Playboy Ma Ko'd in Court

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
January 19, 2007

A state appeals court has shot down an ex-Playboy model mom's bid to hold a court-appointed psychiatrist accountable for her losing custody of her twin daughters.

Bridget Marks had filed a malpractice suit against Dr. Stephen Billick, charging the shoddy and biased work he did as a court-appointed "neutral" resulted in her losing custody of her girls for 10 months.

In its ruling yesterday, the state Appellate Division agreed with a lower-court judge that Marks' suit should be thrown out because Billick was protected by "judicial immunity."

Marks' suit said a Family Court judge had assigned Billick to make recommendations for the girls' visitation with their dad, casino king John Aylsworth, but the shrink overstepped his bounds by recommending the dad get custody.

To read opinion go to:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2007/2007_00243.htm
 

Model in Tug-o'-love Sues Shrink

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
June 2, 2005

Former model Bridget Marks has filed suit against the man she holds responsible for her losing custody of her kids —— a court-appointed psychiatrist.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Marks, 39, charges it was Dr. Stephen Billick's biased, negligent and unprofessional work that forced her to lose custody of her twin daughters for 10 months.

"These two little girls suffered immensely because of this. It's time the people who made them suffer be held accountable," Marks' lawyer, Tom Shanahan, said of the suit, believed to be the first of its kind in New York. It seeks unspecified money damages for causing Marks and her daughters "permanent physical and emotional trauma, great pain, suffering and mental anguish."

Billick didn't return a call for comment.

The suit says it was his report that led Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg to strip Marks of custody of her girls Amber and Scarlett. The handover to their father, casino king John Aylsworth, a year ago yesterday, degenerated into a circus as Marks turned the hysterical girls over in front of TV and news cameras.

A state appeals court gave custody back to Marks earlier this year after finding in part that Goldberg had relied too heavily on Billick's recommendations.

Tycoon & Model End Tug-o'-Love

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
May 26, 2005

Bridget Marks' war with the father of her twin daughters ended in a surprise cease-fire yesterday, when a Manhattan judge set up a visitation schedule for the clashing couple for years to come.

"In essence, this case is over," Marks' lawyer, Tom Shanahan, said.

His former-model client said, "It's been a long hard road, but I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel."

Marks and her lawyers went into the hearing before Judge Patricia Henry ready to do battle with casino mogul John Aylsworth over visitation and other issues concerning their 5-year-old twins, Amber and Scarlett.

Marks had complained that the visitation Aylsworth had been demanding since losing custody of the girls would have been disruptive to the twins' lives and their relationships with their mom.

Aylsworth contended that he was just trying to maximize his time with his girls, who've lived most of their lives with Marks.

Henry nipped both arguments in the bud in an order that seemed to satisfy both sides. The mother and father have already agreed on child support.

Green Gives Twins' Model Mom Moral Support

By Helen Peterson
New York Daily News
May 26, 2005

Likely state attorney general candidate Mark Green showed up in court yesterday to provide moral support to the mom in a high-profile custody case.

Ex-model Bridget Marks, 39, who has been battling casino mogul John Aylsworth over their 5-

year-old twin girls, sat with Green during breaks at Manhattan Family Court.

She said she has known Green, a former city public advocate and mayoral candidate, for years.

Casino King: Deal My Kids Back

by Jennifer Fermino
New York Post
April 30, 2005

The ugly battle over Bridget Marks' two beautiful children drags on.

A lawyer for the onetime Playboy Playmate said yesterday that her ex-lover, casino king John Aylsworth, has petitioned the state's appellate court to reverse its unanimous ruling giving Marks custody of their twins.

"We will oppose their application," said Michael Joseph, the attorney.

Meanwhile, Marks, 39, filed a request for child support yesterday at Manhattan Family Court, charging

HI, MARKS: With New York Post    Aylsworth with not paying a dime for their 5-year-old
n hand, Bridget Marks arrives at     daughters, Amber and Scarlett.
Manhattan Family Court yester-
day to sue her twins' dad, John      "He's got all this money for litigation and he doesn't
Aylsworth, for child support.            have money for child support," she fumed.
Photo: William Farrington
Aylsworth —— a casino-company exec —— rolled the dice on his decades-long marriage when he began an affair with Marks in 1998. They broke up bitterly in 2002 and Marks promptly sued him for failure to pay child support. A court expert then said Marks coached her kids to say their dad had touched them inappropriately.

Marks denied the charges but a Manhattan judge believed them. The judge then stripped her of custody and gave it to Aylsworth in May 2004.

The state's Appellate Division reversed that decision on March 31 and returned the kids to Marks.

Lawyers for Aylsworth didn't return calls seeking comment yesterday

Tug-o'-love Dad Bets on City Casinos

By Brad Hamilton
New York Post
April 24, 2005

John Aylsworth, the philandering casino king who battled ex-Playboy model Bridget Marks for custody of their love twins, has anted up in the drive to revive riverboat gambling in the city.

But Aylsworth is a man with a past when it comes to business, too.

His company, President Casinos Inc., has been forced to sell most of its assets after a Bankruptcy Court examiner found he likely engaged in a "breach of fiduciary duty" with a suspect land deal that funneled   JOHN AYLSWORTH                         $40.5 million to the company's chairman, John
Bid to revive riverboats                Connelly.  So, what's left for Aylsworth?                     

New York City, where he's been working behind the scenes to help pave the way for a new operation here, sources said.

As The Post reported last week, President and two other firms are negotiating for licenses to reopen the riverboats.

Aylsworth has a powerful political ally in Karl Andren, a President officer who owns the Circle Line and World Yacht, Inc., which runs dinner cruises around Manhattan.

Circle Line gave more than $62,000 in political donations since 2000, including $8,000 last year to state Sen. Martin Golden, election records show.

Andren is also chairman of the executive committee of NYC & Co., the city's tourism promoter

Dad's Diss in Custody War

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
April 15, 2005

Bridget Marks got a not-so-nice birthday surprise from the father of her twin daughters yesterday a long wait in Manhattan Family Court.

The dad, casino king John Aylsworth, showed up with his lawyer more than an hour late for a hearing on his request for visitation with his 5-year-olds. Aylsworth, 54, had had sole custody of the kids until two weeks ago, when an appeals court returned the girls to Marks, who'd raised them since they were born.

Yesterday's hearing was the first time the clashing LONG WAIT: Bridget Marks arrives at      couple had been in the same room since the ruling
Manhattan Family Court yesterday,        although neither acknowledged the other.  Marks
 where John Aylsworth, the father of       was visibly frustrated by the delay, because she'd
their twins, was an hour late.                  had to rush out of a lunch with her daughters in
Photo: N.Y. Post/Don Halasy             celebration of her 40th birthday.

Aylsworth's lawyer, Patricia Grant, blamed their delay on "miscommunication" about the time the hearing was supposed to start.

Despite the bad start, the two sides did manage to strike a deal on temporary visitation, said Marks' lawyer, Michael Joseph.

There is still plenty of bad blood in the couple's now-infamous custody fight, however.

When Joseph complained to Judge Patricia Field that Aylsworth had fired the girls' therapist and was refusing to pay any more of the doctor's bills, Grant said Marks should just pay up herself.

"She indicated she had access to $40 million and wasn't worried about money," Grant said, referring to a TV interview where the former Playboy model said her sister had just come into a fortune.

Grant also said she's planning on battling Marks' custody award, and would appeal to the state highest court, the Court of Appeals.

'Ecstatic' Over Twin Win

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
April 7, 2005

She's been through a year of hell, but now Bridget Marks can't stop smiling.

"I'm ecstatic. I'm so happy. I'm so happy to have the girls home safe and sound," Marks told The Post yesterday in her first interview since regaining custody of her twin daughters.

The model was reunited with her girls Tuesday afternoon, 10 months after a Manhattan Family Court judge stripped her of custody and ordered them to live with their father, casino king John Aylsworth.

Marks said the day that happened, June 1, 2004, "was the worst day of my life."

"Besides the day my angels were born, [Tuesday] was the most wonderful day of my life," she said with a smile.
HAPPY FAMILY: Bridget Marks with twin girls
Scarlett and Amber this week after she            Marks declined to comment on what she and
regained custody.                                               and her kids did to celebrate, but she said
                                                                            they were as thrilled to come back to her
East 72nd Street apartment as she was to have them.

"They knew that they were coming home to live with mommy. This has always been their home, their only home. From the time they were born, they were raised in this very building," Marks said.

She said Amber and Scarlett's joy should have been obvious to anyone who saw pictures of the beaming kids walking home with Marks in yesterday's Post.

"The pictures said it all. Of course, I'll probably be accused of coaxing them and brainwashing them into their smiles," she said.

The quip was a reference to her ugly custody fight with Aylsworth, a married man she'd had an affair with.

He sued Marks for custody of the girls after they turned 3, and later accused her of "brainwashing" them against him. The dispute got even uglier when Marks said the girls told her he'd touched them inappropriately.

A court expert later determined the claims were made up and the girls had been coached into making the statements, charges Marks denies. Judge Arlene Goldberg sided with the expert and ordered Marks to give up custody.

The state Appellate Division overturned that decision last week, finding that, overall, Marks was "a good mother" and it was in the girls' best interests to stay with her.

"My faith in the system has been restored," Marks said, thanking her "godsend" of a lawyer, Tom Shanahan, who she said, along with financial investigator Anthony DeRosa, "worked day and night on my case."

                                   Mommy Cheeriest

By Brad Hamilton and Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
April 6, 2005

For the rest of the country, it's still a month away, but for Bridget Marks, yesterday was Mother's Day.

The beaming model was reunited with her twin daughters yesterday afternoon just days after an appeals court reversed the controversial ruling stripping her of custody of the 5-year-olds.

"Everybody's really excited," Marks' mother, Molly Bennett Aitkens, said after she and her daughter picked up little Amber and Scarlett at their prestigious Upper East Side private school.

Marks, 39, didn't speak to reporters camped JOY: Bridget Marks takes her daughters          outside her East 72nd Street apartment as
Scarlett and Amber in hand yesterday, 10        she left  to go get her girls, and she declined
months after losing custody.                             comment as she walked home with them
Photo: N.Y. Post: Luiz C. Ribeiro                         but she looked as if she was floating on air.
The excited girls were telling their mom all about their day at school and she was lapping up every detail.

The scene was in stark contrast to the one that unfolded outside of Marks' apartment last June, when the former Playboy model was forced to surrender custody of her girls to their father, casino king John Aylsworth. The handover quickly deteriorated into a sad and ugly public spectacle, with Marks and her daughters screaming and crying as Aylsworth put the girls into his car.

Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg awarded custody of the twins to Aylsworth, who impregnated Marks while cheating on his wife, after finding the mom had made up charges that he'd acted inappropriately with the kids.

In a decision released last Thursday, the state Appellate Division agreed what Marks did was "abhorrent," but said there was no reason to remove the girls from her custody. The judges said that overall, Marks was a "good mother," and the decision to remove the girls from the only home they'd ever known was more of a punishment to the mom.

The two sides agreed to make the handover yesterday, but sources close to the case said that agreement didn't come easily.

Aylsworth, who has homes around the country, balked at the idea of handing the children over before getting an assurance that he could visit them whenever he was in town, for as long as he wanted to, the sources said.

Marks' side refused the demand and Aylsworth's side eventually relented, paving the way for yesterday's happy reunion.

Marks' lawyer, Tom Shanahan, said, "We still don't have an amicable agreement on visitation, but we hope to have that done this week so he can continue to spend time with the children."

Aylsworth's lawyer, Patricia Grant, didn't return a call for comment. In a radio interview Sunday night, however, she blasted the Appellate Division decision and Marks.

She told the syndicated radio show "His Side with Glenn Sacks" that Marks was found to be "an unfit mother" who had abused her kids "emotionally and physically."

She added that "if this decision is not reversed, which we hope it will be, it opens the floodgate, it really invites parents of both sexes . . . to make false sexual-abuse allegations."

If the two sides can't work out a visitation agreement, the appeals court ruling said they should go back to court to have one worked out for them.
 

Twice as Nice! Victorious Mom's Twins Home to Stay

By Nicole Bode
New York Daily News
April 6, 2005

Flanked by twins Scarlet and Amber, Bridget Marks beams on family's way home from school. Bridget Marks brought her twins home yesterday - this time for good. The Manhattan mom - who won full custody of her 5-year-old daughters last week after a bitter, nearly year-long court battle with the girls' father - cooed and clutched the joyful pair's dainty hands as they skipped home from their elite upper East Side school. "Hip, hip, hooray!" Marks, 38, cheered as she walked the girls home from the Birch Wathen Lenox School on E. 77th St. shortly before 3 p.m. Marks was prohibited from speaking directly with reporters, and asked them to keep their distance out of respect for a court-mandated order. But Marks' joyful mood was clear from her 1,000-watt smile, and from her adoring glances at her girls, Amber and Scarlet. "They look so cute," gushed Marks' mom, Molly Bennett Aitken - who drove in from Massachusetts for the occasion. They were joined by Marks' nanny and one of her friends. The girls, in matching pink pleated uni-dresses and short-sleeve white blouses along with puffy red jackets, couldn't wait to get home to Marks' nearby apartment, turning down grandma's offer to go out for a celebratory bite. The pair brought Marks up to date on the latest news at school and eagerly anticipated an afternoon play date with a classmate. Once inside Marks' chic E. 72nd St. apartment building lobby, her daughters each got a long bear hug before snuggling beside her on a couch overlooking a waterfall outside. The joyful stroll under balmy spring skies was a far cry from the heartbreaking scene last June, when the former Playboy model screamed and sobbed as she lost the girls to their father, casino tycoon John Aylsworth. Marks conceived the twins during an affair with the then-married Aylsworth, 54, who gained custody after a Family Court judge deemed that Marks was turning her children against him. "We are just so grateful to God and the court for returning them to their mother where they belong," Aitken added. "Hallelujah, hallelujah. What a beautiful day." According to Marks' lawyer, Thomas Shanahan, she still faces an uphill battle over Aylsworth's visitation rights. But Shanahan said that everything is being done to ensure the twins' return remains as stress-free as possible. Aylsworth's lawyer blasted the decision to return the twins to Marks' custody, telling a radio program that it "opens the floodgate" for false sex-abuse claims during custody battles. "She was unfit as a custodial parent," Patricia Grant told radio host Glenn Sacks on Sunday.

Ruling Favors Ex-model in Custody Fight

win 5-year-old girls who were the subjects of a bitter custody battle between their parents - John Aylsworth, a casino executive, and Bridget Marks, a former Playboy model and actress who lives in Manhattan - are to be returned to their mother's custody, a state appellate court ruled yesterday.

A panel of judges from the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court overturned a decision last May by Judge Arlene Goldberg of Manhattan Family Court placing the girls in the custody of Mr. Aylsworth after the judge found that Ms. Marks had tried to alienate him from the girls by coaching them to say that he had abused them. Judge Goldberg determined that the allegations were false.

In their decision, the appellate judges deplored the false allegations, but said it appeared that they had not had a lasting effect on the girls' relationships with their father.

The judges also noted that Mr. Aylsworth travels often, and that the girls would be left in the care of his wife, who is their stepmother, or paid caregivers. They said the girls should be placed with their mother, because they were "entitled to be raised by a parent."

(To read the Opinion of the Appellate Court - First Dep't. Click here.)

Model Gets Her Girls Back By Helen Peterson And Dave Goldiner New York Daily News April 1, 2005

Bridget Marks with her twin girls, Scarlet and Amber Ex-Playboy model Bridget Marks celebrated a "wonderful victory" yesterday after a unanimous appeals court gave her back custody of her twin daughters. "I knew I would be vindicated and my children would be coming home," said Marks. "I always believed that right is might." The 4-0 victory gives Marks, 38, control of the cute twin 5-year-olds, Amber and Scarlet, who had been living with their casino mogul dad John Aylsworth, 54, since a Family Court judge handed them to him last year. "It's a wonderful victory for me and my daughters," the redhead said. "I am absolutely paralyzed with joy." The identical twins are vacationing with their father and Marks was not permitted to talk to them yesterday. "The most important thing is that two little girls got their life back today," said Thomas Shanahan, a lawyer for Marks. "They got to go back to their mother." Marks has been nervously waiting by the phone every Tuesday and Thursday, when the Appellate Division releases its rulings. This week, she decided to ease the unbearable tension by jetting out for a skiing vacation. "Lo and behold, my prayers have been answered," she said, adding that she credited news reports with helping her win her kids back. Aylsworth's lawyers did not return calls for comment on the ruling. Because the decision was unanimous, Aylsworth must ask for permission to appeal the decision to the the state's highest court. The judges in yesterday's ruling called Marks a "good mother" to the identical twin girls, who were conceived during a steamy bicoastal affair with Aylsworth. "It [is] in the best interests of these very young girls to [stay] in the care of their mother with whom they had lived - and for the most part thrived - for all their lives," the judges said in a 32-page order. The judges agreed with Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg that the girls were coached into falsely accusing their father of abusing them - a tactic they branded as "abuse." But they declared it was too harsh a punishment to take away the kids. The girls are now living with Aylsworth and his wife in Manhattan, but they spend two nights a week with their mom. The judges said Aylsworth's busy schedule - he often travels to casinos on the Gulf Coast and elsewhere - effectively meant the kids would be raised by their stepmother or nannies. "The children are entitled to be raised by a parent," they ruled.

Tug-o'-love Twist

By Dareh Gregorian
New York Post
April 1, 2005

An "overwhelmed" Bridget Marks won the fight of her life yesterday when an appeals court gave her back custody of her two little girls.

"This is a wonderful, wonderful day," an ecstatic Marks told The Post shortly after learning the state Appellate Division had restored custody of her twin 5-year-olds, Amber and Scarlett.

"My prayers have been answered."

Her lawyer, Tom Shanahan, said Marks and her girls "got their lives back today."

The unanimous four-judge decision overturned a controversial ruling by Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg giving custody of the twins to their father, casino king John Aylsworth.

The father had impregnated the former Playboy model while cheating on his wife, and then barely saw the children until they were 3. But he was awarded custody last year after Goldberg found Marks had been turning the kids against him.

The ruling resulted in an ugly public spectacle last June, when a sobbing Marks handed the hysterical girls over to her ex-lover and his wife in a gut-wrenching scene that was caught on camera on East 72nd Street.

Shanahan quickly filed an appeal and said Marks has been calling him in tears every Tuesday and Thursday —— the days the Appellate Division issues its decisions.

The custody switch takes effect as soon as Marks, 39, returns from a ski trip she'd ironically taken to escape from the stress of losing the girls. "I could hardly breathe," she said of learning the good news. "I was just overwhelmed."

Aylsworth's lawyer didn't return a call for comment.

Goldberg's decision to strip Marks of custody was largely based on the report of a court-

appointed evaluator, who found the mom had made up claims that Aylsworth had touched the children inappropriately.

The Appellate Division judges agreed that Marks likely made up the allegations, which was "abhorrent."

But the judges note that even the evaluator who recommended Marks lose custody conceded she was a "good mother."

The judges also found Aylsworth's claim that he "will parent the children '24/7' rings hollow," because he's often away for work, and the bulk of the kids' time would be spent with Aylsworth's wife or paid caretakers.

One appeals judge, David Saxe, said Goldberg's ruling was more of "a punishment to the mother for her misconduct than an appropriate custody award in the children's best interests."

2 Transferred Judges Breaking 'Family' Ties

By Brad Hamilton
New York Post
February 6, 2005

Two headline-making Manhattan judges who oversaw controversial custody battles will no longer hear family cases because they have been transferred to other courts, The Post has learned.

Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg, who ruled against ex-Playboy model Bridget Marks in a nasty custody fight pitting Marks against her married ex-boyfriend, and Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Judith Gische, a target of an FBI probe, both got new assignments Jan. 3.

The embattled Gische is best known for handling Rudy Giuliani's high-profile split from Donna Hanover and the couple's ensuing custody fight in 2002.

But she's also a focus of a federal investigation into allegations that she and other judges issued favorable rulings to pals and associates.

Gische's transfer from the matrimonial division to civil court came as part of a normal rotation, said court spokesman David Book-staver.

Goldberg, who was in Family Court for three years after coming over from the Supreme Court criminal division, had intended to transfer back to her old job a year ago but was asked to stay on for another 12 months, Bookstaver said.

Judges Grill Love-twin Father's Lawyer

By Bob Port
New York Daily News
December 1, 2004

State Appeals judges repeatedly fired tough questions yesterday at the lawyer for a married corporate executive who won custody of twin girls born during his affair with a former Playboy model.

The hearing, oral arguments at the Appellate Division, gave new hope to Bridget Marks in her custody tug of war with John Aylsworth, president of President Casinos Inc.

Marks is asking to reverse a May ruling by Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg giving Aylsworth custody of their identical twins, Amber and Scarlet, now 5. The appeals court granted Marks an expedited hearing, and judges asked detailed, probing questions.

Justice Joseph Sullivan asked how it could be in the best interests of children to be taken from a "good enough" mother, who reared them alone for four years.

"These children, in essence, are going to be raised by [Aylsworth's] wife," Sullivan said. "Why are they going to be better off?"

In Family Court, Goldberg ruled Aylsworth should get the twins because Marks had engaged in parental alienation by making false sex abuse allegations against him.

"We don't take away children from their biological mother in every case where they come up being short in their skills as a mother," Sullivan said.

Justice David Saxe suggested Marks' behavior, rather than being "delusional," as a court-appointed psychiatrist had found, was "perfectly understandable."


                     Bridget Marks on Dr. Phil Show

September 15, 2004  

Bridget Marks became pregnant with twin daughters as a result of an affair with a married man. When he found out she was pregnant, she says he wanted her to get an abortion, and once the children were born, he refused to sign an acknow-ledgement of paternity, therefore relinquishing any legal responsibility. She continued her relationship with the man after the birth of the girls, knowing he was married.

Bridget says she tried many times to end their relationship, but he always threatened her with taking away the girls. "Over a period of time I discovered that he was reckless and inappropriate with the children and every time I sought to break the relationship off, he would threaten me with taking the children away," she tells Dr. Phil. She finally broke up with him, and he was allowed visitation with the girls.

After sexual abuse allegations by Bridget, the father filed for custody of the girls, and the drawn-out custody battle ensued. The court determined that Bridget lied about the molestation, and therefore they gave custody of the children to the father. On June 1, 2004, Bridget was devastated to hand over her 4-year-old daughters to their father.

Bridget defends her molestation accusations. "I did not lie. I was a fit mother. I am a fit mother whose children came home with stories," Bridget tells Dr. Phil. "I took them to professionals to investigate whether or not what they said was true. I was given an affidavit by an M.D., a child psychiatrist from Columbia University saying that my daughters had been inappropriately touched, or that she thought that there was about a 60-70 percent chance that they had been touched. She gave me an affidavit to go to the court and to tell the court that the father should only have the strictest access to the children under court supervision."

Dr. Phil notes that a court appointed psychiatrist did an evaluation and determined that she had coached the children.

"He did not examine the children after the second allegation, so he basically, without even examining the children or asking them any questions, determined that it was false," Bridget explains to Dr. Phil.

Dr. Phil explains that when Bridget visits with her girls now, it costs at least $700 a day, because the court says that they have to be fully supervised visits. There have to be monitors in the room so she doesn't coach her children to say something.

Dr. Phil makes clear that the show tried to contact the father of the girls, and there has been no response from him.

Bridget says that she will never stop fighting for her daughters. "I will fight until my last breath," she tells Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil introduces Dean Tong and Kathie Mathis, two individuals who are helping Bridget fight her custody battle. Dean is an author and a consultant on contested custody abuse cases, and has been working for 20 years on these types of cases. He says that he has seen a lot of errors in this case. "We believe that this is a case of bad science producing bad law." Dr. Kathie Mathis is a psychologist who works with mothers who are in a similar position to Bridget and their children. She has helped Bridget write an affidavit stating the impact of what's taken place. Dr. Phil mentions that Bridget has written a romantic thriller exploring love, loss, deception and redemption called September. "I wrote it as an outlet for all of my pain and stress and frustration," she explains. "I will fight anywhere I have to go to get my girls back."

                              Playboy Mom's 9/11 Cash Cow

By Richard Johnson
Sep 13, 2004

                                           Without Minders

By Bob Port
New York Daily News
August 27th, 2004

The wealthy father of love twins Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth waved a flag of truce yesterday, agreeing to drop demands that his ex-mistress be supervised while visiting their daughters.

Twins' Mom Loses Again

By Bob Port Daily News July 28, 2004

Bridget Marks Bridget Marks, the mom who lost her 4-year-old twins to their casino executive father, begged a judge yesterday to stop making her pay thousands of dollars to visit her daughters. But Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg said no. "It's not time yet," the judge said, ruling that paid social workers, at $25 an hour around the clock, must continue. "We are looking out for the best interests of the children," Goldberg said. The social workers are there to assure Marks never bad-mouths John Aylsworth, president and chief operating officer of President Casinos Inc., based in St. Louis. Aylsworth fathered the identical twin girls, Amber and Scarlet, while he was having an affair with Marks. Goldberg awarded Aylsworth custody in May, ruling that because Marks was alienating the twins against their father, they would be better off living with him. Since then, Marks has spent $9,000 for phone calls and three visits totaling 12 days with her daughters, whom she reared alone from birth at her upper East Side apartment. "She doesn't have the resources to pay for ongoing supervision," Michael Joseph, her attorney, protested. The children are in therapy and "we believe it is not necessary," he said. Aylsworth, who appeared in court with his wife yesterday, objected. His attorney, Patricia Grant, said that if money is a problem, Marks could visit her girls free at one of the city welfare agencies set up to supervise visitation. Molly Murphy of Lawyers for Children, the public-interest law firm appointed to represent the 4-year-olds, also objected. "Now is not the time," Murphy said. "It's very early." Lawyers for Children has argued that supervision is in the best interests of Amber and Scarlet. Marks "has been very cooperative," said Richard Spitzer, the director of Comprehensive Family Services, the firm supplying live-in social workers to accompany the twins. "There is room for improvement," he added. Spitzer disclosed that the twins have a problem with "hysterical screaming" during "transitions" - when the time comes to return to their father. In fact, the twins are repeatedly refusing to leave their mom. Scarlet, for example, once forced Spitzer physically to carry her, crying and screaming down Third Ave., away from the building that was once home. The twins also have refused to answer questions from a new psychiatrist appointed by the court to help them. "I am saying exactly what the psychiatrist told me to say," Marks said yesterday. "I say I love you and I'll miss you and tell them when I'll see them again." "The kids," she said outside court, "just plain don't want to go back there."

Their Sunday Best Mom & Twins Reunite for Mass, Joined by a Big-bucks Chaperon By Nicole Bode New York Daily News July 19, 2004   Bridget Marks is flanked by her twin 4-year-old daughters, Scarlet (l.) and Amber, after they all attended Sunday Mass. Any Sunday she can take her twin daughters to Mass is precious to Bridget Marks. The embattled Manhattan mom who has been fighting for custody of 4-year-old Scarlet and Amber got a now-rare opportunity to foster her daughters' faith yesterday morning at St. John the Martyr on the upper East Side. Marks paid little mind to the press throng, there to cover the ouster of her longtime priest - and personal favorite - Msgr. John Woolsey. Instead, she focused on the joy of having her preschoolers snuggled close on either side of her in the pew, reading with her from the hymnbook and beaming as she caressed their hair. "I am very happy to be with them, no matter what the circumstances," Marks, 38, later told the Daily News, her voice choked with emotion. "[But] It's very, very important for any people in crisis to have their faith." Marks said she's terrified the girls have been blocked from their faith since she lost custody of them to their casino tycoon dad, John Aylsworth, on June 1. The one-time Playboy model also lives under constant fear the courts could strip away her tenuous visitation rights - which could be cut off if she lets slip a single nasty word about Aylsworth, or discloses the girls' whereabouts to the media. So it was with trepidation that Marks told The News she still has no idea how often her daughters will be able to accompany her to Mass in the future. She said she could not disclose what the rest of the girls' summer will hold - whether they will go to California with their father or stay with her. But after spending the hour-long Mass doting on her daughters, who clambered onto her lap and showered her with hugs and kisses as a court-mandated $1,000-per-day social worker looked on, Marks said she could not bear the thought of being without them. "They don't even like me to leave the apartment," Marks wept. "It's just a sad thing." Marks had reared the twins - the result of an affair with the married Aylsworth - since birth. But the 54-year-old millionaire was awarded custody after a judge found Marks had bad-mouthed him to the girls. For now, Marks is hoping the judge will allow her more time with her daughters, so that she can bring them to church for First Communion classes. Marks and the girls lit a trio of red prayer candles at Mass' end. "Just to bring us back together permanently, it's their greatest wish," Marks said. (Msgr. John Woolsey, is under investigation for $1million in missing church funds, of St. John the Martyr. Woolsey, stepped down last week after an audit by the Archdiocese of New York found about $1 million in church funds went missing during his eight years at St. John's. Rev. Joseph Baker was conducting the services.) Twins' Trip Hinges On Shrink Rap By Barbara Ross and Owne Moritz New York Daily News July 10, 2004 A court-appointed psychiatrist had her first meeting yesterday with the twin daughters of Bridget Marks while a judge decides whether to permit the 4-year-olds to vacation with their father in California. Marks said after a court hearing in Manhattan that the unidentified psychiatrist told the court "it is not a good idea" for the twins to leave New York. Lawyers for Marks, 38, a former Playboy model and the twins' father, casino millionaire John Aylsworth, 54, clashed in court over several issues. Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg awarded custody of the girls, Amber and Scarlet, to Aylsworth on June 1. Goldberg and several court-appointed experts said Marks had alienated the girls against Aylsworth and falsely accused him of sexually molesting them. Marks is appealing. Aylsworth, who is under court order to move to New York, has agreed to enroll the girls in a Manhattan preschool in September. But he has asked the court for vacation time in California, where he and his wife live. Marks lawyer Michael Joseph challenged Goldberg's order that the mother's contacts with the children be supervised by social workers at a cost of up to $5,000 a week. But Goldberg rejected the suggestion that the father should pay for the supervision. "How is it his responsibility to pay when it's her wrongdoing that requires it," Goldberg snapped. Aylsworth attorney Patricia Grant said Marks had assets of $266,790 and has a fiance picking up her rent and legal fees.

OK Twins' California Summer

By William Sherman
New York Daily News
July 7, 2004

Interview With Bridget Marks on Larry King
 

Aired on CNN
July 5, 2004 - 21:00   ET

To read transcript of interview click here.
 

See Twins - for 5g!

By Bob Port
New York Daily News
July 1, 2004

It looks like Manhattan mom Bridget Marks finally will get to see her little girls - but it's gonna cost her, big-time.

The feisty mom, who lost custody of her 4-year-old twins to casino tycoon John Aylsworth, can have home visits, a judge said yesterday, but only if she shells out $5,000 a week for court-appointed social workers to watch her every move.

Based on the number of planned visits, that could mean as much as $50,000 a year.

Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg also told Marks that if she says anything bad about her daughters' father - an ex-lover she despises - the social worker has the authority to terminate the visit on the spot.

"It's obviously punitive," said Marks, whose custody battle will be the subject of a report on ABC's "PrimeTime Thursday" program tonight.

Goldberg approved the visitation rules, ending weeks of uncertainty for Marks, who lost her children on June 1 after the judge granted custody to Aylsworth.

Yesterday, Goldberg also ordered Marks not to allow the news media access to her twins for the next year or reveal their "precise whereabouts."

The judge said the children will be harmed by reporters interviewing them or photographers taking their picture. "I can't have that," she declared.

"My job is to protect these children," Goldberg said. "That's what I intend to do."

Goldberg awarded Aylsworth custody, ruling that the trauma of taking the girls from their life-long home with Marks was better than letting Marks further alienate the girls from their father.

Marks, a former Playboy model, went public, lambasting the court, its overpriced forensic psychiatrist and what she views as gross injustice in the state's custody system.

Yesterday, she was stunned again at the price tag of visitation. She said Comprehensive Family Services, the firm appointed to supervise her, has warned her to expect costs of $4,500 to $5,000 per week.

"It's like a poll tax and it basically is like terminating my parental rights," Marks said. "As long as I've agreed not to let the children be interviewed, I don't see why I need supervised visitation."

The social workers must accompany her and the girls everywhere - even the bathroom - and are preparing a script for things she should say, Marks said. "It's just bizarre," she said, "and completely insane."

Judge Balks Bridget's Twin Hopes
When Will She See Her Girls?

New York Daily News
June 28, 2004

Bridget Marks has no idea when she will see her 4-year-old
twin daughters again.

A month after transferring custody of little Amber and Scarlet to their millionaire dad and his wife, Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg stunned Marks this week by indicating she might let the twins stay at their dad's Malibu, Calif., estate all summer.

Then again, she might not.

The judge might allow the children to stay overnight at their mother's home for a visit.                                                          Bridget Marks hugs
                                                                                                                                her twins, 4-year-old
Then again, she might not.                                                         twins Amber (r.) and
                                                                                                Scarlet, shortly
And, despite repeated pleas from Marks, Goldberg has yet       before they left her to
to settle how many thousands of dollars the mom must pay          go live with their 
court-appointed supervisors when she does visit her kids.          father.

The judge also is not responding to new questions about whether the girls will be allowed to attend Catholic church services or Sunday school.

"I miss them so much," Marks said Friday, as she began to cry. "I miss them more than I ever imagined I could."

All month, Marks has been required to pay court-appointed social workers to monitor daily phone calls with her kids.

"They keep asking me, 'Mommy, when are we coming home?' - and I'm not allowed to say anything," she said. "It's just not fair."

In May, Goldberg ordered the twins given to their father, John Aylsworth, president of President Casinos Inc., on the condition he move within 40 miles of Marks' upper East Side home. But when he will make the move remains unclear.

Marks, a former Playboy model, began an affair with Aylsworth in 1998. She became pregnant, resisted pressure from Aylsworth and his wife to have an abortion, then reared the twins alone.

Goldberg ruled that because Marks, 38, was denigrating Aylsworth, the children would be better off living with their 54-year-old father.

Aylsworth, the judge's May order declared, could take the girls anywhere on vacation for a "consecutive four-week period" beginning June 1. "The children shall then have supervised visitation time with the mother for a one-week period," she ruled.

But for weeks, Goldberg, who is the subject of an abuse-of-judicial-authority complaint by Marks to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, has failed to give her lawyers guidelines for how the distraught mom can visit her daughters.

"It's becoming surreal," said Tom Shanahan, Marks' attorney. "It's out of control."

Shanahan said he expects Goldberg to issue a more detailed order today. Aylsworth's attorney did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Although courtrooms in Family Court are supposed to be open to the public, and despite public interest in the case, Goldberg has begun holding hearings by telephone with lawyers - making it impossible for the public to hear what she says or observe what the elected judge does.

Before leaving their mother, Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth had attended Mass at a Catholic church most Sundays with Marks.

Aylsworth, Marks contends, is refusing to allow them to continue going to church. Marks had hoped to have her daughters attend Sunday school to prepare them for their First Communion in two years.

"Now, John even wants to take Jesus away from them," Marks said.
 

Courts See Moms as Guilty till Proven Innocent

By Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher
New York Daily News
June 20, 2004

Bridget Marks' tearful farewell to her 4-year-old twins after a Manhattan Family Court judge ordered them into the custody of a father they accused of touching their private parts is a scene reenacted in custody trials across the country, in which mothers bring good-faith allegations of sexual abuse.

All too often, young children are taken from the only home they have ever known, not because their mother has been found unfit, but because she was concerned about improper sexual contact between her children and their father.

Judges in New York and other states have adopted a bizarre rule that a mother alleging sex abuse in a custody dispute is guilty until proved innocent: If her abuse charge is not supported by overwhelming evidence, she will lose custody for making an accusation that "poisons" the relationship between father and child.

In fact, as we are seeing in the Marks case, she can end up being doubly penalized: After she loses custody, the accused abuser can actually hit her up for child support.

Marks' suspicions were not without support. A baby-sitter reported that the children told her their father had "touched their peepee." A police investigator was concerned enough about the charges to recommend that a prominent forensic psychologist interview the children (an interview that was never allowed to take place). Another psychologist recommended strict supervision for the father's visits with the girls.

Judge Arlene Goldberg held the mother to a Kafkaesque standard: While rejecting evidence that explained the mother's suspicions, the judge required Marks to prove she would foster a "loving" relationship between the man accused of abuse and the children she was desperately trying to protect.

Adding insult to injury for Marks, supervisors appointed by the court actually left the father alone with the children on several critical occasions, court papers show.

What happened to Marks has happened to mothers across the country. We have studied two decades' worth of custody litigation, and we have found that mothers who raise allegations of sexual abuse against the children's fathers are likely to be punished with the loss of custody even when there is no proof that the abuse charges were fabricated or that they did anything to harm their children's welfare.

Courts focus instead on the supposed evil of making a charge that, by its very nature, is extremely difficult to prove. Then, with the fathers presumed innocent, the mothers bear the burden of proving that their intentions were good.

If they fail, they end up like Marks, who cannot even speak to her children without professional supervision but who now may have to pay child support to their rich father.

Neustein and Lesher are authors of "From Madness to Mutiny: Why Are Mothers Running from the Family Court?" due out in spring 2005.

                
Give Press Boot - Twins' Daddy
 

Twins' Daddy Twists Knife

By Bob Port
New York Daily News
June 17, 2004

He got her kids, and now he wants her money, too.

The big-bucks corporate exec who stunned New Yorkers by taking 4-year-old twins away from his ex-mistress sued her yesterday for child support.

John Aylsworth makes $521,000 a year as president of riverboat casinos in Missouri and Mississippi.

Bridget Marks, 38, the former Playboy model who lost legal custody of her daughters to Aylsworth last month and does not have a job, was nearly speechless. "I just don't understand," she said. "It's just too ridiculous."

"It's like pulling the wings off a fly," said Raoul Felder, the city's dean of divorce law, who is not involved in the case. "This shows a kind of arrogance, to even attempt something like that."

Aylsworth's attorney was unavailable for comment. A hearing in the bizarre custody drama is scheduled in Manhattan Family Court today.

Aylsworth, 54, a married man for 34 years, began an affair with Marks in 1998 that ended bitterly in 2002. He had paid Marks $6,000 a month after Amber and Scarlet were born in September 1999. He stopped the payments in late 2002, but in early 2003 a court ordered him to fork over $4,200 a month.

On May 21, Manhattan Judge Arlene Goldberg awarded custody to Aylsworth and his wife on the grounds that Marks alienated the girls against their father and made false accusations that he sexually abused them.

Under New York law, Aylsworth may win child support from Marks, but probably not much. Using a legal formula, a judge would start with $80,000 or more as an annual child-rearing cost, then divide that amount in proportion to each parent's income. Marks then would owe a fraction of that amount.

With no job and legal bills of nearly $800,000, Marks relies on her mother, fiancéé and others for help. She got a $25,000 book advance this year for a romance novel but owes an editor one-third of that and an agent 10% to 15%.

Still, the law would let a judge "impute" an income figure for Marks based on odd sources of cash. The judge could also calculate extra costs for the custodial parent, such as private school and medical care - and even baby-sitters to help Aylsworth's wife, who cares for her cheating husband's love twins.

Hal Mayerson, co-chairman of the state Bar Association's custody law committee, called the child-support suit "nothing more than harassment."

"This is the dumbest thing this guy could do, because he's now opened his finances to Bridget Marks," Mayerson said. "I don't understand why this was done other than to to just drive her crazy."

                            Fed Judge Turns Twins' Ma Away

                                Mom's Pain Spelled Out

New York Daily News
June 6, 2004
 

An aching heart and a photo of her twins are constant companions of Bridget Marks. Bridget Marks last saw her daughters five days ago, when their wealthy father, Marks' ex-lover, took custody under a Manhattan Family Court parental alienation order. She's talked with them on the phone, but only by paying a $75-per-hour court-appointed social worker to monitor her every word. If Marks cries or says anything to trigger her children's emotions over losing her, the call will be cut off, by order of Manhattan Judge Arlene Goldberg. The Daily News invited Marks, 38, to write an open letter to her 4-year-old twin girls, Amber and Scarlet - and she did. "Thank you, thank you so much," she said, as she began to cry. "Thank God for the First Amendment." "Remember," she writes to her daughters, "don't go to the swimming pool alone," which suggests they may be at the Malibu, Calif., estate of their father, casino executive John Aylsworth, 54, and his wife of 34 years, Karen, 53. Marks won't say, in fact, where they are. "They're frightened and they miss me," Marks lamented Friday, after her second phone call to Amber and Scarlet. "I can hear it in their voices." The letter Dear Amberinna and Scarlettina, Mommy loves you so much and misses you. You are my heartbeats you know. I am like half a pair of scissors since they cut me out of your lives. You are my warrior princesses and you must be strong and know that God is watching over you while we are apart. Remember to say your prayers and don't be afraid because when I can't be with you, God is there to protect you. Mommy is making sure Kiki and Gem are getting fed the little treats you always gave them. Fay Fay is keeping Mommy company and allyour friends, especially Sophia, say "hi" and hope you'll be back soon. Grandma says you'll be back in time to pick the tomatoes you planted last weekend in her garden. Remember, don't go to the swimming pool alone and always wear water wings and eat your vegetables. Hoping to hold you both in my arms again soonest! Love, kisses and hugs, Meema   Love-Twin Dad Tied to Iffy Land Deal   By Bob Port New York Daily News June 6, 2004     John Aylsworth John Aylsworth, the fat-cat father who took his love twins from their mother this week, was the architect of an inflated land deal that funneled $40.5 million to the chairman of his casino business, according to a new federal court report. The big losers were stockholders and bondholders with a stake in Aylsworth's publicly traded company, St. Louis-based President Casinos Inc. The big winner was Aylsworth's boss, the casino company's chairman and its biggest stockholder, John Connelly. Connelly is known in New York City for operating a fleet of dinner-cruise ships during the 1980s. He later became an investor in the parent company of the Circle Line. In 2002, President Casinos, which runs a riverboat gambling vessel in St. Louis, filed for protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Missouri. The judge in the case appointed an examiner to investigate Connelly and Aylsworth. "There is evidence to support claims ... for breach of fiduciary duty against John Connelly, John Aylsworth" and others, the examiner, David Sosne, said in his report. That evidence comes from a 1997 real estate deal arranged by Aylsworth, the chief operating officer of President. At the time, Connelly personally needed cash, the examiner found. Aylsworth, paid more than $680,000 a year as Connelly's employee, arranged at his boss' request for President Casinos to buy Connelly's aging, money-losing Broadwater Resort in Biloxi, Miss. Connelly got $40.5 million for the real estate - $30.5 million in cash and a $10 million stake in an entity set up to run it. Aylsworth, Connelly's grandson, and a past Circle Line associate - all appointed company directors by Connelly - voted to okay the deal. Aylsworth arranged bond financing for the purchase from Lehman Brothers with what amounted to annual interest costs of 17%. Sosne labeled Aylsworth's actions a "breach of the duty of care." He called Connelly's actions "self-dealing" and suggested further investigation would likely prove the deal was worth far less than $40.5 million. Legal time limits on lawsuits probably make it impossible for creditors to sue Aylsworth or Connelly for damages, the examiner said. But a 1998 stockholder lawsuit against Aylsworth and Connelly in Delaware could proceed when the Missouri bankruptcy case finishes. "We're pleased that the examiner has finished his work," President Casino spokesman Jon Sloane said in a statement this week. "Based on the report and all the circumstances surrounding it, we believe that no further action will be taken." On Tuesday, Aylsworth took custody of 4-year-old girls he fathered in an extramarital affair. A Manhattan Family Court judge ruled the girls would be better off with Aylsworth and his wife than with their mom, Bridget Marks, an actress, novelist and former Playboy model.   Bogus Sex Rap Turned Tug-of-love into Twins Nightmare By Brad Hamilton New York Post June 6, 2004 It's the custody battle from hell - and it all began with a shocking allegation of sex abuse on Easter Sunday last year. The epic battle pitting ex-Playboy model Bridget Marks against her former flame, philandering casino mogul John Aylsworth, has left their 4-year-old twins deeply scarred, a Post review of more than 1,000 pages of court documents shows. "They are very anxious about their parent's conflict and need therapy ... ASAP," urged the kids' former psychiatrist, Celia Blumenthal, in one court document. Marks, 38, lost custody surrendered the kids in a public hand-off this past week. The allegation at the heart of the fight started after blond twins Amber and Scarlett spent Easter last year with their father in New York. They'd gone with him to a small luxury apartment on West 73rd Street he'd bought for his grown daughter Colleen, one of four adult children Aylsworth and his wife Karen had during their 34 years of marriage. But when the girls returned to their home on East 72nd Street, Amber told their longtime babysitter, Pam Soleiman, that her Daddy had "touched her pee-pee" when he took the tot to the bathroom, according to court records Marks filed. Marks relayed the charge to city's Administration for Children's Services, and Ehrenfreund was removed as supervisor. Over the next several months, the charge would be investigated by cops, ACS and several experts, including a lead shrink appointed by the court whose methods and ethics have been questioned in this and other cases. The psychiatrist, Stephen Billick and three others would testify that Marks, 38, had coached the kids, prompting Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg to award custody last month to Aylsworth, 54. The decision baffled court observers and infuriated Marks. Case documents raise troubling questions about the behavior of Marks, whose allegations at first appeared credible, but also cast doubt about how well the courts handle such charges. It's a concern echoed last week by the state's top judge, Judith Kaye, who announced the creation of a commission to study the role of experts in custody fights following years of criticism that some experts were biased or incompetent. The twins' situation is a case in point. At the very time that the criminal case was still being investigated by veteran special-victims Detective Julia Collins, a second allegation suddenly cropped up. The new charge followed another supervised visit Aylsworth had with the kids, this time in Central Park last July 12, just three months after the Easter incident. Marks, worried that new supervisor Jule Roberts might not keep proper tabs on the girls, had secretly hired a retired city cop, Luther Barnes, to follow and watch. Her worst fears were realized when Barnes reported back, showing video of Roberts sitting on a rock making cell phone calls while Aylsworth, his wife and the twins disappeared for an hour. Worse, the babysitter again claimed Amber complained that she'd been touched by Aylsworth when he led her to a bathroom in the park. A few days later, Marks took Amber to Cornell Medical Center, where the girl was diagnosed as having vaginitis, an irritation of the genitals. Blumenthal urged that Goldberg allow only the most restricted contact between the girls and their father, who had sent each toddler an odd gift: a dozen roses for Valentine's Day. It seemed the allegations were plausible. But the case began to unravel, partly because of what one key investigator called Marks' "arrogant" behavior toward those looking into the charges. "She's alienated herself against everybody in ACS," said the investigator, who spent weeks interviewing the parents, family, friends and shrinks, along with the twins themselves - and asked not to be named in this story. The investigator said the way the kids told how they were allegedly abused - quickly and urgently in the first moments of an interview - indicated they'd been coached. "You walk into the room and they blurt it out," she said. "These kids are really smart, and they know why they're there. They just want to get it over with." In another incident, the twins appeared to enjoy a pleasant day with Aylsworth, only to scream, "You're horrible, Daddy!" as he drove up to return them home, she said. "It seemed like they were saying, 'Oh, s--, We're going back to Mommy," she said. Vaginitis, she added, "just means it itches. It can happen if a little soap gets left on." A report by the court-appointed law guardian, Molly Murphy, cites numerous interviews with the kids in which Marks or Soleiman apparently put words into their mouths. And it slams Marks for making "evasive, inconsistent" statements. Even so, the investigator couldn't prove the kids were coached. And the system continued to fail. Records show that the cop in the case, Det. Collins, asked that the twins be evaluated by a Columbia University shrink she hailed as the best abuse expert in the city, to determine once and for all what happened. But the child's court-appointed law guardian, Molly Murphy, refused. Meanwhile, Billick's methods were maddening Marks. Billick, gay and childless, has a history of favoring fathers, her attorney, Thomas Shanahan alleges. In this case, records show, the shrink expanded his role from evaluating visitation to looking at custody - without the judge telling him to do so, as is required Billick never interviewed the kids' teachers, nannies or parents of kids they played with, and lost tapes of key interviews he conducted. Marks claims he was biased due to a shocking murder-suicide: His brother, William Billick, lawyer for the Motion Pictures Association of America, killed himself and his 18-month-old twins at his Beverly Hills home in 1997 after his wife threatened to leave and take the kids. "He never should have been on this case," said Shanahan. Billick has run afoul of other litigants, including one Manhattan mother, Devorah Shabtai, who lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter last year based on Billick's testimony that she was paranoid and allowed the girl to chase a rat in the park. The investigator in the Marks case claims Billick "formed an opinion right away" about the sex charges, before doing any evaluations. Billick didn't return calls seeking comment. He wasn't the only one with biases, Marks alleges. Two social workers who later claimed the kids were never abused flew to California last year, staying with Aylsworth and his family at his beachside mansion in Malibu. Aylsworth had a networth of more than $6 million , as of 1999, and owns three homes, including one in St. Louis, where his riverboat gambling operation filed for bankruptcy.

Love on the Clock
Mom Gets Only 5 Mins. On Phone with Her Torn-away Twin Girls

By William Sherman & Bob Port
New York Daily News
June 4, 2004
 

Bridget Marks, with photo of twins in their empty room, talked to girls yesterday for first time since handover to their father. Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth, the 4-year-old twins turned over to their millionaire dad, spoke to their mom yesterday for the first time since they were torn from her Tuesday - until dad hung up after five minutes. "Scarlet said that she missed me and she wanted to sleep near me," said heartbroken Manhattan mom Bridget Marks, 38. "Amber said she missed me and loved me." The call was arranged with a $75-per-hour social worker monitoring. Under a court order, the twins are on a four-week trip with their 54-year-old father, John Aylsworth, chief operating officer of President Casino Inc. "I didn't really get to say goodbye to Scarlet," Marks said. "John hung up the phone before I could even say goodbye to Amber." Marks finally learned her kids' whereabouts yesterday, two days after their emotionally charged transfer to Aylsworth. "I can't really say where the children are, but wherever the children are, I ask the American public to keep an eye on them and to smile at them and be kind to them," the former Playboy model said. So went another teary day for Marks, who lost custody of her daughters in one of the city's most high-profile Family Court battles in years. On May 21, Manhattan Judge Arlene Goldberg awarded custody to Aylsworth and his wife on the grounds that Marks alienated the girls against their father and made false accusations that he sexually abused them. Aylsworth fathered the twins during an extramarital affair with Marks, who reared their girls alone from birth. When Marks dumped Aylsworth, he sought visitation. When Marks began to bad-mouth Aylsworth, he sought full custody. Until this week, the twins had only visited their dad for two weeks and five weekends. Court officials said New York case law forces a judge to shift custody of children when a psychiatrist finds a custodial parent alienating the kids from the other parent. But some experts say those legal precedents were limited to extreme cases. "There's a whole panoply of things the judge could have done," said veteran divorce lawyer Raoul Felder. "She could have said, 'Let's revisit it in six months' or she could have given him lots of visitation."

If Mommy Cries, It's Goodbye
Judge Orders Stiff Upper Lip During Phone Calls with Twins

By Bob Port and William Sherman New York Daily News June 3, 2004

Bridget Marks sits in her daughters' empty bedroom. Bridget Marks can hardly stop crying in the aching loneliness of her upper East Side apartment. Her 4-year-old twin daughters, Amber and Scarlett, are gone with their toys and clothes. Their beds were empty again yesterday, the second night they were gone. Marks stared at their photos and cried again when she looked at the videotape of their recent kindergarten graduation. But she cannot cry when she gets to talk on the phone with them during conference calls supervised and monitored by a social worker who will be paid $150 an hour to listen in. "If I do, they'll terminate the call," said Marks, referring to Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg's instructions on how she must behave during any supervised contact with her children. Goldberg made that decision yesterday, according to Marks, who added, "If I show any emotion, a supervisor will hang up; if I do anything that a supervisor thinks will upset the children, that's it; if the girls ask if they can come home, I'm not allowed to speak about it." Marks did not get to talk to them yesterday. "I don't know where they are, if they're scared, if they're hungry, if they're lonely," said Marks. No schedule for phone calls or visitation has been arranged or set by the judge. "It's hard for me to be in the apartment without their laughter, without their chatter," she said. "I didn't sleep at all Tuesday night." Marks, 38, a former Playboy model and actress, lost custody of her daughters to her one-time lover, John Aylsworth, a wealthy 54-year-old casino president. He has four children with Karen Aylsworth, his wife of 34 years, and grandchildren as well. The twins were born out of Aylsworth's extramarital affair with Marks. But Goldberg awarded Aylsworth and his wife custody on the grounds that Marks alienated the girls against their natural father and made false accusations that he sexually abused them. Aylsworth's wife testified in court that she will gladly rear her husband's love children. Goldberg declined comment on the case yesterday. But one top legal expert familiar with the case said the judge felt she had little choice. "It was difficult, but the mother was not fostering a healthy relationship with [Aylsworth]," said the expert who declined to be named. David Bookstaver, spokesman for the Office of Court Administration said, "Judges are bound by appellate court rulings and the appellate courts have made it very clear, in this state, that if there's a finding of parental alienation, the remedy is removal of the children." Marks has vowed to fight on. On Monday, she will ask a federal court judge to stay Goldberg's decision pending a hearing on various constitutional and civil rights issues. "Because Judge Goldberg's decision is not final, we can't appeal it," said Mark's attorney Tom Shanahan. "It violates due process to say I'm taking your children away but you can't appeal it," he said. In order to keep custody, Aylsworth, who lives in Malibu, Calif., and works in St. Louis, must live in New York with his family. As far as Marks knows, he has not bought a home here. "I wish I knew where Amber and Scarlett are," Marks said last night. "I hope they're all right."                  Jurist Singularly Unsensational till Now By Barbara Ross and William Sherman New York Daily News June 3, 2004 Until recently, Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg had a reputation for being a diligent jurist who plays it strictly by the book, carefully following the rule of law. But that was before she stripped Bridget Marks of custody of her twins, a controversial ruling that has triggered outrage and national debate. "It wasn't easy for the judge to make this decision, but believe me, she agonized over it," said an associate, who declined to be identified. "She looked at all the evidence and previous rulings and appellate court decisions." Colleagues say that's typical of Goldberg, mostly known in legal circles for having a sharp legal mind and for being careful. In her 13 years on the bench, the first 111/2 years in Criminal Court before being switched to Family Court, there is no record of her rulings being reversed on appeal. The 54-year-old judge, who is single and lives on the upper East Side, worked her way up through the legal system after graduating from Hunter College and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. From 1976 to 1986, she worked as a Legal Aid Society defense lawyer, and then clerked for Acting Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman. In 1991, then-Mayor David Dinkins appointed the fellow Democrat to the bench at Manhattan Criminal Court. There she handled bail applications, pretrial defense and prosecution motions and was known as a workaholic, able to move cases along swiftly, pressing lawyers to meet deadlines. Except for a stint in a special narcotics part, she did not preside over trials. But many big names appeared before her. She set bail for Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski; issued a warrant for the arrest of Christopher Culkin, Macaulay Culkin's father, and dismissed a claim by three teenagers that former Nets basketball star Derrick Coleman assaulted them at a bar. Monitors for Fund for Modern Courts, which reviews judges' conduct, praised her as patient, fair, thorough and firm. In a mostly positive review, some monitors did note that her courtroom was "not very orderly." In December 2002, she was transferred to Family Court to help handle that court's increasing caseload.

Double Dispair Heartbroken Mom Screams 'I Love You' and Runs After Car as Fat-cat Father Takes Custody of 4-Year-Old Twins By: Bob Port New York Daily News June 2, 2004

Bridget Marks girds for parting from Amber and Scarlet. One of the twins screams for her mom as she’s put into dad’s car. President Casino honcho John Aylsworth is the twins' biological father. Marks spews at her former lover, then follows car carrying girls away. Little twin girls in their Sunday best, clutching their mother's hands as tears filled their eyes, were handed over into the custody of their father yesterday in a scene marked by anger and shouting. It was gut-wrenching for anyone who watched. Their mother, Bridget Marks, crying, chased after the father's car as it slowly pulled into traffic. "I love you, I love you," she called to her daughters, who watched helplessly from the car. "There's the coward," Marks' mother shouted as casino bigwig John Aylsworth tried to go unnoticed. "You evil man," she screamed at the twins' father. "You are evil!" she yelled. "How could you do this?" A social worker pulled and twisted one child's arm. Then, when Aylsworth neglected to buckle up the girls after the child safety seats in his car were too small, Marks screamed at him, "I'll sue you!" The spectacle, at midday on the upper East Side, brought grimaces of shock and sadness to the faces of passersby. Marks, 38, sobbed uncontrollably as it ended. She raced into her apartment building on Third Ave. as a phalanx of news crews pursued. So went the transfer of custody of two 4-year-old twin girls from Marks, a former B-movie actress and now a romance novelist, to Aylsworth, 54, the chief operating officer of President Casino Inc. Aylsworth stood stoically, ignoring all questions. His wife, Karen, also refused to speak. For the twins, Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth, it was nightmarish day. They begged and pleaded to stay with their mother. Marks, outraged by New York's system of custody law, has gone public in her battle with Aylsworth. "This is outrageous," she said yesterday. "I can't believe this is happening." Last month, Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg ordered Marks to hand over her daughters to Aylsworth. The judge, relying on New York's history of parental alienation case law, ruled that Marks despises Aylsworth so much she cannot be trusted to foster a father-daughter relationship. New York law requires the twins, despite the temporary trauma they will endure, to be placed with their father, the judge ruled. The twins were born to Marks after she began an affair with the married Aylsworth in 1998. When Marks became pregnant, Aylsworth and his wife pressured her to have an abortion. She refused, rearing the girls on her own. Marks ended the relationship in late 2002 and Aylsworth filed for visitation rights. When she accused him of sexually molesting their daughters, he upped his claim to custody and won when the judge concluded that Marks had coached the kids to implicate their father. The case has tapped a well of dissatisfaction with divorce and custody courts that runs deep in New York City. The Daily News reported on Marks' case in late March. It has since gained national attention; Marks appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and Court TV yesterday. Lawyers for Marks were unsuccessful in getting an emergency restraining order. Manhattan Federal Judge Kimba Wood, on duty to hear emergency requests, scheduled a hearing for Monday before Federal Judge George Daniels. Tom Shanahan, Marks' attorney, said Wood ruled that immediate action was not necessary. "A one-week vacation for the girls cannot constitute irreparable harm," he said. "The upside is there will be a hearing in a week," Shanahan said. "My client will be here, her supporters will be here. The child psychiatrist will be here. We can make our argument then." Marks is suing Aylsworth, the State of New York, its court system and Judge Goldberg in federal court. She also sued Lawyers for Children Inc., a child advocacy law firm appointed to represent her twins, and Dr. Stephen Billick, a court-appointed psychiatrist who recommended she lose custody. The suit claims violations of civil rights, due process and equal protection. It seeks the appointment of a special master to investigate the conduct of the judge and the other defendants. A sworn statement from Celia Blumental, a therapist for the two girls for four months in 2003, contends that irreparable harm will occur to the twins if Goldberg's order is not stopped. "I don't understand the mentality of people that would do something like this to children," Marks said last night. "I don't even know where the kids are," she said. "This is a mother's worst nightmare." With Robert Gearty

Tug-of-love Ends in Agony

By Brad Hamilton and Heidi Singer
New York Post
June 2, 2004

The ex-Playboy model who lost custody of her twin girls for coaching them to say their father was a molester bid a heart-wrenching — and very public — goodbye yesterday, handing off the 4-year-olds to a man they call "Daddy" but hardly know.

Sobbing mom Bridget Marks hollered, "Evil!" at casino owner and former beau John Aylsworth as he and his wife, Karen, picked up the girls in front of Marks' East 72nd Street home.

As he piled them into his sedan, Marks yanked    rom the vehicle and held it up as a car seat for HEARTBREAK:                                              evidence that Aylsworth couldn't care for
Bridget Marks, who coached her twin         her kids, Amber and Scarlet.  
girls to falsely call their dad a molester,      
 bids them goodbye yesterday.                     They're putting in car seats that aren't even
N.Y. Post: David Rentas                       "fastened!" she yelled through tears. "That's
not the right way to do it!"  Marks, 38, lost custody of the kids last month after Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg ruled she coaxed the twins to lie and say their father sexually abused them — a violation of state child custody law, which punishes parents who make false sexual allegations.

The girls were born from a 1998 affair Marks had with Aylsworth, whose wife of 34 years knew about the liaison.

Aylsworth and his wife urged Marks to get an abortion, but she refused, then raised the kids as a single mom.

Yesterday, Marks had hoped her attorney could win an 11th-hour stay of Goldberg's custody order in Manhattan federal court.

But the federal judge put off the matter until next week — and the Aylsworths showed up to whisk the girls to their new life.

The twins, outfitted in matching dresses and each clutching a doll, looked terrified. They burst into tears when Marks bent down and squeezed them in front of reporters and photographers as they left the apartment building at about 2:30 p.m.

Aylsworth, 54, hurried with them to the car as Marks' mother, Molly Bennett Aitken, screamed, "He's running like a rat!"

When the vehicle pulled away, Marks chased after it briefly, wailing, "I love you!"

The girls waved back.

Aylsworth has not moved to New York from his home in Malibu, Calif., as Goldberg ordered, and for now will stay with the twins at his daughter Colleen's West 73rd Street apartment.

Aylsworth runs a riverboat casino operation in St. Louis and has admitted to multiple affairs.

Marks, a romance novelist and former actress, maintains that Aylsworth has behaved in a sexually inappropriate way with the girls.

The circus-like farewell — which could have been avoided with a quiet departure from the building's underground garage — came after Manhattan federal Judge Kimba Wood denied Marks' bid for a temporary restraining order. She transferred the matter to Judge George Daniels, who's on vacation until Monday.

Marks' motion attacks the credibility of the court experts in her case, including psychiatrist Stephen Billick, saying the doctor should have recused himself because of a gruesome family tragedy that biased his opinions.

Billick's brother William, an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, shot and killed himself and his twin kids after his wife announced she would leave him and take the children, according to the motion, prepared by Marks' lawyer, Thomas Shanahan, and judicial activist Anthony DeRosa.

It also cites a previously undisclosed report by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman that casts doubt on the value and motives of testimony from court-appointed experts.

The report says lucrative appointments go to experts who are friends with judges or have politically connections.

"We have documented a wide range of problems that regularly arise in these cases in courts throughout the state," it says.

Because Goldberg has not fully entered her ruling with the court, and won't until July, Marks was prevented from appealing the decision to the appellate court.

"It's bizarre," Shanahan said of the ruling. "She takes the kids from a loving home and gives them to a man who hasn't even established residence."

Marks is allowed only supervised visitation, and will have to pay for a court-appointed supervisor whenever she meets the kids — to prevent further undermining of the twins' relationship with their dad, Goldberg said.

Marks' looming legal battle could rock the state court system if the feds rule that testimony from outside experts is unreliable.

The problem of tainted experts "is not an anomaly — it's happening in courts across the country," said Amy Neustein, a public advocate and custody expert who lost her daughter Sherry in 1989 to an abusive father.

3 Broken Hearts Cruel Court Ruling Rips Twins From Mom Today

By Bob Port New York Daily News June 1, 2004

Bridget Marks holds her teary twins, Amber (l.) and Scarlet, who spent yesterday with their mom before going to live with biological dad today, as ordered by N.Y. Family Court. Bridget Marks will lose her 4-year-old twin daughters today - and it's going to cost her more than $1,000 a day to visit them and as much as $150 an hour to talk to them on the phone. A state judge has ordered supervised visitation for the 38-year-old Manhattan mom. The children's wealthy father, Marks said, is insisting she pay for court-appointed social workers, who charge between $100 and $150 per hour. "That's more than $1,000 a day," Marks said yesterday, as she packed her children's luggage and struggled to fight back tears. "I don't have the money to pay for that." At noon today, Marks, a former Playboy model and actress about to publish her first romance novel, will experience heartbreak as few mothers do. She will have to say goodbye to identical twins she reared alone from birth, all because of a judge's order. In one of New York's most unusual child custody battles ever, Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg awarded custody of the twins to their father, 54-year-old casino executive John Aylsworth. Goldberg decreed that although Marks is a fit mother, it is in the best interests of her children that they live with their father because of Marks' "unbridled anger" toward him. Aylsworth, chief operating officer of President Casino Inc., a riverboat gambling business based in St. Louis, fathered the twins during an extramarital affair with Marks. Under the judge's order, Aylsworth and his wife of 34 years, Karen, 53, will move to New York. Yesterday, Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth played their favorite board game, Candyland, sang songs and watched a video of their preschool graduation as their mother sobbed. "Kiki," a lame pet Chihuahua the twins nursed back to health, got a wet goodbye kiss. Their father refuses to take their dog, Marks said. "No!" Amber shouted, when asked if she wanted to live with her daddy, who apparently has told Amber she can now call his wife Karen her mommy. Scarlet started to explain how she wants to stay with her real mother, but her lip quivered and she broke down into tears. Amber frowned as she watched her sister. Then, they hugged their mother as all three wept in one another's arms. In her ruling, Goldberg cited cases where New York appeals judges have declared children better off leaving a parent who badmouths the other parent. But even a strong supporter of that principle in custody law, psychologist Richard Warshak of Dallas, said less severe remedies - like counseling for the accusatory parent and liberal visitation for the estranged parent - may make more sense for young children in a stable home. "The idea that there should be an automatic transfer of custody is wrong," said Warshak, often labeled a father's-rights advocate and author of "Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond from a Vindictive Ex." Aylsworth and his wife have refused to speak to the press. But the case has turned Marks into an outspoken critic of New York's Family Court. "This is a disgusting example of how people drunk with their own power ruin lives and destroy children," she said. "It is savage."

Last Custody Shot for Playboy Mom

By Brad Hamilton
New York Post
June 1, 2004

Lawyers for a former Playboy model set to lose custody of her twin 4-year-old girls to their married father will make a last-ditch effort to block the handover today.

Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg has ruled that Bridget Marks, 38, coached the girls to say their father molested them. But Marks contends that a court-appointed psychiatrist and four social workers lied, leading the judge to award custody to married casino exec John Aylsworth, 54, with whom Marks had an affair.

"I have proof that all the social workers in this case, in one way, shape or form, lied," said Marks last night.

Lawyer Thomas Shanahan said he will file papers in Manhattan federal court citing an internal report for the court system that acknowledges favoritism and other "inappropriate factors" have plagued the system of appointments.

The complaint names among others Aylsworth, Goldberg, forensic psychiatrist Stephen Billick, law guardian Molly Murphy, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the state's Unified Court System as defendants.

Marks has been ordered to hand over the girls, Scarlet and Amber, to Aylsworth at noon today.

"This is a tragedy," said Marks. "It's a nice household and I'm certainly not deserving of losing my children."
 

Judge Says Mom Lied, So She'll Lose Custody

By Bob Port New York Daily News May 30, 2004

Bridget Marks and daughters Amber (l.) and Scarlet share laughs on Monday. Why would a judge take two thriving, giggly 4-year-old twin girls away from their loving, doting mother and the happy Manhattan home they have known since birth? Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg decided to do it because she believes the mother falsely accused the father of sexually fondling their children to prevent him from gaining custody. The father, the judge believes, is innocent. Now, mom so hates dad, Goldberg decided, that the twins are better off with their father, a busy, traveling casino executive who years ago slept with their mother while he cheated, as he frequently has, on his loyal wife. That, in a nutshell, is the case of John Aylsworth vs. Bridget Marks. It's a bitter custody fight involving a millionaire CEO and a former Playboy model that is about to test the changing boundaries of state family law. Marks carried her twins through pregnancy despite pressure from Aylsworth and his wife to get an abortion, according to court testimony. "He didn't take me to court," Marks said, "until I refused to have sex with him anymore." The Daily News first reported the story in late March. On Tuesday, lawyers for Marks plan to go to federal court for a restraining order and to challenge the constitutionality of New York's custody process. Marks will bare her outrage on Court TV's Catherine Crier talk show that night. Reports are being prepared by "Dateline NBC" and ABC's "2-0/20." Dozens of people phoned The News Friday enraged by Goldberg's ruling, wanting to protest, write letters and raise hell. "This is one tough decision," said Hal Mayerson, co-chairman of the state bar association's custody law committee. "This is such a rare decision, but this judge had to make a decision." For more than a decade, New York's higher courts have been embracing as gospel a concept psychologists still debate - that when one parent wrongly bad-mouths the other by alleging sexual abuse, children are better served if custody goes to the accused. The accused, the reasoning goes, can then counteract an accuser's damaging behavior. First termed "parental alienation" in 1985 by the late Columbia University psychiatrist Richard Gardner, who tried to define the behavior as a mental illness, the theory quickly became standard offense or defense in custody cases. Many New York judges bought it. Meanwhile, some researchers dismissed Gardner's theories as junk science while others moderated his ideas and refined them. Today, parental alienation has new names and more subtle definitions. Some states treat it as "generally accepted" science while some judges reject it as quackery. But in New York, many parents are stunned to learn parental alienation, as Gardner conceived it, is the law. The official remedy in one New York appeals ruling after another: Hand over the kids to the parent wrongly accused of perversion. Goldberg cited this line of cases in ruling against Marks. Abuse accusations are, as Mayerson puts it, "the atom bomb in custody cases." But Marks sees her punishment as a hydrogen bomb for her children and says the judge has overreacted. Goldberg found that Marks had coached her children "to say their father had 'touched their peepee,'" but Marks vehemently denies this. Her concerns, she said, are rooted in a pattern of her former lover's crude language and overbearing physical touching. Aylsworth refuses to speak to the press. A review of records and videotapes from the case backs up Marks. The judge had no hard evidence to support her finding - only opinions from a court-appointed psychiatrist, two social workers and a children's lawyer. The judge ignored three contradictory opinions from experts hired by Marks and testimony about how Aylsworth "made inappropriate comments about the beauty of the children's genitalia." Carol Bruch, professor of family law at the University of California at Davis, is a frequent critic of alienation becoming a ruling principal in custody. "Parental alienation is a crock," she said. "It's snake oil."

She Lost Teary Mom in Custody Fight Slams  'Heartless' Legal System   By Bob Port New York Daily News May 28, 2004   Bridget Marks looks adoringly at daughters she'll have to hand over to their rich dad. A Manhattan mom will have to bid a heartrending goodbye to her little twin daughters in four days after an appeals judge paved the way yesterday for the children to be turned over to their wealthy father. Former Playboy model Bridget Marks vowed to battle to the end to keep President Casino Inc. executive John Aylsworth from getting custody of the 4-year-old girls. "I will fight this," Marks said. "I will fight this wherever I have to go." While Marks' plea for an emergency order halting the transfer of the girls went unheeded yesterday, she was given a glimmer of hope. In an unusual move, an appeals judge invited Marks to return for a hearing in five weeks - unless a lower court judge issues a more detailed explanation of her custody ruling. It marked the latest twist in the tug of war over twins born to Marks, a 38-year-old former actress and model-turned-romance novelist. Their 54-year-old married father sued Marks last year after their affair turned sour. Last week, Manhattan Family Court Judge Arlene Goldberg stunned Marks by ordering the girls transferred to Aylsworth, and restricting her to supervised visits. "I am horrified," Marks said yesterday. "I am appalled at the insensitivity of the legal system to the needs of my small children." "This is draconian, heartless and cold-blooded," she said. "If anything is going to emotionally damage my children, it's this process, not me," she said, pledging to continue her legal battle. Aylsworth's attorney, Patricia Grant, noted, "a stay is rarely granted in this kind of case," and said she believes Marks' appeal will fail. Grant said Goldberg has promised to supply a more detailed court order soon. The case promises to test the boundaries of a growing claim in New York custody law that is loosely called "parental alienation." In an unusually brief six-page order issued last Friday, Goldberg declared Marks' anger toward her ex-lover is so likely to poison the twins' relationship with their father that they are better off living with him. While the change "will be stressful and traumatic," the judge wrote, "to leave the children in her custody would expose them to further emotional damage and likely make a healthy and wholesome father-daughter relationship impossible." In a concession to Marks, the judge said Aylsworth must move to New York from his Malibu, Calif., home. Aylsworth intends to move here, probably to Manhattan, with his wife, Karen, who would become a caretaker to the children. The ruling prompted Marks to seek an emergency stay yesterday. She wants more explanation of why she cannot see her daughters without supervision, where they will go to school and precisely what kind of home their father will provide. Without an appellate judge willing to intervene - for now - the ruling means Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth will be tearfully handed over to their father at noon Tuesday. Dad will keep them for a one-month vacation. Phone calls with mom will be monitored. When the girls return to New York, mom will get a one-week supervised visit. The girls spent the week at play near their upper East Side home. They visited a private kindergarten they may - or may not - attend this fall. "I got their uniforms for school," Marks said. "But I don't know," she said, beginning to cry, "whether they'll use them or not."   Tug-of-War Girls Home - for Now Twins Visited Calif. Dad By William Sherman and Bob Port New York Daily News March 29, 2004 The twin daughters of a former Playboy pinup were home in New York yesterday from a court-mandated visit to the California dad who is fighting for custody of them. "The girls are back home," said a person close to Bridget Marks, 37, the socialite model and romance novelist embroiled in a bitter court dispute with John Aylsworth, 54, president of President Casinos Inc. Although Marks has reared 4-year-old twins Amber and Scarlet in her upper East Side home since their birth, both a psychiatrist and a law guardian have recommended that Aylsworth be given full custody of them. Aylsworth, a married grandfather who lives in Malibu, fathered the girls during an affair with Marks, who is single and now engaged. Manhattan Family Court Justice Arlene Goldberg is expected to issue a custody ruling on April 21. Meanwhile, the twins finished a week-long visit with Aylsworth on Saturday. Marks said yesterday her lawyers have told her not to comment while a judge considers a gag order against her sought by Aylsworth, who could not be reached for comment. Family law experts say Aylsworth's sweeping requests to remove children from an extramarital affair to another coast - and do it with judicially sanctioned secrecy - are rare in New York courts. "I haven't seen it,"   said Manhattan divorce lawyer Marty Johnson, former chairman of the family law committee of the state Bar Association. "It's a pretty drastic measure absent some real countervailing reasons." A Pinup, a Mogul and Their Custody Battle

By William Sherman and Bob Port New York Daily News March 27, 2004   She was a Playboy model. He's a married multi-millionaire. Now, the twin daughters born of their affair could be ripped from their mom and sent to live with the man they hardly know and his wife.   Bridget Marks with her 4-year-old twins Scarlet and Amber.             Aylsworth Special Report - A steamy bicoastal love affair between a multi-millionaire married grandfather and a sexy Manhattan socialite has spawned one of the most vicious and unusual child-custody disputes in the city's history. The courtroom battle, waged in secret until now, is over Amber and Scarlet Aylsworth, 4-year-old identical twins who were born out of an affair between John Aylsworth, 54, of California, who cheated on his wife, and Bridget Marks, 37, a former Playboy pinup, B-movie actress and romance novelist. Aylsworth, who runs a casino gambling company, is demanding the twins be taken from their mother, who has reared them since birth in her East Side apartment. "I am a mother who is trying to keep her children," Marks said. "Every time I went to court I was slapped down. It's been abysmal. It's like functioning in another dimension where reality is immaterial. If they would give me my children, I would walk through fire. He won't settle for anything but full custody. He hates me." Aylsworth wants the girls moved to his palatial seaside estate in Malibu, Calif., where he lives with Karen Aylsworth, his wife of more than 30 years. She supports his demands even though she testified that she was devastated when she learned her husband's lover was pregnant, and pressed for an abortion. Legal experts said such a ruling, due to be handed down April 21, would be unprecedented. "I've never heard of a case like this," said Hal Mayerson, chairman of the Family Law committee of the New York City Bar Association and a veteran divorce lawyer. "If they allow the children to be taken to California, they will effectively remove this mother from the children's lives," Mayerson said. "That should only be done under the most dire circumstances." But so far, John Aylsworth is winning Aylsworth vs. Marks, a saga now playing out in Manhattan Family Court before Justice Arlene Goldberg. Both a court-appointed law guardian - a lawyer chosen to represent the children's interests - and a court-appointed psychiatrist have urged the judge to take the children from their mother. Aylsworth refused to discuss his custody claim. "We have no comment," he said. "We think a media story is totally inappropriate." Marks, in tears at times, said in an interview that the experts are biased against her. "Obviously, my children want to live with me," she said. "They have their friends and their family and their toys. This is not the case where there's the breakup of a marital home. This is the only home they have ever known." Marks, a Smith College grad with a master's in international relations from New York University, appeared nude on horseback in a 1992 Playboy feature on New York City debutantes. A stunning redhead, she has appeared in "Thinner," a movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel, and "The Kings of Brooklyn," a never-released film. Her father, Alvin Marks, 93, a Massachusetts physicist who was science adviser to President Kennedy, told Playboy that his daughter was "my best invention." Marks' first novel, "September," a 9/11 love story, is due in bookstores in July. Aylsworth, a certified public accountant who amassed a fortune in the oil business, is now president and chief operating officer of a gambling operation, President Casinos, which includes a St. Louis, Mo., riverboat and a Biloxi, Miss., beach resort. Aylsworth's company went bankrupt in 2000 after defaulting on $100 million worth of bonds. Asked why he is fighting so hard to take away children from an extramarital affair, Aylsworth said, "The reason is well documented through court records." Those records detail Marks' allegations that Aylsworth has been grossly inappropriate in his behavior with the twins and countercharges that Marks is an unfit mother. Aylsworth, who spends much of his time in St. Louis, contends Marks is alienating the children against him. Marks has resigned herself to let him visit his daughters in New York. Aylsworth refused to acknowledge paternity when he and his wife showed up at the hospital the day after Amber and Scarlet were born, according to testimony. A few months earlier, Aylsworth and his wife told Marks to abort the children they now want, testimony shows. "I was beyond devastated and very pro-choice, and I told Bridget that I thought Bridget should have an abortion," Karen Aylsworth testified in court. Marks said, "I didn't know he was married when we first met because he doesn't wear a wedding ring. "We never lived together," she said. The custody fight has cost both sides more than $1.3 million. Marks said she's broke and owes lawyers some $700,000. The big bills include fees for court-appointed experts, such as a psychiatrist who charged $42,500, and social workers hired at $200 an hour to supervise visits in New York and Malibu. What surprised Marks was the behavior of law guardians appointed to represent the interests of her twins. The judge gave that job to Lawyers for Children, a public-interest law firm paid by the court to represent impoverished foster children and child-abuse victims in Family Court. The firm sent its lawyer to Malibu to spend time with the father and children. In writing, Lawyers for Children recommended custody go to Aylsworth, provided he and his wife move to New York. Then, the firm's lawyer, Molly Murphy, changed her recommendation in the judge's chambers to say the children should be moved to California, Marks said. Officials at Lawyers for Children declined comment. This week, Aylsworth asked the judge to issue a gag order to prevent Marks from discussing the case. His attorney asked to eject visitors from a public courtroom as the gag order was debated. The judge refused to eject the visitors and is considering the gag order. Meanwhile, Amber and Scarlet giggle and play with their mother, oblivious to the ugly fight over their home. They said they love their private preschool. An exclusive private kindergarten has accepted them for the fall. After a recent snowstorm, the twins put on their matching pink parkas and skipped off to go ice skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. "It's just breaking my heart," Marks said. "I don't know what I would do if I lost them." Nights at the Plaza & a marriage proposal They met in 1998 at the Manhattan dinner party of a mutual lawyer friend. John Aylsworth was the rich fiftysomething playboy casino operator. Bridget Marks was the thirtysomething former Playboy pin-up girl. A torrid clandestine romance followed, with trysts at the Plaza hotel and other love-making landmarks. "She thought he was wonderful," said Molly Bennett Aitken, Marks' mother, who owns the 83-acre Green Gables Farm in Athol, Mass. "He asked her to marry him," Aitken said. "His wife was living with another man - they had an open marriage." Aylsworth gave Marks a $7,000 diamond ring, and the couple took many trips together, including to Los Angeles and St. Louis. Not long into their romance, Marks became pregnant. "I was shocked, traumatized," Aylsworth recalled in court. "I take full responsibility for the pregnancy for these children. She led me to believe she was on birth-control pills when, in fact, she wasn't." Even after Marks gave birth to twin girls, her sexual liaisons with Aylsworth continued sporadically. During this period, Aylsworth met Aitken at her daughter's East Side apartment. He emerged naked from the bedroom to say hello. "I said, 'Would you please put some clothes on?'" Aitken recalled. "He said, 'There's nothing wrong with the human body.' I thought at that point he was off the wall." In court, Aylsworth said he had no plans to marry Marks. "I knew I was not going to marry her," he testified. "I, you know, getting pregnant and having children and then subsequently making a decision about marriage are two different things." Judge: Pawn 35G ring Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Bates Billick charged $400 an hour to evaluate Aylsworth, Marks and the twin girls and make a recommendation. He also billed $5,000 a day to testify in court and $10,400 to write his report. Marks had agreed to bear half the cost of Billick and was told to expect to pay $2,000 or $3,000. When her debt to Billick reached $14,000, Marks balked, and Judge Goldberg took a hard line. According to court transcripts, Marks pleaded, "I have no money, so I don't know what to do. I have to feed my children." "If it's not paid, then there could be contempt," Goldberg responded. Later, the judge suggested Marks pawn her engagement ring from her fiancé, a high-ranking executive at Citigroup. "She has a $35,000 ring," Goldberg said. "So there's property at the very least from which she can obtain the funds." Marks, who was being helped out financially by her mother, asked Billick several times for an itemized bill. "I haven't typed it up, but I will type it up for you, the phone calls and everything," Billick replied, according to a tape-recorded conversation. "He never provided it," Marks said. On the witness stand, Billick called Marks narcissistic and delusional. Marks' mother and fiancé helped her hire three experts to rebut his testimony. Billick did not respond to telephone calls.   .

[Index to Articles]