1995 The Most Corrupt Civil Trial In Virginia History

By Ron Blaha

I have been asked by several friends if I was afraid to expose a former Chief Circuit Court Judge and his partner as the criminals that they are. And even though I realize that these friends are well meaning, they have no idea what it has been like to have had my life and my daughter’s lives destroyed just so those two Bastards could line their pockets with a rich man’s money. I could have understood a lawsuit being filed against me if they had even a tidbit of information that said I had committed a crime, but there was none. In fact, they had every proof needed to show that I was innocent, and they were well aware of it at that time. But..., if they had any hope of getting to Wesley Attaway’s black gold, then they had to invent a story in order to sue me.
But by the time we got into “their” court, Michael Allen and Russell Watson must have been “sweating bullets”, because without “my” attorney’s blessing, they would have been buried under the mountain of lies and deceptions that they freely told to my jurors. Of course, I was the loser in their Kangaroo Court, and again, when those Bastards, Allen and Watson successfully prevented me from getting an appeal, but none of their efforts could change the fact that I am innocent man. But what they did accomplish with all of their meanness, was to make me determined to find a way in which I could one day expose them for using an emotionally abused young girl, and me, a family man, in order to get to her father’s riches.
Until now, I have had no way to disclose the massive amount of evidence that I possess in order to expose them, or to prove beyond any doubt that this case was filled illegally against me. But that is exactly what they did! And if you have “any” doubt that I am “just trying to get even”, I will put your doubt to rest after you have read the very first chapter in this book, and viewed photographs of supporting documents in my “Treasure Chest”.
In fact, I think anyone who reads this book, will be blown away when it is discovered that the testimonies that will prove my accusations are taken word for word from depositions, letters, court records, and so on.
I realize that I cannot change that long ago verdict, but I can tell my story about how I was set up, by using a huge amount of evidence that is both conclusive and irrefutable. It will show that those two Bastards had presented to my jurors a fantasy case that was based exclusively on lies and deceptions, and it cannot possibly be disputed, since that fantasy came from their own mouths!
In Virginia, there is a provision in the law called Spoliation. It is an attempt to try and prevent those who would be crooked Bastards, whether lawyers or not, from “intentional, reckless, or negligent withholding, hiding, altering, fabricating or destroying of evidence during a legal proceeding.” But unbelievably, it was precisely these listed evils that those crooked Bastards, Michael Allen and Russell Watson employed during my so-called trial.
Because those Bastards had built a case against me based exclusively on lies, they had no choice in the end but to form a conspiracy with my attorney, and they needed to do this for several reasons. One reason was to hide three years of previously subpoenaed medical files from Dr. James Corcoran, the therapists who represented me, and also from my jurors.
And as this book progresses, you will also learn that Michael Allen fed to my jurors many other outright lies, fabrications, and distortions of the truth. And altering depositions that had been previously taken under oath by at least a half-dozen witnesses, was how Michael Allen was able to deceive my jurors. In fact, Michael Allen, with the blessing of “my” attorney, described to my jurors a tale that was so untruthful and so outlandish, that it can only be described as make believe, but it was the only way that each of them could hope to save their own lying and cheating necks. This is not an opinion. It is

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ron Blaha
• Release date: Apr 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781513620404

Ron Blaha

Like so many people today, I have been both widowed and divorced and have had the good fortune to rear a wonderful family. But that was many years ago. Today my claim to fame is simply that I am an old man with some stories to tell that are rich in substance, and in most cases they are true accounts surrounding my long life. In fact, I am so old, that I have out lived all of the others which makes me the last of the old time riverboat captains who is still plying the James and Appomattox Rivers in Central Virginia. My earliest memories and my love of the rivers stem from the 1940's when as a four year old, I would tag along with my father who was the skipper of the tugboat Atlas. It was an exciting time to be on the rivers too, as steam tugs were fading from view and new fangled diesel engines although they still had no gears were fast becoming state of the art machines. And like my dad, I became a tugboat skipper. But as I got older, I felt a strong urge to become a writer, partly because I realized at a young age that if anyone was to ever record first hand those marvelous and fast changing maritime years on the James and Appomattox Rivers, then it had to be me. And so at the age of twenty eight when I was an "Old Man" I was able to squeeze in between ship docking and barge towing responsibilities a liberal arts degree from Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary. And when the U.S. Coast Guard began to require all skippers of tugs to be licensed, I received one of the first licenses, and that was in 1973. And fortunately for me, when others have had to give up their licenses because of some unmet requirement, I am still maintaining a master captain's credential with the United States Coast Guard.In 1976 when I was a young man I developed my own tugboat company and operated it for more than twenty years before I gave it up. But the company who now owns and operates it still prefers to keep the name, Blaha Towing Company. My boating experience however, is not limited to only these local rivers. I am also a sailor as well as a power boater. For ten years I sailed a 41' Formosa Ketch along the east coast of the U.S., and lived "on the hook" in the Bahama Islands off and on for almost two years. I have sailed the Atlantic and Pacific coast of Mexico, two of the Great Lakes, much of the Caribbean and the Adriatic Sea between Italy and the Czech Republic. But as beautiful as some places are, I still prefer our country's scenic and meandering waterways when compared to others that I have known. And because of my varied experience as a waterman I was honored by Governor Balalies to become Central Virginia's first Maritime Commander in the newly organized Virginia State Guard, and I was also given the rank of Lt. Colonel.Ship docking at times can involve a lot of down time while waiting for weather, paperwork, pilots to arrive or any number of reasons. And so during some of these lay ups I would write short stories or poems or even an occasional novella, but I had never seriously considered publishing until recently when I was introduced to Smashwords. One of the manuscripts that I will soon be uploading is entitled (Chosen River) and it is about the wonderful James River and many of the actual people who have been a part of it. But I also write in several different genres, both fiction and non-fiction. I have written a series of children's stories (The Legend of the Butterfly Angels) will be the first in the series to be online. I refer to it as historical fantasy fiction because so much of it is true. But I have just finished writing two non-fiction books as well, one an autobiography, the other about a trial that took place more than a quarter of a century ago .And currently I am writing a non-fiction saga about an ill fated boat trip in which I was involved that stretched from Virginia to the Great Lakes. I have in the works several more books about living aboard houseboats or sailboats and the wonderful life that in my opinion, really is one of those "best kept secrets", that is, if you know how to make the most of it. And with a lifetime of piloting commercial vessels, ten years living aboard a sailboat, and eleven years on a houseboat that I personally built, I think that I am very well qualified to help those who have a hankerin' to leave the terra firma way of life for that of a "fish", and in the process help them to save a lot of money, time, and trouble.Over the last few years I have rebuilt and re-furbished a 50' Chris Craft houseboat and in August, 2015 it went into service in the Richmond, Virgina area as a "tiny house" on the river through Airbnb.com, Homeaway.com, and BandB.com. And because I decided to do this, I have been blessed to meet some of the most wonderful and interesting people from many different parts of the world. From my early beginnings as a small town boy who really did have dirt floors in my home, I have been blessed to have established friendships with some of my recent guests, and they fit perfectly into my life long list of friends that included the "drunks" who hung around the docks, a President of Mexico, and many, many others on just about every level of society throughout the world. Mine has been a life filled with both elation and tragedy, but some how I have managed to survive it all. And because I did survive, I find it necessary to share those years with my readers in the hope that it will be at times entertaining, but also useful.

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1995 The Most Corrupt Civil Trial In Virginia History

Written and Published by

Ron Blaha

Copyright © 2017 by Ron Blaha

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Original Photo by: Captain Ron Blaha FOLLOW THE LIGHT Bird’s Bay, Saint Augustine, Florida

Photographs by: Ron Blaha

Cover Design by: Miss Mae

This book is dedicated to my very beautiful, smart, talented, and resilient daughters, Bunny and Buffy.

Original Photo by: Captain Ron Blaha

FOLLOW THE LIGHT

Bird’s Bay, Saint Augustine, Florida

M/V HONESTY

Ship’s Manifest

Prologue: by: Ron Blaha

Acknowledgments: Know ye all that…

Photograph 1: Left to Right: Caroline, Ginger, Ron, Buffy

Photograph 2: Cruise ship: M/V Jubilee

Photograph 3: Thank you note: -- to: Mr. Blaha--- from: Ginger

Ship’s log 1: The Ancient Mariner Raises His Hook

Ship’s log 2: Rogue Courses

Ship’s log 3: The Apprentice Captain/Photo: # 4

Ship’s log 4: An Unfit Crew

Photograph 5: Letter: Buffy to Dad- (September 22, 1988)

Photograph 6: Letter: Dad to Buffy- (September 24, 1988)

Ship’s log 5: Wanted and Unwanted Cargoes

Ship’s log 6: Troubled Waters

Ship’s log 7: Stormy Seas Ahead

Ship’s log 8: There are Fires Smoldering in the Bilges!

Ship’s log 9: The Rogue Captain’s Courses…Ports of Lies and Deceptions

Ship’s log 10: The Ancient Mariner Rights His Ship

Ship’s log 11: The Harbor of Bad Feelings

Ship’s log 12: The Ancient Mariner’s…Grub for Thought

Ship’s log 13: The Ancient Mariner Lowers His Hook

Ship’s log 14: The Ancient Mariner’s Treasure Chest (Photos: #7 thru #35)

1995 The Most Corrupt Civil Trial In Virginia History

Prologue

Do you remember in the movie My Cousin Vinny, that he (Vinny) was pleading with his nephew William Gambini to allow him to have a shot at defending him in court? And during that scene Vinny pulled out a deck of cards with which he compared the face of one of them with a brick? Then with a flick of his fingers, Vinny flipped the card over to show that it was paper thin, and that it had no substance. Therefore, he said the prosecution’s case had to be an illusion.

Well, my case was also an illusion, the difference being that Mr. Trotter really did believe that he was prosecuting two guilty young men, whereas the lawyers who set out to sue me for the sole purpose of enriching themselves intentionally created an illusion so that my jurors would find me not innocent.

And this was the case with Michael Allen and Russell Watson, who from the very beginning decided to go for the money and file an illegal law suit against me. And they got away with it too. That was until now when after more than a quarter of a century I have finally gotten my anger under control and dredged up the emotional strength and a mountain of legal documents including depositions, letters, and other incriminating evidence that was generated during Discovery in order to build my case against them. In this manuscript, I will prove (not attempt to prove) but PROVE beyond any and all doubt that I and my little family were victimized by those two Bastard attorneys and their oil soaked witnesses who conspired with them in order to make sure that I could not have a fair trial.

And if you have any doubt about my allegations, then all you need do is read the very first chapter of this manuscript, because I will reveal to you some of the guts, and the proof, but certainly not the extent that those Bastard lawyers would travel, in order to make sure that I would be found, Not Innocent,

I really do not like for anyone to waste my time, and so I will not waste yours with even one word of he said/she said B. S. This is an expose’, a tell-all, in which I have personally performed all of the research, written every word, and taken all thirty-five photographs that are included in this manuscript so that I could not only set the record straight but also be as absolutely fair and as honest as is possible. I make no claim to be a detective or a professional writer, but I will provide you with enough detail that I have gleaned from a very large resource including depositions, doctor’s diagnosis and opinions, my attorney’s client ledger cards, and many other pieces of evidence in order to prove my claim. So, go ahead, and read my first chapter. And after you have read it, and you think that what I have to say even though I have quoted the meat" of it from Dr. Magdalena Naylor’s deposition is not worth your time, or your $15.95, then stop there. Because nothing else in this manuscript will carry more weight than Dr. Naylor’s, Michael Allen’s and Joseph Kaestner’s deceitful behavior as they withheld evidence that would have cleared me, and I will be very happy to return your investment.

But if you do agree that I, my daughters and my jurors were victimized by those corrupt Bastards, then read on. Because this is one of the most illegal, tragic, greed infested, unethical, and fear related civil trials that may have ever taken place in the modern history of Virginia’s Court System.

And with this being said it gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction to finally complete this manuscript after many years of dealing with inner struggles while attempting many times to accomplish this goal. In this book, I will prove without any reservation, or caveat, that the charges that I have leveled against everyone who I have implicated for wrong doing are as Mona Lisa Vito had exclaimed in My Cousin Vinny, dead on balls accurate. And it will become obvious early on that those who I am calling Bastards or criminals or liars or cheats or any other label that I have chosen for them is also, dead on balls accurate. I am so confident that my accusations are one-hundred-percent correct that not even Hanover County’s newly christened courtroom filled with a whole passel of crooked Bastards would have the chance of a haunt in hell to prove me wrong, or to explain away the lies and deceptive maneuvers that Michael Allen, Russell Watson, and their co-conspirators used to present to my jurors!

And that is because you will find in The Ancient Mariner’s Treasure Chest, photographs that prove I do possess Dr. Naylor’s deposition and my lawyer’s client ledger cards from which I have extracted their actual statements, and therefore, they cannot be disputed. But of course, these two pieces of evidence are only a modicum of materials that I have photographed for placement in this book. And make no mistake about it, the documents that I do possess will prove in their own words, that the Bastard attorneys from both sides of my case were forced to form a conspiracy against me if they were to save their own necks. And you will learn that the way they got away with having me found not innocent was because Michael Allen, Russell Watson and Dr. Naylor, were given a free hand to tell my jurors whatever they wished. And that was because my Bastard attorney had chosen to work in cahoots with them, and not to challenge them even though he had every necessary piece of information at his disposal to prove to the jury that they were lying. The depths that these Bastard had sunken too was unbelievable. And you will have no trouble recognizing just how criminal my own sleazy Bastard attorney had been during the many times that he provided aide to my tormentors.

You will also see that early on Dr. Magdelena Naylor admitted under oath during her deposition that was taken in Burlington, Vermont and in the presence of my attorney, Joe Kaestner, and the plaintiff’s attorney, Michael Allen, that she had intentionally hidden several years of medical records. And there could only have been one reason for doing this. And that reason was because Michael Allen and Russell Watson did not want Dr. James Corcoran, the therapist who would testify on my behalf to scrutinize them, even though they had been subpoenaed.

And at a later date as I have already indicated, my attorney would be forced to conspire with those two Bastards, Allen and Watson which would then make it impossible for the jury to hear the truth concerning my case, or to render a fair and honest verdict.

As the book progresses you will come to understand why the late Joe Kaestner found it necessary for him to collude with Allen and Watson, and that a part of Joe Kaestner’s reason for joining them had an awful lot to do with Liz Dennison, his young and attractive associate attorney. As this tragedy evolves you will also learn that neither Joe Kaestner, nor Liz Dennison had challenged the fact that due diligence had not been legally executed before Ginger Attaway’s Bastard attorneys had filed a suit against me, which is a legal requirement under Virginia law.

This in effect meant that both of my attorneys, Joe Kaestner and Liz Dennison knew from day one that the suit that had been filed against me was illegal, and they knew it because they were fully aware that the two depositions that Michael Allen and Russell Watson had used as an excuse to sue me actually contradicted each other.

And how would they know this to be true?

They knew it because the two pieces of evidence those Bastards used to file their suit against me was based on Ginger Attaway’s testimony concerning events that she claimed had happened on the cruise ship Jubilee, and it was in direct conflict with the testimony of her friend and witness, Joan Phipps’ sworn deposition. But nevertheless, my attorneys declined to challenge before the court the veracity of their illegally filed suit, even knowing that it was without question based exclusively on lies, fantasy, deceptions, and distortions of the truth.

I realize of course, that I have just espoused a mouthful, and that it could be extremely costly for me, especially among my family and friends if I am found to be lying in any way. But because I am making every attempt to be as honest and as fair as possible, I have no worries in this department. But what I do hope will happen, is that those two Bastards Michael Allen and Russell Watson will try and challenge anything in this expose’. Because even though they are cunning and skilled liars and know every possible way to bend the truth, the words that came from their own mouths, and those of their client, Ginger Attaway, and her witnesses, cannot possibly be recanted. Therefore, their efforts would come to naught! And because they will be totally unsuccessful in their attempts to prove me wrong, they, and their over inflated egos will suffer even more damage than what they have already inflicted on themselves!

Having said this, it is a good place for me to talk about the Kangaroo court that I and my daughters were forced to endure. I suppose we all know that not even a crooked lawyer would consider taking a case especially if it had to be constructed with nothing but the obvious figments of a young girl’s imagination and dozens of conflicting statements that had easily been found in her recorded discovery, such as, her interrogatory, depositions, letters to her therapist, and other documentation, unless there was a very deep pocket from which he could extract a great amount of wealth.

But, a virtually unlimited amount of wealth is what was offered to Michael Allen and to Russell Watson by Ginger’s father, Wesley Attaway, if they would agree to file a lawsuit against me. And that was exactly what those two crooked Bastards who had put themselves out before the public as honest officers of the court agreed to do. I have an idea however, that they first checked to see if they thought that I could successfully defend myself financially. And because I had always kept a low financial profile I think they believed that I would in time become financially exhausted to the point where I could no longer afford to pay a lawyer to defend me. Therefore, I believe they never dreamed that I could sustain myself financially and emotionally for more than four years where I would eventually force them to stand before a jury and defend the lies that they had used in order to bring a suit against me. And we did go to court as I had hoped. But Michael Allen and Russell Watson were never forced to fess up about their wrong doing once my attorney, Joe Kaestner had found it necessary to join forces with them. And as you would expect, because I had to deal with such immoral, and despicable Bastards, I did lose my case. But of course, it was because I was tried in their courtroom, and under their form of justice.

But, that was then, and this now, where in my legally chosen courtroom, I will absolutely grant them an open and honest opportunity to defend themselves. But after they have read and seen the mountain of evidence that I have compiled against them, and they are crazy enough to believe they still have a legal leg left to stand on, then I am offering them a personal invitation to sue me again, this time for slander, or whatever charge they can dredge up. And that is because I would love to get them in a formal setting where this time I would have a fair shot at them, and where I just might be able to counter-sue those criminal Bastards.

In many ways now however, a courtroom is no longer as important to me as it once was. Because with the publication of this book, and even though this travesty of justice occurred more than a quarter of a century-ago, I am finally able to personally deliver my own coup de gras to those Bastards in a much larger setting.

This book has taken me more than a year to write, and it came about by making two pledges to myself. The first pledge being, once it is finished and in print, I will try and put all of those mean and awful years behind me so that I can concentrate on writing historical fiction books, or children’s books that I so very much enjoy creating.

Nothing that I have ever done in my life has drained my energy more than the many hundreds of hours that were required to research and to write this extremely emotional story. But it has been worth every tear, every fit of anger, and every heart palpitation that I have had to endure.

However, before the very first word was put on paper, I had also made a second pledge to myself, and that was, I would do my very best to keep this manuscript honest, and that I would also do my very best to keep my emotions under control even though every paragraph contains its share of personal pain, anger, and frustrations. So, here goes…

When those two Bastards, Michael Allen and Russell Watson decided to take this case, it probably seemed like a slam dunk to them right from the beginning. They had this angry old tycoon whos backyard was crammed full of gas and oil wells, and he was willing to allow those two crooked Bastards, Allen and Watson to soak up as much of his black gold as they pleased, just so long as they would file a suit against me. And as far as I can tell, his only justification for doing this was because he wanted to prove that he was more powerful than that little no-see-um from Prince George, Virginia. And Wesley Attaway was not just a very wealthy man, his influence stretched all the way from Shreveport, Louisiana to the largest newspaper in the Richmond, Virginia area. And I know this to be true, because on the night of my trial he proved that he could control what would be allowed to be printed in the Richmond Times Dispatch on the morning after my trial had ended.

I have made numerous attempts to learn how he was able to control the news media, but I have never had any conclusive answers. But years-ago I was told by someone who claimed to be in the know, that Wesley Attaway was one of the largest stockholders in the Gannett Corporation which is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. And I was also told that Gannett Corporation was the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, and that it was the parent company of the Richmond Times Dispatch. Therefore, if this was true, then it would make sense that Wesley Attaway could have had someone in the upper echelons of that corporation dictate what could, and what could not be printed in the RTD.

But aside from that, if this egocentric and crazed old man had truly loved his daughter and cared about her well-being, rather than spending his time and his efforts to send me a nude picture of his daughter, or to sue me, he should have spent his time and his millions trying to find a knowledgeable, qualified, and honest mental health expert for himself and for Ginger who had so desperately needed some expert help ever since she was just a very young child.

But as I have already expressed, that was then, and this is now, which means it is a new day. And because it is a new day, none of those lying and wily Bastards are able to control what I will be exposing between the covers of this book like they did with the information that would have proved my innocence during my trial.

There is an old expression that says, nothing remains the same forever, even a rock will eventually wear away. And because nothing is static, on occasion even the most astute criminals regardless of their ilk, or how much time has passed will many times like the inner surface of that rock become exposed. And the irony of it is, in the case of the lying Bastards who filed their suit against me, it was their own lack of intelligence, huge egos, stupidity and arrogance, coupled with some well-hidden documents that had been spewed from their own mouths, or personally directed by them during sworn testimonies that has provided all of the information that I need in order to take them down.

And to reiterate something that I have already said; I have waited a long time to garner the strength that would be required to write this book because I knew just how emotional it would be. Many times while researching and organizing so many pieces of evidence tears would fill my eyes, especially when I thought about the sacrifices that we have had to endure and the many opportunities that my daughters and I have lost because of the horrible damage that had been done to us just so a rich man could have his way, and a couple of greedy, conniving and disgusting Bastards could fill their coffers.

But now it is their turn to face my hand-picked jury, and that jury will have a ringside seat because they will be sitting squarely in middle of "the court of public opinion." This time I will be the plaintiff in a courtroom of ‘my’ choosing, and I will not be filling my juror’s heads with any lies or fantasies as those Bastards had chosen to do in their private courtroom. But what I will offer, is a manuscript based on actual facts that were recorded prior to, and during my trial. And it is my belief that at the conclusion of this book, you will agree with me that this case was prosecuted because of a trilogy of greed and fear, coupled with not even a glimmer of compassion for me or my daughters, or even for Ginger Attaway, their emotionally abused young client.

It was a wicked and dangerous brew that Michael Allen and Russell Watson had decided to concoct! And they were well aware of this fact from the very first moment that they allowed themselves to become intoxicated on Ginger’s father’s oil and gas reserves. But once they had taken that first drunken step there could never be any turning back, at least as far as I have been concerned.

And as I have already related, I have no doubt that each of them felt certain that because I was a nobody in their eyes, that they would never be confronted concerning their evil deeds. But how wrong they were then, and still are today, and as scholars they should have been astute enough in their professional wisdom to have heeded the words of my favorite author, James Michener, when he said in, The Covenant,

"…but a word once written, often, accidentally, finds a life that no one anticipates."

Acknowledgements

Know ye all that…, nothing I can ever say, or do, would adequately explain how thankful, and blessed I am to have such a wonderful family and friends who have never wavered in their love, friendship, or support for me during such trying times and throughout so many years. And it is only because they were there for me at various times in my life when I needed them, that I have been able to survive such a horrendously devastating turn of events that occurred in my life, and in the lives of my children more than twenty-five years-ago. There were so many good people who stood with me throughout those years other than my children. They not only offered their love and support, but in so many ways encouraged me to stay positive, and muster my strength, so that one day I would find the courage to write of this tragedy. And one of those special lady’s is my beautiful and caring wife, Ruth Christiane Rawlings.

During the many months that were required for me to organize hundreds of documents and to write this book, Admiral Ruthie very graciously allowed me the time and space that was so necessary in order for me to complete this task. She made and poured my coffee, and sat with me sometimes in the middle of the night when my tears flowed, but most importantly she put up with my many mood swings without nary a complaint, and I will always be grateful to her for being there for me.

And there were, and still are so many friends who believe in me, have stood with me, and who gave me reasons to want to live. And those who come to mind but are in no particular order of time or place are my former wife, and still good friend, Kornelia Cox Blaha, Terri Cooper, someone who will always be special and was there for me from the very beginning of this terrible nightmare, Judi Parsons, a very special lady and without her foresight and caring this book would not have been possible to write, Philip Tomlinson, and my Godson, Captain John Philip Tomlinson, who unselfishly opened up their home to me while I was trying to find myself, the late Captain Robert L. Face, and his lovely wife, the late Dr. Thelma Hill Face, Captain Bob was like a brother to me, and honored me when I was asked to be the best man in their wedding, the late Gene Appler, and great friend from early manhood who always believed in me, Caroline Park, who tried to save me from this awful chapter in my life, Captain Fernando Alonso, who I had the pleasure of living with for more than a year, Jennie Fisher, always there, no one has ever enjoyed having a more kind, unchanging, and wonderful friend, Craig Cox, like Jennie Fisher, no one ever had a more caring, helpful, and just a great guy for a brother-in-law, Dr. Susana Mercedes Canaliso de Almeida and our Galabardi, Ray, Johnny and Chi Chi Robbins, who I know without question, would always be there for me if I needed them, Nancy Cullen, who also tried to help, the late R. Wayne Dawson, Esq., always honest and always there to help, Tommy and Chris Skordas, friends of many years, the late Captain Bobby Stone, who took the time to find me, and offer any and all help should I need it, Gerardo Pasquel de Vega, Lic. , who made available to me, his homes, cars, planes, employees, wallet, and anything else that I could ever want or need, Dr. Rudy Schuster my friend an therapist, Dr. Jim Webb and Joann Scott Webb, who after my trial invited me to live with them, the late William Mitty Jones, who made sure to check on me until the very week that he died, the late Steven Steve Cohen, a wonderful friend from childhood, Barbara Withrow a friend and therapist who helped me with my daughters, Rhetta Daniels, Esq., a great friend, Chandoris Smith, always a friend, Lou and Dr. Anita Solomonsky, whose friendship, and generosity is over the top, the late Jim McLaughlin and Susan McLaughlin, who shared their home with Buffy before we discovered St. Margaret’s School, Giacamo Big Giac, Alice, Mary and Anna Pastore, a family I dearly love, Jocelyn Senn, who gave me an abundance of friendship and my lifetime place on the river, Margaret Broad, the Head Mistress at St. Margaret’s School who tendered much love and support for Buffy, John Swagman and Carla, my wonderful Canadian sailing friends, and Bata, my Croatian sailing buddy who taught me a great deal about electricity, and how to live comfortably without refrigeration while living on the hook in the outer Bahama Islands, Henry Hank and Michael Upshur, our wonderful boating neighbors and friends, Mark Frangiadakis, my personal professor of 49 years and his lovely wife Martha, Captain Nathaniel (Than) Green, just a great friend, Captain Bill Cofer, President of the Virginia Pilot Association, who always took my calls and provided whatever I asked of him, Captain J. W. Whiting Chisum, and all of my other friends in the VPA, and then there are my wonderful sons and daughters-in-law, Ian and Brooke Lipscomb, and Dr. Daniel and Brenda Stockberger, Thom McDonald, my Saint Augustine brother and his beautiful wife, Dr. Leslee Keys, Dave Kerr, another Saint Augustine brother and his lovely wife Karen, Donnie Stratton, who is always ready to lend a hand, Robert (Termite) Bridges my dock sitting and coffee drinking buddy, Maria Bourlas, the beautiful artist, Charlie Andrews who made his Florida marina my own and treated me like family, Tom Riverman Lewis, go SailsAngelsRVA, and Billy and Grace Upton who are very special friends.

There is also Max Walraven, my son, who is a very talented, smart, and a hard-working young man who I very much admire. Max has not only encouraged me, but he has been an inspiration to me even before I began to write of this tragedy. His friendship and his advice have in so many ways helped to carry me through some rough times. But most of all, Max has been there for me in more ways than he realizes, and because of his kindness to me, he has helped to make my life not only livable, but extremely enjoyable, and for this I am eternally grateful.

And then there is another of my sons, Dr. Philip Sholes, who encouraged