Footnotes to Framed in Monte Carlo

My footnotes to Framed in Monte Carlo. 

Ted Maher: 

· he was a young man who needed the Army to pay for college 

· he had been a medic in the Special Forces, and after the Army decided to return to school to become a nurse
· he was a: green-beret, police officer, casino worker, personal nurse

· he was described as a desperate, possibly unstable, employee 

· nothing in Maher's files showed the slightest trace of mental instability 

· a neighbour describes him as "a miserable bastard" (in relation to a property dispute that turned violent) 

· Maher's first wife Marla, who divorced him in 1991, alleging spousal abuse and drug use, told friends he had threatened to kill her and liked to play Russian roulette. 

· Ted Maher had a yen for the finer things in life 

· Prosecutors would describe Maher as psychologically fragile and under the influence of sedatives at the time of the fire 

· he was only employed for less than 6 months and spent less than 6 weeks in Monaco 

· he was accused of being a heavy user of sedatives 

Edmond Safra: 

· known as a ruthless businessman; but he was also a shy man who shunned publicity, and a generous philanthropist 

· obsession with secrecy, combined with professional jealousy among some competitors 

· a dozen bodyguards, many of them former Israeli commandos 

· stories that his banks were mixed up in gun-running and laundering drug money 

· recently been cooperating with an FBI investigation into Russian gangsters’ use of banks to launder their assets raised the possibility of a Mob hit 

· Safra was paranoid, obsessed with his own security 

What Happened: 

· Ted was attacked by two mystery intruders 

· Nurse Vivian Torrente and Safra locked themselves in secure room where they died from asphyxiation 

· nearly three hours had elapsed between when Ted, wounded and bleeding, made it down to the bank lobby and police were called to when Safra and the nurse were found dead in the locked bathroom 

· roster was changed at the last minute both nurses were not originally scheduled to work that night
· ten days prior staff began to notices "changes" in security details and procedures; Safra's will was changed; staff on edge

· no security detail rostered that night – security chief later arrived on scene much later and was handcuffed by police how prevented him from going to the aid of his employer 

· police and firefighters, fearing terrorists or assassins, stood outside the apartment for more than 90 minutes as flames spread and Safra, along with the nurse on duty, Vivian Torrente, suffocated 

· Ted claimed Lily Safra left one of the secure windows open, was responsible for rosters and security (staff and surveillence)

Theories: 

· Safra’s death was an assassination attempt, possibly involving the Russian mafia, the Palestine Liberation Organization, drug cartels and other money launderers, Mossad-trained bodyguards and scheming relatives 

· Monaco police later discovered a second fire that night in the basement of Safra’s building, but nobody was been charged for lighting that fire 

· videotapes of the intruders are missing, and the police are missing records of 911 calls made from the penthouse 

· DNA evidence reputedly excluded Maher from the crime scene 

· the fire report shows the fire started after Maher was taken to the hospital for over 100 staples to his stomach and internal bleeding 

· the nurse Vivian Torrente had Safra's blood on her head, her bra and her panties; her DNA was under his fingernails, his DNA was under her fingernails and she had bruises on her knees; obvious signs of an altercation 

· another attorney watching the trial thinks the case was rigged in order to downplay something else tragic he believes happened that night: that Edmond Safra -- terrified and paranoid -- forced his nurse to die with him 

Motives: 

Why exactly Maher would set the fire remained unclear. He was not known to bear a grudge against Safra, and robbery and any financial motive for the killing were ruled out. Monaco police were mystified as to how two intruders could have got past a battery of security cameras and alarms, and video surveillance cameras showed there were no intruders. Theory was that Ted Maher had done the whole thing himself.  

· Just six weeks after arriving in Monaco, he hatched the idea to ingratiate himself with his boss and earn a promotion / win his boss’ gratitude / to win favour / impress his boss. The plan was done because he was afraid of losing his dream job and wanted to curry favor by staging false heroics. 

· Prosecutor claimed that Ted had "dark ideas" that propelled him into a bizarre charade. He deliberately started the fire, attacked himself with a knife (wounds were superficial and self-inflicted) to give credibility to his fabricated the story about the intruders in an effort to ingratiate himself with his ailing employer and to look like a hero and save the day. Maher’s lawyer Blot says “He adored his boss and simply wanted to send him a signal and get his attention." 

· Maher felt the chief nurse – Sonia - belittled him at work, never accepted his ideas, and that she frustrated his attempts at a closer relationship with Safra that he, Ted, felt he merited because he was doing such a good job. He wanted more authority, and had grown to resent his supervisor and was jealous. He staged the whole thing to attract attention to himself and emerge a hero and as a result he would be given more authority and promoted at Sonia's expense. There was never any intention to threaten Mr Safra's life. 

· Maher admitted that he gave Edmond Safra and Torrente his cellphone and told them to hide from masked intruders who attacked him; he then lit a fire in a wastebasket and rushed to the ground floor to alert the night watchman and call the police. But the blaze got out of hand, and firemen were unable to persuade the terrified Safra to open the door. 

· Fearing the loss of his well-paid job, just six weeks after arriving in Monaco, Maher hatched the idea of setting the fire to ingratiate himself with his boss and earn a promotion. The prosecution described how Maher cut himself with a knife and then set a fire in a wastepaper basket. He called for rescue and told authorities that two masked intruders were in the apartment. But rather than extinguish the fire, Maher let it spread, the prosecution charged, leading to the two deaths. Prosecutors also said that his tale about intruders delayed the work of firefighters. 

Afterword: 

· during his trial Ted’s own lawyers admitted he'd faked the attack and started the fire 

· he claimed that he was the victim of bad legal advice and went along with the story because his defense attorneys assured him that he'd get little jail time if he appeared cooperative but that the entire case against him was a sham designed to protect the state of Monaco 

· a secret meeting where the prosecutor and one of Ted’s very own Monaco attorneys agreed in advance to fix the verdict and sentence 

· he walked police through his actions, recreating the crime inside the burned out penthouse. 

· Ted himself called the entire affair “very stupid” and a "terrible accident" and a “tragedy of errors” 

· Ted’s wife says this confession (written only in French which he could not read) was coerced (with his family being threatened); Maher has never retracted it 

· Ted claims that he was being followed and a threatening episode (kidnapping) of himself by masked offenders took place two days before the attack 

· Ted had no reason for false heroics; he'd just been put on permanent staff, his well-paying job was secure and he was working for a man he admired 

· Ted frequently changed his story which affected his credibility