Jane Spies of the
National Family Justice
Association caught Maze
in an interesting contradiction.
In the column Maze says
the woman referred to above
whom he helped was not on
his published deadbeat list.
Yet in
this interview on National
Public Radio on August 3
Maze spoke of the same woman,
and said she "saw her
name in the newspaper"
and contacted him. In other
words, Maze admits that
the woman was too poor to
pay her child support, but
he nevertheless publicly
humiliated her by publishing
her name and address.
In the article we also
criticized Maze for erroneously
listing innocent people.
For example, Maze listed
James H. Frazier as a deadbeat
who owes $57,000, but gave
out the current home address
of James R. Frazier.
James R. Frazier and his
wife Bertha have been erroneously
targeted by enforcement
officials before, and have
spent years fighting to
straighten out the error.
The agency had previously
acknowledged its mistake--and
then went and published
the erroneous information
anyway. Maze writes:
"...Leving and Sacks
are simply wrong. There
is no James R. Frazier on
the child support insert.
Since the list's publication,
we are pursuing him. WAVE
3 was given this information
but chose not to mention
it in the story the authors
viewed."
So Maze says that even
though they put James R.
Frazier's address on their
list next to the name James
H. Frazier, there's no harm
done because they listed
James H. Frazier, not James
R. Frazier. A hell of a
defense--as if anybody cares
what the middle initials
are once the first and last
names are identical and
match the man's home address.
Even more remarkably, Maze
apparently still has not
corrected the error. As
of 10/1/05
Maze's 1,000 "deadbeats"
list still lists James H.
Frazier as a deadbeat--at
4212 Grand Avenue, James
R. Frazier's address!
Our column was based on
this news report from
WAVE3 TV in Louisville,
Kentucky. Maze does have
one point--the paragraph
in our article discussing
this case was a little confusing
(my fault, not Jeff Leving's),
and I have changed it to
make it more clear.
Maze brags that his program
has been a success, saying
that it "has resulted
in 434 payments of $48,717.85."
In other words, the rich,
high living playboy deadbeats
he tracked down coughed
up a whopping $112 per payment.
Maze also criticizes us
for "confusing custody
and child-support issues,"
noting that "the child
support obligation is separate
from questions of custody
and visitation." Of
course we're aware of this
and never asserted otherwise.
We instead pointed out that
because visitation orders
are poorly enforced, fathers
often have to struggle to
see their children and this
has an effect on child support.
If you have an opinion
about Maze's column you
can write a Letter to the
Editor by
clicking here.
Child Support Agency Harasses
Grieving Father
Nothing that child support
enforcement agencies do ever
surprises me anymore but
Jane Spies of the
National Family Justice Association
has found a new one. Robert
Levine, a New York truck driver,
lost his 14 year-old son to
a sudden illness in April.
Despite this, NYC child support
enforcement froze his bank
accounts and tried to seize
his driver's license (and
destroy his livelihood) in
an effort to get him to pay
child support for his dead
son.
Just like James R. Frazier,
Levine fought it and, even
though he also got a letter
saying that it had all been
straightened out, the child
support bureaucracy still
pursued him. Read the story
and see the video
here.
The case is now apparently
resolved after WABC investigative
reporter Tappy Philips publicized
the injustice. To send WABC
and Ms. Phillips a note of
appreciation,
click here.
When in Trouble, Blame a
Man
Army Pfc. Lynndie England
has been sentenced to three
years behind bars for her
role in detainee abuse at
Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
England claimed she participated
in the abuse only because
she was trying to please
her soldier-boyfriend.
I've written before about
the "blame a man"
strategy frequently employed
by women who are trying
to escape justice. An excellent
example was Colorado forest
ranger-turned-arsonist Terry
Barton. To learn more, see
my column
Colorado Arsonist Terry
Barton's Smart Strategy:
When in Trouble, Blame a
Man (Cybercast News
Service, 7/3/02).
Male Firefighters Save Los
Angeles
Over the past week parts
of Los Angeles have been
surrounded and assaulted
by raging fires. My house
has been covered in ash
and surrounded by smoke,
and for a while it looked
as if we would be forced
to evacuate. It is only
the heroic work of firemen
which has prevented the
fire from destroying much
of the Valley.
In the media men are constantly
depicted as lazy or irresponsible
and it's always the poor,
downtrodden ladies who have
to hold things together.
However, whenever there's
a natural disaster or even
a planned attack like 9/11
it becomes quite obvious
that our society is largely
held together by the men
of the working class--the
men who do the most demanding
and most dangerous jobs.
It's not just firemen but
also construction workers
and tradesmen, paramedics,
heavy equipment operators,
lumberjacks, rescue workers,
Hazmat teams, sailors, longshoremen,
police, pilots, and others.
As some of you know, I've
worked as a carpenter and
a construction worker, and
some of my columns discuss
the hazards that working
class men often face and
the sacrifices that they
make. Men comprise 95% of
all work-related deaths
and disabling injuries in
the US and I've laws been
amazed at just how little
recognition society generally
affords them.
To learn more, see my columns
Hate My Father? No
Ma'am! (World Net Daily,
4/8/02) and
The Price of Fatherhood--a
Father's Reply to Ann Crittenden's
'Mothers' Manifesto'
(Los Angeles Daily Journal,
San Francisco Daily Journal,
1/10/02), as well as my
co-authored column
Indiana Woman's 'Housework
Strike': Maybe It's Husbands
Who Should Strike (Gary
Post-Tribune, 11/8/02).
Jeff Leving, Taron James
Quoted on Paternity Fraud
in the New York Times Magazine
Family law attorney Jeff
Leving, my frequent co-author
on fathers' issues, is quoted
extensively in the New York
Times Magazine piece
Painless Paternity Tests,
but the Truth May Hurt
(10/2/05). Also quoted is
Taron James, founder of
Veterans Fighting Paternity
Fraud.
Jeff and I wrote a column
about this case a couple
years ago--see
Defrauded Veterans Have
Mixed Emotions on Veterans
Day (Daily Breeze [Los
Angeles], 11/11/03). Over
the summer
His Side was filmed
and I was interviewed for
a recent Fox special about
James and his case. To watch,
click here.
The New York Times piece
also discusses the Amber
Frey paternity fraud case
which I wrote about in last
week's enewsletter.
Amber Frey Commits Paternity
Fraud, Gloria Allred Makes
Excuses
During the Scott Peterson
murder trial, Amber Frey
was called the conscience
of the courtroom, an angel
who helped bring a despicable
murderer to justice. But
for Anthony Flores, she's
a liar who assassinated
his character, emotionally
abused him, and damaged
his career.
According to the New York
Daily News article
Man Amber hit for child
support told he's not daddy
after all (9/20/05):
"More than four years
after Frey swore that a
29-year-old Fresno, Calif.,
man fathered her first child,
and she nailed him for child
support, a DNA test says
it isn't so.
"Hairstylist Anthony
Flores is off the hook for
[child support]...after
a genetic test showed a
local nightclub owner is
actually the 4-year-old
girl's daddy.
"'Amber Frey belongs
on one of those Maury Povich
Who's my baby's daddy? shows,'
Flores' lawyer Glenn Wilson
said yesterday. Flores said
he feels 'foolish' and 'betrayed.'"
"'She was very convincing
when she told me I was the
only person who could be
the father. ... I want an
apology.'"
"Court Commissioner
Nancy Staggs ordered the
county to stop collecting
support from Flores...Frey
took Flores to court for
support and when he fell
behind at times, the state
took away his driver's license.
Frey also called him 'a
deadbeat dad' in interviews.
"Flores, who still
calls the child 'my daughter,'
fought for visitation with
the child. When Frey refused,
Wilson says he notified
the court he planned to
seek a paternity test.
"Anthony is hurt and
stunned by this," Wilson
says. "He still refers
to the child as 'my daughter.'
And his mother thought she
had a grandchild. They were
lied to."
Flores was publicly humiliated,
had his driver's license
seized, was forced to pay
child support, and was also
denied a role in the life
of "his" daughter
by Frey. What will Frey's
punishment be for her perjury,
emotional abuse, and use
of the state against an
innocent man? Nothing, of
course. As I've said before,
in family law punishments
and court orders are for
men--women need not be concerned
with them.
However, there is the possibility
for a happy ending here.
Frey has made a bundle off
of her bestselling book
Witness: For the Prosecution
of Scott Peterson. I
hope Flores sues her for
defamation and intentional
infliction of emotional
distress and Amber is forced
to write him a big, fat
check.
It should be noted that
had this case occurred a
couple years ago, Flores
would not have been able
to successfully fight Frey,
and would have been on the
hook for 18 years of child
support for a child who
is not his. A decade long
struggle by California activists
resulted in two big wins
for paternity fraud victims
last year--AB
252 and the
Navarro decision.
Among those deserving credit
for this are the
California Alliance for
Families and Children,
the
American Coalition for Fathers
and Children, the
National Coalition of Free
Men Los Angeles,
Veterans Fighting Paternity
Fraud, paternity fraud
victim/crusaders Bert Riddick
and Carnell Smith, former
Assemblyman Rod Wright and
his chief of staff San Diorio,
and countless others. To
learn more about paternity
fraud, see my column
Paternity Fraud Victims
Need Justice (Los Angeles
Daily News, 3/15/02), and
my co-authored columns
Preserving Paternity Fraud
(Orange County Register,
10/3/02) and
Defrauded Veterans Have
Mixed Emotions on Veterans
Day (Daily Breeze [Los
Angeles], 11/11/03).
Gloria Allred: Some Trains
Are Never Late
Not surprisingly, feminist
attorney Gloria Allred,
Frey's lawyer, defended
Frey's behavior and returned
the blame to the child's
(non) father. She said:
"Only after the results
of a recent DNA test taken
by the true biological father
did Amber realize that Mr.
Flores was not the father
of her child. To the best
of Amber's knowledge, Mr.
Flores did not [take a test]
and... he needs to take
responsibility for his failure
to do so."
In other words, Frey is
not responsible for lying
and claiming that Flores
was the father, or not at
least acknowledging that
Flores might not be the
father. However, Flores
is at fault for (allegedly)
not taking a DNA test fast
enough to suit poor Amber.
I'll say one thing for Allred--she's
consistent. Whenever there's
a problem, she always blames
the man. Some trains are
never late...
To hear Gloria's appearances
on His Side, see
Gloria Allred vs. LaMusga's
Attorney on Move-Aways
(5/16/04) and
Is Parental Alienation Syndrome
a Fathers' Rights Hoax?
(6/27/04).
The Peterson Trial and the
'Fatal Fathers' Myth
I had little
interest in the Scott Peterson
trial, etc. except to fight
the anti-male "Fatal
Fathers" mythology
surrounding it. To learn
more, see my columns
'Fatal Fathers' Myth Promoted
in Wake of Peterson, Hacking
Cases (Daily Breeze
[Los Angeles], 9/17/04)
and
New Report on Maternal Homicide
Crisis: Myth-Making and
Manbashing (Lexington
Herald-Leader, 1/3/05).
A Special Father & Son
Reunion
Clarence Stovall, a reader
in Wylie, Texas, read my
column
Are Boys Really Better off
Without Fathers? (San
Francisco Chronicle, 8/31/05,
Seattle Post Intelligencer,
9/6/05) and wrote:
"Not that the importance
of a father needs validation,
but I wish the 'Maverick
Mother' author could see
this father and son reunion."
The reunion between 12
year-old Arnold and his
father occurs about 5:30
into the tape--click
here and wait for it,
it's worth it. I have a
son that age and if you
can watch it with dry eyes
you're better than I am.
Also see
Dramatic Video: Young Katrina
survivor reunited with his
Dad.
The dad had helped his
son and his mother get to
higher ground so they could
survive the flood and get
out of New Orleans. Arnold
and his grandmother were
unsure whether the father
survived because he was
one of the last to leave
the city. The reunion in
the video occurred soon
after the boy and grandma
learned that dad was still
alive.
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
GlennSacks.com
HisSide.com
