When First We Practice To Deceive

"Thank you, Mr. Cohen. As you said I was retained to provide authentication and appraisal services for the photographs purported to have been made by Mr. Carlos Signore. I have examined all three of the photographs and my finding is that they are all original Signore works signed and dated by the photographer himself. I have consulted with two other experts and we place the appraised value of each photograph at $800,000 or at $3.2 million as the series. I have all three certified appraisals here in this envelope. Although, the notoriety associated with the series after this morning will, I am sure drive the price even higher if the owner wishes to place the collection on the market." Mr. Rockmanski then presented the envelope to Mr. Price.

Mr. Cohen thanked Mr. Rockmanski and turned to the next gentleman waiting in the line. "This next gentleman is Mr. Fredric Bartholomew, Esq. Mr. Bartholomew is on counsel with the law firm of Doyle and Sons, here in Manhattan. Mr. Bartholomew."

"Thank you, Mr. Cohen. I was retained to ascertain the legal status of the title to these three photographs. After examination of the title transfer, signed by the photographer Carlos Signore himself, and in consultation with the law firm of Grissom and Grissom of Montreal Canada, executors of Mr. Signore's estate. I can say without hesitation that Mrs. Jennifer Price is the legal heir to these photographs and by and through her marriage to Mr. Joseph Price, Mr. Price is equal owner by community property."

Kevin was looking a little at a loss by all the mumbo-jumbo but was still working the camera. "So, Mr. Cohen," he asked.

"Yes, Kevin. Sorry for the build up here but I wanted to get all the ground work out of the way upfront. So, without further ado, will everyone turn their attention to the three easels.

This first photograph is titled "Bride". It is a sepia print of Jennifer Price on the day of her wedding to then LT(jg) Joseph Price USN."

There were appreciative awws and oooohs from the audience as the overhead monitors showed a close-up of the photograph.

"The second photograph is also of Jennifer Price along with her two children; her son, Robert Price and her daughter, Isabel. It is titled "Mother". It is staged in Mr. and Mrs. Price's bedroom and was taken when Isabel was approximately five months old, a time when Mr. Price was deployed serving his country."

Again, the audience responded appropriately to the emotions brought up by the touching scene.

"The third and final photograph is titled "Lover." Here the on-screen representation was pixelated and unfocused so as to not violate the early morning censorship regulations. "Here we again see Mrs. Joseph Price, Jennifer, as a woman tempting her lover, Mr. Carlos Signore back to her boudoir. Utilizing photographic analysis techniques usually reserved for military intelligence purposes, we have determined this photograph was again staged in Mr. and Mrs. Price's bedroom and that it was taken within a few days after the previous photograph."

"As a side note, Kevin, Mr. Signore is also the biological father of Isabel Price. Further the affair between Mr. Signore and Mrs. Price started while then LT Price was in the Navy and in fact Isabel was conceived during the time he was preparing to deploy for combat in Bosnia. Mrs. Price passed the child off as Mr. Price's, with the full knowledge of herself and Mr. Signore that Mr. Signore was the true father."

All hell was breaking loose in the studio. The floor manager was trying to get the cameras to follow what was unfolding on the set. This was better than Springer! The folks in the tower were trying to get to the Program Manager but he was not answering his phone. They had sent a flunky down to the stage to physically get the Program Manager on the phone but the messenger had disappeared as well. The only ones who seemed at all calm were Mr. Price and his entourage.

Cohen continued, "Kevin, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Jenkins, also of the law firm of Doyal and Sons."

Kevin was by this time totally at a loss as to what was happening so he numbly shook the pro-offered hand and stood zombie like as Mr. Jenkins took stage front and center.

Mr. Jenkins began to speak, "It is my unfortunate duty to inform your audience that at this time divorce papers are being served on Mrs. Jennifer Price as well as arrest warrants for Mrs. Price, Mrs. Morgana Signore and others for violation of the Mann Act and 18 U.S.C. § 2251 Sexual Exploitation of Children, 18 U.S.C. § 2252- Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors (Possession, distribution and receipt of child pornography), and 18 U.S.C. § 2260- Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States, the anti-Child Pornography laws, all Federal felonies."

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Jennifer and Morgana sat and watched in horror as events unfolded on the television. Jennifer was crying. Instead of a happy piece about the Met showing, her husband had just destroyed her world. Why was her husband on TV with her photographs? Why was that man saying vile things about Carlos?

Morgana was hugging Jennifer trying to offer what support she could. She did not understand why Joseph would be doing something as hurtful as exposing the loving relationship between Jennifer, herself and Carlos as if it was something dirty.

Suddenly, there was pounding on both the front and back doors along with people shouting, "Police", "ICE", "Open the door!" Jennifer and Morgan's guests came stumbling down the stars, pulling robes and bedclothes around themselves wondering what was going on. Izzy ran to her mother, who took her into her arms, just as the front door smashed open and fell to the floor. Suddenly men in black, waving guns and carrying shields came pouring in through the wrecked door. The back door crashed open and more men in black came streaming in. People were screaming and crying and the men were pushing people to the floor while yelling, "Down. Down. Get down on the floor." Within minutes all of her family and friends were handcuffed and being hustled out into the street where they were herded into waiting vans. A man in a dark suit walked up to Jennifer and asked if she were Jennifer Price. When she said yes, he handed her a large manila envelope and said, "Mrs. Price, you are served," and then he walked away.

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Jennifer was terrified, her whole world had fallen apart. She was in jail and did not know why. She clutched the envelope the man had pushed into her hands without understanding what it meant or why things were happening.

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"Mrs. Price, my name is Francis Kelly and I am the Assistant US Attorney for Eastern New York. I need to ask you a few questions. Is it alright with you if I record our conversation?"

Jennifer nodded her head, yes.

"Mrs. Price, I need for you to answer me verbally, is it OK for me to record our conversation?"

"Yes," she cleared her throat, "yes, it is OK."

"Good. Now Mrs. Price, I am going to read you your Miranda Rights...

"Do you understand what I told you and do you wish an attorney present before I ask my questions."

"No, I don't understand. Why is this happening? Why am I here?" replied Jennifer.

"Mrs. Price, please. I know this is all very traumatic but I really do need to ask you these few questions," he said as he signaled to the mirror behind him to bring in a glass of water for the suspect.

"Mrs. Price, did you every take your children to the home of Carlos and Morgana Signore in Terrebonne, Canada?"

"Yes, of course. Carlos and Morgana are my friends," said Jen.

"And did you ever have reason to celebrate holidays and family events while you were at the Signores'?"

"Yes, what does this have to do with anything?"

"Did you present to your children, Robert and Isabel, that Morgana and Carlos Signore along with their extended family were THEIR family? That your relationship with Carlos Signore was the same as the one you had with Mr. Joseph Price, then your husband?"

"I don't know. Not is so many words. We were a family. We went there for Christmas and birthdays. Robert played with the other children. They were his cousins and all the adults were his aunts and uncles."

"Mrs. Price, in all those times you visited the Signores did you explain to your children that Carlos was Isabel's father? Did you ever engage in sexual relations with either or both Morgana and Carlos Signore?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I think it was just that there Carlos was more than "Uncle Carlos". When Izzy was with Carlos you could see they were father and daughter. We never made a secret of it. Of course, we had "relations" while I was visiting. Carlos` and his family were very accepting of my status as his mistress. They accepted Izzy as one of their family. Carlos` and I always found time to make love. And of course Morgana was included. We were very much in love and that is what people in love do.

"Why are you asking me these questions? Why am I here?"

"Mrs. Price, the reason for these questions is simply to read into the record that you did on more than one occasion, transport your then minor children across an international border for the purposes of you engaging in an adulterous affair. Further you included these minor children in the deceit and cover-up of this affair from your husband Joseph Price. That you presented to them as "normal" this lifestyle you were maintaining which caused these minor children immeasurable emotional harm and exposed them to potential physical harm."

"Physical harm, what are you talking about? They were never exposed to harm!"

"Mrs. Price. You took them to a foreign country under the cover of secrecy, without passports or any form of identification. You placed yourself and them in the hands of people who you admit were actively participating in hiding your adulterous activities from you husband. What do you suppose would have happened to them if you were injured or killed while outside of the United States? Would these same people contact your husband and return the children? Would they have simply raised the children without contacting your husband or would they have found it more expedient to simply have the children disappear? No one knew where they were so the latter would be very easy to do?"

Jennifer was aghast at what Kelly was saying. Carlos and Morgana would never hurt Robert and Izzy. She had standing as Carlos' mistress; an accepted part of his family. Morgana and she were lovers both with and without Carlos. She KNEW that Carlos and Morgana saw themselves as parents to both Izzy and Robert, even if Robert was not a blood relation to Carlos, as much as she and Joseph were. This was insane.

"Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear any more. I want a lawyer. I need to talk to a lawyer."

"Ok Mrs. Price, you will be allowed to contact an attorney of your choosing or one will be appointed for you." He looked up at the ceiling and said, "Recording ended this date at 14:24 hours."

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"Mrs. Price, I am John Greymore, with Craigmore and Associates. I have been appointed as your attorney. Rest assured that I am going to give you the best defense possible. It seems someone wanted to make sure you were not left with the normal Public Defender and agreed to pay my firm's bill and pulled some strings to have my bosses assign me to work for you. Now can you tell me your story...?"

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"Mr. Greymore, Mrs. Price, please be seated." He looked at the ceiling and said, Interrogation of Mrs. Jennifer Price, continuation this date 09:30.

"Mr. Greymore, your client is being charged with multiple crimes. Under the Mann Act, she is being charge with engaging in the interstate and foreign commerce transport of any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose. I believe the lifestyle she and the Signores maintained and the obvious emotional trauma to both Isabel and Robert meet the requirements under this statute. Under the anti-child pornography laws, she is being charged with the production and distribution of child pornography, to whit the photographing of her daughter Isabel by Carlos Signore in nude and/or sexually suggestive situations. It is only because we do not have proof of any actual sexual assault that we are not filing higher criminal charges."

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The rest of the Signore family were eventually sorted out with most of the extended family being sent back to Canada with notices that they should not try to re-enter the United States for a few years. Morgana was also charged under the Mann act and the anti-child pornography laws. She was tried immediately after Jennifer.

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Jennifer's criminal trial was held in the Federal District Court in Albany. Francis Kelly worked diligently and methodically laying out the basis for the charges against Jennifer. It was pretty straight forward as the photographs, the legal documents transferring title to the photographs and the logs from the Customs and Immigration Station that Jennifer had used to leave and enter the country were all unimpeachable.

The parade of witnesses and experts wound its way through the court.

The trial had gone on for weeks. Jennifer tried to explain that she loved both Joseph and Carlos and that nothing bad or immoral had occurred. Her defense team tried to introduce the "normalcy" of the "honored mistress" position in the European culture. It did not play well with the jury as they could be seen shifting uncomfortably in the chairs as the testimony wore on.

Robert and Izzy had to testify regarding the circumstances of the many visits to the Signores' home in Terrebonne their mother took them to and also the Signores' visits to their home outside Saratoga. They explained the time that Carlos had actually lived in the home as a father to them and a husband to their mother when Joseph had been deployed at sea. Robert told of the estrangement from his real father, Joe, and the disgust he had held him in until recently. Izzy supported her mother's version that everything was right and normal in the Jennifer/Carlos/Morgana triad. She explained how as she grew up, her mother told her the truth about Carlos being her biological father and how this knowledge must be kept from Joe. Under cross examination by her mother's lawyer she was able to reinforce her mother's views on the sophisticated, elegant life of the cultural elites and how she, Izzy, now saw this life view as normal. However, under redirect, as the US Attorney forced her to answer exacting and specific questions about had she ever seen Carlos and her mother together sexually and did any of the family friends touch her or make overtures towards her, she began to crumble on the stand. When pressed regarding the sexually explicit photographs taken when she was a preteen the US Attorney had to bring the redirect to a halt as Izzy was reduced to a less than coherent mess. She tried to describe the sexualization she was forced into at an early age as again being normal in the context of the elite group her mother ran with but it was a losing battle. The more she protested that it was normal and common place, the more the US Attorney pressed her; was this how her friends at school lived, did she want this for any children she may have in the future, did she support child sex trafficking and prostitution? It forced Izzy to think on questions she had compartmentalized in her mind for years. It was not pretty.

Joe sat through all the days of the trial, stoically wondering what had happened to the woman he had married. Was it something he had done or not done or was it something inherent to Jennifer. He knew he did not fit in with nor understand the thinking of Jennifer's "Artsy Fartsy" set, but he had not realized just how far apart they were from what he considered normal.

William and Mary Bedford sat with Joe through most of the trial but in the end forced him to come back to their home in Pennsylvania before the trial's conclusion. They supported him on the bad days and celebrated with him on the good days. They gave Joe a place to meet with his estranged son and gave them both space so as to allow the healing to begin.

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The separation and child custody hearing was anticlimactic after the criminal trial.

Things were getting heated and tempers were flaring.

Part of the debate was who was going to support Izzy if Jennifer was serving time in Federal Prison. Jennifer took the position that without the income from her portrait commissions and gallery, Joe would not be able to keep up payments on the house and with Joe needing to work, Izzy would have no one watching out for her. Jennifer and Morgana wanted Morgana's sister to move down into the Price's home and live as Izzy's foster mother with Joe paying child support and living elsewhere. Joe wanted full custody of Izzy and possession of his home.

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It was another long day in the continuing fight. If the extended Signore family had not been so infuriated at their rough handling that they were funding Jennifer's legal bills it would have been over quickly. With their financial backing, Jennifer was able to fight the long fight.

"Your honor. If it would please the court," came a voice from the gallery, "I would like to file an amicus curiae brief which I believe will be of interest to the court."

Mr. Bartholomew was standing and at a wave from the Judge, walked down the center aisle and approached the bench.

"Will both Counsels approach the bench," said the Judge as he indicated to his court recorder to accept the large brief Mr. Bartholomew was carrying.

"Sir, please explain yourself to the court and to counsels."

"Thank you, your honor. I have here documents and depositions which support the following facts: one, that Isabel Price is the biological daughter of Carlos Signore and Jennifer Price, two, that Mr. Signore and Mrs. Price openly lived together and presented themselves as a couple in both New York State and the country of Canada, thus establishing a common-law marriage and three that at no time was Joseph Price aware of nor at any time did Mr. Price consent to the adulterous activities of Jennifer Price, his wife. It is my belief and the basis for the amicus, however, that through the common law marriage between Jennifer Price and Carlos Signore' a nexus is established that Mr. Price is a legal guardian to Isabel Price and entitles Mr. Price to half of Carlos Signore's estate through his legal marriage to Jennifer Price. This eliminates any question of Mr. Price needing to pay child support. Also, Mr. Joseph Price's share of Carlos Signore's estate will support Mr. Price and Isabel Price in their family home and allow Mr. Price to hire a house keeper acceptable to Child Protective Services. It will after all be only for twenty months before Isabel is a legal adult."

More than a bit of commotion followed his statement.

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The separation documents were finally accepted and Joe was awarded full custody of Isabel. He fully supported her struggles to regain a normal life. VADM Cohen arranged for Izzy to enter a very special and exclusive program originally set up for the survivors of the sex trafficking trade and followed that up by arranging for private therapy for years afterwards. Joe was aware of the activity but was never told the true cost of the programs nor what arrangements had to be made for Izzy to get in; he knew his old boss had pulled some strings to help Izzy but never realized the size and capability of the network that gave him support.

The addition of the value of the photographs to their joint holdings completely unbalanced everything. Joe gave Jennifer the photographs and kept all other community property, including the house, furnishings and cars. As she was in prison at the time, Joe had all of her personal belongings along with the photographs, placed into secure storage. Joe was awarded several hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Signore' estate, mostly just to get rid of him.