Who is Melanie Spinella in the Epstein files?

She is identified as Leon Black's executive assistant at Apollo Global Management. In the files she is a frequent email correspondent of Jeffrey Epstein and of his assistant Lesley Groff. She arranged Black's meetings with Epstein and also received Epstein's forwarded articles and finance-related messages.

What did Melanie Spinella communicate about with Lesley Groff?

In emails from August to October 2016, Groff asked when Leon Black would be in town and proposed meeting times, such as a 12:30 slot on a Monday. Spinella answered with his availability and, on 4 October 2016, wrote that Black had just left Epstein's office. They also exchanged a doctor's contact information for Black and an apartment-building question on 10 September 2016.

Do the documents show wrongdoing by Melanie Spinella?

No. The records show her as a recipient and scheduler: she handled calendar logistics and received messages from Epstein. They do not show her taking part in or knowing about any crime. Her appearance in the files does not imply wrongdoing. The estate-schedule bequest line and the spa gift-card form are unexplained in the documents.

Why did Epstein send Spinella financial and plane-related emails?

The emails do not say. They show Epstein forwarding her drafts about Phaidon and an art space, a note about "the brads and barry" (Brad Wechsler and Barry Cohen appear elsewhere), and a plane-management thread. Her role in these matters is unclear from the documents.

Who is Melanie Spinella in the Epstein files?

She is identified as Leon Black's executive assistant at Apollo Global Management. In the files she is a frequent email correspondent of Jeffrey Epstein and of his assistant Lesley Groff. She arranged Black's meetings with Epstein and also received Epstein's forwarded articles and finance-related messages.

What did Melanie Spinella communicate about with Lesley Groff?

In emails from August to October 2016, Groff asked when Leon Black would be in town and proposed meeting times, such as a 12:30 slot on a Monday. Spinella answered with his availability and, on 4 October 2016, wrote that Black had just left Epstein's office. They also exchanged a doctor's contact information for Black and an apartment-building question on 10 September 2016.

Do the documents show wrongdoing by Melanie Spinella?

No. The records show her as a recipient and scheduler: she handled calendar logistics and received messages from Epstein. They do not show her taking part in or knowing about any crime. Her appearance in the files does not imply wrongdoing. The estate-schedule bequest line and the spa gift-card form are unexplained in the documents.

Why did Epstein send Spinella financial and plane-related emails?

The emails do not say. They show Epstein forwarding her drafts about Phaidon and an art space, a note about "the brads and barry" (Brad Wechsler and Barry Cohen appear elsewhere), and a plane-management thread. Her role in these matters is unclear from the documents.

Back to People & Entities

Melanie Spinella

Person

4,654

Total Mentions

4,654

Documents

924

Connected Entities

Executive assistant to Leon Black at Apollo Global Management

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Watch: Melanie Spinella in the Epstein files

1:09

Narrated from the AI-generated summary of the documents. Numbers reflect the archive at generation time.

Melanie Spinella appears in thousands of emails, mostly as a direct correspondent. She scheduled Leon Black's visits to Jeffrey Epstein with Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff, and she received Epstein's forwarded financial, plane-management and personal messages. The files also include an estate-planning record listing a "Bequest to Melanie Spinella."

Spinella is in the From/To/Cc header of about 2,921 of the 4,654 documents that mention her, so she is a frequent direct correspondent rather than a passing name. Her emails fall into two groups. In 2016, Lesley Groff writes to her about when Leon Black will see Epstein, and she replies with his availability. Epstein himself sends her articles and finance-related messages from 2014 to 2018. A few non-email records also name her: a spa gift-card form, a February 2014 expense email, and an estate-planning schedule. Nearly all of the 4,654 documents are emails, and only a handful are other record types.

Key Highlights

•In August–October 2016, Lesley Groff and Spinella traded many short emails arranging Leon Black's meetings with Epstein. Examples include a 12:30 Monday slot in August, "Leon will come see Jeffrey tomorrow at 11:30" (4 Oct 2016), and Spinella's reply that Black "just left."
•Epstein emailed Spinella directly and often from his Gmail account. Examples are a forwarded Ehud Barak piece on the Iran nuclear deal (April 2015), news links about Trump-related books (January 2018), and a Bloomberg link on Kathryn Ruemmler (October 2014).
•Several emails to Spinella deal with money and structuring. An October 2015 "draft" email copied to Brad Wechsler mentions Phaidon and an art space with a "combined basis 96 million" and "ten for restructuring." A November 2016 email titled "so there is no misunderstanding" says Epstein has "told the brads and barry" he is "done."
•In October 2017, Epstein sent Spinella and Barry J. Cohen a "Plane management" thread about depreciation and whether she or Black would owe tax on using a plane.
•A February 2014 email from Epstein to Spinella, Eileen Alexanderson, Ada Clapp and Richard Joslin asks where expenses, doctor bills, gifts and personal credit card charges should be kept.
•Epstein had Groff pass along a cardiologist's details for Leon Black in September 2016, and Spinella thanked her.
•An estate-planning schedule includes a line "Bequest to Melanie Spinella." The dollar figure is garbled in the scan, so the amount cannot be read reliably. A spa gift-card form also lists her as a recipient. Neither record says why.
•The connection list shows Melania Trump with 1,245 shared documents. That is a different name from Melanie Spinella. The shared-document count comes from the name-matching tool, and none of the reviewed documents show any link between the two people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Books for Further Reading

Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Julie K. Brown

Investigative journalism that broke the Epstein case open

Filthy Rich: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

James Patterson

Bestselling account of Epstein's crimes and network

Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Bradley J. Edwards

Victims' attorney's firsthand account

Document Mentions (20 of 4,654)

EFTA00863552.pdf

EFTA00863552

1 mention

From: "Jeffrey E." <[email protected]> To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:36:13 +0000 Yes On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 12:35 PM, Melanie Spinella < Is this for Leon?? From: Jeffrey E.

EFTA00437761.pdf

EFTA00437761

1 mention

From: Melanie Spinella To: 'Lesley Groff <MIIMI > Subject: RE: Jeffrey Epstein Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2016 12:35:09 +0000 Good morning - no idea Original Message From:

EFTA02247839.pdf

EFTA02247839

1 mention

To: Lesley Groff[ From: Melanie Spinella Sent: Mon 6/18/2018 4:32:19 PM Subject: RE: [External] Jeffrey Epstein He can't do those times! Original Messa From: Lesley Groff Sent: Mon

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EFTA02295302.pdf

EFTA02295302

1 mention

Subject: Leon is here! Sent: Friday, May 8, 2015 1:24:43 PM To: Melanie Spinella <[email protected]> EFTA_R1_01138007 EFTA02295302

EFTA00327435.pdf

EFTA00327435

1 mention

From: To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2016 20:46:35 +0000 Thx. Sent from my iPhone On Mar 18, 2016, at 4:34 PM, Melanie Spinella Leaving now Melanie

EFTA02220170.pdf

EFTA02220170

1 mention

To: Lesley Groff[lesley. From: Melanie Spinella Sent: Thur 8/17/2017 8:32:00 PM Subject: RE: [External] Re: Wood Allen Thank you From: Lesley Groff (mailt Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2017 4:32

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EFTA02248475.pdf

EFTA02248475

1 mention

To: Lesley Groff' From: Melanie Spinella Sent: Tue 6/5/2018 7:34:00 PM Subject: RE: [External] Jeffrey Epstein Not sure - he is leaving that night I'll ask and let you know Original

EFTA01973444.pdf

EFTA01973444

1 mention

To: [email protected]@gmail.comi: Melanie Spinella From: Eileen Alexanderson Sent Sun 5/26/2013 6:36:22 PM Subject: Re: Got it - just let me know your availability From: Jeffrey Epstein [mailt

EFTA02262962.pdf

EFTA02262962

1 mention

: RE: [External] Jeffrey Epstein Mon 11/5/2018 1:48:47 PM Thanks - I am sure he and Leon texted about it -!!!! From: Sent: Monday, November To: Melanie Spinella Subject: [External] 5, 2018 6:52 AM Good morning Melanie...Jeffrey's trip has been delayed! He will not return to NY until this Friday or Nov. 9t

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EFTA02456210.pdf

EFTA02456210

1 mention

From: Wendy Dulman Sent: Monday, July la 2016 3:43 AM To: jeffrey E. Cc: Brad Wechsler; Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Happy to set up a time to speak. =Let me know your availability tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone On Jul 17, 2016, at 9:24 PM, jeffrey

EFTA00346874.pdf

EFTA00346874

1 mention

From: To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Leon has left Date: Fri, 05 Jun 2015 19:01:23 +0000 You too! Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 2:56 PM, Melanie Spinella < Tha

EFTA02468437.pdf

EFTA02468437

1 mention

From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 4:13 PM To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Fwd: Forwarded mess= e From: Nicholas Ribis Date: Tue, Mar 22, 2 at : Subject: To: "jeffrey E." <[email protected] <mailto:jee

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EFTA00438050.pdf

EFTA00438050

1 mention

From: Lesley Groff <Ma To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Jeffrey will arrive the house in 10 minutes... Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 15:37:45 +0000 ok got pass along ..thanks > On Oct 27, 2016,

EFTA00451839.pdf

EFTA00451839

1 mention

From: Lesley Groff To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: tomorrow Date: Thu, 18 May 2017 16:58:46 +0000 YES! Fantastic...and I am fine inside the house! I hear it's hot outside ;) which i LI

EFTA00839951.pdf

EFTA00839951

1 mention

From: "Jeffrey E." <[email protected]> To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2015 15:56:10 +0000 Attachments: APO2 BAALNCE SHEET_11222015.pdf apollo investments pg 2. total 4 dollars??! . please

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EFTA00854937.pdf

EFTA00854937

1 mention

From: "Jeffrey E." <[email protected]> To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2015 13:59:29 +0000 1. the question that you asked re stock sale. like everything else in your financial life cannot , s

EFTA00371784.pdf

EFTA00371784

1 mention

From: Lesley Groff <Ma To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Jeffrey Epstein Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:58:59 +0000 Thanks marie! Sent from my iPhone On Apr 3, 2014, at 9:13 AM, Melanie Spinell

EFTA00663224.pdf

EFTA00663224

1 mention

From: Melanie Spinella To: 'Jeffrey Epstein' <[email protected]> CC: Katherine Sullivan Subject: RE: Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:53:10 +0000 Jeffrey = I am copying Joh

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EFTA00831714.pdf

EFTA00831714

1 mention

From: Melanie Spinella To: 'jeffrey E.' <[email protected]> Subject: RE: meeting with Leon Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 19:09:16 +0000 Ok -= 1,11 let him know and let you

EFTA00383788.pdf

EFTA00383788

1 mention

From: Lesley Groff <1 To: Melanie Spinella Subject: Re: Jeffrey Epstein Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:36:06 +0000 ok, great. thanks On Sep 10, 2013, at 11:34 AM, Melanie Spinella wrote: You

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