Transcript Divorce Hearing Volume II Part 1

STATE OF MAINE DISTRICT COURT CUMBERLAND, ss. NINTH DISTRICT Civil Action DIVISION OF SOUTHERN CUMBERLAND Docket No. FM-08-510 Igor Malenko versus Lori M. Handrahan VOLUME II BEFORE: The Honorable Jeffrey Moscowitz, Judge of the District Court, at the Ninth District Court, Portland, Maine, on Monday, December 8, 2008. APPEARANCES: Michael J. Waxman, Esq. For the Plaintiff Kenneth P. Altshuler, Esq. For the Defendant Elizabeth Stout, Esq. Guardian ad Litem OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT Prepared by the Electronic Recording Co PYINDEX OF WITNESSES WITNESSES DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS: Igor Malenko (by Mr. Waxman) 10 -- 195 (by Mr. Altshuler) -- 142 - (by Ms. Stout) -- 176 - -- INDEX OF EXHIBITS EXHIBITS MARKED OFFERED ADMITTED Plt's #65(statement) 35 36 36 Plt's #62 (CD) 73 74 -- Plt's #63 (CD) 107 109 109 Plt's #64 (CD) 123 123 124 Plt's # 1(complaint) 126 126 126 Plt's # 2(complaint) 127 127 12710 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 VOLUME II - CONTINUED FROM VOLUME I HEARING RESUMED COURT: Would you please be seated? Okay. We last left off--one moment, please. We last left off to allow counsel to cull out some of the exhibits that Mr. Waxman intends to introduce into evidence, or at least potentially introduce into evidence. There has been an objection that was made by Mr. Altshuler with regard to the timing of the notice of those exhibits. The Court obviously--obviously, the Court is--in order to make a fair and just determination of the issues of this case, the Court is desirous of having as much relevant evidence available as possible. The availability of the relevant evidence as it relates to these exhibits, I--it seems to me is framed by two issues. The first is adherence with a--the Court's order with regard to the timing of the providing of the potential exhibits to the other side, which was ten days--at least ten days prior to today, as well as an analysis of--a due process analysis as to whether or not it was--it would be fair to assume that a particular exhibit could be used at a hearing. Having said all of that, there are sixty-one named exhibits that Mr. Waxman has proposed here in his sheet, his exhibit sheet. A number of them--most of them have been highlighted by Mr.10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 Altshuler as being potential exhibits that he didn't have knowledge of, or, if he did, he may not have expected--he didn't pay much attention to them, or didn't think that they were going to be relevant. Have both of you had a chance to speak about these exhibits? MR. ALTSHULER: Well, no. I wanted to tell you that we--I've been able to include more than I originally did when you had me in chambers, your Honor. So I can tell you which ones I object to and why. COURT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: Okay. Numbers 1 through 5, I have no objection to. COURT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: Numbers six through seventeen, I object to. And let me tell you why. I--I believe it has to do with Lori's income. We actually have a letter we could probably use in rebuttal, saying that she's been paid in full and there's no--it's a matter of whether there's deferred compensation or not. The problem is the letter we have, we didn't have the witness available because we didn't know about the exhibits. I have a letter that will probably rebut all this, but without being able to put the letter in, which is hearsay, I can't agree to all those. MR. WAXMAN: No objection.10 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 MR. ALTSHULER: Okay. I£ I can find that letter, then I don't have any--well, we can get that letter saying that she's been paid in full, then, I don't-- then, I'm fine with all those. COURT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: The--except for the estimated Sorrento expenses, #6, your Honor. I believe--I'm assuming--we've always been under the assumption that the two pieces of real estate that are in Lori's name are separate and non-marital property. I'm assuming that he's going to make a claim there's a marital interest, and I'm going to object to that, because if I had known that ten days ago, I would have prepared something about it. So, if that's what #6 is for, I object to it, no matter what. But, as far as 7 through 17--well, actually, 7 through 14 deal with UNICEF. 15 is a bill to Pierce, Atwood. I'm not sure exactly the relevance of that. couRT: All right. Let's stop for a second, Mr. Altshuler. I want to make sure I understand. 7 through 14 are documents that you object to, but your objection would be withdrawn if you--if the letter that you spoke of is-- MR. ALTSHULER: Correct. couRT: --found by you?10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 MR. ALTSHULER: Correct. COURT: Okay. All right. And, now, #6 has to do with non-marital versus marital property? MR. ALTSHULER: I guess. I'm not sure. MR. WAXMAN: Well, just let me explain. It--both houses are, in fact, in the defendant's name. But, there's been an issue, which I have disclosed all along with Attorney Chadbourne and the Court, that Mr. Malenko did a substantial amount of work on that house, which increased its value. So, there may be a claim for some--it's almost a quantum meruit type of claim that he increased the value. That's all that's about. The Sorrento expenses, quite frankly, that's only going to be used because it may be contradictory toward the information she supplied in the 80-C affidavit. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, he can use that for cross- examination. ‘MR. WAXMAN: Right. MR. ALTSHULER: I don't deny that. But in terms of the value of the property since--and, once again, I was only in this case for a month, with no appraisals or anything. So, I'm not sure how he can make a non- marital claim without that, anyway, so-- COURT: Now, when did you receive document 6? MR. ALTSHULER: --I haven't--oh, I did--this10 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 morning, I got it. COURT: This morning? Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: Yeah. courT: All right. MR. ALTSHULER: And I haven't even looked at it, but I assume that's what it is. MR. WAXMAN: Let me just--I have to--these documents are documents that were prepared by the defendant. Okay. These documents that we're talking about, 6 through 17, are either prepared for or given to the defendant. We happen to have them because he happens to be her husband. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, actually, no. I believe what happened was when he remove--when he had--when Mr. Malenko ha--took the laptop with him, which belonged to my client, lots of these documents--lots of things were in the computer. And I'll get to that in a minute. Now, I want to make clear to the Court, after the PFA hearing, Lori said he could keep the computer. We didn't--I do not think she anticipated him going and culling documents off that computer to be used against her. That being said, any document she produced, he can cross-examine her on. And that's fair game. since I don't know what it is, or what he's going to do with it, I have to object to it about him presenting it10 u 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 24 25 in his case in chief. COURT: Okay. All right. MR. ALTSHULER: And the letter of-- COURT: Now we're at 15 through 17. MR. ALTSHULER: --yeah. MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. You know what? Having said that, I want to try to use the Court's time most wisely. It may be that I don't actually move for the admission of almost all of these documents. It may be that I use them only for cross-examination purposes. COURT: Okay. MR. WAXMAN: So, perhaps it's better to do it on a case-by-case basis. I don't-- MR, ALTSHULER: Well, I don't want him to get all these exhibits in the back door by saying they're cross-exam--they've got to be legitimate cross- examination. COURT: Oh, of course. Right. MR. ALTSHULER: For example, #20, which is a book that Lori was writing, if he says, "Did you write this book?", and she says, "Yes," and then he tries to put it into evidence, I'm going to object to it. It--just because he identifies it doesn't make it an exhibit. But--so, I don't mind if he does that as we go through and on cross-examination. I'm fine with that.10 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 25 COURT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: I could tell the Court that document 18, 19, of course, financial statements, those are in the Court's file. We have no problem with those. I have them in mine, as well. 21 through 23, I have no objection to. 31, Lori's resume, I have no objection to, And Exhibits 49 through 60, I have no objection to. 61, your Honor, I'll just tell you that we actually got these, I think, late last week. We could not--we tried to listen to what they were, and we could not play them. So, I object to that just because whatever I got, I couldn't even listen to what they were. I don't know why. I don't think there was any maliciousness to it. They just didn't work. MR. WAXMAN: Right. And it may be you're not sufficiently schooled in computers. It's possible. MR. ALTSHULER: Yes, but Hesper did it. and she is sufficiently schooled on computers. COURT: All right. MR. ALTSHULER: Thank you, your Honor. COURT: Okay. Thank you. All right. well, so, why don't we just then proceed, and then if we do run into roadblocks with respect to exhibits, we can take them up one-by-one, as Mr. Waxman suggests. MR. WAXMAN: Okay.10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 couRT: So-- MR. WAXMAN: At this time, I'd call to the stand the plaintiff, Igor Malenko. COURT OFFICER: Stand here, please, sir, face the Court and raise your right hand. COURT: Mr. Malenko, do you swear or affirm that the testimony you will give in court today will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? WITNESS: I do. COURT: Thank you very much. Please have a seat. MR. WAXMAN: Your Honor, may I examine from here? COURT: Of course. MR. WAXMAN: Thank you. IGOR MALENKO, HAVING BEEN DULY SWORN, TESTIFIED AS FOLLOWS, DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WAXMAN Q Igor, please state your full name for the record? A Igor Malenko. Q You're not from around here, are you? A No. Q = Where were you born? A _I was born in Orcrist, which was part of the formerly Yugoslavia, and is now part of Republic of Macedonia. Q All right. And how old are you? A Thirty-six. 1010 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 Q Are you close with your parents? A Tam Q And do you have any siblings? A I have my brother. Q Okay. Before you met Ms. Malenko, did you complete your schooling, as an adolescent? A did. Yes. Q Okay. How far did you progress in formal education? A When I moved to Holland, actually, I moved in the midst of my technology studies, so I didn't finish the university study. But, in Holland, I actually proceed with the technical college, which was the aquatic college. And I did two years there, so, certified swimming and aquatics teacher. Q Is that something-- COURT: I'm sorry. I didn't hear that last answer. WITNESS: Certified swimming and aquatics teacher. COURT: Thank you. WITNESS: I work with children. COURT: Thank you. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Is that something you've done for some period of time? an10 iW 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 Altogether, seven years. Seven years? Seven. Yes. Okay. And do you still do that? I still do that. That's in addition to my regular job. All right. There was some mention, in the testimony with Dr. Kabakoff, about psychiatric records regarding treatment that you may or may not have received following a stint in the Army. Did you hear that testimony? Yes. And I don't really know what those records are supposed to be. I do not really know what they refer to. Did you-- I haven't received any. --did you receive any treatment-- Never. --psychiatric treatment? Have you ever received psychiatric treatment before meeting Miss Handrahan? No. I have talked to social workers after the incident when I was sixteen, and did some tests there, and I don't- Is that the extent of your mental health treatment 1210 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 before you met Miss Handrahan? --that's all. All right. How many mental health providers has Miss Handrahan brought you to or brought to you? Including social workers? Yes. Fifteen. Fifteen? Has any one of them, to your knowledge, diagnosed you with a mental illness? To the contrary, they all said that-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. Hearsay. COURT: That's sustained. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Following each of the times when Ms. Malenko either brought you to mental health providers, or brought them to you, what was her reaction when they issued any kind of report? She was very angry, and she told them--she called them all incompetent. And she, of course, disagreed to all their findings. She thought she knew better, and she forced me to go in and see another one, the next one on the line, that she had found out because she thought this one was more competent than the previous one. MR. WAXMAN: Your Honor, just for a moment, can I 1310 u 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 pull down that--I'm getting blinded by-- courT: I'm sorry. Sure. I'll do that. MR. WAXMAN: --that's fine. COURT: Is that better? MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. Thank you, your Honor. COURT: Okay. You bet. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Picking up what you just last testified to, Mr. Malenko, I think you said she forced you to see people. Is that your testimony? Yes. Okay. Over and-- Now, you're bigger than she is, right? --physically. How did she force you to see doctors? By having several demands that I would have to accept, and, otherwise, such as not being able to see my child if T would not go and see them. She would throw me out of the house. It was her house, according to her, and she would make sure that my green card was invalid so I would go back to Holland, or whatever--wherever she thought I would go back, again, be separated from my child. Those were the--all--she would--she stated several 1410 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 times that she would call the police and told them that I have done something that I have not obviously done, but just because there was a case in filing, she would say that that violated the-- any agreement that was reached that filed that case. And she'd use that all the time, so-- Now, what's--she's got a Ph.D., correct? --sociology. In sociology? Yeah. Okay. She's not a medical doctor? Not that I know. Did she come up with any diagnoses for you? At least four. Which ones? The first one was PTSD. The second one was intermittent explosive disorder. The third one was bipolar or manic depression. So, later, I found that those were-- The same? --the same, probably. Yes. But, at that time, she--when she was introducing the manic depressive and then the bipolar, I think, as a separate one, g0- Now, just to be clear, no doctor or medical 1510 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 provider has ever diagnosed you with any one of those illnesses? --never. MR, ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. Hearsay. MR. WAXMAN: Well, I-- CouRT: That's sustained. MR. WAXMAN: --okay. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Did Miss Handrahan tell you that you ought to be taking psychotropic medication? Many, many times. That was also part of all the demands. Otherwise, I would not be able to enter the house or see my child at all. Do you remember any of the medications she demanded you take? I remember two, Lamotrogine, Lamictal, and there was--several times, she was suggesting even some substance that I don't really remember the names, but that should be prescribed by a medical doctor. Have you ever been prescribed any medications? Absolutely not. Did--at one point, did you get an anti-anxiety medication? I had to go actually and ask my--that was a part of those demands, too, once we got back from 1610 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pat 22 23 24 25 Budapest, which probably we'll address later. she had several demands for me to enter the house and to be with my daughter. And one of them was to go and ask for a prescription medication. She said that it was Lamictal that she wanted me to be on, or Lactimal [sic]. I--one of those things--to-- and I went and I talked to my health care provider at True North, and they thought it was outrageous. And what they suggested was that they would-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. COURT: Sustained. MR. WAXMAN: All right. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Let me focus on the power balance between you and Miss Handrahan. First of all, let me just back up. You've lived most of your life in Europe, is that correct? Fifteen years prior--in Holland prior to coming here, and before that, in Macedonia (indiscernible) . Okay. And why did you come to the U.S.? Because we were pregnant, and my wife wanted to be here to give birth to her child, and--to our child, and be with her family. Okay. Was she close with her family, by the way? 1710 ul 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 She gave me the idea that she was, because it was the main issue why she wanted to be here in Maine, because the support she would be having from the family once we were here. I figured out that the dynamics were different. How do you mean, the dynamics were different than that? Well, they were not allowed to participate in-- they were not even allowed to be in the hospital with our birth. She instructed not only me, but everybody in the hospital, including nurses, to send them away as soon as possible, that she was really vigorous about that. On the other hand, she was asking them to come and support us, help us with the house, with the dog, with food and everything else. Upon our arrival here, they did everything that they could to help us settle down. And we even stayed with them for some period of time while we were looking for a place here in Portland. Okay. So, when you came to this country with Miss Handrahan finally--because I think you visited a couple times, correct? I visited twice. Right. Okay. And then when did you come here finally? 1810 att 12 13 14 15, 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 25 In April, 2005. And am I correct that you initially lived in the Sorrento area? We went straight to Sorrento. We stayed two weeks with a friend of Lori's, because the house that she had in Sorrento was rented out. It was a week rental, ones that (indiscernible). All right. And you've been in this country, with the exception of one more trip to Budapest in the fall of 2007, you've been here since entering at that time, correct? Absolutely. All right. Do you know any--did you know anybody here? No. Was this a new culture for you? Everything was basically--the culture, the state of the (indiscernible), the laws, just everything. All right. Did it take you some time to get your language skills to a point where you could-- Of course. Yeah. I haven't-- --you have to let me finish my question-- --I'm sorry. -so that the recorder takes it down. Did it take you some time to get your language skills to a 1910 u 2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 point where you could be understood and understood others? Yes. And, as a matter of fact, I've pointed out many, many times in our discussions at the beginning, I have talked even in front of one of our marital therapists, with Dr. Pritchard, that I did have, especially in the beginning, problems finding the right words to express myself. I haven't spoken the language for fifteen years, and I did have a basis that went back to my basic education. So, I've learned English in elementary school, but, for many, many years, never spoken or used the language. So, I had some difficulties. What language do you speak? I spoke, prior to using English for the last two years, for fifteen years, Dutch, and that became actually my first tongue, although my first tongue was Yugoslavian, Macedonian. So, how many languages in all do you speak? How many-- If you count maybe the dialects that are actually the official languages for the former Yugoslovia, four or five. -all right. Can you describe for us, once you moved here, you and Miss Handrahan, the dynamics 2010 cre 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 between the two of you in terms of the power in your relationship? Well, it was very clear from the beginning that I had no--my opinion was not--there was no place for my opinion. Statistically, ninety-five percent was Lori and five percent me. That was very obvious, and was shared with whomever we talked to about our marital problems. Well, what would happen if you tried to disagree with her opinion? Oh, that was just--that's absolutely perceived as outrageous, and then she would immediately initiate many, many demands. And it was just impossible for me to have my own opinion, especially if that was different than the one she had. I think we all know that you two had some arguments while you were married, right? Yes, we did. Can you describe for the Court--generally, how would your arguments go? What would you guys do in terms of conflict resolution? Well, generally, she would either come with something that we had previously agreed on and discussed, and she would just come up with a new 2210 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 au 2 23 24 25 version of it, which was unilaterally decided by her and introduced. And most of the time, it would have quite a lot of consequen--negative consequences for our relationship, especially for our child. And we would start disagreeing--if I would start actually voicing my opinion, which was not welcome, not accepted, and that would be how most of the things started. As far as your observations, was she intimidated by you? No. She was not intimidated by me, because I-was not even trying to intimidate her. So, I absolutely disagree with that. Did you observe her in other settings with other people? Yes. Many. Did she seem easily intimidated? Never, actually. On the contrary. What--did she intimidate others? Constantly. Yes. When you argued, did she cower? Not at all. We could--the dynamics were not that way. What were the dynamics? Well, the dynamics were that, as I said, I was 2210 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 trying to bring my opinion, or even have a normal discussion, even just raise concerns about the unilateral decisions that she was constantly introducing, and the demands she had. And it was not me where the energy was coming from. Well, let's discuss particular issues, and--all right? Let's discuss--what was your agreement as to what your role would be when you came to this country--what her role would be? It was very clear what the role would be, because we discussed this even before we got married. We both actually knew that we were very comfortable with each other's--with our relationship, and we really wanted to have a child. And we discussed that many times. And I remember, on several walks in the Netherlands, we discussed that, clearly, she asked me to be supportive with everything I can so she can accelerate for the first time in career, as she could never do that before. But it was the previous marriage that she was very negative about the role that she was basically more or less forced to have in that marriage. She was the one with the better education, and with the more chances to get a better job for the family, and I decided to support in any way. I 2310 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 24 25 was more the one who was the house maker, the house caretaker. I was cooking and cleaning. I was working with children, so I had no problem of going back part-time working and taking care of our child. That was what she wanted my role-- Okay. That was your agreement? --to be. And that was definitely what-- Okay. --our agreement was. Did that--did something change at some point? Immediately after the birth. Okay. Explain that. Well, it was changing back and forth. There were days and weeks that, probably when she would get busy with--she was working on a part-time contract back then, that she would recognize that this was the agreement. And then she would recognize my role and my contribution, and I was the greatest husband, very supportive of her job. And Mila was in the best possible care with me. And there would be days that either she would have less to do or she would have--what other reasons would be, maybe anxieties about our location in the future and everything else, that she would change those agreements. Then, suddenly, I had to get out and 2410 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 have full-time job, because she either wanted to buy a house that we could not afford, or just many other things that she decided that would have been-- All right. -- (indiscernible). You guys did, in part of your plans, talk about buying a house in the Greater Portland area, correct? We actually--yes. We talked about it, among other things, how we're going to proceed with our--with us settling down here. And the plan was that, at first, we would secure jobs. And in the meantime, we were looking around to see if there would be something interesting for us to find within our budget. What was your budget? Well, we were thinking somewhere in between two hundred, two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars. That was something that we thought we could pay easily, and that I might redo anything and increase the value in the course of the time, so-- Now, in fact, you guys--well, I shouldn't say you guys. In fact, Lori bought a house in May of 2007, correct? 2510 uW 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 --yes, but, the--the idea of buying a house was a--she suddenly introduced it to me somewhere in February. And she initially wanted to buy even more expensive house that was very close from where we were living in this other house and where this other house is. And she was just very keen on buying that house. We both had, actually, at that point, only part-time jobs. She worked on a part-time contract, which I think it was not more than a few thousand dollars. And I was just sit-- starting my own swimming school. I was actually preparing all the things to start my own swimming school. She focused on this house, and she wanted to buy--it was five hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Okay. Let me stop you there. Did it cause arguments or stress in your relationship--stop-- wait for my question--that she was wanting to buy a house of that cost? Absolutely. Absol--well, it's not only that it was irrational and not something we agreed on, and something that she wanted to proceed, it was something that would affect our future, and especially, Mila's future. I mean, I don't know many people who go around and buy houses that they 2610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 cannot afford. But whoever did that is now in a big problems nationwide. So, I--we--that was not the agreement we-- Okay. --we had. And just to bring some of the things we've already heard Dr. Kabakoff testify into focus right now, T believe there was a time in February of 2007, which you've heard testimony about, where you hit her hand. Do you recall that? Yes. I slapped her hand away from pointing at me. Okay. Can you describe for the Court what was going on, and what happened? We had similar discussion about the house that she wanted to buy, and she was--she was--actually, the hand was pointing and intimidating me, saying that I was not a good father, and I was a lousy husband, and that it's because--because I was not willing to work, and that's why we couldn't afford the five hundred twenty-five thousand dollar house. Suddenly, I was not doing anything around the house. She was supporting me for two years. I was basically suddenly the worst person around, and spending her money and all these accusations she was making over and over. 2710 cn 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 All right. Let me--let me see if I understand. So, you're having an argument. She's making these demeaning comments? Yes. And at-- And-- --a certain point, she said if I don't get a job, she will divorce me, or get out of the country. And that was the point where I actually slapped her hand away and walked away from the room, and regrettably. Okay. Was--how close to you was she, pointing at you? Well, it was in--actually, in--close enough so that I can sweep it away, so-- Okay. And I think you talked about this a little bit in therapy with a woman named Allie Knowles Allie Knowlton? -right. I--we went the next day, I believe, to talk to Allie and her partner at Tree North. Yes. Okay. Did you feel bad about having done that? Oh, very much so. Yes. Okay. And I think there's a statement in the records to the extent that it brought back to mind something about that incident with the soccer injury, and-- 2810 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 24 25 No. What--that's--that's inaccurate, because the only thing I've said was that the only other time that I remember reacting to something was that incident. And that is not--didn't bring any memories. It didn't bring any--I didn't have any flashbacks or anything like that. Okay. Let's fast forward just about two months to the incident involving the quote, unquote, “peanut butter jar", okay? Okay. I say quote, unquote, because I think there's different perspectives as to what happened and what was used, correct? Was used. All right. Why don't you tell us--tell the Court what was happening, and what happened? Well, I just--I was having my--I think it was lunch. And I was sitting on the kitchen table with Mila being actually next to me on my right side. She was in her stroller that had the car seat in it. And she was being there. And I was eating my lunch. I had just came back from seeing Dr. Pritchard. And Lori approached me from the other side of the table. And she started again same--basically the same things she has been 2910 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 saying over and over again whenever I would disagree with the idea of buying that house, or, suddenly, she has this--she had this idea that there would be a nanny coming the next day, taking care of Mila, somebody that I've never met. We never agreed on having a nanny. We actually strongly believed that, especially in the first year when the child is vulnerable, one of the parents would be the one who was--who would take care of-- Okay. And, by the way, let me stop you there. -our child. You heard Dr. Kabakoff talk about her limited-- Yes. =-knowledge about the culture that you came from. Yeah. Did you hear that? And she said, I believe, that it's her understanding that where you're--where you grew up, the parents are much more directly responsible for the care. Is that a correct statement? That's absolutely correct. Yes. Okay. Parents and grandparents. All right. So, you were saying you were having a 3010 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 discussion involving the house, and about the nanny? Yeah. And she actually approached me over the table. And, again, it was the same situation where she yelled, and she was just outraged about the fact that I supposedly was not taking that issue of the buying of the house so seriously that it was because of me that the house would walk away, and that we would not be able to find another house. And she also introduced that. “and, tomorrow, you're gonna get yourself out to find a job, because it's you that is responsible for me not being able to buy this job [sic]. And, tomorrow, there is somebody--"--introducing somebody coming in that's gonna take care of Mila, which actually was completely the opposite than what we have agreed many, many times, even in front of a preacher, we have made several plans about how we're going to proceed. So, I did feel intimidated, and I did feel like, as many other times before, put on the pressure and under irrational demands. And I did--I did sweep the peanut butter jar in the corner. That was absolutely not pointed towards her or in any way attached--I was the one who saw, actually. She 3110 WW 2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 did--she did probably because of me standing up and sweeping the peanut butter jar, she did make a certain move. And I think she--as I've said all the time, that it never even came close to her. So- Let me stop you there. Just so I understand what-- --it was not the right reaction, of course. I recognize that, and I recognized that immediately. So-- --okay. Peanut butter jar. Glass? Plastic? What was it? --it was a empty--almost empty peanut butter jar that was living on the table where--with other things over there. Okay. Just (indiscernible). To your knowledge, whether it hit her head or not, did she have any injury whatsoever? Absolutely not. She didn't even say, "You hit me," or, "You hurt me," or anything else. What she did was she went and she grabbed the baby that was completely on the other side, and she went outside in the rain. I actually felt--I felt that whatever was going on was not the--was not helpful 3210 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 for our communication (indiscernible) for our relationship, and I was aware that I shouldn't have tossed the peanut butter jar. I wasn't sure if she was outside or not, so, I waited a couple of minutes, and then I walked in the hallway, and I saw the door open, and I saw Lori with Mila in her hands, outside. I asked her just once or twice to please come back in. I said, "I'm really sorry." And at the same time, I believed that the neighbor opened the door, and they called her. She went there. And I remember calling the preacher on the phone, and explaining him what happened. Were you calling your therapist right then and there? Immediately. Yes. All right. And the police did come, correct? The police did come in a very short time. I was-- Iwas right in the doorway--I believe I was sitting on the porch, and waiting for them to come, of course. All right. Did you overhear Lori talking to the police officers? She was screaming and yelling when they come. "He has the PTSD. He has the PTSD. Don't hurt him." 3310 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 25 And several things in that context. But-- Q "He has PTSD." A Yeah. Q Okay. And have you seen a police statement that she filled out regarding this incident? A Yeah. Not around that time, but later. Yes, I have seen it. Q Okay. By the way, you don't have PTSD, to your knowledge, do you? A No. (PAUSE) Q All right. We'll find this. MR. ALTSHULER: I have your exhibit list. would that help? MR. WAXMAN: I'm looking at it. Yeah. Just a moment, your Honor. COURT: sure. MR. WAXMAN: Actually, I'm thinking here--I don't know when you want to-- COURT: Oh, it's noon? MR. WAXMAN: --yeah. COURT: Okay. Well, I do intend to take a lunch recess. Have you found the document you need? MR. ALTSHULER: It's not on his exhibit list, so if he's looking on it there, it's not there. 3410 i 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. I have the document, your Honor, but-- WITNESS: I do, too. MR. WAXMAN: --it will take me a minute to get it. MR. ALTSHULER: The officer is coming in tomorrow, s0, I don't really have an objection to it, if he finds it. MR. WAXMAN: I got it. COURT: Okay. Why don't we just do this, and then we'll take a recess. MR. ALTSHULER: I'm trying to look at it and make sure I've-- COURT: Sure. Go ahead. MR. ALTSHULER: --got the right one. (PAUSE) MR. ALTSHULER: I have no objection to it. MR. WAXMAN: I'm going to mark this, your Honor, as Exhibit 65, because there's going to be some other ones I'm going to put in. May I approach the witness, your Honor? COURT: Of course. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q I'm showing you what I have marked for identification as Plaintiff's Exhibit 65. Have you seen that before? 3510 Wn 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 A T have. Q What is that? A ‘I believe it's a statement that Lori has written of the incident. Q All right. May I have that back? MR. WAXMAN: I'd like to move the admission of Plaintiff's Exhibit 65. MR, ALTSHULER: Well, your Honor, I'm not going to object to it. I don't think this witness can identify it, but, Roy certainly will. And based on the fact I assume she'll identify that as her handwriting, then I won't object to it. I just don't think he has the foundation to be able to (indiscernible). COURT: Well, he may or may not, but-- WITNESS: I was married to her. I have multiple notes, and since--I can--as a matter of-- cour’ It's admitted. It's admitted. MR. WAXMAN: Okay. I just want to discuss this, and maybe at that point, it will be a good point to break. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q But, she indicates, in the first sentence, "Igor Malenko, my husband, has PTSD," in bold and underlined. Do you see that? A Yeah. 3610 crt 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 Q Okay. A I've heard it many times. Q She claims that you threw a glass bottle at her, and hit her in the back of the head. Is that true? A Oh, absolutely not. Q After the police came, were you charged with a crime? A As a matter of fact, it didn't really appear to me that they wanted to--wanted me to come with them. MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. A Well, I can-- COURT: Well, hang on. Hang on a second, mr. Malenko. The question, again, Mr. Waxman, was? MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. It's an inartful question. My apology. Let me ask a diff--better question. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Were you charged with a crime? A To be honest, I- just because the--I don't really understand very, very well the rules here-- Q Okay. A =-I'm not sure if I was charged with anything. 1 did offer to the police officer that I was talking to to go with them to--downtown and give 3710 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 25 statement. All right. And he asked me that--he noticed that I wasn't really realizing what I was offering, apparently, so, he said, "Do you understand that if I take you with me, I'm arresting you?" I said, "I'm willing to comply with whatever the procedure is." All right. And, so-- That's enough. So, do you remember that there were some bail conditions? -I do remember. So, yes, eventually, I was arrested, it appears-- All right. --because it was not, as I said, clear to me from the beginning that that's what the--and there were bail conditions. I was bailed by Lori’ parents-- Okay. --a few hours later. Yes. And then is it your understanding that the case was, for lack--well, it was filed for a year? Yes. And what's your understanding of what that meant? My understanding from--what that meant was that, what my wife had told me back then, that there 3810 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 were several conditions that I was not supposed to violate, which I had no problem with not violating them. And I sh--I was supposed to comply with those. What were those conditions that your wife told you? Well, she initially told me that I was supposed to see somebody and have a evaluation. I said, “That's absolutely fine with me. I didn't catch that. See somebody what? See somebody, a health care provider-- Oh, okay. --and comply with whether they would decide I would--I have to take medication or not, with their outcome from the evaluation, that I was not supposed to engage in any similar behavior for at least a year, I believe, and one more that I don't remember. I think that-- Okay. --she told me three. Okay. After that, where did you go to live for a period of time? After that--as a matter of fact, while I was separated, because of the rules of bail and how this procedure apparently works, and I stayed with 3910 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 pat 22 23 24 25 Lori's parents. She went on and bought that house. So-- MR, ALTSHULER: Objection. Unresponsive to the question, your Honor. WITNESS: Well- COURT: No. That's sustained. WITNESS: --just to explain where I have-- MR. WAXMAN: No. No. No. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q But, let me take you in smaller pieces, Igor, okay? A Okay. Q So, after the incident took place, there were bail conditions that prevented you from being near her, correct? A Yes. Q So, where did you go? A With Lori's parents. I stayed at Lori's parents. Q Okay. And where do they live? A In Ridgefield, I guess. Q Okay. That's Jan and Woody Tarbuck [sic], correct? A Yes. Q And they're here in the courtroom today? A ‘They are. 4010 rey 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 25 All right. How long a period of time did you stay with the Tarbucks? I think until--I think several weeks. I'm not sure if I came back before we had to go to court, which was, I believe, in the beginning of May. So, anywhere between two and four weeks. I would say three or four weeks. Okay. I remember-- And is it your testimony that in those two to four weeks, Lori made the decision to buy this house on her own? --she did, actually. And she went on, and she bought the house. Okay. Who-- She put the money down or whatever the- --were--you were present at the closing, were you? --I was present at the closing. I was with my child, Camilla [sic]. I was taking care of her, and actually was not really involved in any of the legal workings. Okay. Were you there for any of the inspections of the home and so forth? I was there, actually, upon my arrival back in the 4110 i 12 13 14 15, 16 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 house. I was present with inspection. She asked me to do that, and I was with the inspector. All right. Are you on the deed? I'm sorry? Are you on the deed for the purchase of the house? No, I'm not. Are you on the mortgage? Not at all. Did that become an issue in your arguments that you experienced after she bought the house? All the time. How so? It was her house, and if I would not agree with whatever her demands were, and whatever she wanted me to comply with, I would have to leave the house immediately. Immediately. And if she demanded that-- Tt was her house. --okay. That's what she said? Her house. What I'm trying to under--have the Court understand is, that may be true as a matter of law, but did she say that to you? Exactly like I was saying it. It was her house. Okay. Would it be, "It's my house." 4210 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 (Inaudible response) . Yes? Yes. Okay. How much was the mortgage--how large was the mortgage? Around three thousand dollars a month. Was it a four hundred thousand dollar mortgage, or something like that? Yeah. And, actually, there was another hundred thousand dollars that she took--she--a line of credit on her house in Sorrento-- All right. =-to put money down, so, that's how the--it was constructed. Three thousand a month, did that seem that you could afford that? Did you think you could afford it? First of all, we--I was just starting my own swimming school. And swimming teachers do not earn a lot of money. So, it's a job that you do because you love, and you know that you're not going to be wealthy from it. Second of all, she was only having a part-time contract back--which would generate--eventually, when the contract would be finished, forty thousand dollars over 4310 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 time. Over a year? Well-- Oh, I see. --whenever it--the contract would--so, based on that income, she convinced the bank to give her the mortgage. And-- Did that make you anxious? --of course. I mean, three thousand dollars a month, it's, first of all, more than my salary would be for the next couple of years here. I knew what people are earning with my profession around here, and it was not like we had three thousand dollars steady income coming at all, in the first place, to just cover that mortgage, not talk about anything else. When did you move into the house? Was it late May, June? Yes. I think it was late May. Yes. And since you'd come to the United states, how many places had you lived in to that point? I have to briefly think. It was two weeks in her friend's house in Sorrento. Then, for a month, her house. Then, at her parents' house, then removed into apartment in Portland, then the 4410 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 Willard [sic] beach house. So, five. Okay. And by the way, I didn't address this earlier, but I wanted to now. And this was just-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. You've got to wait for my question. --okay. Okay. Soon after Mila was born, did you take videotapes of your child? Absolutely. Even before, we took videotapes of us being pregnant, many, many pictures. It was the best time of our life. Were you, by the way, involved in the birth? Iwas. And I was actually very, very happy to be involved, and very happy to be there for my wife, because it was a long birth. It was four days, and she really went through a lot of--it was a difficult time for her. Did she express happiness that you were involved in the birth? Absolutely. Not only to me, but towards the midwives, towards the whole hospital. And she had written things about that, too. All right. So, you did take some videotapes beforehand and after the birth of your child, 4510 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 25 correct? Yeah. Still till today, I do take--I videotape my child, even if I have to see her with the supervisors, so to have-- Okay. --many, many (indiscernible) . We learned that the expert proposed by the defendant, Leslie Devoe, took one, maybe one and a half minute-- Yes. I saw that. --clip from one of the DVD's that you produced, right? Yeah. Actually, it was a DVD that--it is the fixst DVD collection that I've made to send to all our friends and family-- Okay. --for the first few weeks as--with--after Mila's birth. Okay. So, with regard to this one piece, though, who's filming it? Lori Handrahan, my wife, is at that time. And then you said that that was a compilation of pieces? That was one of the eight pieces that were recorded for that DVD, and chosen by us to--so we 4610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 can send them to our friends. All right. And who did you send them to? I think I made several copies. I believe I sent it to her friend, Lou Ivy. I might have sent it to Sarah, a friend in New York. And I'm not sure if I--I think I sent it to Jen and Woody, and to my parents, and maybe to one more friend. I-- maybe Marty, I think I sent it to Marty. Okay. I'm not sure, but this is-- And when you bring this up on the computer, perhaps not Mr. Altshuler or his associate counsel, but if you and I had brought this up on a computer-- Yes. =-you would see a number of the pictures of the scenes, right? Yeah. They're all named. They all have some kind of description what they are-- Okay. ~-and-- Isn't there some kind of flowery border, as well? --it's all made to be a CD--a DVD that would actually be something that Mila would review later, the first days we saw--of her coming home, a710 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 especially because all of these people, friends and family that basically Lori had here, because I didn't have any of them prior to coming here, would see how we were engaged with our child in the first couple of weeks. It was, as I said, the happiest time of our life. Now, this particular one that was chosen or used by Ms. Devoe-- Right. --did Lori at any time ever express any feelings that it was inappropriate-- Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. --and I think you said she was taping it, and she was talking to you while she's doing that, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, we were both amazed about how--I mean, it was our first child. And we were just trying to be as tender as possible with her, and just give her as many possible kisses, and love her as much as possible, so-- Let me ask you this. Before this litigation and Miss Devoe's report, had Lori ever indicated to you that she thought you had been sexual or inappropriate with your daughter? --absolutely not. Had anybody in the world, before this litigation 4810 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 and Miss Devoe's report-- A Never. Q --said that about you? MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. I think COURT: Well, let's listen to the question. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Had anybody in the world suggested to you that that particular video was inappropriate or sexual, before you saw that report from Miss Devoe? MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. Hearsay, certainly. I mean, he can say what she said or what the report said. COURT: Well, I don't know that it's offered to prove the truth of the matter. It's just offered to prove whether somebody expressed those kinds of concerns. Whether they're true or not is another story. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, the fact of whether somebody else--somebody has said that it was inappropriate, why is that not hearsay? MR. WAXMAN: It's not offered for the truth of the matter. COURT: Right. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, I subject--I suggest that it is offered for that purpose. 4910 a 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 COURT: Okay. Well, it will be--it'l1--we'll allow the answer. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Had anybody-- A Never. I worked with children from all ages, starting four till twelve, and even older kids. Never, ever. Own country, the parents that I--for my swimmers there, they have always expressed how happy they were with me being their children's teacher and coach. Q And, by the way, this was your first child, is that true? A First. Yes. Q Allright. Is it fair to say--well, let me back up. Being your first child, were you anxious about her safety at various points? A From both of us, I was the more anxious one, certainly about safety issues, ‘cause I work with children. Safety and kids, especially on water, is number on priority, and part of my education and part of my work. I mean, I work with other people's children. I am responsible for their lives. They bring them in the water, and they're non-swimmers, and they leave them there with me. Q What about immunizations and inoculations? How 5010 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 28 did that go with your newborn? Well, it--I was anxious about that. We had discussed what we wanted about that, and I certainly appreciated and respected Lori's opinion about that, not to overdo it, but I really felt that there were several--at least several vaccinations that Mila should have had. and Lori didn't wanted to hear about those. And I was concerned about it, especially because one of them was tetanus. And it's a vaccine that you cannot administer after something happens. It's too late. You have to have that before- Did you say tetanus? --that's--yes. Yes? And when she's around many sharp rusty things, playing--whether it's on the beach where we live, or in the yard where we were living, it's not a good thing not to have a child have. Every single health care provider I talked to agreed with that. MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. COURT: That's sustained. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN You have to talk about only things that- Okay. 5110 u 12 13 14 15, 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 25 Q --you know about, okay? So, did that cause any disagreements with you and Lori, the immunization vaccination issue? A It did. o£ course. Q All right. A Yes, it did. Q What about breast feeding a child in the bath? Did that happen? A ‘That happened, because-- Q Let me stop you first. Did you ever force Lori to get into the bath with her child? A --absolutely not. And can I say something about that, because that's one of those defamatory accusations that their expert that is going to come tomorrow is making about me. So, it's-- MR. ALTSHULER: Your Honor, I'm going to object. I'm not sure it's going to be responsive to the question. COURT: Yeah. It's sustained. WITNESS: --but--but-- COURT: And, actually, at this point-- WITNESS: --but never--yeah. COURT: --would it make sense to break for lunch? Sure. 5210 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 24 25 WITNESS: Never. COURT: We'll take a recess for lunch. It's twelve fifteen now. We'll recess till one o'clock, and we'll resume then. Thank you. 510, back MR. WAXMAN: Thank you, your Honor. COURT: All rise, please. MR. WAXMAN: That--is that clock right? HEARING RECESSED HEARING RESUMED COURT: Are we on the record? CLERK: Yeah. COURT: We're back on the record. This is FM-08- Mr. Malenko versus Miss Handrahan. Mr. Malenko is on the witness stand. And, Mr. Waxman? MR. WAXMAN: Thank you, your Honor. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN You were--I'll just refresh your memory, I think the last things we were talking about were, timing-wise, the purchase of a house, which sounded like it was in late May, early June. That's the one on Willard Beach in South Portland, right? Yeah. That's where we moved to. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. You have to speak a little louder. what was that? 5310 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 24 25 That's when we moved over there. Yes. All right. And did you move right in and stay there for some period of time? We moved in and we stayed for a couple of months throughout that summer, before--yes. Okay. At some point in the summer, did you and Lori make plans to go to Budapest? As a matter of fact, while she was purchasing this house, she was also having negotiations about a contract in Budapest, which was one of the things why I thought it was not a good idea to purchase the house, ‘cause she was intending to maybe accept the job that was a substitute teaching position for one year in Budapest. So, buying a house that would be more than we can afford, even if we were staying here, and immediately after that, taking off to Budapest, was not really a very good idea. Did you want to go to Budapest? Not at all. I just started my swimming school here. We were just going through marital counseling with Dr. Dave Pritchard, and trying to work things out. All right. We just--I mean, we were just settling in that 5410 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 house that she bought, so-- Did you tell Lori that you didn't want to go to Budapest? --many, many times throughout that whole summer. And what was her response? Well, her response was--and I have it also in an email, her response was usually the same. "If you don't like to come, you can move out of the house, stay here. I'm going to go there with Mila. and you have to move out of the house so I can rent it out. Find another place, and then contact me, so we'll figure out how to share Mila." Did you think that you could stop her from going? Not at all. No. Not at all. So, did you end up going? I ended up going, making the house ready for xenting (indiscernible) . Okay. Did it get rented out, by the way? Except for one weekend, it did not. So, it was a-- Am I correct you were in Budapest from around September to November? --through the--yes, the beginning of November. All right. So, you and Mila and Lori got on a plane and went to Budapest in--what was the time 5510 ul 12 13 14 16 17 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 frame? I think the first week of September (indiscernible) . Okay. And what job had she accepted? Substitute teaching position at the Central Europe University. Okay. That's otherwise referred to as the CEU, correct? CEU. Yes. What did that job pay, do you recall? Twenty-seven hundred dollars, twenty-eight hundred dollars a month. A month? Okay. So, less than the mortgage on the South Portland house? (Indiscernible). Yes. How many times in the six or seven weeks that you were in Budapest did you move? Five times. Did you bring much in terms of luggage? Twenty-one bags, twenty-two. Twenty-one bags? What size bag? The largest duffle bag that's available to purchase. As big as that table, or smaller? I would say two-thirds of this table here. 5610 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 All right. (Indiscernible) . What did you do with all of your bags when you were moving back and forth in Budapest? When we came there, we had a problem the first day we came there. The apartment that she had rented was not the apartment that was supposed to be there, accommodating Mila--Mila's needs in first place. So, we ended up bringing all of those bags, with the help of the university, in a spare room that they had downstairs in the university, and we locked it there. So, we had a small--very small bag that we took with us, and we went to a hotel. Okay. Eventually, you found a place that was appropriate, correct? After four times moving, we did. All right. And, by the way, just so we're clear, because this name will come up later on. What was the name of Lori's boss at the CEU? Her name was Elaine Seronka. Okay. And that's a female? That's a female. Yes. She's an American citizen. All right. What was the arr--what were the arrangements while you were in Budapest, as far as 5710 u 12 13 14 15, 16 17 18 19 20 au 22 23 25 who was in charge of child care and so forth? The arrangements were made even previously of us going to Budapest, obviously. And I believe that even they were made with the help of Dr. Pritchard in some of the sessions, which we have in contract form, that I would take care of Mila throughout the whole time Lori was working, so, Lori didn't know how much time she would be working, but, basically, the agreements was--the agreements were early in the morning, six, seven, eight o'clock till four, five in the afternoon, Mila was with me. I would bring her once around lunch time to the university so she can breast feed her. And, then, when she comes home, there would be dinner ready for her and for us, so we can have dinner together, bathe Mila and put her to sleep, so-- So, during that time frame, you were in charge of child care? --constantly. Yes. Cooking meals? O£ course. Maintaining the house? Doing the groceries, as well. All right. By the way, when did Lori start wanting you to see medical providers? 5810 cr 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 Well, it started even before Mila was born. We went in the summer of 2006, after we--we were approaching the last phase of the pregnancy, and she was really anxious about giving birth. So, we kinda had some communications problems arising back then. And one of the things was that she wanted me to apply for jobs I wasn't qualified for. And while I was not even allowed legally to work in the U.S., ‘cause I had no green card, and I was in the process of waiting, but, still, I had to do those things. And she had sort out [sic] the jobs I had to apply for, and I did, but it didn't make any sense. But--so, that was one issue that we went to see someone for. And we ended up seeing Dr. Pritchard for the first time. Okay. That was the first time. All right. After the first time, did her requests for you to see doctors continue? After Mila was born and we initi--we start having again the communications--communication problems, or, actually, me not complying with all her demands and all her requests. All right. Did the--did her demands for you to seek out medical treatments, did it continue while 5910 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 you were in Budapest? She--yeah. She had staged an intervention in Budapest. I was not even aware that she was organizing something like that. Let me just stop you there. I think you said she staged an intervention, right? Yes. I believe that's what it's called-- All right. Okay. --when--when-- When what? What happened? What was it? --I was home, playing with Mila. And we had her boss, Elaine, visiting us. And I wanted to get a haircut at a certain point in the--late in the afternoon. It was six, seven o'clock in the afternoon. And I remember she wanted me to stay there, ‘cause some people would visit, some people from the departments, some colleagues. That's what she said? That's what she said. And I stayed there. 1 played with Mila, I remember having Mila in my hands when somebody knocked on the door. They-- three people came that I didn't know who they were, two wo--two female and one male. The women, they were professional psychiatrists, and the male was a social worker. 6010 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 Did you know why they were there? Thad no idea, actually. I mean, they introduced themselves, and it was a very weird setting, in a sense, because they were all looking at me. And I couldn't really figure out why they were there. So, then, I'm not sure if Lori introduced them, why they were--or introduced the reason why they were there, or one of the people, one of the doctors started. And what did you learn about the reason for their being there? The reason for their being there was that Lori had said to her boss, to the head of the department, to Blaine Seronka-- MR. ALTSHULER: Your Honor, I'm going to object. Foundation. I'm not sure if this is something Lori said to him, or somebody else said to him. so, I'd just like to lay a little foundation, please. COURT: I-- MR. WAXMAN: Let me back up. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN You were about to talk about what Lori said to her boss, I believe. So, let me ask you, what is the basis for your knowledge about that? In other words, did Lori tell you that she said these 6110 cre 12 13, 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 things? How do you know anything was said to Lori's boss? Lori told me that, among the other things which probably are hearsay, but Lori told me that she went to her boss (indiscernible) there, in front of them, and that she had said that approximately two weeks ago, when we were moving from the third to the fourth apartment, or something like that, and we had an argument about the moving situation, and all this stressful things that, basically, I felt she was imposing on our family constantly, that I supposably [sic] had threatened her. She didn't say I threatened her how or what. She just said threatened her. And I was really shocked, and I immediately said, "If that's the case, then I offer to move out of the apartment until we figure out what's going on." Okay. Just so we're all clear, I'm not clear on when you said these things. So, the first question I asked you was how you learned that she told her boss to come. She--I believe she was introducing the people that came inside, and-- Oh, at the intervention? -yeah. This was--I have to say this in--I mean, 6210 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 I remember them coming and everything else, and while I was realizing what was going on, it was pretty much unpleasant experience for me, because I felt it throughout my body that I really realized that these people are here because they think that I'm mentally ill, and she's trying to commit me to--throughout them, to go to some residential program in some mental health institution. Did-- It was a-- --and I think you were saying-- --pretty much shocking experience. I have to say that. =-I'll bet. I think you were saying that when you learned from Lori, in this intervention, that she was claiming you'd threatened her, your response in that intervention was what? How do you respond to that when you heard the-- Well, first of all, I was--I welcomed the people. And I thought--I was really happy that somebody's there, so we can address what was going on, because we clearly had many issues that were not being addressed properly, going back--all the way back to Maine. And I was not very happy that I 6310 rt 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 room would have to--that the people thought I was mentally ill, in first place, but I was happy that we could have a discussion, and they would figure out what is going on throughout that discussion. And after that, we'll at least have somebody to help us. Did you offer--when you heard that Lori was claiming you'd made threats, sir, did you offer at that point to leave? In front of everybody, and everybody in the room thought that was--and they voiced-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection to what everybody in the said, your Honor. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Well, what did Lori say? --I offered to pack my bags immediately and move out to a hotel, because I was really taken aback by this sudden fear of me doing something to her, based on supposed--a supposed threat that I made. So--stop. Just listen to my question. So, you offered to leave? Yes. How did Lori respond to that? She was--she didn't want it--that was not an option. Well, as I said, everybody thought it was 6410 ul 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 good option. She was against that. At--she thought it was not a good option. she needed me there. I was taking care of the child, and she thought that would not be helpful at all. That was be--I mean, it was surp--I was surprised (indiscernible). I cannot--I shared the same experience with everybody in the room, but I was surprised, very much so, because-- Okay. The threats, did she say what kinds of threats they were, in front of these people? Did she say-- -I don't remember her at that point saying threats, saying specific threats. "You threatened me, to--threatened to kill me," I believe, or something like that was-- --okay. --yeah. And you offered to leave, and she didn't want you to? Oh, no. She was absolutely reluctant, as a matter of fact, so-- All right. So, you--so, the people, I'm assuming, at some point, left your house? --yeah. And you stayed? 6510 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 I stayed and I took care of our child because she went to the bedroom, and she--I assume she fell asleep or whatever she did. Okay. 1 don't need to--when I ask you a question, you don't have to tell me everything that follows. Just take-- Okay. ch question on its own. Sorry. So, you stayed. They left. You stayed in the evening with Lori? And with Mila. Okay. (Indiscernible) . What happened the next morning? Well, the next morning, what initially happened-- what I thought initially was happening was that Lori took Mila down the street to get a cup of coffee, as she was usually doing for the time that we were staying in this last apartment. and I started being worried with--when within one or two hours, she was not coming back. I sent a message. I tried to call her, couldn't get ahold of her. And as the day- Excuse me. How did you send a message, by smoke 6610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 signal or-- I sent a mess--sent an email message. --okay. And--because we were communicating that way while she would be at the university. So, I wasn't sure, really, what was going on, but something was not--was very strange, because, I mean, I offered to move out of the house. She--that was the last thing she wanted. And, then, next day, she appeared to be gone, I found. When did you first next hear from her as to where she was? Nine o'clock in the evening, after I approached almost everybody that I--that we knew there, and asked where she might be with Mila. Were you concerned? Very mich so. I was just about to call the police and tell them, actually, that my wife is missing, and my daughter is missing. What did you learn when she contacted you at nine p.m.? That she decided not to come home for that night, and she would be back the next day. And-- Did she come back the next day? --she didn't. 6710 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 How long was she gone, in total? Five days. She came after five days. And do you know what triggered her coming back? She came--I don't know. She came back with her friend from Washington, D.C. What's her name? Lou Ivy [sic]. Had there been plans before the intervention to bring Lou Ivy over? Not that she had shared with me. Had you had any nannies working with you in Budapest? No. I was Mila's care taker, so there wasn't-- All right. So, on the fifth day, you say she came back home with Lou Ivy. What time of day was that? I think it was in the afternoon, late in the afternoon. All right. And then you all just coexisted that evening in the apartment? We did. Yeah. And just--I believe I was reading and trying to play on my guitar, and play a little bit with Mila, assemble the bed for Lou Ivy, who spent the night in that--because we didn't have any space to accommodate an extra guest, so she 6810 iL 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 spent that night in a very small room, the child's room, in that bed that I assembled. Was there any discussion that evening about the intervention, and her leaving and coming back? Did you talk about that at all with Lori? No. Not at all. All right. Now, the next morning, did something unusual--another unusual event happen? Very much so. I went in the morning to get groceries, because we had a guest, and we just--I needed some extra groceries. And after I came back, I think it was eleven o'clock in the morning, I unloaded the groceries, and I made the lunch for myself and for Mila. And we were actually being together in the kitchen. 1 was feeding her, and having a--some time with her. I haven't seen her in a week's time, so-- Okay. And what happened next? --what next happened was that Lori came in the room, in the kitchen. She pulled out Mila out of the chair, and-- The highchair? --out of the highchair. And while I was feeding her, I was actually--I ended up staying with a spoonful of food, and I thought it was unusual. 6910 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 So, I started asking her why was she doing that, and what was the reason why--Milo was really happy to be there to play and to be fed. So, she took her out of the chair, and she went in the hallway, and she gave her to Lou Ivy, and she told her to take--to put her in the bedroom. So, Lou Ivy went in the bedroom and locked the doors. Let me stop you there. Did Lou Ivy have something in her hand that she handed to Lori? A phone. All right. And what happened next? So, Lou Ivy goes in some other room? Yeah. Lou Ivy hands the phone to Lori. What happens next? Lori said that she had my father on the phone, and that she wanted me to talk to him. And she wanted her to--she was addressing--actually, she was--at that point, she said, "I have your father on the phone." And she said, "He said that he never abused you." And I really--I was very much shocked about what was going on, so I couldn't really understand what was going on. And I said, "Okay. You have my father. Can I talk to him?" So, I asked my father, in our language, I said, 7010 i 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 "What's going on?" I said--so, I talked to him for several minutes just to understand what was going on, while she was yelling and screaming to my father, ‘cause he was on the speaker. "You abused your child. Tell her [sic] that you abused your child," and all this kind of things. I mean, just attacking-- Let me stop you there. Had you talked, before this phone call, with Lori about calling your father and confronting him? --no. Not at all. Did you have any idea she was going to do this? Oh, absolutely not, because just--I mean, I was shocked as I-- At some point in this circumstance, did you get upset about the fact that Lou Ivy had taken your child into another room? yeah. Well, I was upset about--first of all, about that, second of all about Lori calling my father and calling him all these things, which was really inappropriate. And I knocked on the door where Lou Ivy was in the bedroom. And I addressed her. I believe she opened the door, and I told her that I was absolutely not agreeing with what happened with her taking my child away and putting 110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 her in the bedroom and locking the doors, and that I never gave her permission to actually handle my child in any way. And, especially not in that kind of way, so that if she would do that one more time, I would definitely call the police, and I would certainly talk about that incident, T mentioned to her, to the social services. Did you threaten her with physical harm? Absolutely not. I didn't even go in the bath-- bedroom. Did you barge through the doors? Absolutely not. How did you get into that door? Well, I knocked--I just knocked on the door, and she opened the door. Those doors were as big and as thick, so I don't know how you can barge through those doors, in the first place. Now, Igor, am I correct that you tape recorded- I tape recorded this, yes, and I--at the end, I pulled out and I showed them, and I told them that I was tape recording it, so-- --all right. Let me back up. When did you decide that it was a good idea to start taping things? --when she disappeared, and when I realized, after the intervention, that the perceptions of--the 7210 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 perceptions that we had of what was going on were so different and so severely different, and we had addressed the--this issue back in Maine, the--in the--in Maine, here, on one of our sessions with Dr. Pritchard, where it was obvious that what both--we were sharing with him was dramatically opposite. So, there was a suggestion that it might be helpful to--for both of us to record. So-- Okay. Where did you get the recorder, by the way? --well, Lori had two recorders, so I borrowed one for this. Okay. Now, you taped this event you've just testified about, right? Yeah. And-- Have you listened to that tape since that time? --I have, lots of times. And does it reside on what I've identified now as a new exhibit, Plaintiff's Exhibit 62, which is entitled Budapest, 2007. Is that where that tape-- Yeah. --resides? And is it number five of the-- It is. --okay. And the voices on this tape are yours and 7310 aT 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 Lori's, yes? A Yes. @ And your father is in another language, right? A Yeah. And Lou Ivy and Mila. Q Okay. Have you done anything to edit or change that tape at all? A Absolutely not. Q All right. AI would not even know how to do that. MR. WAXMAN: At this point, your Honor, I'd like to move for the admission of Exhibit 62, and, in particular, Exhibit--tape number five. couRT: Any objection? MR. ALTSHULER: Sure. My original objection, I-- the first time I've heard of it. It was not identified before now. I got it on--I assume it's on--I assume it's #61. MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. I gave them all to you last Thursday. MR. ALTSHULER: Yeah. Those were the tapes that we could not access, and I--Hesper is here, and she can certainly--she's more computer savvy than I am. But we tried to open it at our office. We could not hear it at all. But, we--even then, we only got it last Thursday. So, obviously, if we had gotten it ten days 7410 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 in advance, arguably, we could have figured out how to listen to it. Plus, on top of that, having a tape recording--and I'm not sure I understood the testimony, whether Lori knew about it when she was being taped, is inherently prejudicial if one party knows about it, and the other party doesn't, because, of course, one party knows it, and can couch anything they're saying to precipitate a reaction. Third of all, what is the purpose of the testimony? What is the purpose of the exhibit? What is--does--evidently, I mean, if he asks Lori on the stand if she had this conversation, and Lori denies it, he could show the tape to prove that it occurred. But there was no basis to use the tape. All they're doing is saying, "Here's a tape recording of a session we had in Budapest," so, it's not even material to anything that's going on right now. MR. WAXMAN: It's exceedingly rel-- COURT: Mr. Waxman? MR. WAXMAN: --it's exceedingly relevant, your Honor, The-- MR. ALTSHULER: Well, it's immaterial and not relevant. MR. WAXMAN: --well, the probative value-- MR. ALTSHULER: There's a difference. MR. WAXMAN: is very high, especially because 1510 1 12 13 14 15, 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 you'll be hearing there's a dispute as to what happened in this particular situation. And, apparently, Miss Ivy--Lou Ivy has told others, and there's statements that I can show you, your Honor, that are part of the guardian's exhibits and part of the defendant's exhibits, which are completely contradictory to what this tape will show. And as far as I read Maine Rules of Evidence, under 901, voice identification is a fairly simple matter, and unless the defendant has some reason to posit that we've edited this tape, and I would suggest that since I gave this tape to him last Thursday, and since his office is part of the Smith Atwood Video Audio Services, they certainly could have looked into this, if that was their nature. That's the only objection, frankly, that resides here. and it certainly is relevant. I want to ask him questions about it, and I'll stop it at various points. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, if my witness comes up and disputes--because, first of all, I'm not sure this is the incident that my witness is going to testify to. But if she testifies to something, and he wants to use it as cross-examination, that's fine. That hasn't happened yet. So, to say he believes my witness is going to say something, who I may not have time to call, and, therefore, I'm going to impeach her now by 1610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 something that I've not been able to hear, and was not identified ten days before trial, it's just patently unfair to do that. COURT: Okay. Well, the recording is material and relevant. I don't think it's not--I don't believe that it's immaterial or irrelevant. It may or may not be corroborative of Mr. Malenko's testimony moments ago about the incident. The fact that it was provided last Thursday troubles me somewhat, because the Court did order that materials ought to be exchanged at least ten days prior to trial, including exhibits and the like. On the other hand, there was plenty of time from Thursday to today to at least listen to it. How long is this tape? MR. WAXMAN: This particular one is about--I'm going to play it for nine minutes, eight, nine minutes. COURT: The-- MR. ALTSHULER: Your Honor, may I-- MR. WAXMAN: Actually, less than that. More like six. I'm going to cut it. MR. ALTSHULER: --may I--there were hours on these cD tapes. We're not talking about something that was two minutes long. If we could have had--I mean--and Hesper can certainly address this. We're talking about hours of CD's. 710 i 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 COURT: I thought you said you couldn't open them. HESPER SCHLEIDERER HARDY, ESQ.: There are-- MR. ALTSHULER: Let--I'll let her-- MS. HARDY: --actually-- COURT: sure. MS. HARDY: --they arrived on Thursday afternoon. I had a chance to look at them on Friday. Some of them were--I could not open. There were programs that came up, and the computer wouldn't recognize them. There was another one where you had to download a system, which my computer would not download. On another of the CD's that was provided, there were a number of audio clips that you could click on. And they (indiscernible), and I clicked on numerous ones, and they were just--it was sounds. You could hear someone walking. It was as though they were walking down a street. And I listened and I listened. 1 had it on for a half an hour, and I never heard a single voice. COURT: Okay. So--but you were able to hear the audio-- WITNESS: Am I allowed to say something (indiscernible) ? MS. HARDY: On that particular CD. On the other one, I could not open it, could not access, I don't know what's on it. 7810 iW 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 COURT: --all right. Is that the CD we're talking about? MR. WAXMAN: No, your Honor. COURT: It's not? MR. WAXMAN: This one has language on it for the entire time. MR. ALTSHULER: But, that's the problem. We don't know which ones we're supposed to listen to, and which ones--he's going--he didn't say--at least, when I did my DVD, I said, "This is the scene we want the judge to look at." COURT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: (Indiscernible). WITNESS: There was index (indiscernible). COURT: All right. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take about a ten-minute recess. I'm going to allow Mr. Waxman to play for Mr. Altshuler the tape in question, the portion of the tape that he seeks to introduce. Then we're going to revisit this after you've had a chance to hear it. It seems to me that if this was provided, albeit late, but it was provided, this was something that counsel could have accessed. Obviously, there was difficulty accessing--I take it this is one of the ones that you weren't able to open, is that correct? 7910 rT 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 MS. HARDY: I don't know what-- MR. ALTSHULER: If he had said which one it was on it, I understand that. If he said, like I did, "We are looking at number four on this DVD. That is the one we copied for the Court." He didn't say, "This is the one We had no we're going to want the judge to listen to clue, of all these CD's, which one he wanted us to listen to. So, we're expected to listen to all the CD's in case one of them, he wants to play here. I mean, he's-- MR. WAXMAN: You didn't listen to any of them. MR. ALTSHULER: --I--that's--Hesper did. That's why she was, because I had another trial last week. MR. WAXMAN: All right. Your Honor, let me-- MR. ALTSHULER: And I couldn't do all that. MR. WAXMAN: ~-say one more thing here. I'm hearing a lot of pontification from this gentleman about the lateness of our exhibits. Let's be clear about this. What he provided to me ten days in advance of trial was not a list of actual exhibits. It was not exhibits. It was a list of categories of items, financial documents, some emails. I had no idea what that meant. So, for him to say here that he's prejudiced-- COURT: Okay. All right. 8010 art 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 MR. ALTSHULER: But the DVD was specific to seeing-- courT: I I--I understand. Did you make calls to Mr. Waxman, asking which of those files on that CD were of importance or that something that he was looking to introduce? MR. ALTSHULER: --no. couRT: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: There were countless CD's. courT: All right. How many CD's were there? MR. WAXMAN: Three. MR. ALTSHULER: Oh, I don't know. I was in a trial last week. MR. WAXMAN: Three audio CD's, and I think two-- COURT: Okay, We'll--all right. MR. WAXMAN: --DVD's. couRT: We'll take a ten-minute recess. MS. HARDY: Five. MR. ALTSHULER: Your Honor, there were five CD's. MR. WAXMAN: No. Two DVD's-- MR. ALTSHULER: Well, they're-- MR. WAXMAN: --three CD's. They look the same, but they're-- courT: All right. All right. We'll take a five--we'll take a ten-minute recess. Mr. Altshuler, 8110 u 12 13 14 15 16 a7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 you can listen to the specific portion of the CD that Mr. Waxman is referring to, and then we'll revisit this in ten minutes. COURT OFFICER: All rise, please. HEARING RECESSED HEARING RESUMED CouRT: All right. We're back on the record. Mr. Altshuler, did you have a chance to listen to the tape? MR. ALTSHULER: I did, your Honor. COURT: Okay. And do you renew your objection? MR. ALTSHULER: Well--and for expedience, I'm going to just agree to let it be played. I don't want to waive my objection, because I--it concerns me that I don't think there was compliance with the pretrial order. That being said, if the Court feels it's relevant material, I'm not going to (indiscernible), but I listened to it. I don't have the same view Mr. Waxman, but you will listen to it for what it--I want him to play the whole thing, not just part of it. MR. WAXMAN: Well, I didn't-- MR. ALTSHULER: Including all the-- MR. WAXMAN: --do you want the--the entire tape of this one is nineteen minutes, twenty-eight seconds. MR. ALTSHULER: --no. No. No. dust what you played for me, that portion. 8210 uw 12 13 14 15, 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 24 25 MR. WAXMAN: You want me to also let the judge hear the Hungarian--I mean, the Macedonian interplay? MR. ALTSHULER: Well, I think it shows some tone of voice that the Court should hear. I mean, it's Hungarian. COURT: Okay. WITNESS: No. It's Macedonian. MR. ALTSHULER: And I don't know Hungarian. WITNESS: And, by the way, each language has different information. And you know that, so-- MR. ALTSHULER: I assume you don't speak Hungarian. courT: I don't. MR. WAXMAN: Or Macedonian. couRT: I wish I did, but I don't. MR. ALTSHULER: And I don't think we-- WITNESS: It's--I could not (indiscernible) -- MR. ALTSHULER: --I think it's too late to get a translator, but as long--but I think that there's a--I think the Court needs to hear the--I don't think we can parcel it out. MR. WAXMAN: All right. Fine. couRT: All right. Miss Stout, do you--you've been silent on this. Is there anything you'd like to say on the issue at all, or- 8310 crt 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 MS. STOUT: No. COURT: --okay. MR. WAXMAN: Okay. Shall we proceed? COURT: And this is #62, Plaintiff's 62? MR. WAXMAN: It's #62. Correct. COURT: Okay. MR. WAXMAN: And it's--there are twenty-one files on this particular-- courT: And this is number five? ‘MR. WAXMAN: --number five. COURT: And it's titled Budapest, 2007, and this is number five? MR. WAXMAN: Correct. MR. ALTSHULER: And the only thing I'm going to-- Judge, I'm--I--if we have time, I'm going to try and listen to the rest of the CD's at some point. I don't know what--I'm concerned about the complete record. I don't know when it starts and stops. I'm not suggesting Mr. Waxman cut off half and took out a portion of it, but-- COURT: Right. MR. ALTSHULER: --it is not complete record, and I am concerned about that. COURT: Okay. MR. WAXMAN: Shall we proceed? 8410 u 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 COURT: Yes. MR. WAXMAN: Is it okay if I stay seated while I do--operate the (indiscernible)? COURT: Of course. MR. WAXMAN: All right. I may stop it to question the witness, if that's-- COURT: Sure. Of course. (INDEX #8 219-274 NOT TRANSCRIBED TAPE PLAYBACK) MR. WAXMAN: I'm just stopping for a moment. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Igor, I want to ask you a couple of questions about where we are in this tape. Again, refreshing your recollection and the Court's, this was the first morning you'd actually gotten to spend with your daughter in the last five days, correct? A Yes Q And had it been your practice, while you were in Budapest, that you were in charge of your daughter in the mornings? A Yes. Absolutely. Feeding her, bathing her, changing her diapers, just everything. Q All right. (INDEX #S 288-343 NOT TRANSCRIBED 8510 i 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 TAPE PLAYBACK) DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q What are you saying to your father? A ‘I'm explaining what was going on. MR. ALTSHULER: I object, your Honor. I don't have a translator here, so he can tell me he's saying anything. WITNESS: I understand. It's all-- MR. ALTSHULER: So--and I also think we really should--need to hear the whole thing before--I mean, interrupting it doesn't--I mean, I'd like to hear the whole thing and then ask questions about it, if it's relevant, because I think that it builds up a crescendo, and I think, by stopping it, it loses some of its effect. MR. WAXMAN: I want a largo and then a crescendo. COURT: Well, I--no. I'm fully capable of grasping the whole--the totality of the case--of the incident, based on the tape. The objection as to what he is saying is overruled. MR. WAXMAN: All right. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q 80, what were you saying to your father? A I was just explaining him what was going on those couple of days that--previous days which led to 8610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 her calling him, And I was just telling him that--what exactly was happening, that I was with Mila in the kitchen, so he understand--because he was over--I mean, he just couldn't figure out what was going on. Poor guy. (INDEX #8 371-452 NOT TRANSCRIBED TAPE PLAYBACK) MR. WAXMAN: May I question the witness on this portion, your Honor? COURT: Yes. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q We've just heard on the tape you threatened to call the social services. Is that the analog to DHES here? A Yes. Q All right. And she's said, several times, "Go ahead. Call them," right? A Yes. Q Had this happened before, that she would bait you to call services? MR. ALTSHULER: Objection. Characterization of begging [sic] you to call them, your Honor. Argumentative. MR. WAXMAN: I said bait. I said that's an-- MR. ALTSHULER: I don't think that's bait. 8710 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 MR. WAXMAN: --had she--I-- MR. ALSHULER: He said, "I'm going to call Human Services," and she's-- COURT: Wait. Wait. Wait. What's the-- MR. WAXMAN: --I'11 withdraw it. COURT: --question, again? MR. WAXMAN: I'll withdraw the question. COURT: Thank you. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Had she invited you, during your arguments in the past, to go ahead and call? A Social services? Q = Yeah. A I don't remember. Q Okay. I'm sorry. INDEX #S 475-514 NOT TRANSCRIBED TAPE PLAYBACK) DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Igor, when you went into the room where Lou Ivy was holding your child, did you grab your child from Ms. Ivy? A I didn't enter the room. I knocked on the door and could hear that, and she opened the door. And I said what you just heard. so, I didn't even go in the room. I didn't take Mila back, nothing. I 8810 ul 12 13 14 15 16 q7 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 was just explaining to her that I felt that what she was doing was not proper, and-- Were you gesticulating wildly? =-no. Were you--did you raise your hand as if to strike her? Absolutely not. Why would I do that? Why would I do something like that? After this incident, did they leave? They were putting the jackets on, and they immediately left, and they were downstairs on the phone. What happened next? Five minutes after that--and it's also recorded-- you can see on the times and the dates when the recordings are made-- Okay. Just tell us. --the ambulance came. Seven people, two psychiatrists and five other people, who tried to--they came because they called them and told them that there was a mentally ill person threatening to kill everybody and being-- endangering them, apparently. All right. So they came there. 8910 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 Q And I'm assuming that you had some conversations with those people? A An hour and a half or something like that, that's recorded. Yes. Q All right. Were you taken away by the ambulance service? A No. Not at all. On the contrary, actually, when we were--you can hear it on the tape, when we were leaving, I actually volunteered to leave with them, because I was really shocked that this was the second time this was introduced to me, and--in a week time, So, I said, "Please, I--I will- after they decided that there was no need for them to take me-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection to what anybody said, your Honor. COURT: That's sustained. WITNESS: --okay. Well, we can hear it. It's not-- MR. WAXMAN: Okay. Let-- DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q --I think you testified that they--nobody took you anywhere. So, what happened? What did you do? A -I actually spoke, while they were there, to--I urged them to call one of the doctors that came 9010 u 2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 the previous week with that--with the intervention. And I stayed in touch with them throughout the whole time. I also told them that Lori was away and what was going on. And the social services were actually up to date on everything that was going on. So, I called them while they were there, and-- Stop for a second. Where were you making these calls? Were you in the apartment? --yes. okay. How long did you stay in the apartment? While they were there? Well, at some point, did you leave the apartment? Yeah. After an hour and a half discussing and talking, and having also those people on the phone line, I said that I'm going to see them. And I packed my bag, and I said, "I'm not staying any more in the apartment," because that was the second time that this was happening. so, there was no--I just-- And what did you do? Did you go to a hotel? --first, I went to the social services, and where also the two psychiatrists (indiscernible) immediately, and talked there with them for-- Did--stop for a second. Did somebody arrive not 9110 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 long after you got there? A --within half an hour, Lori arrived there. And she--obviously, I can't tell what they told me how she--how her state of mind wa: Q What was she saying? Could you overhear her talking or screaming? A --little bit. Yes. She was very angry with them that she was not allowed to see me immediately-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. He said he did not hear what she said. I'm gonna object. WITNESS: --all right. COURT: No, I--I believe he said he doesn't want to talk about what the other folks on the scene said, because he realizes that's hearsay. WITNESS: Yeah. MR. ALTSHULER: Well, he said-- COURT: I believe that's what he said. I could be wrong. MR. ALTSHULER: --he said he could hear bits and pieces. I just want to make sure that there's not filling in the gaps, here. courT: All right. all right. WITNESS: Okay. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q We only want to know what you overheard, so I'm 9210 u 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 asking you what did you overhear her say? That she wanted to see me immediately, and that she was very angry with them, and she was in some way threatening them. I couldn't figure out what exactly was how she was threatening them. And at some point, you left there and went to a hotel? I left there. I actually called Lori and asked her for permission to use our credit card to go in a hotel, because I was not going back in the apartment, obviously. And how long a period of time, in total, while you were still in Budapest, were you in an apartment and her in, you know, the place you'd been staying? I think at least two weeks after that moment. Did you choose to rent a hotel, by the way, on the same street that your apartment was on? Well, she suggested that I should take this hotel that was down the street, so I would be able to see my child very often. And were you able to see your child very often? I haven't seen her- actually, as a matter of fact, in the, I believe, two or three weeks, I saw her once at the doctor's office, after two weeks 9310 ul 12 13 14 15, 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 of not being able to see her from that point on, because she had a high temperature, and it was also in the presence of Lou Ivy. So, we met briefly at the clinic. and I--that was when I saw Mila for maybe half an hour, and again not for three weeks. Why didn't you just go to visit with your child at your apartment? I was not allowed. She told me so. Who told you so? Lori. She had changed the locks and she was--she didn't want anything to be around. And I sa matter of fact, I asked her many, many times to allow me to see Mila, to spend some time with her. I was concerned how she was--who was taking care of Mila, Suddenly, she has never been without anybody else but me or her for just about any time. And I just--I had minimal information about how she was doing. Through an SMS [sic], she would call me regularly every day, at least once or twice in the hotel, asking me to comply with certain things, demands, some-- What demands? -to see another psychiatrist who was apparently the top psychiatrist in that whole area. It was 9410 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 an international clinic, and I ended up also seeing that person as--together with Lori at the end, because I felt-- Why did you go and see another psychiatrist? --well, how was I supposed to, in God's name, see my child? How am I supposed to--I mean, I So, how was it put to you by Lori? If you were to see this psychiatrist, you can see your child? --yeah. That was the last one she wanted me to see. She would definitely respect whatever this person would say. She was, again, the top person in the field, and the best we can get there, since, in Maine, nobody was competent. We were there in the heart of Europe international people, and this person would help. What was her name, do you know? (Indiscernible). Lily Hardy. Dr. Lily Hardy. Okay. And, so, you went and saw this doctor? Also. Yes. Did you emerge with a diagnosis? Not at all. Absolutely. And how did things go with you and Lori after that? Were you permitted to see your child? No. Absolutely not. Because, after that, basically, I told Lori that I'm going back to the 9510 n 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 United States. And I booked a ticket, told her the day that I was going back. And I said I would just wish that I could see Mila before I go back, once. Okay. But, just--to go back in time, she--I thought you testified that she said if you just see this very well recommended-- Yes. --psychiatrist, then she will respect what that person says? Yeah. Is that what you testified to? Exactly. Okay. So, you did what she asked? Yeah. And, then, did you leave and go visit your daughter? No. Why not? She did not allow. Okay. All right. So, then you told her you were going back to the U.S.? I told her that I'm going back to the U.S. I told her the date I booked the ticket, and it was in a matter of a week, I believe, from that time, from 9610 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 22 23 24 25 the time that I was leaving. So, I asked her if I could see Mila one more time before I leave, and she told me that I could see her on a particular day. I believe it was two or three days before my actual departure. And she let me believe that I would see her at such a such time in the apartment. And I bought a book and a toy for my child, and I stood up in the front of the apartment for an hour, and I realized that I'm not gonna see her. And then I sent her a message. By cell phone? By--yes, by SMS. Yeah. And she send back one of the messages which left me to believe that she was not in the apartment any more. And she didn't want to say where she was. And she just said that I could get my passport and my--or--I believe my-- no, my passport (indiscernible). The key from that apartment, where my stuff was also, and Mila's stuff, in a separate hotel on the other side of Budapest. I went there. I took that key. I came back. I opened the apartment, and I found just the same way as I left. Basically, there was--I believe they just picked up and left. Everything was there, still. The food, somebody-- there was--somebody's lunch, Mila's lunch, 9710 ul 12 13, 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 untouched. And just about everything that we brought there that was Mila's and mine, and almost everything from Lori was there. So, I make also pictures of that. All right. And, then, how long after that was it that you finally got on the plane to go back to the U.8.? Few days. All right. And did you later learn that she left a day earlier than you? I did. Iwas in London when I was actually changing planes. We were still exchanging emails. And then she notified me that she was on her way back to the U.S., and that she would be in D.C., staying with friends. and she said that she had many demands that I would meet if I would like to arrive back at the house. I did not even have the key to come back in (indiscernible). What were the demands she said you had to meet? I had to immediately check in the clinic. I had to be on a--I had to take medicine. She--I think she said Lamotrogine [sic], in one of those emails, that that was--I had to follow up immediately with a second opinion, if I was not checked in the clinic. So, I should find one 9810 ul 2 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 it was health care provider--she directed me whom Miles Simmons from True North, and immediately to find--to go to see this Harvard-trained psychiatrist that was the director of the Maine Medical Psychiatric (Indiscernible) . What's his name, by the way? Victor McCarty. You did see him several times, right? Yeah. By the way, coming back from London or Budapest, did you have any difficulties? I learned that, when I arrived in the middle of the night in Boston, that I was not able to rent a car that I actually always reserved, because she had cut off my access to the credit--the people informed me, in the rental company, that that was why I couldn't use the credit card. They said, "Your access is cut off from the credit card." You finally somehow get back? They were very helpful to actually charge--go out of their way and do something that they would not do usually, and charge everything on the debit card that I had. It was a joint account which we had. What was it-- 9910 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 But that's how I got the car, anyway. --okay. And came back in Maine. Where did you come to initially when you came back to Maine? It was a Saturday, the 29%, (indiscernible). No. No. Where did you come? Did you come back to the South Portland house? To--yes, to the house. Okay. Yes. Of course, I was--I brought Mila's things, and Lori's things, and my things, everything that she directed me to take from that apartment that she left behind when I came there. All right. stop just for a second. Just take this in smaller bites. How long was it after you arrived that she came back to Maine with your daughter? Several days. All right. What--describe for us the scene when you first saw Mila again, and your wife? I came back. I was applying for a job at FedEx, and I went to do some testing over there. And I came back, and Lori walked out of the door, having Mila in her arms. And she said--she was asking me 10010 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 to show her the medication. She said, "You're not coming in the house if I don't see that medication right now. Did you go and take the medication’ I said I went to Miles Simmons, and I described to him what's going on, and that you want me to take medications. And I said, "Without--"--you have to prescribe whatever it is, whether it's mild sedative or whatever, it's--whatever you have, T have to show something in front of the door. Otherwise, I'm not going to be able to go inside and be with my daughter. And, first, he refused to do that, because he thought it was outrageous. And-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. WITNESS: --okay. COURT: Wait--hang on a second, Mr. Malenko. What's the objection based on? MR. ALTSHULER: He talked to his (indiscernible), and he said it was outrageous to (indiscernible). WITNESS: Well, he usually does not prescribe-- COURT: Maybe I misunderstood the answer or the statement. MR. ALTSHULER: I think it's what the doctor is saying to him is-- COURT: All right. I--my--I thought--all right. 10110 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 If that's the case, if that's, in fact, the statement that was made, then that's granted. MR. WAXMAN: Yeah. I think that's correct, by the way, your Honor. COURT: Okay. Then it's granted. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Let me just see if I understand. $0, you were under orders from your wife to go to Miles Simmons and get medication, correct? A Yes. Q All right. And, so, you went to Miles Simmons, pursuant to her orders, and asked for medication, correct? A Yes. Q Okay. A Tt was the exact medication she was Q Okay. What medication was it? A -I think this time it was Lamotrogine. Q Okay. Did you leave his office with the Lamotrogine? A No, not at all. Q All right. Did you leave there with any medication? A He gave me (indiscernible) point twenty-five, I believe, the mildest version that he had. And he 10210 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a 2 23 25 said only to take it-- Q Okay. Don't tell us what the doctor said. What's your understanding as to what that medication is for? A --anti-anxiety. Q All right. So--all right. So, you say you came back, having looked for a FedEx job, and she demanded to see the pill box, is that right? A Yes. Q And did you show that to her? A Yes. Q And then were you permitted to gain entry to your house? A She asked me if I'd taken one, and I said that I've taken one. And she let me to go inside. at this point, Mila realizes that her father is there, so--and I was very emotional when I saw her. I think four or five weeks at that point, I had not seen my child. Q Was that hard for you? A Heart-breaking. I--many people here are parents. I don't know if--how would they feel-- MR. ALTSHULER: Objection, your Honor. WITNESS: --well, it was hard. It was the hardest thing in my whole life. And I'm still going through it. 10310 ul 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN So, when you say she made demands on you in order for you to see your daughter, why did you comply with those demands? Well, I'm--how else am I supposed to see my daughter? She was threatening me that she would make sure that I would lose my green card, she would divorce me, She knows--she knew that I would immediately lose my green card. I was not aware, first of all, about those regulations Then she said she would call the police and say that I have done something that I have not, because there was a case in filing, and that they would immediately press charge and basically deport me out of the country. I would not be able to see my daughter. Everything else that she was demanding was very mild comparing to making sure that I would not see my child. Okay. --any more. So-- Let me back up for a second. --so, yeah, that's why I did them. You--okay. Just--when I say--just wait for my next question. You bought--or she bought, rather, a house that cost five hundred thousand dollars in 10410 u 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 May, correct? Five hundred and (indiscernible) . All right. You came back from Europe in November, correct? November, 20077 And you were trying to go back and forth to get a job, right? I actually started applying for jobs when I knew I was gonna come back to--so, the last week in Budapest, I already applied for many jobs. Okay. And I came back, and I immediately started proceeding with those. Did you--why didn't you have a second car? My wife thought that was absolutely not necessary. We couldn't afford that, and that it was just a waste of money and waste--it was just absolutely unnecessary, regardless of the that I thought it would be at least safe for the child, and for the parent who stays at home with the child, to have access to a vehicle, especially in the middle of the winter when there's an emergency. So-- So, when you were home, and she wanted to use the car, were you permitted to use the car? --if I would comply with what she wanted me--I would have gotten the car. Yes. All right. Now, you talked just now about coming 10510 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 back from Budapest, and having demands upon you to get medication. And then you showed her the pill box, right? Yeah. Was there an incident not long after that where, once again, she was demanding that you now take the medication in front of her? Yeah. And also to sign a power-- Okay. Let's take one at a time. --yeah. Okay. There was--was there a situation where she demanded that you take the medication in front of her? Yes. Actually, she forced me, and I ended up taking it, and regardless of the fact that I had just taken some of the dosage that the doctor said to me that was safe, and would not harm me at all. So that--just to be compliable [sic] and go through this period until we would get some (indiscernible) . Was taking the medication in front of her a condition she made for you to stay in that house? Absolutely. Well--and if she said you have to leave the house, would you leave the house? 10610 ul 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 your all, I had to leave the house. Otherwise, she would have called the police and said that I've threatened her or done something wrong, so she would--based on that case that went for filing, she would make sure I would leave the house, and not be with my child. All right. All right. MR. WAXMAN: This--I will use this tape later, Honor, but I want to authenticate it now. So, there's a CD that I've labeled Plaintiff's Exhibit 63, Igor. Take a look. This is reading November, '07, all right? Yeah. And is there a file on here numbered thirty-one, in which you hear her demanding that you take the medication in front of her? Yeah. Does that go on for about, in total, at least fifty minutes? It does. Yes. Do you finally, after-- MR. ALTSHULER: I'm going to object. First of (indiscernible) foundation, Mr. Waxman's establishing--this is a tape I've not heard. It's not been identified. If it's fifty-- 10710 cbt 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 WITNESS: This is identified. I provide (indiscernible) -- MR. WAXMAN: Stop. Stop. Stop. MR. ALTSHULER: --so, I don't want Mr. Waxman to testify as to what it is until the Court allows him to actually introduce it as an exhibit. MR. WAXMAN: Okay. MR. ALTSHULER: I have no doubt that Mr. Malenko made this tape, this CD. I'm not questioning the authenticity. I'm--I'll assume if he says he made it, that's fine. I'm not going to dispute that. I just haven't heard it. I don't--it's the first time I've heard it identified, so we could actually find it. I don't think I want to take fifty minutes to listen to it. MR. WAXMAN: No. I'm not going to play this now. But I have my client on the stand. I need to authenticate the document and move for its admission. I may then use it later on-- MR. ALTSHULER: Well-- MR. WAXMAN: --in the cross-examination. I don't want to have to get him back on the stand to authenticate it then MR. ALTSHULER: --well, it- COURT: Well, okay. That--you--that's fine. You 10810 un 2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 25 can go ahead and do that. MR. ALTSHULER: --well, I-- MR. WAXMAN: All right. So, I'm-- MR. ALTSHULER: --assume it's authenticated, T assume if we hear it, we'll know whose voice is on it. MR. WAXMAN: --okay. So, I'm moving for the admission of the Plaintiff's Exhibit 63, and in particular, file thirty-one. MR. ALTSHULER: I'm object--my basic objection previously, your Honor. Not identified until right now. COURT: Okay. MR. WAXMAN: All right. COURT: That will be--it'll be admitted. DIRECT EXAMINATION CONTINUED BY MR. WAXMAN Q Is there anoth--was there another occasion in November, when Lori was demanding for you to sign a power of attorney? A Yeah. She came home with two documents. One of them was a power--health care power of attorney, and this was just within a few days a few days of the--that incident that I just described with the forcing of the medication, forcing me to take the medication. Q What is your understanding as to what that power 109

Transcript Divorce Hearing Volume II Part 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Transcript Divorce Hearing Volume II Part 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like