Former Huntington Town House Owner Claims Former Partner Bilked Her of Millions
The woman who owned and operated the huge Huntington Town House catering business on Long Island has filed suit against her former lover, claiming that he defrauded her of millions of dollars. Rhona Silver says in her lawsuit that she was introduced to businessman Barry Newman , a real estate developer, by a rabbi in 2003. On their first date, according to Silver, Newman flew her to Boston on a private plane, where the two had a seafood dinner. On their next date, he allegedly took her to Rome.
As their relationship developed, claims Silver, she came to trust Newman and turned over control of her finances to him. She likened his presence in her life to that of Maurice Tempelsman, who managed Jackie O’s affairs after the death of Aristotle Onassis. A single mom at the time, Silver was moved by Newman’s promise to “take care of you and your family forever.”
In 2007, according to court documents, Newman negotiated a deal to sell the Huntington Town House property to Lowe’s Home Improvement, a sale that netted $38.5 million. Silver, however, claims that she never saw any of the profit from the sale of the property. Furthermore, she claims that, even though she owned the property, she was never advised of a time and place for the closing of the sale, did not attend the closing, and personally signed no documents to complete the transaction. Instead, she alleges, Newman forged her signature on the relevant sales documents, took the proceeds from the sale, and skipped town.
The documents accompanying Silver’s lawsuit include an affidavit from a forensic document examiner, who asserts that at least two of the three signatures purported to be Silver’s on the closing documents are forged. Examiner Andrew Sulner says that all three are exactly identical, which in essentially impossible with personal signatures. He concludes that at least two and possibly all three signatures are fakes.
Silver, who now runs an online catering business, claims she is now without the resources to support herself and must rely on friends to get by. Newman, though, claims that Silver was “a damsel in distress” when he met her and that Silver used the proceeds from the sale to fund a “lavish lifestyle.”
Famed Caterer Says Ex-Lover Defrauded Her
Contact an Experienced New York Divorce and Family Law Attorney
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
Fined $10,000 for Bullying Judge and Attorney | Denied Custody of Minor Child
A patent attorney was fined $10,000 for what presiding judge Matthew Cooper called “a maelstrom of misconduct” during divorce proceedings last September in Manhattan Supreme Court. According to Cooper, attorney Anthony Zappin used his law license as “a tool to threaten, bully and intimidate” throughout the course of the divorce proceedings.
Zappin’s wife, Claire Comfort, also a patent attorney in Manhattan, filed for divorce from Zappin last year. Zappin sought unsupervised custody of the couple’s two-year-old son. The court then appointed attorney Harriet Cohen as guardian ad litem to help determine the best interests of the child. When Cohen recommended that Zappin only be allowed supervised visitation, Zappin apparently unleashed a string of online attacks against Cohen. Documenting what he perceived to be continued bad behavior by Zappin, Judge Cooper levied the fine. Zappin then accused the judge of putting “personal animus over the welfare of our child.” According to sources, Zappin was terminated by his employer in the wake of the court-imposed fine.
This week, Judge Cooper issued a 101 page ruling, confirming the recommendation of the guardian ad litem, allowing only supervised visits, and subjecting Zappin to a five year protective order. Concluding that Zappin had an “anti-social personality disorder,” Cooper awarded full legal and physical custody to Comfort. The judge concluded that evidence introduced at the 13 day trial demonstrated that Zappin had physically abused his wife at least eight times during her pregnancy, and had waged what Cooper called “a war of intimate terrorism.” The judge also expressed his concern that, given Zappin’s “coercive, controlling behavior” and his “explosive anger and inability to control his emotions,” the child’s personal safety was a concern. He also feared that Zappin’s behavior would be a sign to the boy that violence was acceptable in interpersonal relationships.
New York Attorney Sanctioned for Behavior in Divorce Proceeding
Contact an Experienced New York Divorce and Family Law Attorney
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
Years ago, test tube babies were a concept of Science Fiction novels. But today, a couples can remove eggs from the female, remove sperm from the male, and have the eggs fertilized, which creates an embryo. Medical staff can cryogenically freeze the embryo, which can then be thawed at a later time and implanted in the uterus of the mother or surrogate mother, where it grows as a fetus.
This scientific capability opens up a whole new area of family law. Disputes over frozen embryos have already arisen in various divorce cases.
One such case, Kass v. Kass was tried in a New York court. The dispute involved a wife who wanted to implant the embryo in her own uterus and the husband who didn’t want to become a parent. Both parties signed an in vitro fertilization (IVF) consent form prior to having the eggs removed, fertilized and frozen. The crux of the agreement was that both parties had to give their consent before the frozen embryos could be released from storage for any purpose. If the couple were to divorce, then the stored embryos would be addressed as part of the property settlement and released based on the court’s judgment.
Three weeks after signing the form, the couple became engaged in a divorce. At that time, they signed another agreement with each other that the embryos would be disposed of in the manner covered by the consent form, and neither spouse nor anyone else could claim custody of the embryos. The argument between the spouses was whether the consent applied before or after implantation. The court upheld their agreement based on New York contract law. The court could not allow implantation unless both parties agreed. In this case, it was against the husband’s wishes. Therefore, the court ruled there would be no implantation.
This case was in 1998, but a judge settled a similar dispute recently in November 2015 in a California case, based on a couple’s agreement prior to the IVF. He also ordered the destruction of the couple’s five frozen embryos.
If you have questions about IVF and need legal advice, discuss your concerns with attorney Chris Palermo. He will be glad to answer your questions and provide you with effective legal guidance.
In the first homicide in nearly 40 years in Scarsdale, Jules Reich, a partner in Manhattan financial services company Weiser Mazars, has been charged with second degree murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Dr. Robin Goldman. Reich had filed for divorce last August and the parties had a scheduled court appearance on January 25, 2016. On the morning of January 19, police received a 911 call from Reich, saying that Goldman had been seriously injured. When police arrived moment later, they found Goldman in the shower with multiple stab wounds.
Though neither party had ever reported domestic violence to authorities, friends and neighbors acknowledged that they knew there was discord in the marriage. Prosecutors told the judge at a bail hearing that Goldman was so afraid of Reich that she had all the locks changed at the marital home. They also said that Goldman’s children wanted to get a protection order because of their fear of him. Reich’s attorney asked that bail be set at $150,000, but the judge denied bail.
According to prosecutors, Reich has a long history in the mergers and acquisitions profession, and has “money stashed all over the world,” making him a significant flight risk. Conversely, they portrayed Goldman as a woman committed to caring for children, both in her career and at home. She worked as a pediatrician at Montefiore Medical Group’s Comprehensive Family Care facility in the Bronx. She was also an assistant professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her children said, though, that she had limited her practice to three days a week to spend more time with family, including four grandchildren.
Divorce Proceeding Ends in Tragedy
Marital Discord Ends in Murder
Contact an Experienced New York Divorce and Family Law Attorney
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
The son of the world’s second wealthiest hedge fund manager, George Soros, filed for divorce in 2014 after 22 years of marriage. A property division trial resulted from a dispute over substantial amounts of money.
According to Page Six , Soros’ son, Robert, deposited $21 million into his personal accounts while his wife, Melissa, struggled with breast cancer. Melissa testified that he deposited $21 million in jointly filed tax refunds. She explained that during her extensive rounds of chemo treatments for breast cancer, she also experienced pneumonia, broke her ankle and had problems with insomnia. Prior to her illness she stayed on top of finances, making sure they weren’t overcharged and even caught a hardware store employee who charged their account for furnishings made to the employee’s home. After she became ill, her focus shifted to recovering, and she couldn’t give household finances the same degree of attention. Between 2010 and 2011, Robert Soros deposited four checks, totaling $21M, into his personal accounts. He maintained that he and his wife had an oral agreement that he would retain the refunds because he paid the taxes.
They went to trial solely over how to divide the $21 million in tax refunds on jointly filed returns. They’ve already arrived at an agreement that Melissa will keep the $21 million Greenwich Village town house. Robert’s net worth is estimated at $350 million.
New York Property Division laws dictate equitable division, which means each spouse owns the income he or she earns during the marriage and has rights to property that is in his or her name alone. Judges determine assets division, which may or may not be exactly equal. (Findlaw)
The jointly filed return and arriving at a fair and equitable property division are what complicate this matter.
If you’re struggling with property division disagreements, consult with attorney Chris Palermo. Chris is an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer who has helped numerous clients overcome the challenges involved with divorce.
Million $ Divorce | Million Dollar Divorce Attorney main office located in Hauppauge, Long Island, NY.
2015 was a tough year for celebrity marriages and, if the first two weeks of 2016 are any indication, the trend will continue this year. Less than two weeks into the new year, at least two high-profile stars have decided to call it quits on their marriages.
Research shows that celebrity marriages face significantly more challenges than other relationships. A comprehensive study by the Marriage Foundation, a British think-tank, found that celebrity betrothals are twice as likely to end in divorce as other marriages. Researchers apparently followed nearly 500 famous couples between 2001 and 2010 and compared their rate of divorce to the British population as a whole. While just slightly more than one quarter (26%) of all marriages ended in divorce, one in two celebrity marriages failed to go the distance.
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
Ten men, including two Orthodox rabbis, have been sentenced for their role in a divorce-coercion ring.
Prosecutors say that, under Jewish law, a woman may not obtain a divorce without her husband’s permission, referred to as a “get.” They acknowledged that it is common practice for a rabbi to employ certain measures to persuade a recalcitrant husband to consent. Such steps may include prohibiting the husband from attendance at synagogue or participation in synagogue life.
The two rabbis who pled guilty, though, had apparently resorted to far more heinous measures to obtain the “get.” Officials say the rabbis had assembled a group of eight men who would kidnap an unwilling husband and torture/beat him until he agreed to a divorce. According to court documents, the two rabbis charged women seeking a divorce a substantial fee to obtain a rabbinical decree authorizing violence—approximately $10,000. An additional fee of $50,000 covered the cost of the kidnapping and torture.
The ten men were arrested in a sting operation orchestrated by the FBI. An agent, posing as a Jewish woman seeking a divorce, contacted one of the rabbis, telling him that she needed help from a “special rabbi” to accomplish her goal. She apparently told the rabbi that her husband was in Argentina and would not agree to the divorce. The rabbi told her that she would need to “get him to New York to harass him or nail him.” The rabbi convened a rabbinical court that ruled that the husband could be coerced and contacted the eight men, who went to a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, believing they would find the reluctant husband there. Instead, federal officials were waiting to arrest them.
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
It’s been a tough year for celebrity marriages and relationships and the going has only gotten tougher over the last few months. Here are some of the long-term couples who have hit the skids this year.
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
For regular folks, divorce is mostly won or lost in the courtroom, or in legal proceedings. But for celebrities, it’s a completely different playing field. As some of the high-profile divorce cases from 2015 demonstrate, it can be mostly about perceived image, and it can appear to be highly orchestrated.
Take the case of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. Though both parties repeatedly claimed that they had nothing to report and supposedly asked reporters to “respect their privacy,” they routinely appeared in public with their children in situations where they knew they would get press coverage. In fact, inside sources say that they intentionally collaborated with gossip magazine sources. Most believe that People Magazine intentionally downplayed early signs of trouble in exchange for the exclusive right to be the first to go public with the news.
With the divorce of country music stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, both had press agents who continually released information to various rumor mills, alleging infidelity by the other party. The intensity of the rumors forced Lambert’s bandmate, Chris Young, to make a public statement denying any relationship with the singer. Rumors then started, presumably fed by press agents for Lambert, that Shelton was “seeing” The Voice co-star Gwen Stefani. What better way to increase viewership at the beginning of a new season, according to many.
Even as the hubbub subsided, Shelton and Stefani added fuel to the fire by having their picture taken holding hands at a CMA Awards party. Just minutes before the CMA Awards program began, the two (Shelton and Stefani) had their press agents announce that they were dating. Since then, the two have been splashed across the gossip magazines, which insiders say is strictly for the purpose of showing that Shelton came out of the breakup on top, and that Lambert was left holding the bag.
At the law office of Chris Palermo, Esq., we bring more than 13 years of experience to men and women in divorce and family law matters, representing clients across Long Island. To learn more about our practice, see our divorce and family law page. For an appointment, send us an e-mail or call us toll free at 1-800-483-1527. We have offices located in Huntington, Hauppauge, Garden City, Babylon and New York City.
A couple’s home is often the largest asset they own together. It stands to reason that when a marriage breaks down, deciding what to do with the home deserves careful consideration. There will be many divorce decisions.
The first thing you must understand is that New York is an equitable property division state. Equitable property division means that property is divided fairly but not always equally. When deciding property division, factors include how much each spouse contributed to their marital estate and what each spouses needs to survive once divorced.
Sale. You can sell your home and divide the proceeds.
Delayed sale. One spouse can stay in the home while raising the children and after the last child graduates high school or college, the couple can sell the home and divide the proceeds at that point.
Buyout. One spouse can pay the other spouse half of the home’s equity and continue to make mortgage payments and keep the home.
Mortgage payments. When temporarily keeping the home, the settlement can address what mortgage payments both spouses make on the co-owned home.
Taxes are also important to consider. Factors include capital gains tax exemptions, buyout tax payments, and taxes when co-owning a house and selling it later. It is wise to consult with your tax advisor and explain the financial details involved with your divorce. Your lawyers can also take taxes into consideration when negotiating a fair property division settlement.
Whatever issues you face regarding divorce decisions, Long Island divorce attorney Chris Palermo will work closely with you to address all aspects of your divorce.