The Linda Wolfe Collection

by Linda Wolfe

  p. 143 Dinner in Greenwich Village: Interview with Phil Friedman, Aug. 19, 1993.

  pp. 143–44 Dinner at Elaine’s: Interview with Norman Sheresky, Mar. 26, 1993.

  pp. 144–45 “There was someone else who knew” to “didn’t know what to believe”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.

  p. 145 “‘The cases on Tuesday were pretty good’”: SW, “Yes, Jessica, There Are ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Lawyers,” New York Law Journal, May 1, 1990.

  p. 145 “She was an easy child to be fond of to “tranquil as a summer’s day”: Interview with Phil Friedman, Aug. 19, 1993.

  p. 145 “Sol sometimes daydreamed” to “wavered about their summer plans”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 146 “fears of ending up husbandless”: Interview with a friend of JS’s, July 29, 1993.

  p. 146 “promised her that he would leave Joan on Labor Day weekend”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 146–47 “Joan Wachtler went to the wedding” to “‘Not nearly as pretty as she used to be’”: Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 147–48 SW’s supposed brain tumor: Information about the brain tumor is drawn from the Sentencing Memorandum prepared by Michael Chertoff in USA v. Sol Wachtler, and from interview with SW, July 16, 1993. Note that SW eventually learned that the cause of his symptoms was a herniated disk.

  p. 148 Elizabeth Racine: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 148–49 “Sol’s reports to Joy about his brain tumor” to “medical problems alone anymore”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 149 “the sex between them was still intense”: Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 149 “‘I cannot escape the feeling … any given time’”: Letter written by SW to a Yale student, quoted in Manegold, “Judge and Heiress: The Rise and Fall of a Private Affair,” New York Times, Nov. 15, 1992.

  p. 150 “Tenuate could produce” to “‘indistinguishable from schizophrenia’”: Physicians’ Desk Reference, 47th edition, Medical Economics Data, 1993.

  pp. 150–51 “‘You gotta find me a woman’” to “‘I’ll look around’”: Interview with Lawrence Bathgate, Mar. 3, 1993.

  p. 151 “He seemed present but not present” to “‘He isn’t with the rest of us’”: Interview with Republican party contributor, July 11, 1993.

  p. 151 “‘It’s not so much fun to travel with him’” to “‘killing myself at work’”: Interview with John Maguire, Mar. 30, 1993.

  p. 152 JS at White House dinner: Interview with the theatrical agent who accompanied her, July 6, 1993.

  pp. 152–53 “girlfriend of … George Bush” to “‘I’m not his social secretary’”: Interview with William Koeppel, Feb. 24, 1993.

  pp. 153–54 “‘You’ve got to find me a man’” to “put her number aside”: Interview with Lawrence Bathgate, Mar. 3, 1993.

  p. 154 “‘I can’t leave your mother’” to “‘make your own decision’”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.

  p. 154 “‘I had the feeling you were going to dump me’”: Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 154 “had the idea that Joy hated him” to “‘love anyone the way I love you’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993. Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 154–55 “presumably a few days after Joy’s night in Philadelphia with Sol”: The author was unable to establish the exact date. It could have been before or after the night in Philadelphia.

  p. 155 “‘You’re probably already busy’” to “‘they were in love’”: Interview with Lawrence Bathgate, Mar. 3, 1993.

  p. 155 “‘Tough duty!’” to “made the President guffaw”: Interview with Lawrence Bathgate, Mar. 3, 1993.

  pp. 155–56 “They met for dinner” to “his loss seemed immeasurable”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993. Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo of U.S.

  p. 156 “the last time he’d tried to reach him, Cuomo had directed”: “Gov, Chief Judge Face Off,” Daily News, Sept. 26, 1991.

  p. 157 “That afternoon, he filed his lawsuit”: Note that the lawsuit was dropped in January 1992 when Governor Cuomo promised an extra $19 million for the state’s courts in the next year. Wachtler rehired the people who’d been fired and reopened the closed courts. “Top Judge Ends Feud with Gov.,” Newsday, Jan. 17, 1992.

  p. 157 “he seemed manic”: This was the author’s reaction to his televised appearances at the time of the suit.

  p. 157 “‘He could not stay seated’” to “‘pound law books’”: Robin Pogrebin, “Cuomo Against Wachtler: A Feud Among Friends,” New York Observer, Oct. 21, 1991. Interestingly, Pogrebin also observed that “When discussing the current dispute, Judge Wachtler sounds somewhat like a spurned lover, forced to wait by the telephone.”

  p. 158 “Joan was different” to “cuddle the baby”: Interview with Randa Pittel, Mar. 8, 1993.

  pp. 158–60 “‘Where are you?’” to “She didn’t want to see him again”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993, and Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 160 “‘David’s handsomer than you’” to “‘earns five times as much money as you’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 160 SW stopped eating: Letter of Joan Wachtler to Judge Anne Thompson, n.d.

  CHAPTER 9

  p. 163 “‘Something is terribly wrong [with Sol]’” to “‘drug-related?’”: Joan Wachtler’s diary, as quoted in Stillman, Sent. Memo. of SW.

  p. 164 “He’d be stigmatized, like poor Tom Eagleton”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993. In 1972, Senator Thomas Eagleton was dropped as the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate after word leaked out that he’d been treated for manic-depressive illness.

  pp. 164–65 “‘He’s done bad, bad things’” to “mortgage had recently been paid off”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S. and interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 165–66 “‘Sol’s harassing me’” to “‘She’s crazy’”: Interview with Norman Sheresky, Mar. 26, 1993.

  pp. 166–67 “The first person to whom he pretended” to “Elaine wouldn’t do it”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 167–68 Joan calls Dr. Lanman: Letter, Miller, Sent. Memo. of SW.

  pp. 168–69 “‘Where did Jessica spend her Thanksgiving?’” to “‘I wonder how long that will last’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 169 “‘five years ago a friend’”: Letter of SW dated Dec. 18, 1991. Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 170 SW gives tribute to Charles Breitel: Videotape of opening session of the court of appeals, Jan. 7, 1992.

  pp. 170–71 SW’s cards and calls: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S. and Appendix.

  p. 172 SW’s trip to Florida: Letter, Miller, Sent. Memo. of SW.

  pp. 172–74 SW’s cards: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S. and Appendix.

  p. 174 SW’s call to Sheresky: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 175 SW’s cards: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 175 “Joy had intercepted this perversion”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 21, 1993.

  p. 176 SW’s letters: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 176 “Joy, when she heard about the letter”: Interview with Norman Sheresky, Feb. 8, 1994.

  p. 177 SW tells jokes at the LCA dinner: “The Talk of the Town,” The New Yorker, Apr. 26, 1993.

  pp. 177–79 SW and JS’s telephone conversation: Stillman, Sent. Memo. of SW and interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 180–81 SW’s letter: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 181 “talked to Sheresky and consulted private investigators”: Interview with Norman Sheresky, Oct. 4, 1993.

  p. 182 “A colleague” to “pharmaceutical manufacturer”: Add., Frosch and Miller, Sent. Memo. of SW.

  pp. 182–83 SW’s letters: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 183–84 Eleanor Sloan calls SW: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 184–85 “she’d go to the FBI” to “He seemed as geni
al as ever”: Interviews with Norman Sheresky, Mar. 26 and June 13, 1993.

  pp. 185–86 “He had called the information operator in Linden” to “‘give the letter all the right meaning’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 186–90 SW’s letters: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 190 “Joan Wachtler, who knew nothing” to “call the guests and apologize”: “Attorney Work Product” prepared by the office of Charles Stillman.

  pp. 190–91 SW’s card and letter: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 191 “‘I’ve got to dispel this notion’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 192 SW dresses as “Purdy”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S., and Letter, Miller, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 192–93 “By the end of August” to “‘get me out of your life’”: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S. and interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 193–94 “advised all her friends” to “did not make him rethink his plan”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 195 “‘Sessions got the call [to see her] from Bush’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  CHAPTER 10

  pp. 196–97 “Carrie Brzezinski, special agent” to “private investigator anywhere in Texas with the name David Purdy”: Interview with Carrie Brzezinski and William R. Fleming, Jr., Mar. 31, 1993, and interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 19, 1993.

  p. 197 “‘You could set a bomb off in the courtroom and I might not know it’”: Gay Jervey, “An Off-Broadway Star,” The American Lawyer, Oct. 1992.

  pp. 197–98 “Chertoff already had a glancing familiarity” to “‘trap and trace the calls’”: Interviews with Michael Chertoff, Apr. 12 and Oct. 20, 1993.

  pp. 198–99 “Brzezinski and Fleming had already begun following up” to “becoming tearful or angry”: Interviews with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 19 and 21, 1993.

  p. 200 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 200–01 “Chertoff sat down with Ashrafi” to “‘would I agree to arrest him’”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Apr. 12, 1993.

  p. 201 “One day, his clerks insisted on a briefing”: Add., Frosch and Miller, Sent. Memo. of SW.

  p. 202 “‘How long were you on the phone with Daddy’” to “‘Okay, gotta go’”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.

  p. 202 SW hears his last case: Videotape of court of appeals, Oct. 22, 1993 and interview with Mike Trainor, June 8, 1993.

  pp. 202–03 “He was at the Harmonie Club that night” to “left the club”: Interview with Matthew Crosson, Oct. 12, 1993.

  p. 203 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 204 “‘Do you think I should take the mike?’” to “‘usual warm and witty way’”: Interview with Judge Milton Mollen, Feb. 19, 1993.

  p. 204 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 204–05 “Joy was jumpy” to “FBI headquarters in Newark”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 22, 1993.

  pp. 205–06 SW’s call to Yesim Oklu: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 206 “‘Wachtler used that phone’”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 22, 1993.

  p. 206 “Chertoff changed his mind”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Oct. 20, 1993.

  pp. 206–07 “‘With this guy’s family’” to “Sol got up to go”: Interview with Joseph P. Carlino, Mar. 10, 1993.

  pp. 207–09 SW’s call: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 209–10 “five FBI agents in five separate cars” to “Sol reached the airport”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 25, 1993.

  p. 211 “Sol’s in top form”: Interview with Judge Edwin Torres, Feb. 5, 1993.

  p. 211 “Sol had proposed to Long Island University”: Interview with Judge Milton Williams, Feb. 9, 1993.

  p. 212 “‘Vintage Sol Wachtler’”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 25, 1993.

  p. 212 “gave an interview over his car phone”: Fredric Dicker, “‘Brilliant’ Jurist Was Seen as a Class Act,” New York Post, Nov. 9, 1992.

  pp. 213–15 SW’s letters: Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S. Note: “Val’s house” is a reference to the house David Samson rented in Water Mill, and “the Sutter house” is a reference to a nearby neighbor’s home.

  p. 214 “your hotel”: Here, SW has “Purdy” refer to JS’s apartment building as a “hotel,” perhaps in order to indicate the detective’s ignorance, as he does with “Purdy’s” frequent misspellings and grammatical errors.

  pp. 215–16 “Michael Chertoff drove from New Jersey” to “drank coffee, chewed a bagel”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Oct. 27, 1993.

  p. 217 “Joy was hearing the radioed reports too” to “spectator watching events play out”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 27, 1993.

  pp. 217–19 “Ramón reached Shanley’s” to “was now overwhelming”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Oct. 27, 1993.

  p. 219 “‘What’s bothering you?’” to “‘I don’t know what it is’”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.

  p. 220 “Was Lauren ‘Miss Heather’?” to “‘string tie’”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Oct. 27, 1993.

  pp. 220–21 “‘He’s putting on a what?’ “ to “gave her the envelope”: Interview with William R. Fleming, Jr., Oct. 28, 1993.

  pp. 221–23 “Back at the command post” to “‘let’s take him down!’”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Oct. 27, 1993.

  p. 223 “Sol was nearly home” to “until much later”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 224 “‘Do you know what the worst part is?’” to “‘I could have been governor’”: Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  CHAPTER 11

  p. 225 “‘It can’t be! It’s bizarre’”: Interview with Matthew Crosson, Mar. 24, 1993.

  p. 225 “‘It’s beyond bizarre.… realm of the fantastic’”: Interview with Judge Edwin Torres, Feb. 5, 1993.

  p. 225 “‘It’s an aberration.… brain tumor’”: Interview with Judge Milton Williams, Feb. 9, 1993.

  p. 225 “‘It’s as if somebody else invaded his body’”: Interview with Fern Sussman, Apr. 2, 1993.

  p. 226 “‘Send him to a hospital.… Federal marshals guarding him’”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Nov. 19, 1993.

  p. 226 “‘It’s like one of Daddy’s Bad-Boy George Raft stories’”: Interview with Lauren Wachtler, Apr. 9, 1993.

  pp. 226–27 “She refused to let his confession crush her” to “finding a psychiatrist for her husband”: Interview with Joan Wachtler, July 16, 1993.

  pp. 227–29 “Dr. Solomon was in bed and asleep” to “no medications except Valium, to calm him”: Interview with Sanford Solomon, M.D., Sept. 26, 1993.

  pp. 229–30 “Sol was dressed, that morning” to “tears flooded his eyes”: Jim Dwyer, “No Jail, But ‘Tears’ at Fall From Grace,” Newsday, Nov. 11, 1992.

  p. 230 “‘When the deal is done’”: Ibid.

  pp. 230–31 “‘For approximately forty-five minutes’” to “‘not able to appreciate or grasp it’”: Letter, Miller Sent. Memo of SW.

  p. 231 “Sol’s was a ‘toxic mania’”: Interview with Sanford Solomon, M.D., Sept. 26, 1993. To test his hypothesis, Dr. Solomon took Wachtler off lithium. His mania did not return.

  p. 231 “‘I feel as though I’m already dead’” to “‘people I’ve already hurt’”: New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center “Nurses’ Rating Summary 12/07/92 to 12/14/92.” Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 232 “He missed her”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 232 “‘I’d rather go to jail … all in one day’”: New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center “Nurses’ Rating Summary 12/07/92 to 12/14/92.” Appendix to Chertoff, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  p. 232 “‘Who is she?’” to “‘special treatment’”: Interview with woman editor, March 15, 1993.

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p; p. 233 “Early in their first session” to “‘clear psychopathic streak to Wachtler’”: Interviews with Dr. Louis B. Schlesinger, Mar. 16 and Mar. 19, 1994.

  p. 234 “‘no small matter’” to “‘observing the effect on Joy Silverman of his threats and coarse language’”: Letter, Simring, Sent. Memo. of U.S.

  pp. 235–36 “it better be something serious” to “‘that’s what we’ve got the criminal law for’”: Interviews with Michael Chertoff, Apr. 12 and Nov. 12, 1993.

  pp. 236–37 SW’s appearance at U.S. District Court in Trenton: Observations and quotations from author’s attendance at the arraignment, Feb. 17, 1993.

  pp. 237–38 “‘Maybe … But even if we do, Wachtler’s going to have to do jail time’” to “doing sound work handling the trust money?”: Interview with Michael Chertoff, Nov. 19, 1993.

  p. 238 “Joy felt”: “Memorandum in Support of Answer and Objections of Joy Silverman to Petitions of Trustee to Resign,” in re In The Matter of the Applications Pursuant to SCPA 715 of Sol Wachtler Trustee of the Trusts for the Benefit of Bruce Wolosoff, Joy Silverman, Honey Wolosoff, and Van Warren Wolosoff, under the Last Will and testament of Alvin B. Wolosoff, Deceased (Surrogate’s Court, State of New York, County of Nassau, 1993).

  p. 238 “Sol felt”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 239 “‘I wonder whether she ever really cared for me.… controls my money’”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.

  p. 240 “‘Isn’t David wonderful?’” to “‘divine?’”: Interview with the wife of a close friend of George Bush, Mar. 16, 1993.

  pp. 240–42 “‘Do you promise to tell the truth’” to “‘going around like a screaming banshee’”: Observations and quotations from author’s attendance at plea hearing, Mar. 31, 1993.

  pp. 242–43 “‘I am a licensed certified social worker’” to “‘out-of-control raving maniac’”: Joan Wachtler, “To Be Mentally Ill Doesn’t Mean Raving,” New York Times, Apr. 8, 1993.

  p. 243 “‘Whatsa matter, David? You didn’t like my taste?’” to “‘You still believe everything you read in print?’”: Interview with Lawrence Bathgate, Nov. 12, 1993.

  p. 243 “he wondered if he would always have a lingering sense of loss”: Interview with SW, July 16, 1993.