9/11 widow hoping for Supreme Court review

Backers trying to raise ‘$11K by 9/11’

Embattled widow Ellen Mariani wants to tell the U.S. Supreme Court that the $3.75 million settlement of her late husband’s 9/11 claims was tainted, and she has authorized a legal defense fund to allow her to carry on her decade-long fight, announced Mariani backers August 30 from Massachusetts.

Mariani was the first person to sue airlines and airports for a 9/11 death—in Chicago federal court in early 2002. She was also one of the earliest family members to speak publicly about her doubts about the official 9/11 story. None of the remains of her husband Louis Neil Mariani, booked as a passenger on United Air Lines Flight 175, were ever returned to her. According to the official 9/11 story, Arab hijackers flew her husband’s plane into the South 2 Tower of the World Trade Center after slipping past airport security with box cutters—but Mariani doesn’t buy it.

At one time Mariani was persuaded to sue George W. Bush and other government officials for complicity in the events of 9/11, but that case was promptly dismissed.

What remained to her—at least until late June 2012—was the chance to get evidence and accountability inside the official 9/11 wrongful death litigation that was assigned by Congress to a single federal court, the Southern District of New York and a single judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein. No claim in that case ever reached trial, and Mariani’s was the last to be paid.

Judge Hellerstein has presided over hundreds of cases involving 9/11 victims in Manhattan, which all have resulted in settlements for undisclosed amounts. Hellerstein took an active role in urging settlement, stating at one point, “Money is the universal lubricant.”

Meanwhile, Mariani and her attorney, Bruce Leichty, have been repeatedly rebuffed by Hellerstein, say Mariani’s backers, and have now been rebuked by a two-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. They were “ordered to show cause” why they should not pay money sanctions to their adversaries after they submitted extensive documentation of Hellerstein’s connections with three key defendants in the 9/11 litigation, Boeing Corporation and security companies ICTS and its U.S. subsidiary Huntleigh. In an April 2012 motion, submitted on the eve of appellate argument, Mariani showed that Hellerstein’s son Joseph, a lawyer in Israel, had client relationships with affiliates and joint ventures of these same three defendants.

That was on top of her earlier showing to Hellerstein that the plaintiff who took over her New York federal court claims in 2004, John Ransmeier, was then representing United Air Lines at the same time he was purporting to settle the Mariani 9/11 claims with United and Huntleigh and their insurers, notes James Phillips, a retired attorney and ex-Marine Corps officer. Phillips is a long-time 9/11 truth advocate who is not involved in the case.

“These filings were controversial but quite relevant and well-presented,” said Phillips. “One of Ellen’s main interests has been about getting beyond the stage-managing of the 9/11 proceedings, about getting behind the superficial appearance that the 9/11 legal process is working in the public interest, but that’s obviously not possible when a court is turning a blind eye to conflicts of interest.”

The Supreme Court is now her only hope for 9/11 truth, he says, but “she and her

Litigation team exhausted their resources and can’t go to the Supreme Court without help.”

Phillips says he has long been interested in the case based on his acquaintance with some of Mariani’s backers, who have followed proceedings in her probate court case in New Hampshire where the Estate of Louis Neil Mariani was opened after 9/11, and subsequently hearings in New York, where Mariani’s case was transferred from federal court in Chicago. Ellen Mariani was the first administrator of her deceased husband’s estate, but was essentially forced out in favor of a “neutral” successor based on complaints of attorneys for her stepdaughter and based on dubious counsel of prior New Hampshire counsel after Ellen began her quest for 9/11 truth.

Mariani argued in her latest filing that she should be permitted to reenter her case as an intervener based on the divided loyalties of her fiduciary, and also to challenge John Ransmeier’s settlement since it directly affected her. Her court papers reveal that she didn’t discover that John Ransmeier was not a neutral fiduciary until after a previous attempt to intervene in 2007. The papers reveal that Ransmeier was proposing to settle the case without any accountability, and without honoring her personal spousal loss claim, even though Ransmeier’s law firm had been representing United Air Lines and other interested parties without disclosure during the same time he was litigating against them and then settling with them.

Hellerstein and the 2nd Circuit both rejected Mariani’s first attempt at intervention, although the 2nd Circuit also confirmed that she could object to any settlement presented to Hellerstein; however, in June 2012 a different two-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit ruled that Mariani should have known she could no longer intervene to challenge the settlement, and threatened to impose money sanctions on her and attorney Leichty (the outcome of that threat is pending at the time of this news release).

“Bruce Leichty is a very responsible litigator and has shown great courage in taking on this case and in filing the motion regarding Hellerstein,” said Phillips. “Since another panel of this court had already rejected Ransmeier’s motion to dismiss Ellen’s appeal on the same grounds cited by these two judges, this inexcusably harsh ruling is obviously designed to intimidate. He and Ellen need our support more than ever.”

If Mariani can’t get the Supreme Court to accept a petition for review of the outcome of her claims against United Airlines, Boeing and airport security companies, says Phillips, then the possibility for accountability regarding the actual events of 9/11 through litigation is officially ended, and Mariani will be left with a potentially hollow remedy in New Hampshire probate court about fiduciary misconduct. He notes that she might also get only a fraction of the settlement money pledged by 9/11 defendant insurers, since there is a real danger that most of it could be awarded to her stepdaughter and to various lawyers for probate administrator Ransmeier who have been ruthlessly fighting her for more than five years.

A person who is affected adversely by a federal court settlement is supposed to at least have standing to seek intervention in federal court and that is particularly true where there is 5 disclosure of conflicts of interest on the part of a fiduciary, says Phillips. Yet Judge Hellerstein denied her a voice on the ground that Mariani had no basis to even ask to participate, and the 2nd Circuit in its unpublished decision upheld him, without reaching any of Mariani’s arguments about the effect of conflicts of interest or other claims of unlawful and unfair features of the settlement.

Among other things, Mariani has alleged in her latest federal court filing that:

● Probate administrator Ransmeier never intended to and was not prepared to go to trial on the claims made in the 9/11 action, and had no attorney lined up to try the case;

● Probate administrator Ransmeier failed to account to Mariani for evidence taken during the case from Boeing as to the ability of the plane manufacturer to install hardware and software on its planes that would allow remote electronic commandeering of the planes, ostensibly in the event of a hijacking;

● Ransmeier discounted Mariani’s individual claims for loss of spousal companionship and consortium, pled separate from the Estate’s claims, and failed to use any argument to maximize what he had at one time said had very significant value.

● An attorney for Ransmeier, Charles Capace, was awarded almost $800,000 by Hellerstein, despite never having formally entered an appearance for Ransmeier in Hellerstein’s court, and despite not being admitted in New York federal court.

Capace got a bigger fee award than any other 9/11 plaintiff attorney, as a reward for fighting Mariani’s intervention efforts;

● Probate Administrator Ransmeier was unlawfully authorized by Hellerstein to effect a waiver of Mariani’s own claims, different from those of the probate estate, in the context of the settlement agreement with unnamed insurers for United and Huntleigh.

● Only the New Hampshire probate court had the authority in the first place to allocate 6 of any attorney fees from the $3.75 million settlement, or to approve an offset of $25,000 to United Air Lines for money that was paid by United shortly after the 9/11 tragedy not to Ransmeier, but to Mariani.

“There is considerable irony in that latter point,” says Phillips. “Despite essentially usurping the role of the New Hampshire probate court,” he observes, “Judge Hellerstein in denying Mariani’s intervention motion stated that only the probate court could rule on whether she had bargained away all of her rights to intervene when she let a successor step into the role of probate administrator, and on whether that successor remained fit to carry out by himself the duties of a plaintiff in the federal 9/11 litigation—and this despite the fact that Rockingham County probate judge Peter Hurd in New Hampshire had already refused to decide that issue by deferring to Hellerstein’s court.

“Until the Mariani Estate settlement was presented to the court in 2010 over Ellen

Mariani’s strong objection, none of the amounts of any settlement in a 9/11 action had been publicly disclosed, and yet no major media have chosen to cover the disclosure of the size of the settlement or Mariani’s objection to it, or to comment on its size as compared to recoveries in other high profile wrongful death litigation.” Phillips says “Ransmeier and attorneys for the probate estate have brazenly stonewalled Mariani in her attempts to find out how much of the settlement

they intend to take for themselves,” but Phillips believes it will be massive, unless the tide can be turned by the Supreme Court.

“This case involves the biggest terrorist event in the nation’s history, without any trial to show what actually happened, and it is a case that raises many issues of national importance. Not just Ellen Mariani but the whole country needs to know what happened on 9/11,” says Phillips. “This is in addition to the fact that widows have a special place of protection in our legal heritage based on biblical admonition.”

With the deadline for the Supreme Court appeal looming, “Phillips stated that unless significant funds—at least $11,000 by 9/11—can be raised quickly, there can be no appeal to that court; however, any funds collected regardless of the outcome will be used to protect Mariani and defray whatever legal expenses are incurred by Mariani in protecting her remaining rights and/or legal fees and expenses already incurred.”

Added Phillips: “All of the contributions received will be for the legal expenses of Ellen Mariani who has dedicated her last decade to 9/11 truth. Not one cent will go for the administrative costs of the group which has organized the Legal Defense Fund. We are working on a volunteer basis.” A simple website has been put up at www.marianilawsuit.wordpress.com. Phillips urged that checks or money orders be sent by September 11, 2012 to:

Ellen Mariani Legal Defense Fund,
c/o Vincent Gillespie, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Box 1284,
Greenfield, MA 01302.

Christopher Bollyn who contribued to this article is an investigative reporter and has long experience with the Mariani case and its cast of characters, both here in the U.S. and abroad in Israel.

Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer and life-long resident of New York City. An EBook version of his book of poems “State Of Shock,” on 9/11 and its after effects is now available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. He has also written hundreds of articles on politics and government as Associate Editor of Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal). Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.

8 Responses to 9/11 widow hoping for Supreme Court review

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  4. Emmanuel Goldstein

    I noticed in your article about the Ellen Mariani Legal Defense Fund that she wants to present her case to the U. S. Supreme Court. Are you familiar with Dr. Judy Wood filing a federal qui tam case with the U. S. Supreme Court against the contractors who contributed to the official NIST report about the destruction of the WTC for science fraud in December of 2009? As Mr. James Bates Phillips, a retired attorney and ex-Marine Corps officer said, “This case involves the biggest terrorist event in the nation’s history, without any trial to show what actually happened, and it is a case that raises many issues of national importance. Not just Ellen Mariani but the whole country needs to know what happened on 9/11.”

    However, Mr. Phillips is not making a correct statement. Dr. Judy Wood is the only 9/11 researcher who has submitted evidence to the courts in pursuit of the truth. She didn’t present an unfounded theory. Dr. Wood presented overwhelming, conclusive, and indisputable evidence. Otherwise, the court would have sanctioned her for filing a frivolous lawsuit as April Gallop’s attorneys were in the
    U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

    Supreme Court Docket Number: (09-548)
    <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100206213611/http://origin.www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/09-548.htm"

    Sanctions Imposed on 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists
    Courthouse News Service – 10/19/11

    <a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/10/19/40755.htm"

    I agree that the whole country needs to know what happened on 9/11. If you have not done so already, please take the time to read her book.

    WHERE DID THE TOWERS GO? by Dr. Judy Wood, B.S., M.S., Ph. D., is not about a conspiracy theory or a theory at all. It is a 540 page textbook about factual evidence, empirical evidence that reveals the truth in a way that is undeniable to anyone who reads it. Dr. Wood’s textbook has not been refuted by anyone, nor can it be. Those that choose to focus on hearsay, speculation, conspiracy theories, or unqualified opinions while ignoring irrefutable factual evidence by avoiding it is what keeps a cover-up in place. Diverting the public to arguing between the two false choices of “9/11 Truthers” verses “The Official 9/11 Conspiracy Theory” while ignoring the facts is classic perception management designed to hide and obscure the evidence.

    It wasn’t poor construction, jet fuel, demolition charges of any type, missiles or planes, mini-nukes, or super-duper-micro-mini-nano-thermite that turned two quarter mile high buildings with a combined weight of over a million tons into microscopic dust particles in mid-air taking less than 10 seconds each. There were over 100 floors in each tower. Try clapping your hands 100 times in 10 seconds.

    The truth does not depend on who supports it. Truth is not a club or a matter of “opinion” or “belief”. Neither is truth a political or economic objective. Truth doesn’t have sides. The truth is singular and the truth is unifying. By reading Dr. Wood’s research and collection of evidence as compiled in her textbook the truth is known, so there is no need to “Re-investigate 9/11″. If you want unity, then seek the truth by reading her textbook. If you were assigned to do a book report, would you read the book or rely on rumors, conjecture, and uninformed opinions from other people? This isn’t about beliefs, it is about evidence.

    Now those that have read her textbook know the truth. Those covering it up should be held accountable. After all, it is the cover up that has enabled what has transpired since 9/11, not what happened on 9/11. So the cover up of 9/11 has been a far worse crime than 9/11 itself. Remember, the truth is known and is knowable. What should be done about those covering it up?

    WHERE DID THE TOWERS GO?
    Hardcover: 540 pages
    Publisher: The New Investigation (September 11, 2010)
    Language: English
    ISBN-10: 0615412564
    ISBN-13: 978-0-615-41256-6
    LCCN: 2090916516
    Images and Diagrams: over 860 full color
    Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
    Product Dimensions: 10.25 x 7.25 x 1.4 inches
    <a href="http://wheredidthetowersgo.com/buy"

  5. We’re with you, Ellen.

  6. Dear Mr. Goldstein re ne Judy Woods,
    As I have written to you when you first sent me your epistle, the following quote is exactly what I dislike about Dr. Wood, the approach to her work, and her sense of inviolable superiority, “”This case involves the biggest terrorist event in the nation’s history, without any trial to show what actually happened, and it is a case that raises many issues of national importance. Not just Ellen Mariani but the whole country needs to know what happened on 9/11.”

    Mrs. Mariani has been in the courts duking it out with the Zionist Judge Alvin Hellerstein and his cohorts for 11 years. His lawyer son Joseph lives in Israel and is involved and had client relationships with three defendants in the 9/11 litigation, Boeing Corporation and security companies ICTS and its U.S. Subsidiary Huntleigh. This is a patent conflict of interest. But this is what Mrs. Mariani has been dealing with from the get-to. Both her RICO suit indicting the entire Bush Cabal for 9/11, and her wrongful death suit for her husband were denied. Why? They were “dangers to National Security.” No, they were dangers to these criminals’ coverup. I have sat with Mrs. Mariani in the courtroom and heard Hellerstein try to persuade the victim families to take the “hush-money”, whose unconstitutional stipulation is you can’t take it and sue the government. His comment was that “Money is the universal lubricant.” So bend over and move on. Again, I was in the courtroom when a two not three member panel of appellate court justices, faced Mr. Bruce Leichty, Mrs. Mariani’s attorney, and determined later to threaten Leichty and Mariani with financial sanctions, another disgrace.

    But you see, Dr. Wood cannot see beyond the scientific Petri Dish that she turned 9/11 into, forgetting about the human circumference of that dish, the players like Larry Silverstein, who raised the WTC insurance weeks before 9/11 to $3.5 billion and who after the horror wanted to be paid twice, claiming the Towers that fell were separate events. Then there’s Victim Compensation Fund ‘Special Master’ Kenneth Feinberg who gave away $7 billion to victim families but not a cent to Mrs. Mariani. There is Louis Eisenberg who authorized the lease of the WTC complex to Silverstein at a tiny fraction of its value. There is Frank Lowy, owner of Westfield, who paid but $127 million for a 99-year lease for the retail areas in the WTC thanks to Mr. Eisenberg, who managed the New York/New Jersey POA and delivered the WTC into Zionist hands. All of these men have dual passports, dual citizenships and ties to Zionist Israel. This is not a theory, it’s a fact. And there many more names to cite. But living in her Petri Dish, Dr. Wood refuses to see the most probable cause of the Towers demise, human greed and perfidy.

    And by the way, I read all 540 pages of Dr. Woods book. I took twenty pages of notes because I was asked to write a review of the book by Eric Larson. In it, I tried to ameliorate the differences between Woods work and others, which Dr. Woods in her hermetically sealed if not paranoid vision saw as treachery and comprising her work. Yet, I had my editor cancel running my review and offered the space to Eric Larson to write his own review. It was longer than mine but not any more revelatory. In fact, it iterated the same hard-headed, steel-plated point of view that Where Did the Towers Go propounded. It made no attempt to listen to anyone else or see the circumference of traitors surrounding the 9/11 drama, responsible for Where the Towers Went.

    In fact, your rhetoric offends me: that April Gallop’s lawsuit was frivolous. It wasn’t. She expressed her experiences at the Pentagon that day truthfully and consistently. And the Kangeroo court of Judges, all cut from the same treacherous court, sanctioned her. The fix is in. And you, Mr. Goldstein, Dr. Woods, and Eric Larson are all part of the problem, not the solution of solving the reasons why the WTC went down: for money, power, and the Zionist state of Israel. And the fact that you lifted what James Bates Phillips, a retired ex-Marine Corps officer said on behalf of Mrs. Mariani proves you to be a pilferer as well. You simply added on, beyond the original end quote, your statement to slur Mariani’s purpose. Phillips also said of Mrs. Mariani’s attorney, that “Bruce Leichty is a very responsible litigator and has shown great courage in taking on this case and in filing the motion regarding Hellerstein. Since the court had already rejected Ransmeier’s motion to dismiss Ellen’s appeal on the same grounds cited by these two judges, this inexcusably harsh ruling is obviously designed to intimidate. He and Ellen need our support more than ever.”

    And America needs our support and defense from Zionists like those mentioned, particularly Silverstein, who took the maximum insurance coverage possible, including for terrorist hijacked airliners flying into the towers only 6 weeks before the attacks. Silverstein bought the $8 billion WTC at less than half the price ($3.5 billion), a bargain basement price. What’s more, the security contract at the WTC was held by another Zionist, Jules Kroll. Jerome Hauer, still another Zionist, ran Mayor Guiliani’s Office of Emergency Management. There are still more Zionist players, including “The Five Dancing Israelis, and Donald Suter’s Urban Movers. Read all about them in What Really Happened. Also, Mr. Silverstein, whose Tower 7, was never hit by an airliner, stated in a PBS TV Documentary “Rebuilding America” in 2002 that he and the NYFD decided to “pull it”, the trade words for internal demolition. He said this at 3 PM on 9/11. At slightly after 5 PM, Tower 7 went exploded down in six seconds into its footprint. And Mr. Silverstein made another $500 million on insurance for his building. It was the first building rebuilt, ten stories higher and considerably wider. I rest my case and would rather not hear from you or Dr. Woods or Dr. Larson again. The lot of you disgust me.

    Jerry Mazza,
    Associate Editor,
    http://www.intrepidreport.com.

  7. James B. Phillips

    Thank you very much Mr. Mazza for your excellent post here. You are certainly shining light on the darkness.

    As you may well know, the intrepid and preeminent 9-11 investigative journalist Christopher Bollyn has debunked the demolition of the WTC theory of Judy Woods. He has written what in my opinion are the 2 most important books on 9 -11 ever: Solving 9-11: The Deception that Changed the World, and Solving 9-11: The Original Articles. These books may be found at http://www.bollyn. com as well as http://www.amazon.com. They are well deserving of the extremely good reviews they have received.

    James B. Phillips, J.D.

  8. Well said, Jerry Mazza! In my opinion, these trolls like Emmanuel Goldstein support treason against the US.