American gets 10 years in Monaco deaths
Posted on 12/03/2002 2:55:29 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
American gets 10 years in Monaco deaths
Nurse, ex-Green Beret set fire that killed banker, second nurse
12/03/2002
MONTE CARLO, Monaco - An American nurse was convicted Monday in the 1999 arson deaths of billionaire banker Edmond Safra and another nurse, Vivian Torrente. Ted Maher was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The prosecution in this wealthy Mediterranean enclave had requested 12 years in prison for Mr. Maher. The charges carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
"He directly caused the deaths of Mrs. Torrente and Mr. Safra," head prosecutor Daniel Serdet said. "He trapped the victims."
The defense said Mr. Maher, who admitted setting the fire, did not intend for Mr. Safra and Ms. Torrente to die. His intention was merely to trigger the fire alarm and pose as Mr. Safra's rescuer, the defense said.
"Stupidity is reprehensible, but it is not a crime," Sandrine Setton, one of the defense lawyers, said in closing arguments.
The defense argued that the charge against Mr. Maher should be reduced to involuntary manslaughter. Mr. Maher has been in Monaco's prison for three years.
The fire and trial have been a sensation in Monaco, which prides itself with providing a safe, secure and luxurious environment for the rich and famous.
For most of the session Monday, Mr. Maher sat still in the dock, looking gaunt and tired as he listened to a translation of the proceedings from French into English. Toward the end of the day, he gave a tearful final word in his defense.
He called Mr. Safra "the best employer I ever had," and said he did not mean to cause the deaths.
"What's happened is and always will be a terrible accident," said the former Green Beret, reiterating earlier testimony in the hours before the verdict.
Lawyers for Mr. Safra's widow, Lily, say Mr. Maher should be judged for his actions, not his intentions.
Mr. Safra, the 67-year-old founder and principal stock owner of the Republic National Bank of New York, had Parkinson's disease and required constant care. He paid Mr. Maher $600 a day. Mr. Maher, originally from Auburn, Maine, told prosecutors that it was "the most beautiful job" he had ever had.
But Mr. Maher also said that Mr. Safra's chief nurse belittled him and that he feared losing his job. Six weeks after arriving in Monaco, he hatched the idea of setting the fire to ingratiate himself with his boss and earn a promotion.
On Monday, the prosecutor described how Mr. Maher cut himself with a knife and set a fire in a wastepaper basket. He called for rescue and told authorities that two masked intruders were in the apartment.
But rather than extinguish the fire, Mr. Maher let it spread, the prosecution said, leading to the two deaths.
That's not Boone's Farm ! Whoo-Whee Deputy Dawg !! 
Nice try, Sandrine. But when a reprehensible crime is comitted out of stupidity, the perpetrator must pay. The mouse has roared. Monagasque justice has spoken. Let us not waste band width on Mr. Maher. He is an American. He is unfortunate. He is an arsonist. He would receive the same sentence in the US for involuntary manslaughter, maybe more.
PS, Sandrine. Call Johnny Cochran's office. Your act needs a little work. Personally would have gone the insanity route with this defendant. Or maybe hostile workplace environment!
Why? Because he's a "former Green Beret"?
Bill Clinton is a "former President of the United States," but that doesn't define his character. It doesn't mean he's "the same" as Ronald Reagan, for example.
I'm ashamed of Maher, and I'm very disappointed at those on FR who continue to defend him simply because (apparently) he once served in the military.
Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought there were circumstances that didn't come up in the trial? Apparently I didn't get some details from prior articles on this. Thanks.
They claim there was some nefarious Monaco government "plot" to kill this guy Safra, and then pin it on Maher.
Maher protested his innocence for awhile, then finally broke down and admitted it.
When he did this, his FR supporters began claiming he was coerced into doing so, possibly tortured.
But it appears after all is said and done that Maher was guilty of this crime, and his sentence is appropriate.
After all, this stuff happened a long way away, and as long as he maintained his innocence it was easy to keep an open mind.
The "cheerleaders" for David Westerfield, though...They REALLY got my dander up!
Then can we finally get justice for Maher? Huh?
Not! ;-)
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