WATCH 25 VIDEO EXCERPTS FROM TESTIMONY BY THE RECLUSIVE HEIRESS'S NURSE, PERSONAL ASSISTANT, GODDAUGHTER, ATTORNEY, AND ACCOUNTANT
Five members of the inner circle of the reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark speak out in 25 video excerpts of sworn testimony, newly available on the website of the No. 1 bestselling biography "Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune."
Five members of the inner circle of the reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark speak out in 25 video excerpts of sworn testimony, newly available on the website of the No. 1 bestselling biography "Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune."
The five — Huguette's nurse, personal assistant, goddaughter, attorney, and accountant — testified in videotaped depositions as part of the court battle over her $300 million estate. Although portions of their testimony appeared in "Empty Mansions," this is the first time the video excerpts and full transcripts have been available to the public.
The five witnesses:
- The nurse, Hadassah Peri, who served as a private-duty nurse for Huguette in the hospital for twenty years, and received from Huguette $31 million in gifts while Huguette lived. In the settlement of the Clark estate, Peri agreed to pay back $5 million to the estate, and gave up rights to millions more that Huguette had left her in her will. In her testimony, Peri describes how Huguette came to give her a Stradivarius violin, how they passed the time for 20 years in the hospital, how she objected when Huguette wanted to give her a painting by Cezanne, She also reflects on Huguette's character and temperament. Peri cautions the attorneys at the table never to buy a Bentley, as she did. And we listen to a telephone conversation between Peri and Huguette when the heiress was 101 years old.
- The personal assistant, Chris Sattler, who took care of her three Manhattan apartments, fine paintings, and vast doll collection. Sattler explains his duties taking care of the dolls. He laments that people get the wrong impression of Huguette because she loved dolls and cartoons. He said Huguette kept buying dolls at auction, because she loved the bidding, but had so many dolls that she started to give them away. Sattler describes Huguette's reactions as he would attempt to follow her instructions for setting up scenes of tiny Japanese dolls.
- The goddaughter, Wanda Styka, daughter of Huguette's painting instructor Tadé Styka. Wanda Styka wrote kind letters to Huguette for decades, and received a bequest worth millions. Styka describes how Huguette kept from her the fact that she was living in a hospital, and how the goddaughter didn't press for more information, respecting her godmother's privacy. Styka tells how her godmother Huguette warned her never to live alone. And she describes their last telephone conversation, in which Huguette, born in 1906, recalls World War I, World War II, and the passing years.
- The attorney, Wallace "Wally" Bock, who handled her legal affairs for years, although he met her only a few times in the hospital. The attorney describes his fears that Huguette was a soft touch for a sad story whenever the nurses and other would have a financial need or want. But Bock describes Huguette as an astute woman who gave gifts to people because she wanted to see them receive them. Bock said it was Huguette's choice to live in the hospital, and rejects a characterization of her as "like a spoiled child," calling her a strong-willed woman who did what she wanted.
- The accountant, Irving Kamsler, who handled her finances and was her health care proxy. In the settlement, the attorney and accountant gave up rights to bequests, fees as her executors, and roles as trustees. A well-publicized criminal investigation of their handling of the estate was closed quietly without charges. Kamsler says Huguette told him that she wanted none of her $300 million copper-mining inheritance to go to her family. He describes conversations in which he tried to slow down Huguette's gift giving, because of the difficulties in raising cash to pay all the gift taxes.
In these video excerpts, the witnesses offer glimpses of the character of Huguette, whom they describe as a lovely person, respectful, soft-spoken, concerned for others. Their testimony is largely a defense against the claim of her relatives that Huguette Clark was incompetent, and that she was unduly influenced by her nurse and attorney and accountant.
In addition to these video excerpts, you can read the full testimony by each of these five witnesses. Only a few phrases have been redacted from the transcripts to protect privacy, such as when a witness gives a home address or telephone number or refers to a relative's illness.
