by Linda Wolfe
SOURCE NOTES
To create this narrative, the author interviewed over a hundred people who were either central figures in the story or whose lives intersected with those of the central figures. In addition, the author consulted various legal documents, books, and articles. She was unable to speak with Joy Silverman, who declined repeated requests for an interview.
ABBREVIATIONS
Unless otherwise noted, the interviews were conducted by the author. Frequently cited persons and court documents have been identified by the following abbreviations:
JS
Joy Silverman
SW
Sol Wachtler
Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
Michael Chertoff, U.S. Attorney, Sentencing Memorandum of the United States, in re USA v. Sol Wachtler (U.S. District Court, Trenton, N.J., 1993).
Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
Letter of Steven S. Simring, M.D., to Michael Chertoff, July 13, 1993 (Exhibit A, Sentencing Memorandum of the United States).
Letter, Miller, Sent. Memo. of S.W.
Letter of Frank T. Miller, M.D., to Judge Anne Thompson, May 12, 1993 (Exhibit C, Defendant’s Exhibits to Sentencing Memorandum of Sol Wachtler, prepared by Charles Stillman and Theodore V. Wells, Jr.).
Stillman, Sent. Memo. of SW
Charles Stillman and Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Sentencing Memorandum of Sol Wachtler.
Add., Frosch and Miller, Sent. Memo. of SW
Addendum to Evaluation of Sol Wachtler, prepared by William A. Frosch, M.D., and Frank T. Miller, M.D. (Sentencing Memorandum of Sol Wachtler).
S. Wachtler, Prob. Proc., Wolosoff
Examination of the Honorable Sol Wachtler in Probate Proceeding, Will of Alvin B. Wolosoff, Deceased (Surrogate’s Court, State of New York, County of Nassau, 1985).
PROLOGUE
pp. 1–2 SW’s telephone call to JS: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
pp. 2–3 Conversation between Chertoff and Ashrafi: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Apr. 12, 1993.
pp. 3–4 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
p. 4 “Joy was shaking”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 21, 1993.
pp. 5–6 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
p. 6 “‘There’s been another call’” to “arresting the chief judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Apr. 12, 1993.
p. 6 “When he landed in Denver”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 19, 1993.
p. 6 SW’s letter: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
pp. 7–8 Joan Wachtler’s experiences on Nov. 7, 1992: Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
CHAPTER 1
pp. 13–14 SW’s boyhood: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.
pp. 14–15 SW at Milford: The Milford Yearbook, June 1947, and interviews with former teachers David Rosenbaum and Jerry Pepper, Mar. 25, 1993 (interviews conducted by Jack Bourque); “nose bobbed”: interviews with two of SW’s classmates, Apr. 6 and 7, 1993 (interviews conducted by Jack Bourque).
p. 15 “Where to go instead?”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.
p. 15 “who hailed from Saranac Lake”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 15 “gave birth to a baby girl”: Where? According to the Daily News, in an article dated Nov. 15, 1992, “Silverman has said she was born Apr. 8, 1947, in Newark, N.J., and has identified her father as Ben Fererh. But no record of either fact could be located there.” The same was true of Saranac Lake.
p. 15 “Jeanette was a charmer”: Interview with a friend of Jeanette’s, May 5, 1993.
p. 16 Leon Wolosoff: “Funds for Queens Homes,” New York Times, Oct. 18, 1931; “Goodyear Village Is Sold,” New York Times, July 29, 1944; and obituary of Leon Wolosoff, New York Times, June 8, 1949.
p. 16 Max Blumberg’s career: Obituary of Max Blumberg, New York Times, Nov. 10, 1938.
p. 16 Joan’s nickname: Interview with a camp mate, Dec. 23, 1992.
pp. 16–17 SW’s first dates with Joan: Interviews with Sol and Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 17 Washington and Lee University: Washington and Lee Catalogue for 1951–1952, and Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year Colleges, 1992.
pp. 17–18 SW’s career at Washington and Lee: Interviews with four frat mates of SW’s, Mar. 10 and 17, 1993, and clippings from The Ring-turn Phi, Washington and Lee Semi-Weekly Newspaper, 1947–1952.
pp. 18–19 The Wolosoff brothers: Interviews with Robert Berne, Feb. 8, 1993, and Lester Brooke, Feb. 16, 1993.
p. 19 Nassau County: Stephen Birmingham, The Rest of Us, Little, Brown, 1984. John Clements, New York Facts: A Comprehensive Look at New York Today, County by County, Clements Research II, Inc., 1989. Arturo Gonzalez, Eugene H. Nickerson: Statesman of a New Society, James H. Heineman, Inc., N.Y., 1964. Edward J. Smits, Nassau: Suburbia, U.S.A., Friends of the Nassau County Museum, n.d.
p. 19 Leon Wolosoff’s death: Interview with Lester Brooke, Feb. 16, 1993.
p. 20 real estate “that would one day be worth many millions of dollars”: How many? The New York Times reported in Catherine S. Manegold’s “Judge and Heiress: The Rise and Fall of a Private Affair,” Nov. 15, 1992, that Joan Wachtler became “heir to a $90 million fortune.” Joan Wachtler told the author the figure was vastly exaggerated, but did not provide an alternative figure.
p. 20 “‘Elsie, the delivery boy is here!’”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.
p. 20 “‘She was one of those perfect girls’”: Interview with one of SW’s frat mates, Mar. 17, 1993.
p. 21 SW’s story about “J.C.W.” and the dream: The Ring-turn Phi, Oct. 2, 1951.
p. 21 SW’s story about the kiss: The Ring-turn Phi, Oct. 30, 1951.
p. 21 “he and Joan had not yet had sex together”: Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.
p. 22 The wedding and its antecedents: Interview with Joan and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 23 “the scholarship drive and her husband”: Sarah Lawrence Yearbook, 1952.
pp. 23–25 The early days of the marriage: Interview with Joan and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
CHAPTER 2
p. 26 Great Neck: Great Neck Circle magazine, 1950–1952. Dr. Jay Schulman, “The Jews of Great Neck: A Heritage Reaffirmed,” in Ethnicity in Suburbia: The Long Island Experience, ed. by Salvatore J. La Gumina, copyright 1979. This Is Great Neck, published by the League of Women Voters of Great Neck, 1975. Helene Herzig, A Family of Families: Temple Beth-el 1928–1978, Temple Beth-el of Great Neck, 1978.
p. 26 Sylvia Wolosoff: Interview with Amy Osler, Jan. 31, 1993.
p. 27 Bibbs’s dream house: Interviews with Lester Brooke, Feb. 16, 1993, and Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 27–28 Parties at the Wolosoff mansion and breakup of the couples: Interviews with Gail Rothstein, Feb. 2, 1993, and Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 28 “didn’t … contribute financially” and “had to help him out with money”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 28 Jeanette’s marriage to Germont: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 28 “could barely meet the mortgage payments”: Interview with Helen Cox, Sept. 4, 1993.
p. 28 “working on a contractual basis, she did public relations for the city of Newark”: Interview with Emma Garcia, Dec. 17, 1993 (interview conducted by Jack Bourque).
pp. 29–30 “It was at one of her functions that Bibbs had met her” to “‘I’m all she’s got’”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 30 “They’d done it largely at Bibbs’s urging”: Interview with Joan and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 30 “One of his favorite sayings was”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 30 FHA investigation of Wolosoff brothers: “Frauds in Selling Home Repair Jobs Under F.H.A. Cited,” New York Times, Aug. 27, 1954.
p. 30 “‘They wanted houses’”: Inte
rview with William Koeppel, Feb. 24, 1993.
pp. 31–32 “Once, Sol even negotiated a land deal for him”: Interview with SW July 16, 1993.
p. 32 “he’d begun to try his hand at politics”: Interview with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993.
p. 33 “‘Jeanette! Good God, what happened to you?’”: Interview with a friend of Jeanette’s, May 5, 1993.
pp. 33–35 Bibbs and Jeanette: Interviews with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993, Alexander Simons, Mar. 23, 1993, and a friend of Jeanette’s, May 5, 1993.
p. 35 Bibbs “spent over a million and a half dollars on them”: S. Wachtler, Prob. Proc., Wolosoff.
p. 35 Van Wolosoff: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 35–37 “‘You must be the new Mrs. Wolosoff’s daughter’” to “trying to be just like her mother”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 37–38 SW as a father: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.
p. 38 SW and the North Hempstead Town Council seat fight: Interviews with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993, and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 39 “he needed some land rezoned”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 39 “the boy, Bruce, was rumored to be part of a fast crowd”: Interview with Alison Wachtler, May 15, 1993.
p. 39 “‘had this reputation’”: Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
pp. 39–40 Van and Jeanette: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 40 Bibbs’s molestation of Joy: Interview with Phil Friedman, Aug. 19, 1993.
pp. 40–41 “he and Joy had become lovers”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 41–42 The relationship between Dick and Jeanette: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 42–43 The meeting between Clint Martin and David Holman: Interview with a Long Island politician, Apr. 13, 1993.
p. 43 Joy’s relationship with Van: Interviews with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993, and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 43 Jeanette’s feelings about Van and Jimmy: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 44 Bruce’s adoption: Interview with Richard L. Gold, June 28, 1993.
p. 44 SW’s victory: Interview with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993.
CHAPTER 3
pp. 45–46 “‘Why didn’t Bibbs adopt you?’ “ to “seduction was second nature to her”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 46–47 SW decides to run against Nickerson: “G.O.P. in Nassau Picks Candidate,” New York Times, Feb. 24, 1967, “G.O.P. Nominates Its Nassau Slate,” New York Times, Mar. 2, 1967, and interviews with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993, and another Long Island politician, Apr. 13, 1993.
pp. 47–48 SW at the convention, and Don Kellerman’s advice to him and Joan: CBS Reports: Campaign American Style, CBS television network, 1968.
p. 48 Joan’s activities during the campaign: Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 49 “she’d made no impression on him”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993. SW reported to the author that although he didn’t recall the first time he met Joy, she well recalled the first time she met him, and even remembered what he was wearing—a suede jacket.
p. 49 “she was impressed with him”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 49 “‘Are you Wachtler?’” Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
p. 49 “‘It’s a great embarrassment to have to ask friends for money’”: CBS Reports: Campaign American Style, op. cit.
p. 49 SW adept at raising money: “G.O.P. Fund Dinner Held for Nassau Candidate,” New York Times, May 18, 1967.
p. 49 “‘He was the Great White Jewish Hope’”: Interview with Arlene Stang, Feb. 18, 1993.
p. 50 “Sol was using dirty tricks”: “Nickerson Says Rival Uses Fake Campaign Photo,” New York Times, Sept. 29, 1967.
p. 50 “‘a slick, scurrilous campaign’”: “Lefkowitz Asks Poll Fraud Law,” New York Times, Sept. 28, 1967.
p. 50 “One autumn day, he crisscrossed Nassau County with Sol”: “Governor Stumps with Wachtler,” New York Times, Oct. 11, 1967.
p. 50 “he came to a party at Sol’s house”: Interview with Alison Wachtler, May 15, 1993.
pp. 50–51 “accused one of Sol’s chief aides”: “Nassau Democrats Accuse Republican of Attempt to Spy,” New York Times, Oct. 27, 1967.
p. 51 Events on election night: CBS Reports: Campaign American Style, op. cit.
p. 52 “She was a receptionist” to “marrying Dick”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 52 “‘Take on Wolf’”: Interview with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993.
p. 53 “‘After three years, you’ll be bored or alcoholic’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.
pp. 53–54 “‘I’m not going to be deputy anything’”: Interview with Long Island politician, Apr. 13, 1993.
p. 54 SW and the Nassau Bar Association: “Wachtler to Seek Nassau Judgeship,” New York Times, Dec. 2, 1967; “Wachtler Facing a Judgeship Snag,” New York Times, Dec. 31, 1967; “Wachtler Fails in Nassau Appeal,” New York Times, Jan. 7, 1968.
p. 54 “Up in Albany, Rockefeller was enraged”: Interview with Long Island politician, Apr. 13, 1993.
p. 54 “the question of Sol’s endorsement was sent to the bar association’s board of directors”: Actually, SW had tried to get the board to bypass the judiciary committee earlier, but the board members at first refused. It was only on SW’s second try that they overruled their committee. Interview with Long Island politician, Apr. 13, 1993.
p. 55 “‘I’m not Joy’s father’” and engagement presents: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 55–56 The engagement party: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993. Simons thought the incident in which Jeanette teased him about SW’s attraction to Joy occurred at his wedding party, but SW told the author he did not attend the wedding, only the engagement party.
pp. 55–56 “‘No one had the right to be that tall’”: Interview with Dottie Bernstein, Feb. 12, 1993.
p. 56 “he would date his first encounter with her to this festive evening”: S. Wachtler, Prob. Proc., Wolosoff.
p. 56 The Florida land: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 56–57 “he hadn’t given them legal title” to “‘you go ahead and do it’”: Court documents filed in the case of James K. Wolosoff v. Alvin B. Wolosoff et al., dated Aug. 20, 1975, and Apr. 21, 1976.
pp. 57–58 Joy and Dick Simons’s honeymoon: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 58 Madame Germont: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
pp. 58–59 “‘I used to send him a hundred dollars here, fifty dollars there’”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 59 “The poor kid, he would tell himself” to “she never spoke to her father again”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
CHAPTER 4
p. 60 The stenographer: Interview with court stenographer Arnold Cohen, Mar. 15, 1993.
p. 60 SW’s career as a trial judge in Mineola: Interview with Judge Joseph Bellacosa, May 18, 1993.
pp. 60–64 “asked Bibbs to set up Dick” to “one of the most fashionable apartment buildings in Palm Beach”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 64 “The kids had always come to him, not Joan”: Interviews with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993, and Joan and Sol Wachtler, July 16, 1993.
pp. 64–65 Margiotta: “Nassau Republicans March to Beat of Powerful Drumming by Margiotta,” New York Times, Dec. 8, 1972.
p. 65 “The party needed help”: Interviews with Victor Kovner, Feb. 1, 1993, and Judge Milton Mollen, Feb. 19, 1993. “Feud of Esposito and Troy Annuls Judgeship Pact,” New York Times, Mar. 3, 1972.
p. 65 “Generally, court of appeals seats weren’t contested”: Today in New York State, court of appeals judges are appointed by the governor. SW’s campaign was an important factor in the change.
p. 65 SW
would have four hundred thousand dollars to spend on television ads: “Nassau Republicans March to Beat of Powerful Drumming by Margiotta,” New York Times, Dec. 8, 1972.
pp. 65–66 Palm Beach: Charlotte Curtis, The Rich and Other Atrocities, Harper & Row, 1976; Murray Weiss and Bill Hoffman, Palm Beach Babylon, Birch Lane Press, 1992.
p. 66 “as one writer put it”: Tom Buckley, “Palm Beach Is …,” The New York Times Magazine, Mar. 21, 1971.
p. 67 “‘found out finally what was expected of her’”: Ibid.
p. 67 JS tears up a gown: Interview with an old family friend, Feb. 12, 1993.
pp. 67–69 “But gradually, after Joy met and became friendly with several young women” to “Once, a Steuben-glass vase”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 69 “dialed Gucci in Milan”: Interview with Alexander Simons, Mar. 23, 1993.
p. 70 SW “needed to do something to focus attention on himself”: Interview with Bob Kaufman, Feb. 24, 1993.
p. 70 “a different direction for his commercials”: Interview with Sheila Kelley, May 6, 1993.
p. 70 “When the commercial was aired”: “Guides Set Forth on Judicial Race,” New York Times, Apr. 15, 1972.
p. 70 “he began to have second thoughts”: “Wachtler Drops a TV Commercial,” New York Times, Oct. 30, 1972.
p. 71 “‘Sol has to sit there in that judgeship’”: “Nassau Republicans March to Beat of Powerful Drumming by Margiotta,” New York Times, Dec. 8, 1972.
pp. 71–73 “‘We should never have left St. Pete’” to “leaving all their financial obligations in his lap”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.
p. 73 “‘My childhood growing up’” and “‘My life is like a soap opera’”: Brian Kates, “Joy’s Search for Happiness,” Daily News, Nov. 15, 1992.
pp. 73–74 “Joy was on Bibbs’s side in the disputes” to “‘May the man who’s right win’”: Interview with Dick Simons, Mar. 21, 1993.