Highly Decorated New York Police Officer Has Daughter Internationaly Abducted

A highly decorated active-duty New York police officer who, prior to becoming a law enforcement officer, was a member of the Fire Department of New York, and is desperately fighting for the safety of his internationally abducted child, who was illegally detained in Germany in 2009.

For the general public not familiar with the bizarre world of international parental child abduction - an absolute crime under federal law categorized as kidnapping, the circumstances of this father's (herein referred to as CM) ordeal sheds further spotlight on the horrors children and targeted parents face when dealing with child abduction.

Think about this:  CM is a highly decorated model citizen.  He has served his city, state, and country.  He is well-liked.  He has never done anything that will even come close to an act of abuse toward another.  He is the type of man you would want your son to grow up to be like.

And he has dedicated his life to upholding laws so that innocence can be protected.

Sadly, for CM, the laws that he upholds are not the same laws that have been used to protect him or his daughter.  And today, his young daughter who is nearing four years old, is potentially in a very dangerous place.


CM's ordeal highlights the tragedy that all parents of abduction face: laws that are not upheld, criminal acts of kidnapping that are not prosecuted, acts of contempt and perjury that are never punished, financial depletion of monies spent as a crime-victim that are never replaced, years of living like a ghost- living in purgatory while you wait in hope that you will reunite with your child - that are never replaced, pleadings with our government leaders to assist protect your kidnapped child only to have your phone calls or emails never returned, and frustration over a system that you believed in that never believed back in you to the point that you question everything.  But perhaps the most difficult part of it is the day-in day-out living in fear that something bad may have occurred to your child, and you can't do anything about it.

And bad does happen.  Outside of the severe forms of being kidnapped, which is child abuse, many abducting parents bombard the stolen child with egregious acts of parental alienation and isolation tactics in order to have the child literally sanction that parents 'taking' act.  The outcome?  The innocent child is brainwashed into thinking that the other parent is a bad person trying to hurt their present care giving parent as well as them.

But that road is much more dangerous for a child than the abuse mustered by the stealing parent.  Remember, the abductor is a fugitive.  And fugitives take unnecessary risks that put a child in jeopardy.

In the case of CM, the outlandish acts that have occurred for him and a child are so severe that it is unthinkable.  Even as I write this, I am shaking my head knowing of the horrific ordeal that has gone on.

How bad has it been?

Well, to begin, CM's former wife, who comes from a small village in what was formerly East Germany where the average income is very low, traveled with CM and their infant daughter to visit her parents.  Prior to the trip from New York, CM shipped some belongings as the couple was planning on staying in Germany for several weeks.  One of the items was a stroller.  After two weeks, CM had to return back to New York for work, while his wife and daughter were going to remain in Germany for two more weeks before coming home.  Unfortunately, that was not the plans of his wife, who had been married to CM for less than two years.

What was her plan?

To say in Germany, file false claim after false claim against CM, and in the midst of illegally detaining his daughter, seek child support and alimony in Germany and in the United States, while also seeking a large share of the material assets.

In another words, she had a winning lottery ticket, and she knew it.

Eventually, CM filed a Hague Application due to the wrongful detention of his daughter.

Now for those of you who do not know about international law, the Hague Convention is a legal treaty the U.S. and Germany are parties of that attempts to remedy international abduction cases because it attempts to determine which country has final jurisdiction of an abducted child.  However, as many chasing parents and lawyers will testify to, the courts are not objective, and subjectivity is the common rule of law that takes place.  Which leads to signatory countries being considered non-complying nations.

And Germany has consistently been considered a non-complying nation to the Hague Convention.

How bad?

Consider this: in the case of CM, the New York resident and 9-11 hero was told very matter-of-fact that if he did not consent to allowing his daughter to remain in Germany, the courts would order that he would never see her again!

Seriously?

Now you might be asking yourself how in the world could that be done?

The answer is pretty simple:  many countries who are members of the Hague Convention do not uphold the spirit or intent of the law.  In the case of CM, his daughter was born and resided in New York City. He never consented to a relocation.  He was a custodial parent.

Despite all this, the German courts strong-armed him and attempted for him to disregard the Hague Convention, and in fact, there was little the United States government could do.

How bad has it gotten?  When CM had a recent trial, his lawyers, which included a member of the I CARE Foundation's board, intended to call upon several high-ranking senior law enforcement officers who were prepared to provide key testimony on this case.  However, what did this judge do?  He not only denied counsel's right to call on the three witnesses, but limited it to one witness, and then said directly to CM, "I hate cops.  All cops are liars."

Imagine that.  CM, who has been an exemplary citizen, friend, parent, and son had his rights whisked away by a buffoon judge in a nano-second.

But things have gotten worse for CM.  In Germany, he has had an appeal filed for over 16 months in his attempt to reunite with his abducted daughter.  For 16 months, the German courts have not put the case on any calender despite the rules of international law calling for a swift remedy.

Worse, there have been independent reports filed by German officials that the child's safety may be at serious risk due to inappropriate activity that would make any adult cringe.

So what did CM do?  Nearly 2 months ago, he contacted the Department of State's Office of Children's Issues and requested an emergency welfare check for his daughter.

Well, wouldn't you know it: upon the Department of State making contact with the abducting parent, she informs the US official that she is going on a retreat into the forest for 3 weeks, and there is no Internet or cell phone service.  CM's urgent welfare check turns into a tree-hugging expedition for the kidnapper, who once again turns away justice.

Despite this, CM continues to plea for the Department of State's assistance in finding out the welfare of his daughter in lieu of ugly reports filed in the German courts about conduct taking place in the residency of where his daughter was being detained.

Despite these requests, nothing is done, and in fact limited communication has taken place.

So we decided to do something about it.  We went to Washington, D.C. and visited senior lawmakers and their aides in hope that the Department of State and our Congress will intervene, and in the very least for the moment, ensure that CM's daughter is physically safe, and a parent's worst nightmares for his daughter are not a reality.

Imagine being the person known as CM: racing into burning buildings to protect lives, standing in harms way of gun-totting drug dealers in order to protect innocence, and having a beautiful three-year old girl who is potentially at grave risk of serious injury, and there is nothing you can do and nothing your government is willing to do to assist you and your American-citizen daughter.

Welcome to the world of international parental child abduction, where nothing makes sense.

Please click on the link to learn more about international parental child abduction and the I CARE Foundation.

If you are a news reporter and are interested in learning more about CM, please contact me at peter@stopchildabduction.org

Thank you,
Peter Thomas Senese 
Author
Chasing The Cyclone

I CARE Foundation Director Peter Thomas Senese Continues Significant Financial Support To Help Protect At-Risk Children

 

Published 7:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 Los Angeles and New York
Georgia (default) Verdana Times New Roman Arial

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I CARE Foundation Director & Best-selling author Peter Thomas Senese, the author of several internationally heralded novels including 'Chasing The Cyclone', 'The Den of the Assassin', and 'Cloning Christ' has donated 100% of his e-book royalties to the I CARE Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created to help stop international child abduction. The I CARE Foundation's primary activity is focussed on conducting research in the area of international child abduction and using that research to pursue legislative inititiaves that will help protect at-risk children.  However, the organization has been extremely successful in assisting a growing number of parents either reunite with their children or protect their children from abduction.

Best-selling author Peter Thomas Senese is writing with a deep purpose: royalties generated from his critically talked about novels have and will continue to be donated to the I CARE Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable organization the writer is a director of that was created to help prevent international child abduction.

 Peter Thomas Senese's resources have been put to great use: the I CARE Foundation has been able to orchestrate the return of numerous children this past year who were internationally kidanapped.

Three international thriller E-books by best-selling author, filmmaker, and child advocate Peter Thomas Senese have been the primary financial resource of the I CARE Foundation. Fortunately, top book critics are raving about the writer's geopolitical must read, inspirational thrillers. Peter Thomas Senese's geopolitical novels include CHASING THE CYCLONE, THE DEN OF THE ASSASSIN, and CLONING CHRIST written by best-selling geopolitical thriller writer Peter Thomas Senese. All three titles are available in E-book. Chasing The Cyclone will be released in hardcover this February, while both CLONING CHRIST and THE DEN OF THE ASSASSIN are presently available in hardcover.

Commented Peter Thomas Senese, "It has been extremely pleasing to know that my writing has served a higher purpose: to help protect children.  Fortunately, I have had the means to make a difference in this fight. Additionally, it has been incredible to see, as an author, the incredible impact of Chasing The Cyclone . . . so much started from the idea of a book.  That seed has grown into the I CARE Foundation, which I am thrilled to be a part of."

Highly respected New York City based attorney Joel Walter, a board member of the I CARE Foundation commented, "It has been a very good year for the I CARE Foundation with respect to our efforts to conduct important research in the area of IPCA, undertake several important projects that will optimize technology to help assist stakeholders protect targeted children, prepare our legislative initiatives, and of course, help bring home or protect a significant number of children at risk of the horrible crime of abduction. Along the way, Peter Thomas Senese's leadership and financial support of the I CARE Foundation has been extremely generous.  His gifting comes from not only the direct donation of sales from his novels, but also directly from his own resources.  I will never forget when Peter was forced into the storms of abduction - I was there from the beginning and was the first person he turned to when we filed his own Hague Convention application- he said he would do his best to make a difference in this fight to help children.  A fight I quickly joined him on.  And so, our work continues years later in great part initially because Peter was willing to step up."

To purchase Peter's books, please visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Who Are The Top International Child Custody & Matrimonial Lawyers In New York City? Joel S. Walter of New York City Is Outstanding

The I CARE Foundation

International divorce and child custody cases are incredibly complex, particularly when their are adversarial parties litigating with one another. 

In my role as the Founding Director of the not-for-profit 'International Child Abduction Research and Enlightenment Foundation', (the 'I CARE Foundation'), I have had a ring-side seat to an enormous number of difficult and highly complex international child custody cases stemming from the nightmare of international parental child abduction. In this capacity, I have had plenty of opportunity to see some of the best and quite frankly some of the less desirable lawyers in the United States litigate these highly sophisticated cases. 

Top New York City
Matrimonial Attorney
Joel S. Walter

Clearly, New York City based attorney Joel S. Walter is in my opinion one of the best international matrimonial lawyers in the country and surely at the top of my list of international divorce and child custody attorneys practicing in New York City and the surrounding area. 

Again, my vantage point comes from my activity as a board member of the I CARE Foundation.  In all due fairness and with transparency, Joel S. Walter also sits on the I CARE Foundation's Board of Directors. 

Mr. Walter was nominated to the I CARE Foundation's Board of Directors one year ago, and was selected with good reason: he is a brilliant lawyer whose practice primarily revolves around complex federal court cases, including challenging international matrimonial disputes and cross-border child kidnapping.  In addition, Mr. Walter, outside of being a highly skilled litigator, possessed an unbowed desire to help children, particularly those who were or may be targeted for abduction.  Combining his legal skill set and desire to make a difference on behalf of others, there was one other trait that Mr. Walter has, and one I know is critical and important for parents dealing with international custody disputes: he knew and respected the law, and in that knowledge, he was able to obtain positive results for his clients. 

"Outside of being a great lawyer, Joel is brutally honest with his clients and does not act with chicanery before the courts."were the words used to describe Joel S. Walter by my good friend, the highly respected Honorable Ronald Aiello, who was the Chief Administrative Judge for New York State Supreme Court in both Kings Country and Richmond (and the inspiration for the character Judge Ronald Pitt in my novel 'The Den of the Assassin') nearly twenty years ago, when Joel and I first became friends.

The sentiment shared by Judge Aiello, who sadly passed several years ago, are sentiments felt by other judges who preside over either cases in New York State Supreme Court or the United States District Courts.   

For those of you who are not aware of the I CARE Foundation, our primary mission, as cited from our official website is as follows: 

 The International Child Abduction Research and Enlightenment Foundation mission is to participate in social and political dialogue that will assist in the prevention of children targeted for international parental child abduction or in the reunification of children who have been wrongfully abducted. At the core of our mission is our ongoing activity to conduct research in the area of international parental child abduction and use our findings to assist policymakers create and uphold laws and policies that will prevent innocent children from abduction. It is our further goal to educate government administrators and lawmakers of our research findings so that this information can assist direct initiatives and policies. We believe it is critical that judges overseeing abduction prevention or reunification cases must become more educated of the complexities that evolve around child abduction cases. It is our intent to play a role in educating the judiciary as well as officers of the court, including lawyers who practice family law. Finally, it is our mission to educate all individuals interested in protecting children from abduction, including parents who have children targeted for abduction so that they may be able to protect their children. At the core of the I CARE Foundation is our mission to help prevent children from being internationally kidnapped through research, education, and empowerment to create and uphold policies that will help children.

What makes me say that Joel S. Walter is one of the best international matrimonial lawyers in New York City and the United States, particularly when it comes to international disputes regarding children?

A Rare Event:
A child comes home

The answer may be found in realizing that Joel S. Walter has been heavily influential in reuniting a large number of internationally abducted children or preventing an even larger number of abductions.  Or maybe it is due to his ability to assist divorcing families resolve highly litigious and complex family court cases in a civil and amicable manner due to his no-nonsense, yet elder-statesmen character that is clearly backed by a great deal of knowledge. Or maybe it is because Mr. Walter is very involved in the I CARE Foundation's federal legislative initiatives concerning two initiatives that will, if passed into law, protect children from abduction or trafficking.

I am proud and honored to work with Joel S. Walter in our fight to stop the growing pandemic of international parental child abduction as a co-member of the I CARE Foundation's board of directors.

Joel S. Walter is not only a top litigator who knows and understands the complexities of international law, and who is highly respected by those he works with or litigates before, but he does something really impressive: he does what he says he is going to do.

Based on the number of children of abduction Joel S. Walter has either helped reunite or prevented abduction from occurring, based on his long-history of practicing complex legal cases before numerous United States Federal Courts for 40 years in consecutive good standing, based upon his willingness to give of himself and come to the aid and protection of defenseless children, and based upon a wealth of knowledge that allows him to work toward successful outcomes for his clients while also working diligently toward creating and implementing new laws that will protect children from abduction, Joel S. Walter is in my opinion one of the best international matrimonial and child custody lawyers in New York City and the United States. 

Mr. Walter is licensed to practice law in New York State. He is also admitted to practice in the following courts:

• Appellate Division, First Department of New York
• The four Federal District Courts of New York (Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western)
• The Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals

For more information on New York City Attorney Joel S. Walter, please visit his website at: www.internationalparentalchildabduction.com