AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
___________________________________________________X
Samuel H. Sloan, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1. This case requires an immediate hearing on this matter because Dayawathie Rankoth is the mother of three of my children, Michael, George and Anusha Sloan, and since at least March, she has allowed two brothers to live in her apartment with my three children. They are drug dealers and drug addicts from Tioga County, Pennsylvania. They are speed freaks and deal in methamphetamine. Dayawathie Rankoth lives at 40-08 12th Street, Apt. 3E, Long Island City, NY 11101. This is in the Queensbridge Housing Project. The neighbors are outraged that she has allowed these two white men to move into their project and they alerted me to this situation. The very best friend of my daughter Anusha asked me to file a case in court to get these two drug dealers out of their project. Anusha is at great risk because she is only 13 years old and Dayawathie leaves her alone in the apartment with these two men for extended periods of time. The men appear to be about 40-50 years old. I do not know their names, but I know that they are still there because on the last day I went there, which was September 29, 2005, when I went there accompanied by four police officers so that they could serve a summons on this case on Dayawathie, I saw the two men sitting on a bench in front of her building. They scrammed out of there when they saw the police coming.
2. Even if I cannot prove that they are drug dealers, it is an undeniable fact that they have been living in her apartment with my three children since March. Since this is a pubic housing project and Dayawathie is on welfare, she is not allowed to have anybody else other than herself and her children living in the apartment. This means that she is subject to eviction.
3. This is not the first time Dayawathie has done this. Since at least 1994 she has had a whole succession of undesirable people living in her apartment. These include drug addicts, prostitutes, crack dealers, alcoholics, thieves and HIV positive people. The names of some of these people are Jean, Julie, Jean's Daughter, One-Legged Brenda, Brenda Morales, Jimmy and Surinder Singh a/k/a Kala. She has lived in five different buildings during that time. With respect to Surinder Singh a/k/a Kala, she called 911 on him one hundred times, she got a dozen orders of protection against him and he was arrested six times in her apartment. He was drunk all the time. Yet, after all this, she would let him back into the apartment. The neighbors were outraged at her for doing this. He was illegally in the country and got into the United States by stowing away on an aircraft. There was a deportation order against him. Yet, the INS never picked him up. However, after 9-11 he disappeared. I believe that he was finally deported back to India then.
4. As a result of having all these different men living in her apartment, she has often gotten pregnant. I have had to arrange for or pay for three abortions for Dayawathie. Kala was the father of one. A man named Alberto from Cuba was the father of another. I do not know who was the father of the third.
5. Naturally you will be wondering why I have been sitting idly doing nothing about this. The fact is that I have been helpless to help her and my three children because of Dorchen Leidholdt and Sister Theresa Courtney. Sister Theresa Courtney virtually kidnapped Dayawathie away from me in June, 1991. At that time, Dayawathie was pregnant with Anusha. I had been living with Dayawathie and our two children at my mother's house in Lynchburg Virginia. My mother was an eminent and distinguished child psychiatrist. I brought Dayawathie to New York for a medical checkup because her weight had fallen to only 62 pounds and the doctors in Virginia could not find anything wrong. I checked her into a hotel in Jamaica Queens for just one night. We left her suitcase with all her clothing and the clothing for the children in my car. The following morning, I came to pick her up and take her back to Virginia. One of the other guests in the hotel told me that she was in the process of coming down the stairs and would be out in a minute. I waited and waited but she never came out. I waited a full day until the following morning because I could not understand what could possibly have happened. I thought she might have gotten sick or died, especially since she was in extremely poor health.
6. I searched for her for the next four years and could not find her. I did not know whether her and the children were dead or alive. Now, I know what must have happened. There was a complaint against her in the hotel probably because she had hit one of the kids. Miss Bivins who worked in the hotel called the authorities. Theresa Courtney led her out the back door of the hotel, whereas I was waiting out the front door. Dayawathie was new in the country and her English was limited. There was no way for her to find me and I could not find her either.
7. I have found in a court file a report that was prepared at this point in time. It says in part:
Case Name Rankoth, Daywathie Docket #: V7266-67/91
HOME ENVIRONMENT
Ms. Rankoth and her two children lived in the Catherine Street Shelter from 5/9/91 until 5/15/91. At that time the children received adequate food. On 5/15/91 Mrs. Rankoth and children were taken to Maimonides Hospital by Mr. Sloan. The family was relocated. to the Skyway Hotel upon discharge the hospital on 3/21/91. On 6/17/91, Ms. Rankoth and her children were relocated to Jamaica Family Shelter. On 6/19/91 Mrs. Rankoth and her two children were relocated to a Battered Woman's Shelter. All efforts to contact the social worker at the family's new location has been unsuccessful.
EVALUATION OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED.
On 5/10/91, Child Welfare Administration received a DES-2221 report alleging that Ms. Rankoth has beaten Michael excessively hard on his back. Michael has redness on his back from the beatings.
Michael was examined by the nurse at the shelter on the night of 5/10/91. It was determined to be an old scratch mark which was over 90 days old. At first, Ms. Rankoth stated that Michael received the scratch by falling in the bathtub. She denied ever hitting the children and stated that she spanks them when they misbehaves. Moments later she stated that Michael received the scratch while playing with his brother. Ms. Rankoth was offered services, counseling, parenting skills and DayCare. She refused the services and stated that she would be returning to Virginia with her children. Ms. Rankoth informed CWA that she was no longer with Mr. Sloan and does not know his whereabouts.
CWA received the 2nd DES-2221 on 5/15/91. The allegation stated that the parents roams around with the children in the streets. They have no place to live. Michael has healed scratches on his back and arms. Ms. Rankoth stated that the child received the scratches at the shelter, but she did not know how he obtained them. Ms. Rankoth stated that she was beaten up by Mr. Sloan in the presence of the children. On 5/14/91, Mr. Sloan removed Ms. Rankoth and the children from the shelter and dropped them off at the hospital. George had a rash. Both children were admitted to the hospital. Ms. Rankoth was also examined because she was pregnant and weighs 62 pounds.
Child Welfare Administration interviewed the mother in the hospital. At this time, Ms. Rankoth stated that Mr. Sloan picked her and the children up and dropped them off at the hospital for unknown reasons. When asked if she was willing to relocate her and her children in a shelter for Battered women, Ms. Rankoth refuses. She stated that she would not return to a shelter because she has too many problems in the shelters. Ms. Rankoth stated that she and her children would be returning to Virginia by bus. They would live in the home of Mr. Sloan's mother who is currently residing in a nursing home. When asked if she is physically abused by Mr. Sloan, Ms. Rankoth stated that she was beaten by him and he has threatened to hurt her and take her children. Ms. Rankoth stated that in the past, she has called the police in Virginia and went to court to attempt to return to Sri Lanka. After assuring Ms. Rankoth that Mr. Sloan would not locate her and her children if she's in a Battered Woman's Shelter, she agreed to go.
Ms. Rankoth and the children were relocated through EAU. She refused to inform the agency that she was a battered woman and stated that she did not speak English. At that time, she was placed in the Skyway Hotel. She refused to discuss any allegations of her being abused by Mr. Sloan. On 6/19/91, the family was relocated to Jamaica Family Shelter. At this time, CWA was informed that the mother and children came to the shelter with Mr. Sloan. Mr. Sloan was described as a homeless man that may have a mental problem. At first Ms. Rankoth stated that she did not know who Mr. Sloan was. Upon arrival to the shelter, Ms. Rankoth did not have any clothing or food. While speaking with Ms. Rankoth, she admitted that Mr. Sloan took her and the children to the new shelter. However, she did not want to return to Virginia, she would remain in New York because now she likes living in the shelter.
On 6/19/91 Child welfare Administration was informed that Ms. Rankoth was relocated to a Battered Woman's Shelter because she stated that she was physically abused by Mr. Sloan. Mrs. Bivins, Director of Jamaica Family Shelter informed Child Welfare that Ms. Rankoth's new social worker would contact the agency on the status of the family. However, no contact has been made between the Battered Woman's Shelter and Child Welfare Administration.
PRIOR HISTORY OF ABUSE/NEGLECT/VOLUNTARY PLACEMENT:
The family does not. have a history of abuse, neglect or voluntary placement.
DO THE CHILDREN REQUIRE PROTECTION UNDER ARTICLE X
At this time, Child Welfare Administration cannot determine if the children require protection under Article X due to the fact that the current whereabouts of the children has not been disclosed.
8. I have been reluctant to quote this because there are so many mistakes and misrepresentations in the report. For example, on the first line it states: "Ms. Rankoth and her two children lived in the Catherine Street Shelter from 5/9/91 until 5/15/91." This is not true. She was only there for one night. I remember this very well because of what happened. We were living in Lynchburg, Virginia. I drove in my car to New York with Dayawathie, Michael and George. I parked my car in Chinatown near Catherine Street. When I came back to the car, somebody had broken in and stolen motor parts. I cried because I thought that this was the end of my car. I could not drive the car, so I had Dayawathie, Michael and George stay for one night in the Catherine Street Shelter, which was nearby. The following morning, the four of us went up to Hunts Point in the Bronx and I was able to buy spare parts for my car in a junkyard. I got the car running again and I was able to drive it back to Virginia. I admit that it is possible that the Catherine Street Shelter thought that Dayawathie was still there, but actually she was gone after only one night there.
9. During 2001, I was constantly driving back and forth between Virginia, New York and South Carolina. My brother had kidnapped my mother, taken her to South Carolina and locked her up in a nursing home there, and was stealing all her money.
10. I drove to South Carolina many times to appear in court to try to get my mother released and returned to her home in Virginia. Then, I would drive to New York on business. It is 413 miles and an 8 to 12 hour trip depending on how fast I drive from Lynchburg to New York. If I got tired, I would pull over to the side of the road and take a nap. I estimate that I drove from Virginia to New York and back fifty times during 1991. Somebody who saw me sleeping in the car might have concluded that I was homeless, but I most definitely did have a home.
11. The report above concludes: "the current whereabouts of the children has not been disclosed". The reports continue for another ten pages or so, but there is no further information.
12. Note the odd way in which this report concludes. It says:
On 6/19/91 Child Welfare Administration was informed that Ms. Rankoth was relocated to a Battered Woman's Shelter . . . . no contact has been made between the Battered Woman's Shelter and Child Welfare Administration.
13. What is odd about this is that the Child Welfare Administration runs the battered woman's shelters. Somehow, they could not find somebody in their own shelters. What really happened is that Sister Theresa Courtney, who had taken Dayawathie and the kids out the back door instead of the front door, had put Dayawathie and the two children into her own privately operated shelter. Throughout the following pages of reports, there are repeated efforts by the CWA and the courts to locate the children and determine their welfare. Nobody was able to find them. I was looking for them too, and I eventually did find them, but it took me four years to do so. There are reports by Sebastian Ike, who was a CWA Worker, by Officer Lewis and by Hans Steiner of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. All of them made extensive efforts to locate the children. None were able to find them.
14. During this period of four years when I was searching for my children, I derived some comfort in the thought that at least they must be in a good place, assuming that they were still alive. When I finally did find them in May 1995, I found that they were living in the most horrible, squalid conditions imaginable. They were living in a New York City Housing Project at 905 Tinton Avenue in the Bronx. All of their best friends were crack addicts or prostitutes. There were a million cockroaches on the walls of their apartment, and this is not an exaggeration. There were so many cockroaches that you really could not see the walls. I spent two weeks cleaning up the apartment, which my children greatly appreciated. During this time, Dayawathie became pregnant with our fourth child.
15. During this time, Dayawathie told me about how Theresa Courtney had led her out of the back door instead of the front door. She had been taken in a closed van to many places. She could do nothing because she could not speak English. She had been moved from place to place and did not know where she had been. Finally, she had stayed for a while on Allerton Avenue in the Bronx, until Theresa Courtney had found the place for her on Tinton Avenue.
16. Dayawathie was absolutely terrified of Sister Theresa Courtney and she was especially afraid that Theresa would find out that I was living with her again. Actually, I had to go back to San Francisco, where I had been living. Dayawathie decided to send the two boys, Michael and George, with me. Both boys had become difficult and unruly. They were out of control. I gave Dayawathie $500 which she used to buy new outfits for the boys. We took them to JFK Airport and caught a flight to San Francisco, leaving Dayawathie behind with Anusha, who she wanted to keep.
17. Dayawathie told me repeatedly, "Don't tell Theresa". She said that something really terrible would happen if Theresa found out about this. I did not know Theresa, had never met or spoken to her, so I easily promised Dayawathie that I would not tell Theresa.
18. I lived in San Francisco with my two sons Michael and George for one month. We lived at 2550 Webster Street, the Bourn Mansion, a famous building where I was helping the owner with her many court cases. Just as Dayawathie had said, the boys were far more difficulty and unruly than I had imagined. They often fought with each other. The owner of the Bourn Mansion wanted to kick them out because they tore up her garden in the back yard. A bigger problem was that Michael refused to go to school. Finally, I took them over to Alameda where their half-sister Jessica was attending the Haight School. I enrolled them in the same school.
19. Subsequently, the police came to 2550 Webster Street in San Francisco where I was living with the two children and arrested me and took the boys into custody. I could not understand what had happened. I had spoken to Dayawathie on the phone every day since I had brought the boys to California. In fact I was talking on the phone to her at the very moment the police came knocking on the door. She was just explaining that the school in the Bronx where Dayawathie was living had informed Theresa that the two boys were in California and were attending school there. This had happened because the school in Alameda, California had contacted the school in the Bronx asking them for a transfer of the student records. The school in the Bronx had apparently breached student confidentially by telling Theresa Courtney that the boys were in California. Dayawathie of course knew that the boys were in California but had kept this information secret from Theresa. Now, Theresa had gone to her lawyer in Manhattan and had a judge in Manhattan issue a writ of habeas corpus to bring the boys back to New York. You may be wondering how a judge in Manhattan was able to do this when Dayawathie and the children were living in the Bronx. The answer is that they gave a FAKE ADDRESS. As Dayawathie explained it to me, the attorney for Sanctuary for Families was a personal friend with a judge in Manhattan. She called the judge at home at night. The judge agreed to issue the order provided that the case was filed in Manhattan. Now, in order to get jurisdiction in Manhattan they created a fake address. The address was 410 West 40th Street, New York NY 10036. Dayawathie however lived at 905 Tinton Avenue, Bronx NY. She had never lived in Manhattan at that or any other address. I later went to 410 West 40th Street. There is a soup kitchen there operated by a church. I showed the pastor a picture of Dayawathie and the children. He said that he had never seen them before in his life. He said that Sanctuary for Families had rented an apartment upstairs during the period in question, but nobody had ever lived there and he was completely certain that Dayawathie had never been there.
20. Even then, a writ of habeas corpus should not have been issued because of no jurisdiction. Dayawathie had never been awarded legal custody of the children by any court. The previous case in 1991 had been dismissed with no final order entered because Dayawathie had disappeared with the children when Sister Theresa Courtney had hidden them. Michael had been born in Oakland, California so in no way did New York have jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the boys were extradited to New York while I was still in jail. I was released from jail in California. No charge was ever brought against me. I was never even taken before a judge. However, by the time I got out the boys were gone. Also, upon finding out that Dayawathie was pregnant with our fourth child, Sister Theresa Courtney had arranged for Dayawathie to have an abortion. As Dayawathie later has explained it, Theresa said that since she was a nun in the Roman Catholic Church, she could not personally take Dayawathie to the abortion clinic. Therefore, she arranged for a co-worker to take Dayawathie to the abortion clinic. The abortion was performed on July 7, 1995. I know this date because I later saw documents, including an appointment letter and a bill providing this date as the date of the abortion.
21. Thus, after I got out of jail after having been arrested by an illegal order, my sons had been extradited to New York and my unborn baby had been aborted. When I went to New York to try to locate Dayawathie again, Theresa had moved her out of the apartment at 905 Tinton Avenue and Dayawathie had disappeared to parts unknown. The case under which the writ of habeas corpus had been issued, No. V-4534/95, was dismissed. I tried to reopen it, without success.
22. Almost immediately after the abortion of July 7, 1995, Dayawathie became pregnant by a passing stranger. As a result, Geeta Rankoth, her fourth child, was born June 9, 1996. Dayawathie believes that the father was named Kamal and he was from Bangladesh but I have asked around in the Bangladesh community and there is no such person from Bangladesh in New York. The result is that instead of having a child with me as the father, Dayawathie had a child by an unknown father. Which is better? Geeta by the way is a wonderful child and I often refer to her as my step-daughter.
23. The problem Theresa now has is that between 1991 and 1995 Dayawathie could not contact me because she did not know where I was and I did not know where she was. However, now, Dayawathie knew where I was and soon she called me and gave me her new address, which was 1280 Prospect Avenue near Greenwood Avenue and Ft. Hamilton Parkway near Prospect Park. This was a facility operated by Sanctuary for Families. In July 1996, I went there with my other daughter Jessica, aged 7, and we met Dayawathie, Anusha and the newborn baby Geeta in the subway station and spent the day in Manhattan together. I then went with Jessica to play in the US Open Chess Championship in Alexandria, Virginia. When we got back in New York two weeks later, Dayawathie and the four children had been moved out of the Ft. Hamilton Parkway facility. Apparently, Sister Theresa Courtney had found out that we had met and had moved Dayawathie to another facility.
24. In February, 1997, Dayawathie called me again. She had just been given a new apartment on 1581 Park Avenue, New York NY This was the Johnson Housing Project at 113th Street and Lexington.. She asked me to move in with her, which I did. We lived together for several months.
25. Unfortunately, soon thereafter some of the denizens she had left behind in the Bronx found her. By then they had been evicted from their own apartments in the same building, 905 Tinton Avenue, and now they were staying with friends in the project across Lexington Avenue. Soon, they moved into Dayawathie's apartment. Before long, we had Jean, Julie, Jeans daughter, One-legged Brenda and new comers Brenda Morales and Jimmy all living with me, Dayawathie and the four children in the same two bedroom apartment. As Princess Diana later famously commented, "It was a bit crowded".
26. I tried to convince Dayawathie to lock these people out, but she kept letting them in. They usually came home at about 2 AM. We later found out that Brenda Morales and Jimmy were HIV Positive. This is the reason they could not find any place else to live. Brenda Morales was a professional thief. She would take my children, Anusha and George, to stores and use them as decoys so that she could steal stuff. If she was caught, the police would be reluctant to arrest her because of the two children with her. Dayawathie knew about this but would do nothing to stop it.
27. Julie, Jean and One-Legged Brenda were five-dollar prostitutes, especially One-Legged Brenda. I suspect that she lost her leg to drug addiction. They often smoked Crack. One-Legged Brenda gave birth to a baby and social services immediately took the baby away from the mother. A few days after One-Legged Brenda got back from delivering the baby, I went to sleep in the apartment with nobody but me, Dayawathie and the four children there. I was hoping to have a night of peace. However, I woke up in the middle of the night to find that One-Legged Brenda had crawled into bed with me. Some men would be happy to find a woman in bed with them but I certainly was not happy, especially since I knew that One- Legged Brenda was HIV Positive and a crack addict. Dayawathie had opened the door and let Jean, Julie, Jean's daughter and One-Legged into the apartment in the middle of the night. Jean, Julie and Jean's daughter had taken over the beds in which my children, Michael, George and Anusha were sleeping. They had pushed Michael, George and Anusha onto the floor and were sleeping in their beds while my children were now sleeping on the floor.
28. Finally, I had to act, so I secretly called 911. I reported that drug addicts and prostitutes had pushed their way into our apartment, which was true. The police arrived and I opened the door. They found Jean, Julie, Jean's daughter and One-Legged Brenda all asleep. They woke them up and searched the place but could not find any crack. All the crack vials had been thrown down the garbage chute.
29. This was about 5:00 AM. While the police were doing this, Dayawathie called Sister Theresa Courtney and woke her up. Dayawathie did not tell Sister Threresa Courtney anything about Jean, Julie, Jean's Daughter and One-Legged Brenda. Instead, she complained that I was in the apartment (not mentioning that my then I had been living there for four months). The end result was that the police took away my keys to the apartment and told me to leave, which I did. Jean, Julie, Jean's daughter and One-Legged Brenda were still allowed to stay there. (I believe that Jimmy and Brenda Morales were not present at the time of this incident.)
30. I went to live with my friend from Afghanistan, Sayed Durali Shah, who lives in Far Rockaway. Dayawathie called me many times asking me to come back there, but I refused to go. One night at about 7:00 PM Dayawathie called to say that Anusha was very sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. However, Dayawathie could not take her because she needed to take care of the other three children. Therefore, Dayawathie wanted me to come to her home and either take Anusha to the hospital or else stay with the kids while Dayawathie took Anusha to the hospital.
31. I was very tired. I had been working as a taxi driver for Towne Taxi in Lawrence Long Island. I wanted to go to sleep, but in view of the emergency I got out of bed and made the two hour trip by subway from Far Rockaway to Spanish Harlem where Dayawathie lived.
32. When I walked in the door to Dayawathie's apartment, I was surprised to find Michael, George and Anusha running around playing quite happily. Anusha did not look sick at all. Only one second later two police officers came out the bedroom and arrested me. It had all been a trap set by the police. The arresting officer was Carmen Bonilla. She had sat by Dayawathie coaching her on exactly what to say. This entire story about how Anusha was sick and needed to be taken to the hospital was a pure fabrication. Dorchen Leidholdt was involved in this, because as soon as she had arrested me Carmen Bonilla called Dorchen Leidholdt on the phone to tell her the good news. I was taken to jail.
33. They had made up a purely invented story that I had come to the apartment with my 16-year-old girlfriend and had forced our way into the apartment and had hit Dayawathie's head against the wall. Nothing like that had ever occurred. Yes, there was such a girl, but she was 17, not 16, and we had been palling around for months but she was never my girlfriend. Dayawathie had never met her. She had never been to that apartment. Her name was Irina Novikova. She was from St. Petersberg, Russia and I was giving her lessons in shogi, or Japanese chess, of which I am a top player. She had converted to Hassidim and lived in the Machon Chana in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, but every Saturday she would sneak out to come to see me. Dayawathie had never met her but had heard about her and was jealous and thus had invented this entire story.
34. I called Irina Novikova from the jail and asked her to come to court to testify in my defense. She said she would come, but did not show up. Soon thereafter she went back to Russia and I never saw her again until she returned to America four years later,
35. When the date came for the court hearing, Dorchen Leidholdt and Dayawathie did not show up. In that event, they were supposed to release me but instead they made a new bogus charge against me and put me back in. Another six days passed. I was brought from the jail to the courthouse. I sat all day in the waiting room behind the courtroom. At 5:00 PM my court appointed lawyer came back to see me and told me that Judge Ross had gone for the day. Therefore, there would be no court hearing and I would be released as the case was dismissed. By not allowing me to come before him in open court Judge Ross had cheated me to my chance to complain that I had been held in jail for 12 days for no reason at all. I attach a copy of a letter from Dorchen Leidholdt saying that she was dropping the case because she could not prove it "by a preponderance of the evidence". No mention of "beyond reasonable doubt". The letter was dated June 20 and had been delivered by hand. Nevertheless, Judge Ross had kept me in jail until June 23 even though he knew that the case was being dismissed.
36. I went to the office of the District Attorney several times demanding that Dorchen Leidholdt be criminally prosecuted for bringing this false case. However, the ADA, Eileen Chiu, said that she could do nothing because again Dayawathie had disappeared. Dorchen Leidholdt wrote a letter saying that she no longer represented Dayawathie and did not know where she was. This was another lie. Dorchen had moved Dayawathie to a facility Dorchen operated in Queens.
37. Before long, Dayawathie started calling me again. She was living in a facility operated by Sister Theresa Courtney and Dorchen Leidholdt at 166th Street and Hillside Avenue in Queens. She wanted me to come there but I refused to go. She wanted me to buy presents for the kids. Finally, I agreed to meet her at the big shopping mall on 33rd Street and Herald Square on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. We met many times there and I would treat the kids. There were no court orders or custody orders because everything had been dissolved every time she disappeared. Still, I was afraid to come to her residence.
38. In early 1998 she got a new apartment at 40-08 12th Street, Long Island City, Queens, New York in the Queensbridge Housing Project. She did not like the place, much preferring her old apartment in Manhattan. However, she finally asked me to come live there. The deal we made was that Sister Theresa Courtney and Dorchen Leidholdt only came to see her on Saturday or Sunday and only came during the daytime because they were afraid of the black people at night. Therefore, I would never come at those times. I would maintain my own residence. If Dorchen Leidholdt or Theresa Courtney ever came at an unusual time when they were not expected, I would hide in a closet or in the stairwell on a higher floor and leave the building as soon as they entered the apartment. Dayawathie gave me keys to her apartment and to the building and I could pretty much come and go as I pleased as long as I followed those rules.
39. This has been the deal for the past seven years, from 1998 to 2005. As long as Dorchen Leidholdt and Theresa Courtney did not know about it, I could even bring friends over. My other daughters, Shamema and Jessica, have visited there. Jessica even lived there for a while. I have married and my wife Kayo and our daughter Sandra have been frequent visitors in the home. Rusudan Goletiani, who is the US Womans Chess Champion, has visited me there, as has my friend Mario Sacripante for whom I worked when I was living in Japan in 1984. I have also made friends with some of the neighbors. Thus, I have lots of witnesses who could testify that I was freely coming and going in the home for the past seven years. There has been no problem, no arrests, no custody cases, for these seven years.
40. However, there has been a big problem with Surinder Singh a/k/a Kala. He was a homeless bum that Dayawathie had met while she was living in the homeless shelter at 166th Street and Hillside Avenue. He followed her to her new apartment at 40-08 12th Street. Dayawathie says that at first he was nice. However, later, he was drunk all the time. He would beat and abuse her. She would call 911. The police would come but he would run away. Sometimes he would hide on the roof of the building and come back down after the police left. Sometimes the police would even catch him in the apartment but would not arrest him even though he was obviously drunk and abusive. He was eventually arrested six times in her apartment but then the judge would let him out after just a few hours and he would come right back. Dayawathie got a dozen orders of protection against him but he just ignored them.
41. Finally, the New York City Housing Department started an eviction proceeding against Dayawathie for letting Surinder Singh into the apartment where he would cause a constant commotion. Dayawathie got Dorchen Leidholdt to defend her in this court case. Dorchen settled the case with an order in which Dayawathie agreed not to allow Surinder Singh OR Sam Sloan into her apartment, or otherwise she would forfeit the apartment. Dorchen Leidholdt added my name to the case, even though the New York City Housing Department had never heard of me. They did not even know my name because the police had never been called about me and there had never been any trouble about me.
42. This court order has made Dayawathie fearful of allowing me to stay in the apartment. I have never spent the night there since. My visits have been brief. Meanwhile, Kala has disappeared. I suspect that he was finally deported back to India.
43. It is my absence that has allowed the two drug dealers from Tioga, Pennsylvania to move in. They moved in full time in about February, 2005. Before that, they were just coming and going from Tioga to New York. I know where they are from because one time Dayawathie went to visit them in Tioga. She had me take care of the children while she was gone and gave me the number there which she told me to call in case of emergency, but she insisted that I never reveal that I had the number.
44. In 2003 and 2004, my eldest son Michael came to live with me several times because his mother, Dayawathie, had kicked him out of the house. However, he has usually left after a few weeks because I do not have any good video games in my house, and he is addicted to video games, playing them 14 hours every day. Dayawathie has had Michael arrested three times that I know of and taken to mental hospital, either Elmhurst Hospital in Queens or Hollis Wood Hospital in Hollis. The social workers in the hospital have called me many times asking that Michael be allowed to come live with me. Similarly, Michael's psychiatrists, Dr. Ayra and Dr. Attilla Poloni, have recommended that Michael live with me. Michael is taking Zyprexa for schizophrenia, as well as several other drugs. Dayawathie has several times locked Michael out of the house. Michael has called the police. The police came and ordered Dayawathie to take him back in. Dayawathie has been trying to get Michael institutionalized. She wants him put in a group home or in the Covenant House. I do not know where Michael is now. The last time I went to Dayawathie's house was to give Michael a birthday present, as it was his birthday. They told me that Michael was not there, but did not say where he was. Michael also has not called me in a long time. Michael has also not been to see either of his doctors recently and they do not seem to know where he is. (Attilla Poloni worked at Choices, the same place where Dayawathie goes to get all her abortions, but Choices closed their mental health clinic two months ago.)
45. With this in mind, one of the statements in the counter petition against me can be seen to be absurd and ridiculous. Paragraph 3 (a) states:
On or about October 3, 2005, respondent approached petitioner outside her apartment building and said words to the effect of, 'You're not going to see Anusha after Thursday' and 'I'm going to take one child at a time from you.' Respondents actions caused annoyance and serious harm.
46. In the first place, this is a total fabrication. No such conversation took place. I have not seen, spoken to or had any contact at all with Dayawathie since March 2005. I did go to the building once on June 18 to deliver a birthday present to Michael, as that was his birthday, but other than that I have not been in her building since March. The reason I came in March was that Dayawathie asked me to come to see her newborn baby, as she had just gotten back from the hospital.
47. The point I am making now is that it is impossible that I would have said "I'm going to take one child at a time from you", and that this would have caused her annoyance and serious harm, because if I had actually said that, she would have immediately replied, "Good. Take Michael", because she has been trying to push Michael out of her house for the past two years.
48. It is further obvious that this particular false and fraudulent allegation was invented by Dorchen Leidholdt. Dayawathie would never have even thought of that particular lie. Dorchen picked the date of this supposed conversation as October 3 because a court hearing was previously scheduled for October 6, only three days later. The point is that to get an other of protection one must allege something that happened recently, not months or years ago.
49. It so happens that I can prove that I was never there on October 3, because that was a Monday and on Monday I broadcast my cable TV Show, The Sam Sloan Show. On Mondays I never go anywhere except to the TV Station. It is also just common sense that I would not go to Dayawathie's apartment just three days before a scheduled court hearing, after not going there since March. Finally, the allegation is not a crime. If I had really said 'I'm going to take one child at a time from you', that would not be a bad thing to say considering especially that she has two drug dealers from Tioga County, Pennsylvania living in her apartment.
50. I can demonstrably prove that every statement made in the cross petition is false. For example, paragraph 3 (b) states "On multiple occasions between September 26 and 29, 2005, respondent attempted to enter petitioner's home." I can prove this is false because every time I went there I was accompanied by the New York City Police. I would never go there without a NYPD escort because of exactly this sort of allegation. I was required to go there because I was required to serve her with the court summons at least eight days before the court hearing. Actually, I did not go there at all on September 26 or 27. A NYPD Officer went there with the summons and reported back that he knocked on the door real hard several times and waited but nobody answered. This may be the occasion when they say, "The children, George and Anusha, have stated that on each occasion, they heard respondent try to turn the doorknob and then, when the door would not open, bang repeatedly on the front door." It seems that most likely this was the NYPD Officer who reported back that he had banged on the door real hard. I was not there. I was waiting in the housing police station on 35th Avenue and 21st Street. I waited there for five hours that night.
51. Finally, on September 28 and 29 the NYPD asked me to accompany them to make sure they were going to the right place. I went there with four police officers each night. Two waited outside the building with me while the other two went in to serve the papers. On September 28 they reported back that a young girl, probably my daughter Anusha or perhaps her half-sister Geeta, had told them that Dayawathie was not there because she had taken the baby to the hospital. I later called all the area hospitals and no such person was there.
52. On September 29, I came back with four different police officers. This time Dayawathie invited them into her apartment. They came out ten minutes later, told me the papers had been served and strongly advised me to get the Hell out of there, which I did. I have not been back since.
53. Obviously, if I had done something illegal or wrong, she had the ten minutes they were in her apartment to tell them all about it. The fact that they did not arrest me but told me instead to go home demonstrates that she was not alleging anything illegal on my part.
54. As to the other allegations, there are carbon copies of identical allegations made in prior cases in 1991, 1995 and 1997. In each of those years, Dayawathie never came to court on the hearing date. Instead, Sister Theresa Courtney spirited her off to parts unknown. They had their chance to have their day in court but did not come. All these cases were dismissed following their non-appearance.
55. Of particular interest is paragraph 3 (c) which states "respondent raped petitioner and forced her to watch him rape others on a weekly basis in or around 1987 or 1988". It is also alleged that I held her prisoner and would not allow her to return to her country. This is a ridiculous lie. Dayawathie has returned to Sri Lanka three times since she has been with me, twice in 1987 and for nine months in 1989 after she gave birth to Michael in Oakland, California on June 18, 1988. The last return occurred after she had been arrested and held three days in jail in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates in February 1989. She fled to escape prosecution. I do not know what her offense was. In addition she has traveled all the way around the world with me and we have been in 11 countries together. Starting from Sri lanka, in September, 1987 we went to Madras India, then back to Sri Lanka, then to Thailand, then to Abu Dhabi, but Abu Dhabi would not admit her so she went to Pakistan and then Sri Lanka. I sent her an airplane ticket so she came herself to Abu Dhabi. Four months later her pregnancy was expanding so I took her to Moscow, USSR, then to Havana Cuba, then to Mexico City, then to El Paso Texas where the INS detained her. My lawyer friend in El Paso, Robert Belk, got her out of detention and I took her to Oakland California where I entrusted her to Sister Bernadine Dominick who assisted in her child birth. Then I took her and the newborn baby Michael to Japan, then to Philippines and finally back to Abu Dhabi. She was arrested in Fujairah and wanted to go back to Sri Lanka so I put her on a flight to Sri Lanka, leaving Michael behind with me. She stayed nine months in Sri Lanka and I flew there twice to get her out. The first time I could not get her out because of the civil war which was raging, but it was then that she became pregnant with George. The second time I did get her out and took her to the United Arab Emirates. As her second pregnancy was growing, I took her to Yugoslavia with the intention of flying from there to the US, but the Yugoslavs at first would not allow her to board the aircraft. After several days stranded in the airport in Belgrade they finally did allow us to leave, so we flew to New York, arriving in February 1990. George was born two months later. It should be obvious from this that the claim that I held her prisoner is absurd.
59. The claim that I raped her repeatedly and forced her to watch me rape others is vintage Dorchen Leidholdt. If you spend much time reading the collected works of Dorchen Leidholdt, you will find out that she is a crazy hard core lesbian who claims that all men are rapists and that all male-female sex is rape. She has written extensively on what she calls "The Psychology of Rape". She attacks me because I too have written extensively on these same subjects, but my views are the opposite of hers. Please note that she states in her letter to Judge Ross, "I have extremely strong evidence that Mr. Sloan is dangerous as demonstrated by the writings he has posted on his website on the Internet at http://www.ishipress.com ." In short, she is alleging that I am dangerous not because I have ever hurt anybody but because of my views on psychology and human behavior.
60. Dorchen Liedholdt expounds on her theme that all men are rapists in her books such as "The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism" and "When Women Defend Pornography". When she was younger, Dorchen Leidholdt got involved with Larry Flint and Hustler Magazine and her picture was published in the July 1985 issue of Hustler. She later sued Larry Flint. Significantly, she sued him in federal court in Jackson, Wyoming because she felt that the location was so remote that he would not be able to defend himself there. See Dorchen Leidholdt vs. Larry Flint, 860 F.2d 890 (9th Cir. 1988); Dorchen Leidholdt vs. Hustler Magazine, 647 F. Supp. 1283 (D. Wyo. 1986). She is trying the same sort of tactics on me by repeatedly bringing court cases against me, getting me arrested, but then withdrawing the case and disappearing when the time comes to be heard in court.
61. It was Dorchen Leidholdt who famously brought porn star Linda Lovelace before the United States Congress to testify that she has been "forced" to make the famous movie "Deep Throat". This may seem funny or a good punch line for a joke, but it is a serious matter for me because Dorchen Leidholdt is invading my family and infecting my family with her bizarre and weirdo ideas. Michael, George and Anusha are my children, not hers, and Dorchen Leidholdt should be ordered to stay away from them.
62. At the hearing on October 6, 2005, the behavior of Judge Douglas Wong was horribly bad. I believe that under the circumstances of this case, his behavior was criminal. He should not only be removed from this case, he should be removed from the bench, disbarred and prosecuted. I enclose the full transcript, but that does not tell the full story because throughout the hearing he was yelling and screaming at me. My behavior was impeccable. I said and did nothing wrong. Judge Wong refused to let me speak while allowing Alexander Karam, the attorney for Dorchen Leidholdt, to wax eloquent and at length. Ten times during the hearing I asked to be heard in response to what Alexander Karam had just said. Not only did Judge Wong refuse all these requests, but he repeatedly threatened to have me jailed if I said anything at all.
63. For example, on page 2 lines 17-22 of the transcript, before I had said anything at all other than my name, Judge Wong threatened me with arrest by saying:
THE COURT: Mr. Sloan, I just want to warn you, you're in a courtroom in a court of law, and you're going to act in an appropriate manner in terms of listening to court officers' directions and not arguing. If there is a problem with you, then, I can sanction you, which means putting you in jail. So, there better not be any problems with you in this courtroom.
64. Then, on page 3, I finally did say something and he threatened me with arrest:
MR. SLOAN: Your Honor, she has two methyl amphetamine addicts living in her home.
THE COURT: Okay, sir. I just warned you about interrupting me, and I'm not going to warn you again. All those issues that you're presenting, you should save those for the hearing in front of a judge. I'm not interested in those issues at this time.
65. On page 6 lines 19-24 he said:
MR. SLOAN: I would like to address
COURT OFFICER: Quiet.
THE COURT: Sir, I'm not going to warn you again about interrupting me and talking out of turn. If you do that again, you're going to be held in contempt of court and you're going to be incarcerated.
66. All I was going to say was that I would like to address what Mr. Karam had just said. Mr. Karam had just spoken at length. I had every right to respond to what he said and I had a good response. Yet, Judge Wong threatened me with arrest if I said anything.
67. Please note that only last week another judge of the same court was censured for doing exactly the same thing, except that what Judge Wong did here was worse. In that case, the litigant was jailed for 12 days for something his lawyer said. See:
Matter Richard Lawrence http://www.scjc.state.ny.us/Determinations/L/lawrence.htm
Matter of Duane Hart http://www.scjc.state.ny.us/Determinations/H/hart.htm
68. The Canons of Judicial Conduct, 22 NYCRR 100.3 (B) (3), provide:
3) A judge shall be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity, and shall require similar conduct of lawyers, and of staff, court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control.
69. The Canons of Judicial Conduct, 22 NYCRR 100.3 (B) (6), provide:
Section 100.3 (B) (6)
A judge shall accord to every person who has a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person's lawyer, the right to be heard according to law. A judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications, or consider other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties concerning a pending or impending proceeding
70. It is clear that Judge Wong violated Section 100.3 (B)(3) above because he continuously yelled and screamed as me throughout the hearing and I had done nothing remotely wrong to provoke that response. He was in violation of Section 100.3 (B)(6) as well, not only because he refused to let me speak in response to the unspeakable lies told by Mr. Karam, but he had engaged in extensive ex-parte communications with Mr. Karam even before the case had been called.
71. This case was on the calendar for 9:30 AM. I sat there all day until 3:30 PM. All the morning cases had long since been called and now they were working on the afternoon cases. I finally figured out what was going on. I saw Mr. Karam talking on his cell phone to Dorchen Leidholdt, who was instructing him how to handle the case. Then, Mr. Karam would go over to the court attorney, Tom King. They were having a private conversation but I was able to overhear a bit of what they were saying. Mr. Karam said "it's a misdemeanor." To this Mr. King replied, "When I used to work in the US Attorneys office, the first thing they said was eget it in writing'." Mr. Karam asked Mr. King what kind of petition he should file. Mr. King went back into the courtroom to speak to the judge and then came back with an answer. Mr. Karam then called Dorchen Leidholdt to receive instructions from her as to what to do. Mr. Karam then got a petition form from the clerk's office, wrote something on paper and handed it to Mr. King. Mr. King went in to see the judge. When Mr. King came back out, Mr. Karam asked "Did he sign it?" I did not hear Mr. King's answer.
72. Meanwhile a messenger arrived with a package for Mr. Karam. It contained a new petition which had just been typed out in the office based on instructions Mr. Karam had received from Mr. King, who in turn had received these instructions from Judge Wong. Mr. Karam actually went into the courtroom twice to confer with Judge Wong and I was not allowed to go in there.
73. I now realized that they were trying to create a scenario where they could arrest me. They delayed the case for six hours so that the office of Mr. Karam could prepare a counter-petition in accordance with instructions from Judge Wong. I called my wife on my cell phone. She was angry, because she wanted me just to drop the case and come home. It was exactly 12:30 because she was taking my daughter to school, which starts at 12:30. I told her that I could not come home because they were trying to arrest me. I told her not to leave my daughter in the school and go to work because I would probably not be able to pick up my daughter at 3:00 PM. My wife decided to come to the courthouse to see if she could help in case I was arrested. It was a two hour trip from the Bronx where we live to Jamaica Queens. She arrived with our baby at 2:00 PM. The case still had not been called. It was not called until 3:30. Mr Karam tried very hard to have me arrested and nearly succeeded in doing so.
74. After the hearing, which Judge Wong said was not a hearing, he issued two orders. One was an order of protection saying that I could not approach my three children Michael, George or Anusha. The effect of this order is to give custody of my children to the two drug dealers who are living with them. The other was an order to ACS to investigate me.
75. I feel that this is all extremely improper, indeed criminal. I am fearful of going back to court on the next adjourned date. Therefore, I am asking this court to take over this case. There is a question as to whether the two orders of Judge Wong are appealable. I feel that they are clearly appealable, and I would like for this court to so rule.
76. It should be obvious that this is a personal issue with Dorchen Leidholdt and Sister Theresa Courtney. They are not interested in the welfare of my children. They have their own agenda. If they were interested in the welfare of the children they would have taken steps to get Kala a/k/a Surinder Singh out of there. They knew about him, but did nothing. They would have taken steps to get Julie, Jean, Jean's daughter, One-Legged Brenda, Brenda Morales and Jimmy out of there. They knew about them and even met them but did nothing about it. Now, they obviously know about the two drug dealers who are living in Dayawathie's apartment. Yet, they do nothing about that. Instead, they are focused on attacking me and stopping me from helping my three children and their mother.
77. I have never met Dorchen Leidholdt and Sister Theresa Courtney. I would not know them if I saw them on the street. Everything I know about them, I have learned from Dayawathie Rankoth or Michael, George and Anusha. In view of their obvious conflict of interest going back 14 years to 1991, I demand that they be disqualified from representing Dayawathie Rankoth or my children.
78. I am asking this court to hear this appeal on an expedited basis or immediately. The orders of Judge Wong must be reversed. Judge Wong should be removed from this case if not from the bench altogether.
WHEREFORE, for all of the reasons set forth above:
1. This appeal should be heard on an expedited basis.
2. The orders of Judge Wong should be reversed.
3. Judge Wong should be removed from this case and this case should be assigned to another judge or another court.
4. Disciplinary proceedings should be brought against Judge Douglas S. Wong.
5. Dorchen Leidholdt and Sanctuary for Families should be disqualified from representing Dayawathie Rankoth and my three children.
___________________________
Samuel H. Sloan
1664 Davidson Avenue, Apt. 1B
Bronx NY 10453
samsloan@samsloan.com
917-507-7226
347-869-2465
___________________________
Samuel H. Sloan
Sworn to before me this 23rd Day
of November, 2005
_______________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
Index No. __________ 2005
STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF QUEENS SS:
___________________, being sworn says: I am a party to this action and I am over 18 years of age.
At ______ AM/PM on November _____ , 2005, I served a true copy of the following papers, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE, which is attached to this affidavit, in the following manner:
_____ By personally delivering papers to: [PERSON SERVED] ____________________
at [ADDRESS] __________________________________________________________
The individual I served had the following characteristics: [CHECK]
_____ Male ______ Female Skin Color ____________ Hair Color _______
______ 21-34 yrs. ______ 35 - 50 yrs ______ 51-61 yrs. _____ Over 61 yrs
_____ 120-150 lbs. ___ 151-181 lbs. ______ Over 182 lbs. Approximate Height ______
______ By leaving a true copy of the same at the office located at __________________
____________________________________________________________________
Name and Address of Person (s) served:
_________________________ _____________________ _________________________
_________________________ _____________________ _________________________
________________________
Sworn to Before me this 25th
Day of November 2005
_________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
Index No. __________ 2005
STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF QUEENS SS:
___________________, being sworn says: I am a party to this action and I am over 18 years of age.
At ______ AM/PM on November _____ , 2005, I served a true copy of the following papers, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE, which is attached to this affidavit, in the following manner:
By mailing a true copy of the same to:
Alexander Karam
Attorney for Sanctuary for Families
67 Wall Street, Suite 2211
New York NY 10006
www.sanctuaryforfamilies.com
(212) 349-6006 ext. 320
Vladimir Cadet
89-31 161st Street, Suite 505
Jamaica NY 11432
718-297-0004
________________________
Sworn to Before me this 25th
Day of November 2005
_________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC