A civil case, filed by the ex-wife of Guardian Angels founder, Curtis Sliwa, against him and his girlfriend, will be moved to divorce court as a result of a ruling by Manhattan's top civil judge. Chief Administrative Judge Sherry Klein Heitler sent the case to be heard by a judge who handles post-divorce disputes, ruling that the issue "arises out of a matrimonial matter." Legal experts are questioning the ruling, with some labeling it "unusual."
At issue is a claim made by Mr. Sliwa's ex-wife, Mary Sliwa, that Mr. Sliwa and girlfriend Melinda Katz misappropriated nearly $500,000 worth of marital assets before the couple's divorce in 2012. The details of the proceedings will now be sealed, as a result of having been moved to marital court. But, in previous revelations, Ms. Sliwa released private recordings of conversations between her ex-husband and his girlfriend, such as one in which her ex-husband brags about his sexual abilities to Katz.
Ms. Sliwa's attorney says that he believes that sending the matter to marital court, and thereby sealing it from the public record, is irresponsible and not right. He says that they are still considering appealing the ruling because the public has the "right to know what's going on" with public officials.
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