President Bush: Please Bring Ted Maher Home From Banana-Republic Monaco!

American Green Beret veteran and accomplished neonatal nurse Ted Maher has now been held 537 days without trial in Monaco's prison on trumped-up and false charges -- charges of causing the deaths of billionaire banker Edmond Safra and Ted's fellow nurse, Vivian Torrente on December 3, 1999. In truth, Ted fought valiantly against two armed, masked intruders to defend Edmond and Vivian and save their lives. During the struggle, Ted suffered severe knife wounds that required one hundred staples to close.

Billionaire banker Edmond Safra was cooperating with the FBI, who was investigating the IMF/Russian loans. Needing a convenient scapegoat for the murder of Safra, Monaco police subjected Ted to three days of grueling torture designed to extort a false confession from him. (see description in "BASIC TIMELINE" in Thread 1 - http://206.112.97.70/forum/a3ad8b097272d.htm ).

Monaco continues to hold Ted incommunicado, preventing him from sending or receiving mail. In fact, they restrict his communication with his family to one telephone call a week. This call is only allowed to last a few minutes and is always monitored closely to prevent any discussion of the case. Ted is forced by his jailers to take a psychotropic medication and is regularly "interrogated" by the Monaco judge -- Patricia Richet. Reports have been received that Judge Richet is a violent person who has displayed unstable behavior in the past. She allegedly has a history of assaulting a fellow judge, putting him in the hospital for a week. She also tears up letters from Ted's children in front of Ted rather than let him read them.

Hundreds of family, friends, work associates, parents of patients, and Army veterans who served with Ted have vouched for him as being a loyal husband, loving father, and an exemplary professional of great skill and compassion. Ted has also been defended by then-chairman of the House International Relations Committee Ben Gilman and Ted's congresswoman Sue Kelly, who have written Prince Rainier III of Monaco on Ted's behalf. Monaco has no evidence of any crime by Ted; they have no witnesses and no credible case against him. Even worse, Monaco has planted false evidence and suppressed vast amounts of exculpatory evidence -- even passing a special Monaco law that enables them to hold Ted four years without trial.

The Geneva prosecutor has said that Safra was killed for his cooperation with the FBI regarding the laundering through Safra's Republic National Bank of $4.8 billion in IMF loans to Russia.

Regardless of the reason "why," it is obvious that Ted Maher is a scapegoat for a murder by others. We are working to obtain his release and to correct the grave injustice being done to an American Green beret veteran and medical professional.

To read the "BASIC TIMELINE" that describes the events surrounding the night of December 3, 1999, click here:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 PennsylvaniaAvenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

E-mail: President George W. Bush - president@whitehouse.gov
V.P. Dick Cheney - vice.president@whitehouse.gov
First Lady Laura Bush - first.lady@whitehouse.gov
Mrs. Lynne Cheney - mrs.cheney@whitehouse.gov

Congresswoman Sue Kelly
1127 Longworth House office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3219
Phone: 1(202)225-5441
E-mail: dearsue@mail.house.gov
Assistant - Phyllis Coleman - phyllis.coleman@mail.house.gov

Amnesty International
322 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 1(212)807-8400
FAX: 12124639193 or 12126271451
E-mail: admin-us@aiusa.org

House on International Relations Committee
Phone: 1(202)225-4561
Assistant: Aaron Blaine - blaine.aaron@mail.house.gov
Europe - Kelly McDonald - kelly.mcdonald@mail.house.gov

Senator George Allen (he helped obtain the release of Chinese scholar Gao Zhan)
website - "http://allen.senate.gov/"
FAX: 12022245432

His Serene Highness
Prince Rainier III
Palais Princier
Place du Palais
B.P.518
MC 98015 Monaco Ville
Principality of Monaco

Consulate General of Monaco
565 Fifth Avenue -23rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 1(212)286-0500
FAX12122861574
E-mail: info@monaco-consulate.com
Hon. Maguy Maccario-Doyle, Consul General

Monaco Guest Book
(You can write in English on the French page and scroll down to read. Please note they have a tendency to delete messages regarding Ted - not "fairytale-correct.")

"As it was, Monaco restricted the testimony of Dr. Michael Baden, and has prevented any examination of evidence:"

Most of us knew what Monaco was going to do from the very onset.
Much of which was due to Phil Dragoo's tireless efforts at keeping us all abreast of the facts surrounding this case; &, as it turns out it was a good thing Phil did, too.
Because if we had had to rely on the disgraceful, shameless weasels & shills at the likes of, "Court TV"? {spit}
This completely innocent man would've been thrown to the wolves a long time ago.
Be that as it may...

There was a discussion some months ago -- of which I participated -- whereby we all knew in our hearts what the inevidable outcome of this sham joke of a trial would be & result in.
Faith notwithstanding then, it was suggested the groundwork for an assault on the crooked prickapalty be layed in the way of a book outline et al.

The twelth hour approaches & if that work had begun back when first suggested?
Then, "The Ted Maher Story" would be that much closer to being launched; while, the metal was still hot.

I've directed my prayers to that end, too.
That is to say that this work has already been begun & in earnest.

Because having neglected to do so -- when time was on our side & we knew what had to be done -- will now have the net effect of making this framed, innocent United States military veteran & citizen pay for that time, twice.

On behalf of Ted Maher...

-BTTT-

AP Update Breaking---

Prosecutor Recommends 12-Year Prison Term for Nurse Charged in Billionaire's Death
By John Leicester
Associated Press Writer
MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) - Monaco's chief prosecutor demanded a 12-year prison sentence Monday for American male nurse Ted Maher for the 1999 arson death of his billionaire employer, Edmond Safra.
The prosecutor, Daniel Serdet, said Maher had set the fire in Safra's luxurious Monaco apartment that led to the asphyxiation deaths of the banker and another of his nurses, Vivian Torrente.
"He directly caused the deaths of Mrs. Torrente and Mr. Safra," Serdet said. "He trapped the victims."
Maher's high-profile trial on charges of arson leading to death ended after closing arguments Monday, with a verdict expected in the evening. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The defense said Maher - who acknowledges setting the fire - did not intend for Safra and the nurse to die. His intention was merely to trigger the fire alarm in order to pose as Safra's savior in a rescue.
"Stupidity is reprehensible, but it is not a crime," said Sandrine Setton, one of his defense lawyers, who argued that the charge against Maher should be reduced to involuntary manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum six years in prison.
"Condemn Theodore Maher for his lies, condemn Theodore Maher for his moral betrayal, condemn Theodore Maher for his faults," Setton said. "Do not condemn him for a crime he did not commit."
Maher has been held in Monaco's prison for the last three years.
The fire and trial have been a sensation in Monaco, which prides itself with providing a safe, security and luxurious environment for the rich and famous in this Mediterranean enclave.
For most of Monday's session, 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 own defense.
He called Safra "the best employer I ever had," and said he did not mean to cause his death or the death of the nurse.
"What's happened is and always will be a terrible accident," said the former Green Beret, reiterating earlier testimony.
Maher's wife was in court, as was Safra's widow.
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 Maher $600 a day. Maher, originally from Auburn, Maine, told prosecutors it was "the most beautiful job" he had ever had.
But Maher also felt that Safra's chief nurse belittled him and he feared that he might lose his job. Just six weeks after arriving in Monaco, he hatched the idea of setting the fire to ingratiate himself with his boss and earn a promotion.
In testimony, Maher called the Dec. 3, 1999 blaze a "terrible accident" and said he never meant to harm his employer.
Lawyers for Safra's widow, Lily, however, say Maher should be judged for his actions, not his intentions.
On Monday, the prosecutor described how Maher cut himself with a knife and then 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, Maher let it spread, the prosecution charged, leading to the two deaths. Prosecutors also said that his tale about intruders delayed the work of firefighters to control the blaze.
Maher's defense team is worried that Monaco, which only has a small, seaside jail, will send him to neighboring France to serve out his sentence if he is convicted. French prisons are extremely overcrowded.

AP-ES-12-02-02 1112EST

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAD8IUL89D.html

FREE TED MAHER NOW, MONACO

DAY 1,094 WRONGLY IMPRISONED ON EXTORTED FALSE CONFESSION

Monaco declares victory in headlines; activity continues behind the scenes.

Today's headlines boldly declare Monaco's victory, and allow it to mend its matters discreetly behind the scenes.

The past is prologue to today:

December 3, 1999, the inconvenient billionaire banker Edmond Safra was killed--the day his widow became a citizen of Monaco,

The day his Republic Bank's sale to HSBC was approved, netting her three billion.

Her preparations were meticulous: her paid agent pencilled in Ted Maher and Vivian Torrent at the last minute,

She'd sent Edmond's security team to the palatial estate La Leopolda, having disconnected the penthouse burglar alarm July 1, 1999.

She'd changed his will to her benefit, and would cremate him, burying him in Switzerland, not Israel as he'd wished.

The Monaco police chief inspector Olivier Jude completed the FBI National Academy in March, 1999,

And would supervise the three-day brutal interrogation, sleep-deprivation and extortion of Ted's signature on the police document.

The Monaco prosecutor Daniel Serdet would lie that Ted was on drugs, knowing the hospital tests proving him a liar would be suppressed.

The Monaco pretend defenders, the pickled Georges Blot, and the unctious Donald Manasse would be good dogs--

Forcing Ted to adhere to the extorted false confession.

The order was given that Ted's one phone call a week would be disconnected should he discuss the details of the night in question.

He was permitted no mail in or out discussing the event, as authorities illegally intercepted his correspondence to his chosen attorney.

The trial judge forbade Ted's chosen attorney from addressing the court contrary to Monaco law--

Yet when Ted's congresswoman Sue Kelly, the House International Relations Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advised Secretary of State Colin Powell of this, the ban was withdrawn.

Despite everything the pretend defenders could do, Griffith began to extricate the truth from the wreckage of justice--

Although the court barred Dr. Michael Baden from most of his testimony, he was able to introduce the murder of Vivian and her spattering with Edmond's blood.

Even with its awakening Ted every twenty to forty minutes with a flashlight in his eyes, Monaco could not break him.

He is very dangerous to them, as he is the only living witness to the truth.

But he is not the only danger to Monaco's cover up.

Lily tried to buy off Vivian's husband to prevent an insurance investigation;

But Ireneo burned his attorneys and faces their suit, as well as their knowledge of the true circumstances.

The Safra family whom Lily cheated in her will tampering, whom Lily tried to bar from Edmond's funeral, are not quiescent.

Nor are they as poor as the working mother of three whom she's robbed of husband and father for three years.

All which has been expounded by way of suppressed exculpatory evidence and manufactured incriminating evidence remains.

Dominick Dunne has had behind the scenes conferences as has Joseph Safra.

The court's action was never in doubt, and if anything has been watered down--

Indeed, Serdet had beaten his chest that he would have twenty years--but the court did not even give his reduced twelve--

And the ten is a nice round number for the press. Monaco can save face with that.

And it now must weigh if it will engineer Ted's "suicide"--or simply do what's been discussed for some time:

Declare victory and let Ted go home to his family--after another face-saving interval.

The chief prosecutor of Geneva said Edmond Safra was killed for cooperating with the FBI regarding the laundering of $4.8 billion in IMF loans to Russia through his Republic Bank;

Henry Kissinger said the death of Edmond Safra was a "cruel, vindictive act";

Anne Williamson author of Contagion wrote me she was certain Ted Maher was a scapegoat for the laundering which profited the Clintons, Rubin, Summers and a half dozen Russians.

President Bush accused Viktor Chernomyrdin of this during a debate.

Chernomyrdin went red in the face and shouted threats of lawsuit.

This has not materialized, although Pavel Borodin was arrested in New York the morning of Bush's innauguration.

Extradited to Switzerland, bailed by Vladimir Putin for three million, Borodin was said by an Israeli journalist who emailed me to have been paid through Banco del Gottardo--

Note, he said, that Banco del Gottardo still maintains its branch in La Belle Epoque at 17 Avenue d'Ostende.

Three days to extort its signature on its prepared false confession; three years in isolation with enforced medication; a quick show trial showing nothing;

And a quiet release after a decent interval to save its face.

MONACO, SUNNY PLACE FOR SHADY PEOPLE--Somerset Maugham

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