The women did not speak about their abuse for years because, they have said, Epstein used money and threats to keep them silent. If they told, he warned of financial, reputational or physical harm. But eventually, some of the women did speak to law enforcement. In 2006, Farmer told an FBI agent investigating allegations against Epstein in Florida about her trip to New Mexico with Epstein and Maxwell a decade earlier. The FBI agent, who was based in Florida, wrote a report based on the interview. The FBI continued to “develop witnesses and victims from across the United States,” according to an agency memo. That included at least one interview with someone associated with Epstein in New Mexico in early 2007. But the information about Zorro Ranch went nowhere: After two years of investigation and plea negotiations, Alex Acosta, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, agreed in 2008 to let Epstein plead guilty to state charges and avoid a federal case, in a deal later criticized by a Justice Department watchdog …