Get your story straight.
To educate yourself on the basic facts and timeline of this case, the reader can go to the link below. Under the headings of "BASIC TIMELINE," "SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS, "MISCELLANEOUS EVIDENCE," and "CONCLUSION," I've already summarized the chronological events as they occurred back in 1999. This includes details of how Safra was cooperating with the FBI as they investigated Russian organized crime's infiltration of U.S. banks. It is a compelling read once you start putting all the scattered facts and data together and realizing why Monaco & Lily Safra need a scapegoat: Monaco doesn't want their "safe tourist haven" image shattered by mental images of Russian mafioso, and Lily... Well, I'll let the reader come to their own conclusions about her without my input.
American Green Beret Veteran TED MAHER Held Hostage by Monaco for 498 Days and Counting... (Thread I)
I understand how it's much easier for people to come onto this thread, read the Court TV article with the changed and thus misleading headline, and then come away with the idea that Ted Maher is a "wacko" or a "freak." (Where did they get that photo?!) It's much easier to ingest one single article like this than to go to the above link and actually read the basic information. But you need to read it to get the full picture. It'll probably take a total of 10 minutes of your time (I can't guarantee the links are still good, btw.)
I would like to include a few things that aren't included in the information I'm bringing over, since it's important follow-up information.
As to the remarks that "this guy is a freak" and a "wacko," I can't really comment one way or the other about his current personality since I've never met the man. I can say that I personally tracked down one of Ted & Heidi's college faculty nursing instructors from old news reports so I could get some background investigation on him. I first e-mailed her and then called her personally on the phone. She and the other nursing faculty knew both Ted & Heidi since they both went through the same nursing program together.
This faculty member said there was nothing in his history that would indicate he was capable of killing someone and he had shown no signs of mental stability in the years they knew him. She had nothing bad to say about Heidi, either. Of course, wild horses couldn't drag this teacher's identity from me, so don't ask. Suffice it to say that I was satisfied about his mental stability for that time frame in his history. I made the calls because I had to know for myself.
Also, Heidi had no idea I was going to do this, and I didn't ever tell her who I talked to in order to protect this person's confidentiality. Heidi never complained or said anything to me about it once I made the above information known.
Here are some other issues that I've addressed that aren't included in the Basic Timeline information:
Someone said: "Let justice take its course in Monaco."
That's exactly the point I've been making about the Maher case. Monaco is not allowing any of the evidence into the court that indicates he is innocent of murder. They are only allowing evidence that points to him as being guilty of staging a robbery to gain favor with Edmund Safra. Their key to this claim is his "confession," so be sure you read the information about that so-called "confession" before making a decision on its veracity.
Someone else said, "I can only say that if it can be proven that Ted Maher buckled under the psychological pressure of his incarceration or threats to his family to admit to something untrue then he may be vindicated. Absence of such proof makes him responsible by his own admission."
I may be wrong, but here's my take on Ted's current situation as it stands. (This is strictly my interpretation, and I hope I don't screw up something for him by throwing my theory around in public. I'm just stating the obvious.)
The decision about his defense strategy is a huge gamble. Does he continue insisting on his complete innocence and risk life in prison and never seeing his children again? If he steadfastly continues to talk about "intruders," then Monaco is forced to deal with it accordingly. They must protect their "safe" image since their economy is based on tourism.
On the other hand, should he vaguely refer to the fire as "an accident," be conciliatory & capitulating in his wording, and essentially give Monaco an "out" so they can let him come home? Does he compromise and give them what they need to "save face" so he can receive a lesser sentence than life in prison?
To me, it boils down to making the best of a really bad situation. Monaco needs a scapegoat so they can retain their precious "tourist mecca" image; Lily is being typical Lily (read about her history); and Ted desperately wants to come home and put all this behind him.
It's really easy for me to sit here and piously say, "If I were in that situation, I wouldn't budge an inch!", but then again, I'm not in that situation. I'm sitting here fat and happy with my spouse and kids and watching the kids as they grow up. If I were in Ted Maher's situation, I honestly don't know what I'd do.
Bottom line: No, there's no way for me to know for sure whether or not Ted Maher lit that fire and staged a robbery. I may be defending a total "wacko" and "a freak." But after educating myself on all the facts that are available to me, I've decided it's highly unlikely. The facts of the case point to the Russian mafia and their desire to stay in the lucrative banking business. Has anyone heard of how the FBI has progressed in their investigation since Safra's death? If so, please point me to it.
It appears to me that Ted Maher just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And consider this: What do you think would happen to Lily Safra if she didn't go along with the whitewash? Do you think for one minute the killers of Edmond Safra would allow her to live to enjoy the billions she has inherited? She may be greedy, but she's not stupid.
To summarize:
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.
Dominick Dunne continues to be the recipient of vague messages from total strangers about how he should stay away from this case. Why is that?
Monaco, you have your friggin' scapegoat. Be smart and take it. You can't get blood from a turnip.
American Green Beret Veteran TED MAHER Held Hostage by Monaco for 498 Days and Counting... (Thread I)
BASIC TIMELINE
July - August, 1999
In July of 1999, Ted Maher, a former Special Forces Green Beret and 41-yr-old loving, devoted father of three children, is working as an accomplished neonatal nurse at New York's Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. He finds a camera in his neonatal ward and returns it to Laura and Harry Slatkin, close friends of Edmond Safra's wife, Lily. Because of Ted's generous act of kindness, he ends up working for Edmond Safra, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and requires private-duty nurses.
His wife, Heidi, states:
"My husband found the camera at work coming onto his shift in the neonatal intensive care unit. He remembered it was the spot where he took care of twins for a couple of months. He developed the film to confirm it was them. He sent it to their address in an envelope expecting to hear nothing else. We received a call (our number was given out by work to the couple after they asked) asking Ted for this job since they knew how trustworthy he was (the camera was expensive) and how caring he was to their twins. Our hospital was starting a strike and Ted and I would both be without pay, so we saw the offer as an opportunity SHORT TERM to help with expenses. Now I wish he never returned the camera." -- Heidi Maher
[This was done the same month that the “certificate of occupancy” was issued to Lily Safra for extensive renovations to the luxurious penthouse. Laura Slatkin's (owner of the camera) brother-in-law, Howard Slatkin, decorated for Lily and the extensive renovations brought hundreds of men trooping through for access and familiarity with security.]
http://www.russianlaw.org/026.htm (USA Today, Aug. 27, 1999):
''Alarms should be going off all over the banking system this week,'' says U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa. U.S., British and Russian law enforcement officials said this week that Russian organized crime used accounts at Bank of New York and Republic Bank of New York to launder money, including $10 billion in diverted International Monetary Fund loans earmarked to aid Russia's economy. Leach, the chairman of the House Banking Committee, has scheduled hearings for next month to explore Russian organized crime's infiltration of U.S. banks.
U.S. banks are required to file reports on any cash transactions of $10,000 or more with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Banks also must keep records of wire transfers of $3,000 or more for at least five years and to file ''suspicious activity reports'' (SARs) on any unusual transactions. Determining what is suspicious is at the discretion of the banks, regulators say.
Republic National Bank last August filed a SAR over an unusually large transfer from one of its accounts to an account at the Bank of New York in the name Benex Worldwide, which has ties to Mogilevich.
Republic spokeswoman Melissa Krantz says the bank filed a SAR with the Treasury Department, which then contacted the FBI. The FBI then asked Republic and the Bank of New York to keep the Benex account and related accounts open so they could monitor their activities.
Krantz declined to elaborate on the amount of money moving between the accounts. Bank of New York spokesman Frank Scarangella declined comment. The bank says it's cooperating with investigators.
[In other words, in three short months Lily would inherit Edmond’s fortune.]
[The Geneva prosecutor believes Safra was killed for his cooperation with the FBI in the Russian IMF loan issue.]
[Sonia was later paid $100K and provided an expensive New York City apartment in exchange for a Confidentiality Agreement. Also, her later testimony in the 65-page Fire Report was contradictory.]
[According to testimony by Lily's head nurse Sonia, the soon-to-be dead nurse Vivian used Ted's phone to call Sonia for help six times. Inexplicably, Sonia did not summon help. The actual cell phone records have not been sought by Monaco-appointed attorneys Manasse and Blot.]
The French police emergency 911 tapes are missing for December 3rd, yet they are present for Dec. 2nd & 4th. The exact words of Vivian are lost, as is the exact time of her first call to police.
Incidentally, Head Nurse Sonia gave conflicting testimony in three different depositions (D43, D47, and D70)]
[According to the Fire Report, there were multiple sites of origin for the fire that later engulfed the penthouse.]
[As Boaz Bismuth, an Israeli journalist for Yedioth Aharonot newspaper says, "You could fly from Paris to London" in that amount of time.
Boaz Bismuth also said he was told by a member of Safra's security team that it was Lily Safra's order that sent the security team from the penthouse to the chateau that night. When team leader Shmule/Samuel Cohen arrived on-scene he was not admitted "because he lacked proper identification and keys." -– see Dateline transcript at http://www.tedmaher.com/]
[The full picture is missing here. "Trauma to the throat" arose from a French-language document given to Ted in prison. Heidi sent him a French-language dictionary and he was teaching himself enough for his defense because Ted's lawyer Manasse would charge for English-language translations – he tried to charge Heidi $1,000 for an English-translation of the Fire Report.]
[Clozaril is a non-habit forming antipsychotic medication often used to treat schizophrenia. It is sometimes used by Parkinson's Disease sufferers who are taking levodopa to offset levodopa's psychiatric side effects (depression, confusion, possible hallucinations & psychosis). Clozaril is not a “feel good” medication used by substance abusers. In fact, it can have dangerous side effects (bone marrow suppression) and anyone taking Clozaril requires weekly blood tests.
Ted’s family is in possession of a document which shows that Head Nurse Sonia Casiano-Herkrath ordered a bottle of Clozaril two weeks before Mr. Safra was murdered.]
[The security videotapes showing the attackers were requested by Judge Patricia Richet but she was told they "are nowhere to be found." A single tape was provided to the Judge Richet, a tape of a 1997 black-tie dinner party. The security system was revamped in 1999. Why would a 1997 tape remain?]
[Ted’s family has a picture of Safra's room with lit candles.]
-Skin under Mr. Safra's fingernails does not match Ted’s DNA.
-Blood found on Vivian Torrente does not match Ted's DNA.
-Ted's toxicology reports from the hospital, where he lay in critical condition, are negative for drugs and alcohol.
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk%2fnews%2fpages%2ftim%2f2000%2f07%2f25%2ftimfgnrus01002.html/
"Afraid that the investigations that followed would tarnish his name, Mr Safra allegedly decided to co-operate with the FBI and Swiss officials, setting out in detail the mechanisms by which Russians had been using American banks to launder their money. Mr Safra's death soon afterwards has been blamed on his male nurse. But the chief prosecutor in Geneva has reportedly said he believes the murder was a result of Mr Safra's decision to help the FBI."
CONCLUSION
The question of cui bono or "whose benefit" points away from Ted Maher, who was earning income for his family and looking forward to returning to them and his job at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.
Ted Maher was thoroughly vetted before being hired by the Safra’s. Ted's behavior and performance in his nursing school program and in his nine years of employment at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital were exemplary. His employment record was clean. He was a nice guy, an accomplished professional, a loyal husband, a loving father, and a Special Forces Green Beret veteran.
He would also make the perfect sacrificial scapegoat.
Edmond Safra was cooperating with the FBI and was paranoid, rightfully so. Many people would benefit if he were dead, so he took extraordinary precautions and was amply protected by an elite security team of Israeli-trained agents headed by Shmule Cohen. Unfortunately for Mr. Safra, Vivian and Ted, the security team was sent to another location that fateful night.
The “Banker Who Knew Where The Bodies Were Buried” wasn’t going to live to enjoy the $3.3 billion dollar sale of his Republic Bank to HSBC – he just didn’t know it yet. But then again, neither did his two loyal nurses who were penciled into the schedule at the last minute.
The incident of the lost, found, and returned camera is key. This incident -- the camera's return to a close associate of Safra which led to the job interview and the offer of a job in a luxury locale -- occurred in July of 1999. This was just at the time that Safra's Republic Bank, and thus the Russian mob, was in the spotlight and Putin was blackmailing Yeltsin with evidence of his embezzlement. Thus, those people with risk of exposure were presented with a sacrificial American scapegoat – former Special Forces veteran and nurse, Ted Maher.
An ambitious Monaco prosecutor and a complicit, lazy press have taken it one step further – They have transformed the "perfect scapegoat" into a complete Character of Fiction.