was one of the first “indoctrinated” into Raniere’s madness – and the first woman to “escape” his wrath.
Raniere’s ex wrote that she began working alongside him in the early 1990s after attending a seminar he held for his former company, Consumers’ Buyline Inc. Her first meeting with the cult leader resulted in him miraculously curing her of her addiction to smoking cigarettes – a meeting she does not remember.
“To this day, I have no recollection of what went on during that two-and-a-half-hour blackout in his office,” Natalie wrote.
Raniere’s ex wrote that she began working alongside him in the early 1990s after attending a seminar he held for his former company, Consumers’ Buyline Inc. Her first meeting with the cult leader resulted in him miraculously curing her of her addiction to smoking cigarettes – a meeting she does not remember.
“To this day, I have no recollection of what went on during that two-and-a-half-hour blackout in his office,” Natalie wrote.
After their break up, Natalie claimed Keith sued her for fraud multiple times in addition to “stalking” and “harassing” her. Keith employed his business partners to interfere with her daily life, such as shutting off her phone service and canceling her cable.
“Someone would break into my home, mess my bed, open the cabinets in the kitchen, rearrange the artwork on the wall, and make off with some of my clothes,” Natalie wrote.
She further claimed: “This happened more than a dozen times and was extremely terrifying. I did not feel safe in my own home. I’d pack up my dogs and go to a hotel.”In April 2004, Raniere’s ex claimed that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to his manipulation. She claimed her mental and physical health declined.
“I suffered from migraines and from weird aches and pains, the cause of which I could not determine,” Natalie wrote. “I was a nervous wreck.”
After her PTSD diagnosis, Natalie claimed that Raniere even hired someone to kill her pet.
“Jake, a very protective German shepherd, got sick after eating what I thought was a bad batch of dog food. I brought him to the vet, hysterical, but there was nothing that could be done,” she wrote.
Years later, Natalie claimed that Raniere’s former business partner, Kristin Keefe, hinted that a private detective staked out her house and poisoned her dog.“Keith Raniere killed my dog,” Natalie wrote.
Scroll through Radar’s gallery below to learn about more of Natalie’s shocking claims against the twisted cult leader.