WEBVTT FILE

1
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000
Downloaded from
YTS.MX

2
00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000
Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

3
00:00:33.949 --> 00:00:36.389
‐Erika Jayne I have seen
on this show

4
00:00:36.389 --> 00:00:39.419
and I also worked with her
on "Watch What Happens Live"

5
00:00:39.419 --> 00:00:43.119
one...one or two times.

6
00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:45.049
didn ́t get the best vibe
from her,

7
00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:47.619
but I know a lot
of fake people

8
00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:49.819
and it turns out
she ́s just one of them.

9
00:00:49.819 --> 00:00:52.449
♫♫

10
00:00:52.449 --> 00:00:54.149
‐We are back with
"The Real Housewives" star

11
00:00:54.149 --> 00:00:56.619
accused with her husband of
staging a fake divorce

12
00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:59.289
to hide money from the families
of plane crash victims.

13
00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:02.489
‐Thomas Girardi is
accused of embezzlement.

14
00:01:02.489 --> 00:01:05.849
A federal lawsuit says he took
money from a settlement fund to

15
00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:09.049
maintain their wealthy
public image.

16
00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:13.249
♫♫

17
00:01:13.249 --> 00:01:14.949
‐It had all the elements,

18
00:01:14.949 --> 00:01:19.689
Hollywood, L. A., huge cases,

19
00:01:19.689 --> 00:01:22.249
along with a "Real Housewife"

20
00:01:22.249 --> 00:01:23.789
‐It was like a movie.

21
00:01:23.789 --> 00:01:27.549
‐Tom Girardi was L. A. law,
a superstar.

22
00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:32.289
‐Legendary for winning millions
of dollars in settlements.

23
00:01:32.289 --> 00:01:34.489
‐Tom was being accused
by his own clients,

24
00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:37.719
that hired him, that trusted him
for stealing money.

25
00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:40.189
‐That ́s the worst thing a lawyer
could do.

26
00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:43.189
‐He had private jets.
He had a Pasadena mansion.

27
00:01:43.189 --> 00:01:47.749
He was spending $40,000 a month
on Erika and her glam squad.

28
00:01:47.749 --> 00:01:50.619
they were just blowing money
left and right, tons of money.

29
00:01:50.619 --> 00:01:54.389
♫♫

30
00:01:54.389 --> 00:01:56.519
‐He would make jokes like,
"Oh, nobody would be

31
00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.389
more expensive than Erika."

32
00:01:58.389 --> 00:02:01.449
And then out came her song,
"I ́m Expensive."

33
00:02:01.449 --> 00:02:04.419
‐♫ Ching!
It ́s expensive to be me ♫

34
00:02:04.419 --> 00:02:06.819
♫ Eh, eh, eh, eh‐eh‐eh ♫

35
00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:08.789
♫ Eh, eh, eh ♫

36
00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:11.219
♫ Looking this good
don ́t come for free ♫

37
00:02:11.219 --> 00:02:15.819
‐Like, yeah, big surprise.
‐Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

38
00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:18.149
‐She said,
"I have two personalities

39
00:02:18.149 --> 00:02:20.849
like Mrs. Girardi
and I ́m Erika Jayne

40
00:02:20.849 --> 00:02:23.389
it ́s built on
I am the third wife,

41
00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.489
I have the money,
I spend the money.

42
00:02:26.489 --> 00:02:27.749
This man is going to
give me the money

43
00:02:27.749 --> 00:02:30.949
because I ́m that fantastic
and that ́s that."

44
00:02:30.949 --> 00:02:35.749
♫♫

45
00:02:35.749 --> 00:02:37.189
‐It bothered me a little bit,

46
00:02:37.189 --> 00:02:39.949
seeing them live this
extravagant lifestyle.

47
00:02:39.949 --> 00:02:42.049
It often that made me wonder,
like I wonder if some of that

48
00:02:42.049 --> 00:02:45.849
money ́s mine.
‐Out of the $135,000 settlement

49
00:02:45.849 --> 00:02:48.689
I haven ́t received anything.
Not a penny.

50
00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:52.989
‐This is Tom Girardi, don ́t be
mad at me. It ́s not my fault.

51
00:02:52.989 --> 00:02:57.289
♫♫

52
00:03:04.589 --> 00:03:06.789
‐So, Tom Girardi
owed you $12 million?

53
00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:09.289
‐Yes. Yes.

54
00:03:18.489 --> 00:03:23.189
‐It ́s like, wow.
Like broke, like broke, broke?

55
00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:26.249
You know, like but not the
client ́s money, right?

56
00:03:26.249 --> 00:03:28.849
‐I think the biggest question
that everybody has is,

57
00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:31.049
"Did she know?"
‐Any of the lawsuits

58
00:03:31.049 --> 00:03:35.889
hike, did you have a heads up?
Is that why you got divorced?

59
00:03:35.889 --> 00:03:37.219
‐No, I did not.

60
00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:40.449
‐He was taking money
in some cases it ́s been alleged

61
00:03:40.449 --> 00:03:42.889
and investing it
into Erika ́s business,

62
00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:44.919
into her career.
And the allegations

63
00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:47.519
are that that money
was coming from clients.

64
00:03:47.519 --> 00:03:48.949
‐People love a good scandal.

65
00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:51.489
♫♫

66
00:03:51.489 --> 00:03:55.449
‐I had to be a double agent
for my friend.

67
00:03:55.449 --> 00:03:57.989
I always try to tell people,

68
00:03:57.989 --> 00:04:00.719
never underestimate
the love of a mother.

69
00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.349
You want to find something out?
I mean, don ́t call the FBI,

70
00:04:03.349 --> 00:04:04.619
call a mom.

71
00:04:04.619 --> 00:04:06.649
‐Girardi said we were his
favorite clients.

72
00:04:06.649 --> 00:04:09.089
And I definitely never wanted
to be his favorite client.

73
00:04:11.749 --> 00:04:14.219
But I definitely want to be
the client he never forgets.

74
00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:27.249
♫♫

75
00:04:27.249 --> 00:04:28.849
‐I don ́t think he saw it, yeah.

76
00:04:32.849 --> 00:04:34.589
‐Could you imagine

77
00:04:34.589 --> 00:04:37.949
living your life
without this kind of wealth?

78
00:04:37.949 --> 00:04:41.419
‐Yeah, I could.
I wouldn ́t want to, but I can.

79
00:04:41.419 --> 00:04:44.489
Sure. I could do it.
Yeah.

80
00:04:44.489 --> 00:04:47.649
‐Mm‐hmm.
What would that look like?

81
00:04:47.649 --> 00:04:53.189
‐Smaller. I don ́t know. I don ́t
know, you know. Less clothes.

82
00:04:53.189 --> 00:04:55.189
‐You would hate it.
‐I wouldn ́t.

83
00:04:55.189 --> 00:04:57.989
I‐I‐I don ́t
look forward to that, no.

84
00:04:57.989 --> 00:04:59.289
No, I do not.
‐You don ́t have to

85
00:04:59.289 --> 00:05:00.889
look forward to it.
‐No, I would not look forward

86
00:05:00.889 --> 00:05:02.049
to something like that, no.

87
00:05:02.049 --> 00:05:06.019
‐Erika!
‐Erika, right here!

88
00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:08.719
‐I reached out to her right at
the beginning, I was like,

89
00:05:08.719 --> 00:05:11.689
"Would you please come on
my podcast?"

90
00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:13.049
Made it clear
it was not being filmed,

91
00:05:13.049 --> 00:05:15.819
but she arrived
with the hair guy,

92
00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.419
a wardrobe person,
and I think a makeup person.

93
00:05:19.419 --> 00:05:22.419
And I remember thinking that,
"Wow, that ́s a $2,000 day

94
00:05:22.419 --> 00:05:25.849
to come do my
audio‐only podcast."

95
00:05:25.849 --> 00:05:30.789
‐Jesus, Marco.
‐She wasn ́t afraid of her body,

96
00:05:30.789 --> 00:05:33.149
her sensuality.
‐There ́s your girl.

97
00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:34.719
‐There she is.
‐And I liked that,

98
00:05:34.719 --> 00:05:37.489
even though she really
can ́t hold a tune, she sang.

99
00:05:37.489 --> 00:05:41.449
‐♫ I ́m a temptress ♫
‐Wow!

100
00:05:41.449 --> 00:05:44.019
‐♫ I ́m your mistress ♫

101
00:05:45.419 --> 00:05:47.919
‐And she entertained,
she was entertaining.

102
00:05:47.919 --> 00:05:49.619
‐♫ I ́m your weakness ♫

103
00:05:49.619 --> 00:05:51.889
‐I think what intrigued people

104
00:05:51.889 --> 00:05:54.589
on "The Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills" franchise

105
00:05:54.589 --> 00:05:58.389
was that they seemed to be
this incredible power couple.

106
00:05:58.389 --> 00:06:00.849
She ́s hot and beautiful
and confident.

107
00:06:00.849 --> 00:06:04.319
And then Tom Girardi
is this rock star attorney

108
00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.619
who fights for the little guy,

109
00:06:06.619 --> 00:06:08.489
makes hundreds
of millions of dollars.

110
00:06:08.489 --> 00:06:09.989
‐♫ Blame it on the money ♫

111
00:06:09.989 --> 00:06:12.749
♫ Blame it on the money ♫

112
00:06:12.749 --> 00:06:16.589
♫♫

113
00:06:16.589 --> 00:06:19.389
‐Tom Girardi was L. A. law.

114
00:06:19.389 --> 00:06:21.519
He is Mr. Lawyer.
‐A superstar.

115
00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.549
‐An icon.
‐Bad‐ass trial lawyer.

116
00:06:23.549 --> 00:06:25.989
‐We ́re just talking the money
that we ́re really going to get.

117
00:06:25.989 --> 00:06:27.149
And that ́s $15 million.

118
00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:32.449
‐♫ I ́m a man
without conviction ♫

119
00:06:32.449 --> 00:06:35.489
‐If you had
a case that had the potential

120
00:06:35.489 --> 00:06:36.749
to resolve itself

121
00:06:36.749 --> 00:06:39.719
or be resolved for millions
and millions of dollars,

122
00:06:39.719 --> 00:06:42.049
his was the kind of firm
that you wanted to go to.

123
00:06:42.049 --> 00:06:45.319
He didn ́t just represent
LA ́s elite,

124
00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:48.019
he represented
a lot of average folks, too.

125
00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:52.319
♫ Karma, karma, karma, karma,
karma chameleon ♫

126
00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:57.789
♫ You come and go,
you come and go ♫

127
00:06:57.789 --> 00:07:00.149
‐When I became a lawyer
over 30 years ago,

128
00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:02.749
I knew who Tom Girardi
was from day one.

129
00:07:02.749 --> 00:07:08.589
‐♫ Red, gold, and green,
red, gold, and green ♫

130
00:07:08.589 --> 00:07:11.689
‐And then, of course,
the case came along,

131
00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.349
which a lot of people refer
to as the Brockovich case,

132
00:07:14.349 --> 00:07:16.219
where he sued PG&E.

133
00:07:16.219 --> 00:07:20.019
‐PG&E has requested that we
submit the binding arbitration.

134
00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:21.389
‐What ́s that?

135
00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:25.289
‐Tom Girardi was depicted in
the Erin Brockovich movie.

136
00:07:25.289 --> 00:07:29.719
But in real life,
he ́s the actual attorney

137
00:07:29.719 --> 00:07:33.189
who closed the deal
that at the time

138
00:07:33.189 --> 00:07:37.089
was the largest settlement
of its kind.

139
00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:39.089
‐Good evening
and welcome to "Prime Time."

140
00:07:39.089 --> 00:07:41.219
This is a story
you have never heard before.

141
00:07:41.219 --> 00:07:43.219
A story about family
and neighbors.

142
00:07:43.219 --> 00:07:47.019
The country ́s largest public
utility and broken trust.

143
00:07:47.019 --> 00:07:49.249
‐We ́ve represented people
against Exxon.

144
00:07:49.249 --> 00:07:51.349
We ́ve represented people
against Dow.

145
00:07:51.349 --> 00:07:53.489
This is a million times worse.

146
00:07:53.489 --> 00:07:55.549
‐A million times worse?
‐That ́s right.

147
00:07:55.549 --> 00:07:58.019
They let these innocent people
drink water,

148
00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:00.749
which was laced with chromium,
day in and day out.

149
00:08:00.749 --> 00:08:03.919
It ́s as bad as it gets.
‐He was famous for that.

150
00:08:03.919 --> 00:08:06.189
And people knew that
he was famous for that.

151
00:08:06.189 --> 00:08:09.489
But he was famous
before I became a lawyer.

152
00:08:09.489 --> 00:08:11.989
He was famous before many people

153
00:08:11.989 --> 00:08:14.649
who are lawyers today
were even born.

154
00:08:14.649 --> 00:08:18.989
♫♫

155
00:08:18.989 --> 00:08:24.489
‐Erika was born in 1971
to a music teacher in Georgia.

156
00:08:24.489 --> 00:08:27.519
Her dad left when she was only
one years old

157
00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.319
and she always wanted to be
in the entertainment industry.

158
00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:34.149
♫♫

159
00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:36.949
When she was 18,
she moved to New York

160
00:08:36.949 --> 00:08:39.049
to try to get a career going.

161
00:08:39.049 --> 00:08:43.719
She ended up working at a very
famous go‐go/strip club.

162
00:08:43.719 --> 00:08:47.189
‐Was a go‐go dancer at Shakers,
a bar in New Jersey.

163
00:08:47.189 --> 00:08:50.189
‐Erika and I worked
at the same strip club.

164
00:08:50.189 --> 00:08:55.089
Shakers is in Lodi, New Jersey,
and it is one of the clubs

165
00:08:55.089 --> 00:08:58.049
next to the Bada Bing Club,
which was on "The Sopranos."

166
00:08:58.049 --> 00:09:00.249
<i>‐Buonanima.
‐Buonanima.</i>

167
00:09:00.249 --> 00:09:03.249
‐A lot of girls have been
wheeled through there.

168
00:09:03.249 --> 00:09:07.889
I was just one of them
and one of many.

169
00:09:07.889 --> 00:09:12.389
‐She was someone who wanted
a different life for herself

170
00:09:12.389 --> 00:09:14.919
and then eventually
made her way to L. A.

171
00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:19.019
and was a waitress
and met a very wealthy,

172
00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.089
much older man
that she connected with.

173
00:09:21.089 --> 00:09:26.189
And I mean,
that ́s kind of the L. A. dream.

174
00:09:26.189 --> 00:09:30.019
‐They got married very off the
cuff at a country club.

175
00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:34.049
‐As the story goes,
Tom Girardi asked the judge

176
00:09:34.049 --> 00:09:37.889
if a judge would officiate over
a marriage ceremony with Erika.

177
00:09:37.889 --> 00:09:40.719
They pulled an attorney
from the bar as a witness.

178
00:09:40.719 --> 00:09:43.919
They got married on the spot
and there was no prenup.

179
00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:52.919
♫♫

180
00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:55.789
‐Tom had a law firm,
Girardi Keese.

181
00:09:55.789 --> 00:09:59.819
The pay was good,
but the perks were great.

182
00:10:01.849 --> 00:10:05.149
‐It was just extra.

183
00:10:05.149 --> 00:10:07.489
It was normal
to stay at the Ritz‐Carlton.

184
00:10:07.489 --> 00:10:10.749
The Christmas party
was at The Jonathan Club.

185
00:10:10.749 --> 00:10:13.289
Every year you have someone
like LeAnn Rimes

186
00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:17.489
come and sing Christmas carols
to your 300 closest friends.

187
00:10:17.489 --> 00:10:18.649
‐♫ Merry Christmas ♫

188
00:10:18.649 --> 00:10:20.549
♫ On, on they send,
on without end ♫

189
00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:22.619
♫ Their joyful tone,
to ev ́ry home ♫

190
00:10:22.619 --> 00:10:24.689
♫ Ding, dong, ding, dong ♫

191
00:10:24.689 --> 00:10:27.719
‐There ́s an annual conference
in Las Vegas.

192
00:10:27.719 --> 00:10:30.619
He would host a dinner, and that
was the hottest ticket in town.

193
00:10:30.619 --> 00:10:33.889
‐There was Jay Leno performing.

194
00:10:33.889 --> 00:10:36.949
Erin Brockovich
was at the table.

195
00:10:36.949 --> 00:10:38.849
‐I remember one time
I was with Tom

196
00:10:38.849 --> 00:10:42.789
and he actually points
to a judge across the room

197
00:10:42.789 --> 00:10:45.219
and actually goes like this.

198
00:10:45.219 --> 00:10:48.249
And this judge ran up to him
like a puppy dog.

199
00:10:48.249 --> 00:10:51.949
I saw the power that he could
wield right then and there.

200
00:10:51.949 --> 00:10:56.049
‐He was the man that people went
to who wanted to get appointed

201
00:10:56.049 --> 00:10:58.249
to the bench and become judges.

202
00:10:58.249 --> 00:11:01.189
He was the person that people
who wanted to run

203
00:11:01.189 --> 00:11:04.849
for public office
would go and meet and talk to.

204
00:11:04.849 --> 00:11:08.289
‐You have some ties
to Erika Jayne.

205
00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:09.689
‐That ́s right.
‐Right?

206
00:11:09.689 --> 00:11:11.719
‐Well, I mean, indirect ties
in political ties.

207
00:11:11.719 --> 00:11:12.989
‐Right.
‐Because her husband ́s

208
00:11:12.989 --> 00:11:15.889
one of the major donors
in California politics.

209
00:11:15.889 --> 00:11:17.919
‐Wow.
And does he give to you?

210
00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:19.449
‐He has been
extraordinarily generous to me.

211
00:11:19.449 --> 00:11:21.719
‐Nice!
‐So she is my favorite

212
00:11:21.719 --> 00:11:22.949
"Real Housewife."

213
00:11:25.249 --> 00:11:28.489
‐So Erika Girardi,
after being a Housewife

214
00:11:28.489 --> 00:11:32.289
for years to Tom Girardi,
goes to Tom Girardi and says,

215
00:11:32.289 --> 00:11:35.589
"I really want to have a music
career and be an entertainer."

216
00:11:35.589 --> 00:11:38.089
‐♫ Rah, ruffle up my feathers ♫

217
00:11:38.089 --> 00:11:40.019
♫ Strip it and shake it better ♫

218
00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:41.719
♫ Take a dirty picture ♫

219
00:11:41.719 --> 00:11:46.119
‐And she asked him,
more importantly, to finance it.

220
00:11:46.119 --> 00:11:48.719
‐I think he kind of loved
that he had this very sexy,

221
00:11:48.719 --> 00:11:51.749
young, burgeoning pop star wife.

222
00:11:51.749 --> 00:11:56.319
He put a lot of money, you know,
into making her Erika Jayne.

223
00:11:58.849 --> 00:12:01.319
‐I mean, the titles of her songs
and stuff are now

224
00:12:01.319 --> 00:12:04.789
just like,
"It ́s Expensive to Be Me"

225
00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:08.219
and "I Give Zero F ́s"
and everything.

226
00:12:08.219 --> 00:12:10.089
‐♫ None, not one ♫

227
00:12:10.089 --> 00:12:12.089
♫ Zero, zero, zero ♫

228
00:12:12.089 --> 00:12:14.049
♫ Done ♫

229
00:12:14.049 --> 00:12:17.189
‐Erica says there was no return
on investments.

230
00:12:17.189 --> 00:12:19.219
So Tom Girardi was probably

231
00:12:19.219 --> 00:12:21.919
going to have her throw
in the towel,

232
00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.419
but then all of a sudden
she gets cast on

233
00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:28.549
"The Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills."

234
00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:31.819
‐I ́m an enigma wrapped in
a riddle and cash.

235
00:12:31.819 --> 00:12:33.749
‐She was very good casting.

236
00:12:33.749 --> 00:12:35.619
She was probably the best
since me.

237
00:12:35.619 --> 00:12:38.689
‐Being broke sucks and being
rich is a lot better.

238
00:12:38.689 --> 00:12:41.449
‐They wanted girls that could
get in there and entertain,

239
00:12:41.449 --> 00:12:44.049
but yet hold their own.
‐The wealth that we get to see

240
00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:46.149
Erika Girardi have on the show

241
00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:49.849
is almost difficult
to wrap your brain around.

242
00:12:49.849 --> 00:12:51.949
‐She leveled up
the whole "Housewife" game

243
00:12:51.949 --> 00:12:54.149
when she got on "Beverly Hills."

244
00:12:54.149 --> 00:13:03.049
♫♫

245
00:13:03.049 --> 00:13:05.449
‐I ́m going to give
you a little tour of the house.

246
00:13:05.449 --> 00:13:09.619
♫♫

247
00:13:09.619 --> 00:13:12.749
‐I will take you down to the
fun part of the house,

248
00:13:12.749 --> 00:13:14.989
which is my closet.
‐Oh, I love it.

249
00:13:14.989 --> 00:13:17.649
‐It ́s expensive.
So, come in here.

250
00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:19.719
‐Oh, my God.
‐It ́s kind of a mess.

251
00:13:19.719 --> 00:13:21.319
But you can come in here.
‐Oh, my God.

252
00:13:21.319 --> 00:13:23.489
Oh, yeah, It ́s a mess.
It ́s a mess.

253
00:13:23.489 --> 00:13:27.619
‐It ́s a mess.
But it ́s a it ́s a good one.

254
00:13:27.619 --> 00:13:29.049
‐It made me think that I
probably should ́ve

255
00:13:29.049 --> 00:13:30.389
gone to law school.

256
00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:33.189
I didn ́t know that you
could attain that much wealth

257
00:13:33.189 --> 00:13:35.419
by being a trial attorney.

258
00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:43.889
‐So this is supposed to be
reality, "reality" television,

259
00:13:43.889 --> 00:13:46.249
but is it really a reality?

260
00:13:46.249 --> 00:13:50.319
Are we really seeing
what ́s going on? Probably not.

261
00:13:50.319 --> 00:13:51.749
‐Erika!
‐Erika!

262
00:13:51.749 --> 00:13:55.089
‐And this facade starts
crumbling

263
00:13:55.089 --> 00:13:58.589
when Erika Jayne files
for divorce in 2020.

264
00:13:58.589 --> 00:14:02.389
We now start to learn
what is really going on there.

265
00:14:02.389 --> 00:14:06.749
♫♫

266
00:14:13.319 --> 00:14:19.049
♫♫

267
00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:20.649
‐There is a huge amount
of pressure

268
00:14:20.649 --> 00:14:22.649
to maintain the lifestyle

269
00:14:22.649 --> 00:14:24.449
on the "Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills."

270
00:14:24.449 --> 00:14:26.349
‐Uh, did, you know? $25,000.

271
00:14:26.349 --> 00:14:28.119
‐If you don ́t want to look
like a loser with,

272
00:14:28.119 --> 00:14:30.689
like a loser event,
for example, you know,

273
00:14:30.689 --> 00:14:33.149
I might be
launching like a shoe line

274
00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:35.449
and I was going to do
a $10,000 party.

275
00:14:35.449 --> 00:14:39.089
But now that I know it ́s on TV,
I ́m like, "Uh‐oh,

276
00:14:39.089 --> 00:14:41.289
I better make it $100,000 party

277
00:14:41.289 --> 00:14:44.189
because I don ́t want to look
like my shoe isn ́t great."

278
00:14:44.189 --> 00:14:46.449
So then the number goes up.

279
00:14:46.449 --> 00:14:49.689
‐It ́s all about keeping up with
the Joneses or in this case,

280
00:14:49.689 --> 00:14:54.349
the Leakes or the Candies
or the Kenyas or the Terrace ́s

281
00:14:54.349 --> 00:14:57.019
or the Vickies
or the Tamras.

282
00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:04.419
‐The ladies ladies,
ladies I use loosely.

283
00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:08.489
They had a tendency to always
and still do

284
00:15:08.489 --> 00:15:10.519
want well beyond their means.

285
00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:12.749
‐There ́s a duality that will
take place on this show

286
00:15:12.749 --> 00:15:15.619
because at one hand
it is aspirational,

287
00:15:15.619 --> 00:15:17.889
or it feels to be aspirational,

288
00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:19.589
but on the other hand,
you see that wealth does

289
00:15:19.589 --> 00:15:21.589
not solve, really,
any of these women ́s problems.

290
00:15:27.589 --> 00:15:30.119
There is a specific category
of housewives

291
00:15:30.119 --> 00:15:36.519
that fall into this echelon of
"housewives with legal issues."

292
00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:38.789
‐Real trouble.
‐The charges she ́s facing

293
00:15:38.789 --> 00:15:41.219
are serious.
‐Appearing to serve a 15 month

294
00:15:41.219 --> 00:15:42.819
sentence for fraud.

295
00:15:42.819 --> 00:15:45.389
‐You ́ve got sort of
a patron saint of this category

296
00:15:45.389 --> 00:15:50.949
is Teresa Giudice who famously,
you know, committed wire fraud

297
00:15:50.949 --> 00:15:52.749
with her husband
and went to jail.

298
00:15:52.749 --> 00:15:56.389
And the whole entire thing
was sort of filmed on this show.

299
00:16:00.689 --> 00:16:05.549
‐Luann kicked a police officer,
and Jen Shah from Utah,

300
00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:07.819
is accused of running
a telemarketing scheme.

301
00:16:07.819 --> 00:16:10.719
‐Charged with conspiracy
to commit wire fraud and

302
00:16:10.719 --> 00:16:12.619
money laundering,
pleading not guilty.

303
00:16:12.619 --> 00:16:16.249
‐And what is so interesting
is every time one of these women

304
00:16:16.249 --> 00:16:20.419
is caught up in some type
of legal situation,

305
00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:22.419
the first thing that all of us
think is,

306
00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:26.419
"My God, I hope the cameras
are rolling."

307
00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:28.749
‐What ́s it like to have cameras
in your house all the time?

308
00:16:28.749 --> 00:16:30.489
‐It ́s really bad.
‐Do you ever get used to it?

309
00:16:30.489 --> 00:16:31.619
‐No.
‐No. Oh, my gosh.

310
00:16:31.619 --> 00:16:33.389
‐But nobody gets used to it.

311
00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:35.489
‐I ́m always asking
this one for advice.

312
00:16:35.489 --> 00:16:37.689
I ́m always asking this one,
"What should I do?"

313
00:16:37.689 --> 00:16:40.419
How do I handle it?
What what? What do I do?

314
00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:45.289
And that ́s, you know, that ́s the
truth. This is my leader.

315
00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:48.889
‐How do you like being on camera
for "Real Housewives"?

316
00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:51.919
‐I prefer to be
in a courtroom someplace.

317
00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.189
‐There you go.

318
00:16:54.189 --> 00:16:56.019
‐I recall watching
a couple episodes

319
00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:57.219
and I just shook my head

320
00:16:57.219 --> 00:17:01.689
because there was talk in there
about Tom ́s age.

321
00:17:01.689 --> 00:17:03.189
There was talk in there,
I believe,

322
00:17:03.189 --> 00:17:05.719
about his sexual prowess
at his age.

323
00:17:05.719 --> 00:17:08.919
‐And what ́s he like
in the sack?

324
00:17:08.919 --> 00:17:12.919
‐My wife turned to it one day,
some months ago,

325
00:17:12.919 --> 00:17:15.589
and and he was on the show
and she said,

326
00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:16.849
"Don ́t you know him?"

327
00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:21.019
‐I decided to give you something
to put on your eyes.

328
00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:22.949
‐I was more than
a little bit surprised.

329
00:17:22.949 --> 00:17:24.449
Surprise to see him there.

330
00:17:24.449 --> 00:17:27.549
‐Here ́s a painting
by Marc Chagall.

331
00:17:27.549 --> 00:17:30.089
‐Chagall is one
of Tom ́s favorite painters.

332
00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:31.549
‐Is this it?

333
00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:34.219
‐And his paintings can go for
over a million dollars easily.

334
00:17:34.219 --> 00:17:36.719
‐Oh, wow.
Tom, this is Beautiful.

335
00:17:36.719 --> 00:17:39.819
‐Probably most appalling
was the talk about the fact

336
00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:41.349
that they had two airplanes.

337
00:17:41.349 --> 00:17:42.849
‐We have two airplanes
in the family.

338
00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:45.389
So, you know, the little one
is more regional

339
00:17:45.389 --> 00:17:47.489
and the larger one
is cross country and Europe.

340
00:17:47.489 --> 00:17:51.949
‐And that ́s, I think,
crossing the line in what we do.

341
00:17:51.949 --> 00:17:57.849
We represent people who are
victimized by big corporations

342
00:17:57.849 --> 00:17:59.819
and, and rich people.

343
00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:04.049
And here you ́re putting that out
that you ́re super wealthy

344
00:18:04.049 --> 00:18:06.819
and that you ́re basically
The Man.

345
00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:09.589
We sue The Man.
You don ́t want to be The Man.

346
00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:12.719
And he ́s showing people
that he ́s The Man.

347
00:18:12.719 --> 00:18:15.719
♫♫

348
00:18:15.719 --> 00:18:20.889
‐When your money comes from
people who had cancer and burns

349
00:18:20.889 --> 00:18:22.949
and had great suffering,

350
00:18:22.949 --> 00:18:25.149
you know, there ́s
a little bit amount of decorum

351
00:18:25.149 --> 00:18:27.219
that you ́d think you ́d want
to have in the way

352
00:18:27.219 --> 00:18:29.089
you display the world.

353
00:18:29.089 --> 00:18:31.589
There ́s plenty of lawyers
that have private jets

354
00:18:31.589 --> 00:18:34.719
and beautiful homes,
but there ́s one way to do it

355
00:18:34.719 --> 00:18:39.689
and one way that ́s basically
like a middle finger to people.

356
00:18:39.689 --> 00:18:45.119
♫♫

357
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.319
‐My name is Joe Ruigomez
and I ́m a survivor.

358
00:18:51.649 --> 00:18:53.719
So the first time
I met Tom Girardi,

359
00:18:53.719 --> 00:18:56.819
I had just woken up
out of my coma.

360
00:18:56.819 --> 00:18:59.719
Be honest, there ́s not a lot
I remember about meeting him.

361
00:18:59.719 --> 00:19:03.819
I have like a vague memory of
just like some guy in my room,

362
00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:06.089
like, you know, "I ́m going to do
a good job for you, kiddo."

363
00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:09.419
and he made you feel
like you can trust him

364
00:19:09.419 --> 00:19:11.549
and that he ́s that guy.

365
00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:17.489
♫♫

366
00:19:17.489 --> 00:19:19.819
‐Good morning, America,
it ́s Thursday, September 9th.

367
00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:21.389
‐We ́re going to start
with what ́s going on in

368
00:19:21.389 --> 00:19:23.019
the western areas.

369
00:19:26.149 --> 00:19:29.719
‐So...

370
00:19:29.719 --> 00:19:34.649
September 9, 2010,
felt like the longest day

371
00:19:34.649 --> 00:19:37.549
of my life.
‐Everything we did that day

372
00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:41.849
like kind of was a matter
of life or death.

373
00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:44.349
My son and his girlfriend,
Jessica Morales,

374
00:19:44.349 --> 00:19:46.649
were going to sit on the couch
and watch the game.

375
00:19:46.649 --> 00:19:49.689
‐Off we go at the goal line.

376
00:19:52.919 --> 00:19:57.119
‐It was going to be opening day
of the NFL season that day.

377
00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:01.289
And my living room
is probably right about here.

378
00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:03.419
And then out of nowhere,

379
00:20:03.419 --> 00:20:06.719
the ground
just starts rapidly shaking.

380
00:20:06.719 --> 00:20:09.219
And it sounds like there ́s a jet
engine right out front.

381
00:20:19.149 --> 00:20:22.719
That went on for about
3 seconds and then just boom.

382
00:20:22.719 --> 00:20:25.119
‐Breaking news tonight
in San Bruno, California,

383
00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:28.049
a towering fire
is just burning out of control.

384
00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:32.119
‐Police say a gas line
erupted into a massive fireball.

385
00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:35.489
‐Fire just came flowing
through the house.

386
00:20:35.489 --> 00:20:38.149
I couldn ́t see anything.
I was surrounded by flame,

387
00:20:38.149 --> 00:20:40.389
managed to find the door
to my backyard.

388
00:20:40.389 --> 00:20:43.219
And I remember as I was opening
up the door for a split second,

389
00:20:43.219 --> 00:20:45.119
I just remember having
my life flash in front of me

390
00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:47.189
and just thinking like,
"Alright, this is it."

391
00:20:47.189 --> 00:20:49.289
A hundred percent certainty.
I ́m dying.

392
00:20:49.289 --> 00:20:53.049
‐A scene of total devastation
home after home leveled.

393
00:20:53.049 --> 00:21:04.219
♫♫

394
00:21:04.219 --> 00:21:06.349
‐I just remember them
putting like an oxygen mask

395
00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:07.849
on my, on my face

396
00:21:07.849 --> 00:21:11.189
and within five seconds
I was out.

397
00:21:11.189 --> 00:21:14.489
‐I could remember that day
like it was yesterday.

398
00:21:14.489 --> 00:21:16.819
I was watching
Thursday Night Football

399
00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:19.549
and I received a phone call,
went to the hospital.

400
00:21:19.549 --> 00:21:23.149
And that ́s where my interactions
with Joe began.

401
00:21:25.449 --> 00:21:29.289
I had burns over 80,
90 percent of his body.

402
00:21:29.289 --> 00:21:31.819
It was little bit more than,
"Oh, my God," I was more like

403
00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:33.019
holy

404
00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:34.949
‐They ́re like,
"You got to get out of here."

405
00:21:34.949 --> 00:21:37.089
They look like they were
really working on him.

406
00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:39.419
‐Joe was like inside an oven.

407
00:21:39.419 --> 00:21:42.789
Not only was the external part
of the skin burned,

408
00:21:42.789 --> 00:21:46.919
but the air he was inhaling
was burning the his lungs.

409
00:21:46.919 --> 00:21:52.919
♫♫

410
00:21:52.919 --> 00:21:55.289
‐After we end up
leaving the hospital,

411
00:21:55.289 --> 00:21:57.519
me, my husband,
and his sister

412
00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:02.119
went back over
to our old neighborhood.

413
00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:05.749
You could just see, it was just,
devastated.

414
00:22:08.149 --> 00:22:10.989
It was like wondering about, you
know, "Where ́s Jessica?"

415
00:22:10.989 --> 00:22:15.219
And like went around, "People
need to look for her, find her."

416
00:22:15.219 --> 00:22:19.419
And, uh, yeah,
they ended up finding her

417
00:22:19.419 --> 00:22:20.849
a couple of days later,
I guess,

418
00:22:20.849 --> 00:22:23.449
in our neighbor ́s shed.

419
00:22:23.449 --> 00:22:25.449
She must have died in the shed.

420
00:22:25.449 --> 00:22:30.749
So, yeah, that.
yeah, it was just devastating.

421
00:22:30.749 --> 00:22:37.989
♫♫

422
00:22:37.989 --> 00:22:39.819
‐One of the last words we said
to each other was,

423
00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:44.019
"I love you," so just,
you know.

424
00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:47.749
Uh, yeah. Yeah.

425
00:22:47.749 --> 00:22:50.689
‐My first instinct was to get
my car and just go there.

426
00:22:50.689 --> 00:22:54.019
And when I got there,
Kathy was literally,

427
00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:57.889
you know, white as a ghost.

428
00:22:57.889 --> 00:22:59.519
‐She came up
and thank God she did

429
00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:01.449
and just handled so much

430
00:23:01.449 --> 00:23:04.619
so I could just keep going
to the hospital.

431
00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:07.819
‐So Kathy Ruigomez is
my childhood best friend,

432
00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:10.889
and we met when we were
three years old.

433
00:23:10.889 --> 00:23:15.389
♫♫

434
00:23:15.389 --> 00:23:19.219
‐We were in the same preschool
and we lived on the same street.

435
00:23:19.219 --> 00:23:24.449
♫♫

436
00:23:24.449 --> 00:23:26.849
‐When we were around
11 years old,

437
00:23:26.849 --> 00:23:33.519
there was this trend of doing
this blood sister like ritual.

438
00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:36.849
Luckily, I still have my copy.

439
00:23:36.849 --> 00:23:41.249
‐We just decided we were going
to be bonded forever.

440
00:23:41.249 --> 00:23:46.049
‐We were pregnant at the same
time with Joseph and Paul.

441
00:23:46.049 --> 00:23:48.489
It ́s been 48 years of
friendship,

442
00:23:48.489 --> 00:23:51.819
and I can say
that we ́ve never said

443
00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:56.919
an unkind word to each other.

444
00:24:02.449 --> 00:24:06.149
♫♫

445
00:24:06.149 --> 00:24:08.789
‐We were getting bombarded
with people at the hospital,

446
00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:11.289
everybody was like
wanting to be our lawyer

447
00:24:11.289 --> 00:24:13.589
and I knew we needed
to get a lawyer

448
00:24:13.589 --> 00:24:15.449
because I knew
Joe was going to need

449
00:24:15.449 --> 00:24:17.649
a lot of assistance
in the future.

450
00:24:17.649 --> 00:24:20.419
‐Kathy and her husband
at the time

451
00:24:20.419 --> 00:24:22.889
wanted to meet
with Tom Girardi.

452
00:24:22.889 --> 00:24:26.819
And because I had worked
with Masry & Vititoe

453
00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:29.919
I called them and asked them
if they would set up a meeting.

454
00:24:29.919 --> 00:24:31.949
‐At the time of the explosion.

455
00:24:31.949 --> 00:24:34.719
Kim was working
as a legal consultant.

456
00:24:34.719 --> 00:24:39.189
And that was
so crucial for Kathy,

457
00:24:39.189 --> 00:24:40.949
because the average person

458
00:24:40.949 --> 00:24:44.349
doesn ́t know how to navigate
this kind of situation.

459
00:24:44.349 --> 00:24:47.819
Who do you find?
What kind of lawyer do you need?

460
00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:50.249
Where do you go?
Who do you call?

461
00:24:50.249 --> 00:24:52.349
Kim had all of those answers.

462
00:24:52.349 --> 00:24:56.089
♫♫

463
00:24:56.089 --> 00:25:00.419
‐We went and met with him
in this big high‐rise office

464
00:25:00.419 --> 00:25:03.819
on Montgomery Street
in downtown San Francisco,

465
00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:07.789
and that was the first time
I had met Tom in person,

466
00:25:07.789 --> 00:25:09.089
‐Thomas Girardi, you know,

467
00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:11.419
let me know that everything
was going to be okay.

468
00:25:11.419 --> 00:25:14.789
No one had said that to me yet,
and it just was comforting.

469
00:25:14.789 --> 00:25:17.489
‐I called Tom
a chameleon of words,

470
00:25:17.489 --> 00:25:20.419
meaning that he always knows
what to say to a person.

471
00:25:20.419 --> 00:25:24.819
‐We walk in, he ́s calculating
by what we wear, what we say,

472
00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:26.419
how we hold our posture.

473
00:25:26.419 --> 00:25:28.619
‐We thought he could
win it for us.

474
00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:30.249
We were confident about that.

475
00:25:30.249 --> 00:25:34.319
We just didn ́t know
how much of a snake

476
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:36.049
he was going to be
along the way.

477
00:25:36.049 --> 00:25:39.249
♫♫

478
00:25:43.149 --> 00:25:50.489
♫♫

479
00:25:50.489 --> 00:25:53.749
‐When Kathy and her family
picked Tom,

480
00:25:53.749 --> 00:25:57.089
it felt like such a big relief
off of our shoulders,

481
00:25:57.089 --> 00:25:58.849
you know,
like it ́s Girardi Keese,

482
00:25:58.849 --> 00:26:00.689
like, they ́re going
to kick their ass.

483
00:26:00.689 --> 00:26:02.989
Like, we don ́t have to worry

484
00:26:02.989 --> 00:26:05.749
about any of the legal stuff anymore.

485
00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:18.389
‐This is what he handed me
when when I met him,

486
00:26:18.389 --> 00:26:23.919
he gave me a resumé
with all his credentials.

487
00:26:23.919 --> 00:26:27.049
‐Wasn ́t there list of cases?

488
00:26:27.049 --> 00:26:30.619
‐And then magazines with
post‐its on every page

489
00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:33.119
that he ́s mentioned.

490
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:35.549
‐When you ́re going up against
PG&E they ́re a shark.

491
00:26:35.549 --> 00:26:39.389
You ́re not going to bring
the guppy to the shark fight.

492
00:26:39.389 --> 00:26:43.949
You know, the fact that Tom
had taken on PG&E twice

493
00:26:43.949 --> 00:26:45.849
and beat them,

494
00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:49.289
not only is his track record
with the defendant matter,

495
00:26:49.289 --> 00:26:53.319
but also the fact that
when you ́re a mom on a mission,

496
00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:56.449
you want your lawyer to hate
the bad guy as much as you do.

497
00:26:56.449 --> 00:27:08.119
♫♫

498
00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:10.549
Really, he took me
under his wing.

499
00:27:10.549 --> 00:27:14.119
He ́d answer any question I had
about the legal profession.

500
00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:17.989
And he was a master of it.

501
00:27:17.989 --> 00:27:23.789
So I feel like
I got this informal internship.

502
00:27:23.789 --> 00:27:26.949
How crazy is that,
knowing what I know now?

503
00:27:27.549 --> 00:27:30.049
I mean.

504
00:27:30.049 --> 00:27:32.289
‐So once I actually got to know
Tom a little bit,

505
00:27:32.289 --> 00:27:34.519
he would take me out to dinner.

506
00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:36.289
He was not
a very big guy physically.

507
00:27:36.289 --> 00:27:40.689
It ́s probably like 5 ́5"
maybe at the tallest.

508
00:27:40.689 --> 00:27:43.119
But he just exuded confidence
and charm.

509
00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:44.719
He was always talking
about Erika.

510
00:27:44.719 --> 00:27:46.089
"Oh, she ́s the sweetest thing."

511
00:27:46.089 --> 00:27:47.889
"Look at you like this tie
I ́m wearing, Joe?

512
00:27:47.889 --> 00:27:50.949
She picked it out. Yeah, she ́s
really good at style."

513
00:27:50.949 --> 00:27:54.789
And, "Oh, look at this music
video that I did for her."

514
00:27:54.789 --> 00:27:56.419
He ́s fought these
big battles before

515
00:27:56.419 --> 00:27:58.349
and has gotten
large settlements.

516
00:27:58.349 --> 00:28:01.249
So I ́m like, this seems like
the perfect guy for the job.

517
00:28:01.249 --> 00:28:06.419
♫♫

518
00:28:06.419 --> 00:28:09.789
‐They found out
it was a faulty pipe.

519
00:28:09.789 --> 00:28:13.589
Basically was negligence
on their part.

520
00:28:13.589 --> 00:28:14.949
He never really gave us details

521
00:28:14.949 --> 00:28:17.289
about what he was doing
in the case,

522
00:28:17.289 --> 00:28:20.719
but I still thought
he was really, really great.

523
00:28:20.719 --> 00:28:22.649
It just seemed like he was
trying to be very friendly

524
00:28:22.649 --> 00:28:24.219
and letting us know
that he was there for us,

525
00:28:24.219 --> 00:28:26.549
gave us his cell phone,
home phone,

526
00:28:26.549 --> 00:28:29.089
we had went to mediation
and he, you know,

527
00:28:29.089 --> 00:28:30.919
made it sound like
we were going to go to trial.

528
00:28:30.919 --> 00:28:32.889
And when we walked in,
he was like,

529
00:28:32.889 --> 00:28:34.419
"I settled your case."

530
00:28:34.419 --> 00:28:37.749
It was like,
"Oh, okay, you did?"

531
00:28:37.749 --> 00:28:40.189
‐You know, I didn ́t feel like
they really had a grasp

532
00:28:40.189 --> 00:28:41.749
on what happened that day.

533
00:28:41.749 --> 00:28:46.819
And I knew part of it is you ́re
stunned in a situation like that

534
00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:48.789
and you ́re just
not absorbing it.

535
00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:51.589
‐They were just throwing numbers
out like, you know,

536
00:28:51.589 --> 00:28:53.249
he could get this much a month.

537
00:28:53.249 --> 00:28:54.449
He ́s going to, you know,

538
00:28:54.449 --> 00:28:56.519
have payments
throughout his life.

539
00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:58.489
‐A number of the settlement
that Tom got.

540
00:28:58.489 --> 00:29:00.589
Yeah, I was okay with that
number. Yeah.

541
00:29:00.589 --> 00:29:04.189
To put it simply, it was, it was
yeah. It was a good amount.

542
00:29:04.189 --> 00:29:06.789
It was a good amount
and made me feel comfortable.

543
00:29:06.789 --> 00:29:08.449
So it made me feel like

544
00:29:08.449 --> 00:29:12.189
it would be able to cover any
issues in life and then some.

545
00:29:12.189 --> 00:29:15.089
‐After a trial or it can be
just a settlement,

546
00:29:15.089 --> 00:29:17.889
the money goes into
your trust account.

547
00:29:17.889 --> 00:29:19.449
‐Those funds need to be held

548
00:29:19.449 --> 00:29:22.219
in that trust account,
separate and apart

549
00:29:22.219 --> 00:29:26.089
from the law firm.
Now, at that point in time,

550
00:29:26.089 --> 00:29:27.619
you ́re entitled
to your legal fees,

551
00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:30.449
but the rest of the money
belongs to the client.

552
00:29:30.449 --> 00:29:33.419
You ́re not allowed to touch that
money, it ́s not your money.

553
00:29:33.419 --> 00:29:38.449
‐To remove those funds
for any reason before it ́s clear

554
00:29:38.449 --> 00:29:42.719
that there ́s a proper accounting
of what the client should get,

555
00:29:42.719 --> 00:29:47.949
that is probably one of the most
serious offenses by attorneys,

556
00:29:47.949 --> 00:29:51.649
certainly in California.
And I would think nationwide,

557
00:29:51.649 --> 00:29:55.019
every single lawyer knows
that if you dip

558
00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:59.549
into the client ́s account,
you will be disbarred.

559
00:29:59.549 --> 00:30:03.019
♫♫

560
00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:05.019
‐So he said it would take about
three months

561
00:30:05.019 --> 00:30:08.219
to process getting the money
from PG&E and then asked

562
00:30:08.219 --> 00:30:11.919
if we ́d like to keep my
daughter ́s money and our money

563
00:30:11.919 --> 00:30:14.289
and then my son ́s big settlement

564
00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:16.719
in something
that he ́d invested in.

565
00:30:16.719 --> 00:30:21.489
‐He suggested that he would take
their millions of dollars

566
00:30:21.489 --> 00:30:22.849
of settlement funds

567
00:30:22.849 --> 00:30:27.789
and put that money
into some kind of an account

568
00:30:27.789 --> 00:30:33.219
that would guarantee
six percent interest.

569
00:30:33.219 --> 00:30:35.189
‐And he ́s supposedly
a millionaire.

570
00:30:35.189 --> 00:30:37.749
I thought he knew
how to deal with money.

571
00:30:37.749 --> 00:30:41.049
Obviously, he was, you know,
so he made it sound

572
00:30:41.049 --> 00:30:43.389
like it was a great thing to do.

573
00:30:43.389 --> 00:30:44.589
And then after everything
was paid,

574
00:30:44.589 --> 00:30:47.849
he would send us,
you know, our balance.

575
00:30:47.849 --> 00:30:50.289
So we were like, OK, you know,
that sounds good.

576
00:30:50.289 --> 00:30:54.349
And so that ́s what we did.

577
00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:58.749
‐So in the very beginning
and after it settled in 2013,

578
00:30:58.749 --> 00:31:02.889
I mean, it didn ́t feel like
things made sense right away.

579
00:31:02.889 --> 00:31:08.949
‐The amounts of the investment,
he claimed, were not accurate.

580
00:31:08.949 --> 00:31:12.519
He never sent any statements
of any kind.

581
00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:15.289
‐I mean, it was as simple as me
noticing, like, okay,

582
00:31:15.289 --> 00:31:19.149
I ́m expected to get a payment
this day and I didn ́t get it.

583
00:31:19.149 --> 00:31:20.589
So I would call him.

584
00:31:20.589 --> 00:31:23.589
And, you know, if he was hard
to get a hold of, would be like,

585
00:31:23.589 --> 00:31:26.149
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that.
́These things happen. ́

586
00:31:26.149 --> 00:31:27.989
I ́ll get it to you next week."

587
00:31:27.989 --> 00:31:32.089
And half the time the check
would come when he ́d say so

588
00:31:32.089 --> 00:31:34.389
the second time
and other times it wouldn ́t.

589
00:31:56.689 --> 00:31:59.549
‐That was the three months
after we settled.

590
00:31:59.549 --> 00:32:01.689
That was the first time we were
supposed to meet with him,

591
00:32:01.689 --> 00:32:03.749
where he was supposed
to bring our money.

592
00:32:03.749 --> 00:32:06.949
That ́s when he met with us and

593
00:32:06.949 --> 00:32:10.819
and then basically offered us
the investment deal.

594
00:32:28.149 --> 00:32:30.949
‐When I hear the voicemails,
it makes me sick to my stomach

595
00:32:30.949 --> 00:32:33.989
because I know
that it was just all a lie.

596
00:32:36.789 --> 00:32:39.989
Me and Kathy were on the phone
every day for hours

597
00:32:39.989 --> 00:32:41.419
trying to sort things out.

598
00:32:41.419 --> 00:32:44.649
Viciously Googling things,
and she ́s asking me

599
00:32:44.649 --> 00:32:47.889
my point of view
with my perspective,

600
00:32:47.889 --> 00:32:50.789
you know, my experience
in the legal profession.

601
00:32:50.789 --> 00:32:52.319
And we ́re trying
to figure it out.

602
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:54.789
‐You know, I would be coming
home from wherever

603
00:32:54.789 --> 00:32:58.889
and my mom would be like buried
in paperwork or talking to Kim

604
00:32:58.889 --> 00:33:02.849
on the phone and she had
connects on the inside.

605
00:33:02.849 --> 00:33:05.689
‐There were times that we were
pretty scared

606
00:33:05.689 --> 00:33:11.019
because we didn ́t know what
pushing this would really do.

607
00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:17.589
♫♫

608
00:33:17.589 --> 00:33:19.989
Um, Mrs. Hernandez,
this is Tom Girardi.

609
00:33:19.989 --> 00:33:23.519
I want ‐‐ I know you ́re
so frustrated and mad

610
00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:24.589
and everything.

611
00:33:24.589 --> 00:33:28.619
And I don ́t blame you.
I am, too.

612
00:33:28.619 --> 00:33:31.819
‐My name is Josie Hernandez.

613
00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:36.049
And I am a former client
of Tom Girardi.

614
00:33:39.249 --> 00:33:47.089
In 2010, I seeked out a doctor.
I have three kids,

615
00:33:47.089 --> 00:33:50.249
and as most women do
when they have kids,

616
00:33:50.249 --> 00:33:52.319
they have incontinence issues.

617
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:54.749
So I talked to
my doctor about it.

618
00:33:54.749 --> 00:33:57.189
He said, "Oh, now we have this
sling. We ́re going to ‐‐

619
00:33:57.189 --> 00:34:03.219
it ́s so super safe ‐‐
implant it you ́ll be good.

620
00:34:03.219 --> 00:34:06.289
Did the procedure, didn ́t work.

621
00:34:06.289 --> 00:34:10.819
Started feeling sick.
I went back to the doctor.

622
00:34:10.819 --> 00:34:13.649
He says, "Okay,
let ́s put in another one.

623
00:34:15.749 --> 00:34:18.049
And things just got worse.

624
00:34:18.049 --> 00:34:27.489
♫♫

625
00:34:27.489 --> 00:34:30.349
So a friend said, "You know
what, I know somebody

626
00:34:30.349 --> 00:34:35.549
who can help you.
He ́s going to fight for you."

627
00:34:35.549 --> 00:34:38.619
So I went to
the Girardi Keese firm,

628
00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:41.189
I signed up with them in 2014.

629
00:34:44.789 --> 00:34:49.719
During the time that I was
with that firm, my case

630
00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:56.219
changed hands various times,
which I thought was strange.

631
00:34:56.219 --> 00:34:59.749
I thought, "Okay, why are
these attorneys leaving?"

632
00:34:59.749 --> 00:35:01.589
It was just a big turnover.

633
00:35:01.589 --> 00:35:03.789
That was, that
was very stressful.

634
00:35:03.789 --> 00:35:07.449
By 2019,
I was getting really like,

635
00:35:07.449 --> 00:35:09.719
"Okay, no, I ́m done.
I ́m done waiting.

636
00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:15.019
You guys have had more than
enough time. What is going on?"

637
00:35:15.019 --> 00:35:19.019
And I said, "You know what,
I need you to tell Mr. Girardi

638
00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:21.749
that I need to know
what ́s going on with my case."

639
00:35:23.789 --> 00:35:29.019
‐I just can ́t imagine
being a victim.

640
00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:34.919
And watching any episode
of "The Real Housewives"

641
00:35:34.919 --> 00:35:37.119
and watching Erika Jayne

642
00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.189
go through her
extensive shoe collection,

643
00:35:40.189 --> 00:35:46.119
her closet, her home,
her private plane going on trips

644
00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:51.519
and flaunting
all of this wealth.

645
00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:54.919
Without wondering
where it came from.

646
00:35:54.919 --> 00:35:57.919
♫♫

647
00:36:07.789 --> 00:36:11.719
♫♫

648
00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:16.649
‐Joe Ruigomez checking in.
10:30.

649
00:36:16.649 --> 00:36:19.219
‐Come on in, bud.
‐What ́s up, man?

650
00:36:19.219 --> 00:36:21.289
‐Have a seat.

651
00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:29.049
In terms of how you feel today,
what what what ́s going on today?

652
00:36:29.049 --> 00:36:32.149
‐I got restrictions underneath
my arm, like, when I lift up,

653
00:36:32.149 --> 00:36:34.349
I still have
the range of motion,

654
00:36:34.349 --> 00:36:40.689
but it ́s just super
restrictive and painful.

655
00:36:40.689 --> 00:36:44.849
I ́ve had over 30 surgeries
just as of today,

656
00:36:44.849 --> 00:36:47.189
I have like five or six
that are on the back burner

657
00:36:47.189 --> 00:36:49.749
that I need to get done
and it ́s just going to be

658
00:36:49.749 --> 00:36:53.119
a continued process for the rest
of my life, unfortunately.

659
00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:55.649
‐A skin graft
on in a skin graft area

660
00:36:55.649 --> 00:36:59.389
is probably not
your best answer.

661
00:36:59.389 --> 00:37:03.019
‐Also, I ́m in
quite a lot of fear,

662
00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:04.349
I ́m going to need a lot of money

663
00:37:04.349 --> 00:37:07.349
for the medical life
that I have ahead.

664
00:37:07.349 --> 00:37:12.519
♫♫

665
00:37:12.519 --> 00:37:15.249
Whenever I would complain
to him about, you know,

666
00:37:15.249 --> 00:37:17.289
"Hey, Tom, you said you were
going to pay me on this day

667
00:37:17.289 --> 00:37:20.649
and it ́s been three weeks,
what ́s going on?"

668
00:37:20.649 --> 00:37:22.689
He would call me back
and be like,

669
00:37:22.689 --> 00:37:25.849
"Oh, are you mad at me?"
He would butter me up.

670
00:37:25.849 --> 00:37:28.019
"You know what, Joe?
You ́re a bitchin ́ guy."

671
00:37:28.019 --> 00:37:29.749
That ́s something
he would say a lot.

672
00:37:29.749 --> 00:37:31.519
"You ́re a bitchin ́ guy, baby."

673
00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:35.449
When I ́d ask him for money,

674
00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:38.619
he would reference
this guy called Justice Panelli.

675
00:37:38.619 --> 00:37:41.619
♫♫

676
00:37:50.189 --> 00:37:51.989
‐Edward Panelli,
is a former

677
00:37:51.989 --> 00:37:54.289
California Supreme Court
justice.

678
00:37:54.289 --> 00:37:58.189
He retired
and became a private judge.

679
00:37:58.189 --> 00:38:04.249
He was the mediator between
the Ruigomez family and PG&E.

680
00:38:24.919 --> 00:38:26.689
‐And it was always
Justice Panelli said this

681
00:38:26.689 --> 00:38:28.049
Justice Panelli said that,

682
00:38:28.049 --> 00:38:31.419
that was like his,
like, scapegoat guy.

683
00:38:31.419 --> 00:38:33.149
And I ́m like,
"Well, it ́s you know,

684
00:38:33.149 --> 00:38:35.619
this is some of this stuff
is for surgeries, you know,

685
00:38:35.619 --> 00:38:37.789
but he would always reference
him and make it sound like

686
00:38:37.789 --> 00:38:41.549
I can ́t give you this money
or I can ́t give you this amount

687
00:38:41.549 --> 00:38:44.289
because Justice Panelli
said I can ́t.

688
00:38:46.949 --> 00:38:50.089
Definitely kind of treated me
like a child a little bit.

689
00:38:50.089 --> 00:38:52.649
‐Yeah, he was already over 18
when it happened.

690
00:38:52.649 --> 00:38:55.449
So, yeah,
there ́s no reason for for that.

691
00:38:55.449 --> 00:38:56.519
And the way he makes it
sound like

692
00:38:56.519 --> 00:38:58.289
Justice Panelli really cared.

693
00:38:58.289 --> 00:39:01.789
Justice Panelli really wasn ́t
very interested in us at all.

694
00:39:01.789 --> 00:39:03.389
You could tell.

695
00:39:03.389 --> 00:39:30.719
♫♫

696
00:39:30.719 --> 00:39:34.789
‐About a year
after the settlement,

697
00:39:34.789 --> 00:39:38.889
the Ruigomez family realizes
that something is going on,

698
00:39:38.889 --> 00:39:41.789
they haven ́t gotten
their settlement money

699
00:39:41.789 --> 00:39:46.419
and they ́re starting to question
this more and more.

700
00:39:46.419 --> 00:39:48.989
And then something
terrible happens.

701
00:39:48.989 --> 00:40:03.449
♫♫

702
00:40:03.449 --> 00:40:08.549
‐After Paul died,
Kathy came down the next day,

703
00:40:08.549 --> 00:40:11.789
just like I went to her house

704
00:40:11.789 --> 00:40:15.789
when something terrible
happened to her family.

705
00:40:15.789 --> 00:40:19.319
No one could imagine
that amount of tragedy.

706
00:40:19.319 --> 00:40:23.919
♫♫

707
00:40:23.919 --> 00:40:26.749
‐That just kind of detoured us
from a lot of it.

708
00:40:26.749 --> 00:40:30.719
And now we ́re just devastated
over her son

709
00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:32.689
and dealing with that.

710
00:40:32.689 --> 00:40:41.189
♫♫

711
00:40:41.189 --> 00:40:45.089
‐It was that moment
basically where my son ́s death,

712
00:40:45.089 --> 00:40:47.949
like, gave Tom a free pass
to start all over again,

713
00:40:47.949 --> 00:40:49.619
with me and Kathy.

714
00:40:49.619 --> 00:40:52.449
Because now <i>my</i> son ́s dead.

715
00:40:52.449 --> 00:40:56.519
And...

716
00:40:56.519 --> 00:40:59.319
we don ́t really want
to know the truth.

717
00:40:59.319 --> 00:41:02.389
Because the truth is so ugly
at this point,

718
00:41:02.389 --> 00:41:04.189
and now we ́re dealing

719
00:41:04.189 --> 00:41:08.749
with a whole new set
of tragic circumstances.

720
00:41:08.749 --> 00:41:15.549
♫♫

721
00:41:15.549 --> 00:41:18.289
Kathy and I talked about,
you know, maybe it ́s a good idea

722
00:41:18.289 --> 00:41:20.819
for me
to take it to another attorney

723
00:41:20.819 --> 00:41:23.319
so that it doesn ́t add
any more complications,

724
00:41:23.319 --> 00:41:27.249
because what if you know
that what we think is true

725
00:41:27.249 --> 00:41:31.519
or what if we need to make
a demand for Joe ́s money?

726
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:33.449
So I went and met
with other lawyers,

727
00:41:33.449 --> 00:41:35.789
but people didn ́t want
to do my son ́s case

728
00:41:35.789 --> 00:41:38.919
because they didn ́t want to step
on Tom Girardi ́s toes.

729
00:41:38.919 --> 00:41:41.849
My back ́s against the wall, too,

730
00:41:41.849 --> 00:41:46.889
so we pulled
the trigger and file.

731
00:41:46.889 --> 00:41:53.589
The lawsuit with Tom,
as you know, my attorney.

732
00:41:53.589 --> 00:41:58.789
You know, what choice
do we really have?

733
00:42:04.349 --> 00:42:09.489
January 2017 would have been
the last time

734
00:42:09.489 --> 00:42:13.749
that Tom gave Joe money
from the money

735
00:42:13.749 --> 00:42:15.589
that he was managing for him.

736
00:42:17.889 --> 00:42:20.849
‐Got to a point where you just,
you know,

737
00:42:20.849 --> 00:42:22.489
the checks
disappeared completely.

738
00:42:22.489 --> 00:42:24.719
It was pretty conclusive
to me in my mind.

739
00:42:24.719 --> 00:42:28.889
I ́m like, okay, something really
sinister is going on here

740
00:42:28.889 --> 00:42:30.719
and it ́s making me
really nervous.

741
00:42:33.889 --> 00:42:36.649
Like, you know,
I just bought a house like,

742
00:42:36.649 --> 00:42:38.089
you know,
I might have to sell that now

743
00:42:38.089 --> 00:42:40.289
because I can ́t keep up
with the mortgage.

744
00:42:43.089 --> 00:42:45.449
‐Kathy and I would joke like,
because we are like,

745
00:42:45.449 --> 00:42:46.989
who are we going to call?

746
00:42:46.989 --> 00:42:49.319
Like, we can ́t call the D. A.
that ́s Tom ́s friends.

747
00:42:49.319 --> 00:42:50.819
We can ́t go to
the chief of police.

748
00:42:50.819 --> 00:42:52.019
That ́s Tom ́s friend.

749
00:42:52.019 --> 00:42:53.989
You can ́t go to
the California Attorney General.

750
00:42:53.989 --> 00:42:55.119
That ́s Tom ́s friend.

751
00:42:55.119 --> 00:42:56.549
You can ́t go
to the California bar.

752
00:42:56.549 --> 00:42:58.689
That ́s Tom ́s friends.
Like, who are we going to call?

753
00:42:58.689 --> 00:43:02.849
Like, "Ghostbusters"?
Who ́s going to help us?

754
00:43:02.849 --> 00:43:05.949
‐Twenty or more years ago,
you started hearing rumors

755
00:43:05.949 --> 00:43:08.849
about him not paying
his co‐counselor,

756
00:43:08.849 --> 00:43:10.449
his referring lawyers.

757
00:43:10.449 --> 00:43:14.889
There were stories
about a lot of lawsuits

758
00:43:14.889 --> 00:43:16.589
that were filed against him.
And of course,

759
00:43:16.589 --> 00:43:21.819
I think a lot of people chalk
that up to big name, big cases,

760
00:43:21.819 --> 00:43:23.589
enemies come out of
the woodwork,

761
00:43:23.589 --> 00:43:25.619
and, and maybe
that ́s what was going on.

762
00:43:25.619 --> 00:43:28.849
‐I plugged Tom Girardi ́s name
into our own archives.

763
00:43:28.849 --> 00:43:31.219
You know, every once in awhile.
Something kind of slipped in

764
00:43:31.219 --> 00:43:33.619
where there was a client
accusing him

765
00:43:33.619 --> 00:43:37.189
of doing something wrong
or doing something unethical

766
00:43:37.189 --> 00:43:39.719
or not giving them
all of their money.

767
00:43:39.719 --> 00:43:41.389
‐There were lawsuits.

768
00:43:41.389 --> 00:43:44.289
You know, and he knew there were
lawsuits referenced on

769
00:43:44.289 --> 00:43:47.489
"Watch What Happens Live"
or on blogs or whatnot.

770
00:43:47.489 --> 00:43:50.249
‐Vegan in Minnesota said,
"Ask Erika if she feels the need

771
00:43:50.249 --> 00:43:52.349
to cut back on her glam squad

772
00:43:52.349 --> 00:43:55.219
since her husband is being sued
for a huge amount of money?"

773
00:43:55.219 --> 00:43:56.689
We got a lot of questions
about this.

774
00:43:56.689 --> 00:43:58.549
Anything you want to say
about that?

775
00:43:58.549 --> 00:44:01.889
‐Yeah, it ́s a lawsuit
and you can ́t comment on it.

776
00:44:01.889 --> 00:44:06.549
‐I think when she brushed it off
and said, "I can ́t discuss it,"

777
00:44:06.549 --> 00:44:08.219
I think people just were like,
"Okay."

778
00:44:08.219 --> 00:44:09.989
They didn ́t, it
was too complicated

779
00:44:09.989 --> 00:44:11.449
for anyone to really, like,

780
00:44:11.449 --> 00:44:14.489
want to sink their teeth
into and expose it.

781
00:44:14.489 --> 00:44:18.319
They took her word for it.

782
00:44:18.319 --> 00:44:21.489
‐You ́d hear, like, "Oh, Girardi
doesn ́t have any more money,"

783
00:44:21.489 --> 00:44:23.389
you just kind of hear things
talking to people,

784
00:44:23.389 --> 00:44:25.249
people gossiping,
the rumor mill.

785
00:44:25.249 --> 00:44:30.489
‐I remember at some point
in time a judge telling me,

786
00:44:30.489 --> 00:44:33.089
"You know, Tom doesn ́t have
that much money left."

787
00:44:33.089 --> 00:44:34.289
I thought,
"You got to be kidding me."

788
00:44:34.289 --> 00:44:35.649
This is a guy that we believe

789
00:44:35.649 --> 00:44:38.019
worth ́s a couple
hundred million dollars.

790
00:44:38.019 --> 00:44:39.719
He ́s set for life.

791
00:44:42.649 --> 00:44:44.089
‐I don ́t want you mad at me.

792
00:44:44.089 --> 00:44:49.189
I ́m working like a dog to try
and get this thing resolved.

793
00:44:49.189 --> 00:44:53.249
‐He sounds like he, he wouldn ́t
hurt a fly.

794
00:44:53.249 --> 00:44:56.789
Like he ́s team, Josie,
like even though

795
00:44:56.789 --> 00:44:59.489
he ́s an attorney
for all these important people,

796
00:44:59.489 --> 00:45:01.749
he ́s team Josie,
you know?

797
00:45:01.749 --> 00:45:07.889
‐I know it ́s very frustrating
to wait so long for a settlement

798
00:45:07.889 --> 00:45:12.189
and then to be delayed further,
that ‐‐ I ́m in your corner.

799
00:45:12.189 --> 00:45:16.419
Believe me, we ́d like our money
just like you ́d like yours.

800
00:45:16.419 --> 00:45:22.349
‐Yeah. He ́s unbelievably
cruel doing that,

801
00:45:22.349 --> 00:45:24.949
knowing he already had my money.

802
00:45:24.949 --> 00:45:28.889
‐I ́m sorry. Don ́t be mad at me.
I ́m a good guy, by the way.

803
00:45:28.889 --> 00:45:31.789
Goodbye.

804
00:45:31.789 --> 00:45:35.719
‐I filed a complaint
with the bar.

805
00:45:35.719 --> 00:45:37.889
I was also able
to get a confirmation

806
00:45:37.889 --> 00:45:41.849
his firm received my money
May 2020.

807
00:45:41.849 --> 00:45:47.219
The messages that he left me
was in August.

808
00:45:47.219 --> 00:45:53.419
So he was lying, he was lying,
he had my money already.

809
00:45:53.419 --> 00:45:58.219
‐You thought you were going to
get maybe as much as $100,000.

810
00:45:58.219 --> 00:46:02.049
‐I haven ́t received anything.
‐Not a single thing?

811
00:46:02.049 --> 00:46:03.819
‐Not a penny.

812
00:46:03.819 --> 00:46:06.919
♫♫

813
00:46:15.889 --> 00:46:18.049
‐Election Day, 2020.

814
00:46:18.049 --> 00:46:21.349
‐I was at home and I was
just scrolling the Internet.

815
00:46:21.349 --> 00:46:22.589
I think I was
getting ready for work.

816
00:46:22.589 --> 00:46:25.689
‐The news alerts came in
so early.

817
00:46:25.689 --> 00:46:28.889
♫♫

818
00:46:28.889 --> 00:46:31.919
‐Erika Jayne and her divorce
from estranged husband

819
00:46:31.919 --> 00:46:35.249
Tom Girardi amid
their ongoing legal troubles.

820
00:46:35.249 --> 00:46:38.419
‐Erika Jayne from "The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills"

821
00:46:38.419 --> 00:46:41.149
filed for divorce
from her husband, Tom.

822
00:46:41.149 --> 00:46:47.019
‐It was breaking news that Erika
had filed for divorce from Tom.

823
00:46:47.019 --> 00:46:50.749
‐My phone was flooded
with texts from friends.

824
00:46:50.749 --> 00:46:54.489
‐Everyone was like,
"Something crazy is brewing."

825
00:46:54.489 --> 00:46:57.989
‐I was not surprised
when Erika Jayne announced

826
00:46:57.989 --> 00:46:59.719
that she was divorcing
Tom Girardi

827
00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:02.489
because there were rumors
swirling in Beverly Hills

828
00:47:02.489 --> 00:47:04.949
that that was coming.

829
00:47:04.949 --> 00:47:07.889
‐Can you elaborate at all
on the rumors?

830
00:47:07.889 --> 00:47:12.019
‐I can ́t. but I can tell you
that it may or may not have had

831
00:47:12.019 --> 00:47:14.949
to do with financial problems.

832
00:47:14.949 --> 00:47:18.089
‐I definitely had heard
some rumblings that there were

833
00:47:18.089 --> 00:47:22.089
some legal issues,
but I had no idea the magnitude.

834
00:47:22.089 --> 00:47:23.549
‐To put it into
complete context,

835
00:47:23.549 --> 00:47:26.849
you have to understand that
before Erika filed for divorce,

836
00:47:26.849 --> 00:47:30.419
there were these lenders who
were suing Tom very publicly.

837
00:47:30.419 --> 00:47:33.989
‐He had taken out tens
of millions of dollars in loans

838
00:47:33.989 --> 00:47:36.419
and he wasn ́t
paying them back properly.

839
00:47:36.419 --> 00:47:41.949
‐Why would Tom, who has won
hundreds of millions of dollars

840
00:47:41.949 --> 00:47:44.989
in settlements and verdicts,
need to to borrow money?

841
00:47:44.989 --> 00:47:47.449
‐The easiest way for people
to basically understand this

842
00:47:47.449 --> 00:47:50.119
is that just like
any business might go out

843
00:47:50.119 --> 00:47:51.389
and secure a loan

844
00:47:51.389 --> 00:47:55.149
in order to run
or operate their business,

845
00:47:55.149 --> 00:47:56.749
lawyers will do the same thing.

846
00:47:56.749 --> 00:47:59.149
But sometimes people do it
because they ́re in trouble.

847
00:47:59.149 --> 00:48:02.649
And apparently these were
the types of loans

848
00:48:02.649 --> 00:48:10.419
that were coming due
for Girardi before the divorce.

849
00:48:10.419 --> 00:48:15.389
‐So after a couple of the
lenders had filed lawsuits

850
00:48:15.389 --> 00:48:16.619
against Tom,
I mean,

851
00:48:16.619 --> 00:48:19.919
we knew that we had
to get out of there.

852
00:48:19.919 --> 00:48:22.849
We couldn ́t wait for Paul ́s case
to be done anymore.

853
00:48:22.849 --> 00:48:27.919
We had ‐‐ Paul is dead.
Joe is still alive.

854
00:48:27.919 --> 00:48:32.489
So we had to pick Joe.
He had to be the priority again

855
00:48:32.489 --> 00:48:37.689
because he ́s the one still here,
you know?

856
00:48:37.689 --> 00:48:41.989
And so me and Kathy
scooped up our stuff and left.

857
00:48:41.989 --> 00:48:44.889
And, you know,
luckily we found an attorney

858
00:48:44.889 --> 00:48:46.619
who could help them and help me.

859
00:48:46.619 --> 00:48:55.619
♫♫

860
00:48:55.619 --> 00:48:57.189
‐He signed an agreement

861
00:48:57.189 --> 00:49:00.249
that he would make
a million dollar payment

862
00:49:00.249 --> 00:49:02.449
and then like
a couple months later,

863
00:49:02.449 --> 00:49:05.219
it was like a two and
a half million dollar payment.

864
00:49:05.219 --> 00:49:07.419
But he never got
to the second payment.

865
00:49:07.419 --> 00:49:10.349
‐It ́s very disappointing
when you find out your lawyer

866
00:49:10.349 --> 00:49:11.689
basically robbed you,

867
00:49:11.689 --> 00:49:14.049
knowing that he knows everything
that I ́ve been through.

868
00:49:14.049 --> 00:49:15.649
I just don ́t get it.

869
00:49:17.819 --> 00:49:19.489
‐So they dragged him
back into court,

870
00:49:19.489 --> 00:49:22.249
turned this settlement
into an actual judgment

871
00:49:22.249 --> 00:49:25.689
that ́s enforceable
and then they deposed him.

872
00:49:43.519 --> 00:49:46.589
‐You don ́t see
depositions this alarming.

873
00:50:11.289 --> 00:50:14.419
‐It ́s like,
wow, like broke?

874
00:50:14.419 --> 00:50:16.449
Like broke, broke?

875
00:50:16.449 --> 00:50:19.789
Like but not
the client ́s money, right?

876
00:50:19.789 --> 00:50:23.119
‐I was like, "Oh crap,
he admits it."

877
00:50:23.119 --> 00:50:24.519
This is his own words.

878
00:50:24.519 --> 00:50:28.349
He had $50 or $80 million,
he says.

879
00:50:28.349 --> 00:50:32.989
And now, you know,
there ́s nothing left.

880
00:50:32.989 --> 00:50:36.249
‐So the first question
that comes to my mind is

881
00:50:36.249 --> 00:50:38.119
where did it go?

882
00:50:38.119 --> 00:50:40.049
Where ́s the money?

883
00:50:40.049 --> 00:50:44.249
And that admission that he
is broke, he has no money,

884
00:50:44.249 --> 00:50:48.049
opens up the door
to Erika ́s finances.

885
00:50:48.049 --> 00:51:10.519
♫♫

886
00:51:10.519 --> 00:51:12.989
‐I think there was a period
of time

887
00:51:12.989 --> 00:51:15.449
where the rumors
started to escalate,

888
00:51:15.449 --> 00:51:19.389
it was a very slow, it ́s almost
like a slow car wreck

889
00:51:19.389 --> 00:51:21.019
that you ́re watching occur.

890
00:51:21.019 --> 00:51:24.849
‐Tom had a very substantial
legal history.

891
00:51:24.849 --> 00:51:28.049
We saw one case and then another
and then another.

892
00:51:28.049 --> 00:51:31.319
We saw this flurry of activity
that had been going on

893
00:51:31.319 --> 00:51:35.889
very quietly
over the last several years.

894
00:51:35.889 --> 00:51:39.149
That was really where we started
just trying to map out

895
00:51:39.149 --> 00:51:40.749
what exactly was happening.

896
00:51:40.749 --> 00:51:44.019
It was just very unusual to have
all of that happening at once.

897
00:51:53.949 --> 00:51:57.419
‐In December, 2020,
a Chicago lawyer

898
00:51:57.419 --> 00:52:00.589
files a lawsuit against Tom

899
00:52:00.589 --> 00:52:03.649
because he hadn ́t been paid,

900
00:52:03.649 --> 00:52:06.149
several of his clients
hadn ́t been paid.

901
00:52:06.149 --> 00:52:11.019
And now this whole thing blows
up because now it ́s public.

902
00:52:11.019 --> 00:52:14.849
‐The Chicago case was
groundbreaking in the sense

903
00:52:14.849 --> 00:52:17.619
that it finally brought out
in the public eye

904
00:52:17.619 --> 00:52:19.349
to all the media outlets

905
00:52:19.349 --> 00:52:23.149
that Tom Girardi
potentially was a fraud.

906
00:52:23.149 --> 00:52:28.119
‐This was the Lion Air crash the
737 MAX crashed in Indonesia.

907
00:52:29.549 --> 00:52:33.749
In 2018, I was
involved in that litigation,

908
00:52:33.749 --> 00:52:36.189
I represented families
as well,

909
00:52:36.189 --> 00:52:38.289
who had lost
loved ones on that crash.

910
00:52:38.289 --> 00:52:41.149
We were all in the process
of working with Boeing

911
00:52:41.149 --> 00:52:44.819
to resolve our cases.

912
00:52:44.819 --> 00:52:48.619
‐Tom Girardi and his firm
represented several

913
00:52:48.619 --> 00:52:53.919
specifically widows and orphans
of these plane crash victims,

914
00:52:53.919 --> 00:52:59.089
so on their behalf, he won
multimillion dollar settlements.

915
00:52:59.089 --> 00:53:00.889
‐The attorney who filed
the Chicago case,

916
00:53:00.889 --> 00:53:03.719
Jay Edelson,
what he said is

917
00:53:03.719 --> 00:53:07.619
that actually I had been trying
for a long time

918
00:53:07.619 --> 00:53:11.119
to get the settlement money
from my clients,

919
00:53:11.119 --> 00:53:16.689
basically chasing Girardi and
his staff for money for months.

920
00:53:16.689 --> 00:53:21.149
‐I think this was the emperor is
not wearing any clothes moment,

921
00:53:21.149 --> 00:53:24.719
if you will.

922
00:53:24.719 --> 00:53:27.489
One of the things that really
struck me in my interview

923
00:53:27.489 --> 00:53:29.649
with Jay Edelson on my podcast

924
00:53:29.649 --> 00:53:32.749
was the the thing
that made him realize

925
00:53:32.749 --> 00:53:36.249
that he had to file a civil
litigation against Tom Girardi.

926
00:53:36.249 --> 00:53:39.249
Was Erika Girardi
filing for divorce.

927
00:53:54.319 --> 00:53:57.819
He believed that Tom had
stolen tens of millions

928
00:53:57.819 --> 00:54:02.189
of dollars from creditors,
loan companies, and victims

929
00:54:02.189 --> 00:54:05.389
so that he could fund
his lavish lifestyle

930
00:54:05.389 --> 00:54:07.549
that he presented
to his colleagues.

931
00:54:07.549 --> 00:54:09.789
And on the show, "Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills,"

932
00:54:09.789 --> 00:54:12.419
for his wife, Erika Girardi,

933
00:54:12.419 --> 00:54:14.719
‐That ́s the worst thing
a lawyer could ever do,

934
00:54:14.719 --> 00:54:16.249
is steal money from clients.

935
00:54:16.249 --> 00:54:21.349
And it ́s worse if it ́s from the
families of widows and orphans.

936
00:54:21.349 --> 00:54:29.089
♫♫

937
00:54:29.089 --> 00:54:31.619
‐My name is Bias Ramadhan.

938
00:54:31.619 --> 00:54:33.119
My mom was one of the victim

939
00:54:33.119 --> 00:54:37.419
in the Lion Air
crash in Indonesia.

940
00:54:37.419 --> 00:54:41.149
Her name is Hasnawati.

941
00:54:41.149 --> 00:54:43.549
‐This is a tragedy, right?

942
00:54:46.789 --> 00:54:53.349
And then the lawsuit is also
emotionally draining.

943
00:54:53.349 --> 00:54:58.189
And there ́s almost no one like
that, anybody like this

944
00:54:58.189 --> 00:54:59.489
and is not crying.

945
00:54:59.489 --> 00:55:06.819
♫♫

946
00:55:06.819 --> 00:55:09.719
‐After the settlement,
Tom Girardi got the money

947
00:55:09.719 --> 00:55:10.919
and it was kind of the
same thing

948
00:55:10.919 --> 00:55:13.219
that you heard
about Kathy Ruigomez,

949
00:55:13.219 --> 00:55:16.719
where "It ́ll be coming soon,
don ́t worry."

950
00:55:16.719 --> 00:55:18.889
But of course,
it never showed up.

951
00:55:18.889 --> 00:55:20.889
‐We wait and we wait
and we kept sending e‐mail

952
00:55:20.889 --> 00:55:22.149
almost every week.

953
00:55:22.149 --> 00:55:26.349
♫♫

954
00:55:26.349 --> 00:55:29.919
‐I ́m getting chills,
just thinking about

955
00:55:29.919 --> 00:55:31.289
what Tom allegedly did

956
00:55:31.289 --> 00:55:35.289
and my sort of initial reaction
to that was, "No way."

957
00:55:35.289 --> 00:55:37.449
I initially was like,
"No way, not Tom."

958
00:55:37.449 --> 00:55:40.819
Tom is Erika ́s, you know,
steadfast, quiet,

959
00:55:40.819 --> 00:55:42.049
81‐year‐old husband.

960
00:55:42.049 --> 00:55:43.849
There ́s no way
he could possibly be doing this.

961
00:55:43.849 --> 00:55:45.989
But then the more that I read,

962
00:55:45.989 --> 00:55:50.019
especially about
the Lion Air victims.

963
00:55:51.989 --> 00:55:58.389
I was profoundly
upset and disgusted.

964
00:56:00.389 --> 00:56:04.789
‐Judge Thomas Durkin,
the former federal prosecutor,

965
00:56:04.789 --> 00:56:07.689
was overseeing
all of these cases,

966
00:56:07.689 --> 00:56:13.449
and Judge Durkin not only found
Tom Girardi in contempt,

967
00:56:13.449 --> 00:56:16.619
he also froze
Tom ́s bank accounts

968
00:56:16.619 --> 00:56:19.019
and he froze
all the bank accounts

969
00:56:19.019 --> 00:56:22.449
that Girardi Keese oversaw.

970
00:56:22.449 --> 00:56:25.019
That immediately
paralyzed the firm,

971
00:56:25.019 --> 00:56:27.519
it paralyzed Tom financially.

972
00:56:27.519 --> 00:56:30.289
Additionally, Judge Durkin
referred the case

973
00:56:30.289 --> 00:56:32.389
to federal prosecutors.

974
00:56:32.389 --> 00:56:35.549
Which means that Tom Girardi
could be facing

975
00:56:35.549 --> 00:56:37.389
time behind bars.

976
00:56:39.619 --> 00:56:41.619
‐I was a federal prosecutor.

977
00:56:41.619 --> 00:56:44.489
The last thing you want
is a referral

978
00:56:44.489 --> 00:56:46.219
to the U. S. Attorney ́s Office.

979
00:56:46.219 --> 00:56:50.649
As an attorney,
it is doomsday for you.

980
00:56:50.649 --> 00:56:55.089
It means that you are likely
going to be investigated.

981
00:56:55.089 --> 00:56:58.689
‐The Chicago case right off
the bat, they name Erika Jayne,

982
00:56:58.689 --> 00:57:01.349
in their lawsuit,
‐One of the lenders owed money

983
00:57:01.349 --> 00:57:04.449
by Tom Girardi
claimed in a lawsuit

984
00:57:04.449 --> 00:57:09.549
that Tom had given
his wife 20 million dollars

985
00:57:09.549 --> 00:57:11.819
in loans from Girardi Keese.

986
00:57:11.819 --> 00:57:14.719
And that money went to Erika
Jayne ́s Entertainment Company,

987
00:57:14.719 --> 00:57:18.419
EJ Global, LLC.

988
00:57:18.419 --> 00:57:21.819
‐He was taking money in some
cases, it ́s being alleged,

989
00:57:21.819 --> 00:57:24.549
and investing it
into Erika ́s business,

990
00:57:24.549 --> 00:57:26.489
into her career,
and the allegations

991
00:57:26.489 --> 00:57:30.919
are that that money
was coming from clients.

992
00:57:30.919 --> 00:57:33.089
‐But those documents
aren ́t public yet.

993
00:57:33.089 --> 00:57:35.319
So while we ́ve heard about this

994
00:57:35.319 --> 00:57:37.549
and it ́s been repeated
in several other lawsuits,

995
00:57:37.549 --> 00:57:41.889
including Edelson ́s lawsuit,
we haven ́t seen the proof yet.

996
00:57:41.889 --> 00:57:44.419
‐I think the biggest question
that everybody has is,

997
00:57:44.419 --> 00:57:47.249
is she going to be in trouble?
Did she know?

998
00:57:47.249 --> 00:57:50.719
I was pretty shocked
and pretty saddened by it.

999
00:57:50.719 --> 00:57:55.049
And I felt really bad
for these victims

1000
00:57:55.049 --> 00:58:00.119
that thought they hit
the jackpot with Tom Girardi.

1001
00:58:00.119 --> 00:58:05.219
‐We are the victims here,
not him, not Tom, not his wife.

1002
00:58:05.219 --> 00:58:07.819
It ́s only me and three
of my siblings.

1003
00:58:07.819 --> 00:58:10.819
So four of us. And that ́s it.
We just want to know,

1004
00:58:10.819 --> 00:58:13.789
can we get our money
and when will we get it?

1005
00:58:13.789 --> 00:58:17.489
Whether a month or two months,
I don ́t even know it.

1006
00:58:17.489 --> 00:58:20.049
Will be next year? I don ́t
even ‐‐ We don ́t even know it.

1007
00:58:20.049 --> 00:58:23.089
♫♫

1008
00:58:23.089 --> 00:58:25.619
‐It ́s my understanding that
Tom Girardi is now

1009
00:58:25.619 --> 00:58:28.189
under a conservatorship
with his brother

1010
00:58:28.189 --> 00:58:32.149
taking over control of certain
aspects of Tom Girardi ́s life.

1011
00:58:32.149 --> 00:58:33.419
‐His defense attorney suggested

1012
00:58:33.419 --> 00:58:35.919
that he might have been
mentally incompetent.

1013
00:58:35.919 --> 00:58:39.849
And that kind of hints at the
defense we ́ve seen developing

1014
00:58:39.849 --> 00:58:42.449
over the course
of the last few months.

1015
00:58:42.449 --> 00:58:46.189
There is a psychiatrist
in Los Angeles

1016
00:58:46.189 --> 00:58:49.819
who has diagnosed him
with Alzheimer ́s.

1017
00:58:49.819 --> 00:58:53.289
And I think the whole
Alzheimer ́s diagnosis

1018
00:58:53.289 --> 00:58:54.519
will carry some weight

1019
00:58:54.519 --> 00:58:57.989
on whether he can be
criminally charged or not.

1020
00:58:57.989 --> 00:58:59.749
‐I can ́t comment
on whether or not

1021
00:58:59.749 --> 00:59:02.789
he ́s actually suffering
from dementia

1022
00:59:02.789 --> 00:59:06.419
or Alzheimer ́s or some form
of diminished capacity.

1023
00:59:06.419 --> 00:59:09.949
I just think that it ́s strange
that that months earlier

1024
00:59:09.949 --> 00:59:14.149
he was speaking at public events

1025
00:59:14.149 --> 00:59:15.789
and certainly before
the pandemic,

1026
00:59:15.789 --> 00:59:17.889
I would see him
frequently at events.

1027
00:59:17.889 --> 00:59:22.619
And I didn ́t have any sense
that he was suffering from any

1028
00:59:22.619 --> 00:59:24.249
kind of diminished capacity.

1029
00:59:24.249 --> 00:59:46.449
♫♫

1030
00:59:46.449 --> 00:59:52.589
‐At the time that Tom Girardi ́s
firm Girardi Keese shuts down,

1031
00:59:52.589 --> 00:59:58.849
they have approximately
9,000 clients, 900 cases.

1032
00:59:58.849 --> 01:00:04.219
What happens to those clients,
those cases?

1033
01:00:04.219 --> 01:00:08.719
‐The California State Bar filed
charges against Tom Girardi

1034
01:00:08.719 --> 01:00:13.089
in late March.
That is pretty serious.

1035
01:00:13.089 --> 01:00:16.889
That ́s the beginning
of the disciplinary process

1036
01:00:16.889 --> 01:00:18.689
that ́s visible to the public.

1037
01:00:18.689 --> 01:00:27.489
♫♫

1038
01:00:27.489 --> 01:00:29.049
‐Day late and a dollar short,
right?

1039
01:00:29.049 --> 01:00:30.349
A day late and a dollar short

1040
01:00:30.349 --> 01:00:32.349
when the bar comes
and take somebody ́s license away

1041
01:00:32.349 --> 01:00:35.149
after there
have been allegations for years

1042
01:00:35.149 --> 01:00:37.719
and maybe that kind of action
should have taken place sooner.

1043
01:00:37.719 --> 01:01:08.449
♫♫

1044
01:01:08.449 --> 01:01:12.949
‐If you were to ask me in 2019
who would come out

1045
01:01:12.949 --> 01:01:17.089
paying whom and this divorce,
I ́d probably say

1046
01:01:17.089 --> 01:01:19.419
that Erika would be getting
a lot of money from Tom.

1047
01:01:19.419 --> 01:01:21.989
But at this point,
she ́s earning more than Tom is

1048
01:01:21.989 --> 01:01:24.689
and she probably has
more assets than he does.

1049
01:01:24.689 --> 01:01:27.489
So I don ́t know
how she ́s going to fare

1050
01:01:27.489 --> 01:01:29.819
in the litigation
surrounding Tom,

1051
01:01:29.819 --> 01:01:33.849
that she could come out on top
or she could get dragged in

1052
01:01:33.849 --> 01:01:35.649
and end up
in a whole lot of debt.

1053
01:01:35.649 --> 01:01:39.589
♫♫

1054
01:01:43.319 --> 01:01:49.989
♫♫

1055
01:01:49.989 --> 01:01:52.819
‐What do I think, of Erika now?

1056
01:01:52.819 --> 01:01:56.189
Um, you know, the whole, like,

1057
01:01:56.189 --> 01:02:01.249
empowerment of having an alter ego...

1058
01:02:01.249 --> 01:02:03.449
I thought was cool
in the beginning.

1059
01:02:05.689 --> 01:02:11.319
But now realizing that not only
were they spending the money

1060
01:02:11.319 --> 01:02:13.219
that came from tragedy,

1061
01:02:13.219 --> 01:02:16.749
but Tom was taking money
that didn ́t belong to him

1062
01:02:16.749 --> 01:02:19.219
and they were parading it around
for everyone to see.

1063
01:02:19.219 --> 01:02:22.649
It ́s out ‐‐ it ́s outrageous.
Doesn ́t look good.

1064
01:02:22.649 --> 01:02:27.289
‐This season on "The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills."

1065
01:02:27.289 --> 01:02:30.749
‐With any of the lawsuits, like,
did you have a heads up,

1066
01:02:30.749 --> 01:02:35.389
is that why you got divorced?
‐No, I did not.

1067
01:02:35.389 --> 01:02:39.149
‐I can ́t believe that Erika
puts herself in positions

1068
01:02:39.149 --> 01:02:40.789
to be asked those questions.

1069
01:02:40.789 --> 01:02:42.649
And I most certainly
can ́t believe

1070
01:02:42.649 --> 01:02:44.989
that she ́s actually
answering them.

1071
01:02:44.989 --> 01:02:49.849
‐No one knows
the answer but him.

1072
01:02:49.849 --> 01:02:51.649
‐Tom had a lot of companies,

1073
01:02:51.649 --> 01:02:53.749
Girardi Financial
is one of them.

1074
01:02:53.749 --> 01:02:57.889
He had Erika Girardi
on that company,

1075
01:02:57.889 --> 01:02:59.889
Erika ́s name being on
one of these businesses,

1076
01:02:59.889 --> 01:03:03.249
it would definitely raise
questions as to what she knew,

1077
01:03:03.249 --> 01:03:04.949
whether she benefited from this,

1078
01:03:04.949 --> 01:03:07.989
what she ́s received
in that capacity.

1079
01:03:07.989 --> 01:03:09.719
I think that the trustees

1080
01:03:09.719 --> 01:03:12.449
are going to be
looking really hard at this.

1081
01:03:12.449 --> 01:03:16.219
And they ́ve hired attorneys,
retired law firms,

1082
01:03:16.219 --> 01:03:19.619
to dig into Erika Girardi
specifically.

1083
01:03:19.619 --> 01:03:21.689
‐I ́m dying to know what she did
with all her clothes

1084
01:03:21.689 --> 01:03:23.189
and her jewelry.

1085
01:03:23.189 --> 01:03:25.789
On the show,
we see these possessions.

1086
01:03:25.789 --> 01:03:28.889
Oh, that handbag is worth $4,000
and this Cartier ring

1087
01:03:28.889 --> 01:03:31.049
is worth $170,000.

1088
01:03:31.049 --> 01:03:34.019
And oh, those, I know that
Chanel thing ́s a classic

1089
01:03:34.019 --> 01:03:37.189
and they could go now
"Where is all this stuff?"

1090
01:03:37.189 --> 01:03:49.819
♫♫

1091
01:03:49.819 --> 01:03:54.149
‐Erika Jayne ́s defense
is that many of these things

1092
01:03:54.149 --> 01:03:58.589
were gifts to her
and thus separate property.

1093
01:03:58.589 --> 01:04:04.649
I ́m not sure that that, as a
legal proposition, wins the day.

1094
01:04:04.649 --> 01:04:08.349
And I guess we ́ll see.

1095
01:04:08.349 --> 01:04:09.749
‐Tom and Erika,

1096
01:04:09.749 --> 01:04:13.149
they ́re stuck together
in these bankruptcy proceedings.

1097
01:04:13.149 --> 01:04:16.519
A lot of these debts that they
owe in bankruptcy proceedings,

1098
01:04:16.519 --> 01:04:18.719
they owe together,
possibly.

1099
01:04:18.719 --> 01:04:20.289
It ́s going to be hard
for her to say

1100
01:04:20.289 --> 01:04:22.649
that she didn ́t know
anything was going on.

1101
01:04:22.649 --> 01:04:25.049
‐It ́s complicated,
because under the law,

1102
01:04:25.049 --> 01:04:27.489
Erika has not been charged
with anything.

1103
01:04:27.489 --> 01:04:31.589
All of her legal issues are sort
of tied around to Tom Girardi.

1104
01:04:31.589 --> 01:04:35.049
‐Erika Jayne is still housewives

1105
01:04:35.049 --> 01:04:39.849
and he ́s still having cameras
follow her around.

1106
01:04:39.849 --> 01:04:42.919
If any lawyer
is now transcribing

1107
01:04:42.919 --> 01:04:46.419
every single episode
of "The Real Housewives,"

1108
01:04:46.419 --> 01:04:52.349
you know, documenting all of
the wealth, all of the property.

1109
01:04:52.349 --> 01:04:56.319
It just doesn ́t make
a lot of sense to me.

1110
01:04:56.319 --> 01:04:58.089
‐People like to see the demise.

1111
01:04:58.089 --> 01:05:02.089
They want to see
that less glammed‐up face.

1112
01:05:02.089 --> 01:05:03.749
They want to see her
defend herself.

1113
01:05:03.749 --> 01:05:07.719
They want to see her roll around
on a bed and cry.

1114
01:05:07.719 --> 01:05:11.189
‐Erika Jayne is a very
strong woman, I can tell.

1115
01:05:11.189 --> 01:05:13.349
And she ́s a warrior
and she ́s a bitch.

1116
01:05:13.349 --> 01:05:15.819
So am I.
It ́s fine to be a bitch.

1117
01:05:15.819 --> 01:05:19.149
She knows her mind.
She has a lot to say about it.

1118
01:05:19.149 --> 01:05:24.149
But my advice to her would be,
shut up, sit down, pay attention

1119
01:05:24.149 --> 01:05:27.589
to what ́s going on in your case.
And don ́t worry about TV.

1120
01:05:27.589 --> 01:05:35.349
♫♫

1121
01:05:35.349 --> 01:05:39.389
‐I ́m an enigma
wrapped in a riddle and cash.

1122
01:05:39.389 --> 01:05:41.419
‐I ́ve never seen
that first episode.

1123
01:05:41.419 --> 01:05:44.649
I don ́t think anyone ́s even
sent me a clip of it before.

1124
01:05:44.649 --> 01:05:49.719
‐Going from nothing
to everything is pretty amazing.

1125
01:05:49.719 --> 01:05:52.549
Being broke sucks and being rich
is a lot better.

1126
01:05:52.549 --> 01:05:55.489
‐Oh.
‐Well.

1127
01:05:55.489 --> 01:05:58.989
‐Fun days ahead, for Erika.
‐Yeah.

1128
01:05:58.989 --> 01:06:02.249
‐I need therapy now.
‐

1129
01:06:02.249 --> 01:06:03.819
‐I ́m serious.

1130
01:06:06.589 --> 01:06:14.989
♫♫

1131
01:06:14.989 --> 01:06:17.889
‐Girardi said, you know, like we
were his favorite clients

1132
01:06:17.889 --> 01:06:20.249
and I definitely never wanted
to be his favorite client,

1133
01:06:20.249 --> 01:06:22.349
you know, but I definitely
want to be the client

1134
01:06:22.349 --> 01:06:24.719
he never forgets because

1135
01:06:24.719 --> 01:06:27.489
he is not going to do this
to anybody else.

1136
01:06:27.489 --> 01:06:29.989
And he should have
never done it to me.

1137
01:06:29.989 --> 01:06:33.119
He shouldn ́t have
underestimated me.

1138
01:06:33.119 --> 01:06:36.119
‐Moms are just
unsung heroes of society.

1139
01:06:36.119 --> 01:06:39.119
I mean, we know
we ́re the ass‐kickers.

1140
01:06:39.119 --> 01:06:42.849
we just do it
because we love our kids.

1141
01:06:42.849 --> 01:06:47.989
I mean, there ́s nothing a mom
wouldn ́t do for their child.

1142
01:06:47.989 --> 01:07:06.219
♫♫

1143
01:07:06.219 --> 01:07:10.149
‐Scars tighten over time.

1144
01:07:10.149 --> 01:07:13.049
When I look
in the mirror, I see.

1145
01:07:13.049 --> 01:07:16.689
Someone has been through a lot
surgeries will have to go on

1146
01:07:16.689 --> 01:07:19.219
for the rest of my life.
I ́ve already accepted it.

1147
01:07:19.219 --> 01:07:22.519
I treat it like a challenge
at this point.

1148
01:07:22.519 --> 01:07:23.689
I trust that my will

1149
01:07:23.689 --> 01:07:26.149
could handle anything
that gets thrown my way.

1150
01:07:26.149 --> 01:07:28.189
So, when I look in the mirror,

1151
01:07:28.189 --> 01:07:31.389
I ́m actually not bothered
at all.

1152
01:07:31.389 --> 01:07:34.689
As far as all worried about the
scars, would I hide ́em?

1153
01:07:34.689 --> 01:07:36.489
I wear them with pride.

1154
01:07:39.549 --> 01:09:05.089
♫♫