EX WIFE KIDNAPS TORONTO LAWYER'S TWO SONS, AGES 3 AND 5

BEST TORONTO LAWYER’S TWO SONS, AGES 3 & 5, WERE KIDNAPPED BY HIS EX WIFE AFTER HE WON CUSTODY OF THEM!

Irving Solnik, the best Toronto lawyer who practices all areas of law has not seen or heard anything about or from them in many years and still suffers immense pain and sadness. During over six years of constant litigation and searching he acquired immense knowledge and all he learned he will share with his clients who undergo such strategies

Irving Solnik Is A Lawyer Who Fights And Doesn’t Give Up!

Click on the following link to see Irving Solnik's photo.

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"My Two Sons Were Illegally Abducted-Kidnapped Twice By My Ex-Wife Helped By Her Well Known "Respected" Lawyers, Her Parents & Other Conspirators! "

"This is a work in progress and will take some months to complete. "THE ABDUCTION OF MY TWO YOUNG SONS, AGES THREE AND FIVE.

She illegally abducted-kidnapped-our two young sons twice after I was awarded custody of them by the courts. She did so not alone but armed with a virtual army of thugs and others including the active help and participation of highly "respected" well known lawyers-partners in one of the most powerful law firms in all North America if not the world.

They were retained by her multi-millionaire parents who also retained and bought other evil conspirators and officials, including well known doctors, lawyers, possibly a reporter for a highly respected newspaper and even a prominent professor of law!

Sounds impossible? It isn’t! I will prove it to you as I did in the Courts and help you too if you conceivably face or have been subjected to such horrors.

THIS IS A DRAFT, UNEDITED AND A WORK IN PROGRESS: That which I write is indeed a mockery of justice, a tale of sorrow, of suffering and horror that used "justice" for evil doings-doings that are becoming much more commonplace.

I am writing for the purpose of helping others who face the horror I did and still do and hopefully it will help others to prevent the illegal abduction of their child or children.

It is also written to expose the vile conspirators, many in high places, that participated in these criminal acts of pure evil.

The story I write tells all that happened before, during and after my two young sons, ages three and five years, were kidnapped twice by my ex-wife after the court awarded me sole custody of them.

What she and those who assisted her did almost defies the imagination, is almost unbelievable, crimes in the extreme and would be unbelievable if it had not happened.

Because it did happen and I possess all the irrefutable evidence to back up what was done. Yet the police and the courts did virtually nothing because millions of dollars were spent and dispensed to most of the conspirators involved.

Crimes were committed and the criminals were not punished by the courts. Charges were withdrawn after they were laid because of great wealth, power and the ability to influence those who improperly interfered with the administration of justice.

It forces me to ask whether justice is deaf, dumb and blind and is this Lady Justice indeed deaf, dumb and blind?

Had she been otherwise much of that which transpired would never have come about. As you read my tale of woe you will find that what happened should never have happened, could not have happened if many millions had not be involved.

Certain courts, those responsible for the administration of justice, officers and officials of the courts and many others turned blind eyes or refused to accept the truth because of oblique reasons or reasons that the very least allowed the perpetuation of heinous crimes.

I then realized, even if I had not been a lawyer, that for the very first time in my experience that there is indeed a law for the very rich and another law for those who are not very rich or even poor, and that a great deal of money brings great power with it that allows such tragedies to take place.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as the saying goes. Money and power enabled the abduction of my sons and corrupted well known and highly respected lawyers, possibly Judges, appointed but powerful civil servants and politicians, the justice system, reporters and others including doctors.

That which I write herein will truly stun honest men and women from all walks of life and if they do not believe all that is written here, by reading what took place and evidence that exists they will find what I have written is indeed the absolute truth.

It is backed not only by the evil deeds that took place but also by documents and other evidence I possess and documents most of which are also available in the files of the courts in the Province of Ontario and the State of Texas.

Moreover a front page story appeared then in the Globe & Mail with headlines that blared "Millions Spent On Custody Row.

"The story in the Globe tells about much that happened but far from all, again for oblique reasons and it tells nothing about what happened after the first story was written notwithstanding that the reporter promised full follow ups that never appeared. They never appeared for oblique reasons.

More than six years of my life were totally dedicated to fighting for my sons and it is only recently, some twenty years later, twenty years after the dastardly deeds were done that I have finally gained sufficient emotional strength to write and talk about it.

The indescribable pain of losing my two sons was, is and always wil be there and even though the pain will never leave me entirely, at least I now can write about all that happened.

It is my hope that by my so doing, others who face such tragedies will be able to successfully overcome them, perhaps with my assistance and have their child or children returned to them before it is too late as it is for me. I won all the battles but lost the war for my sons.

The longer the children who have been abducted remain so the more they will have been brainwashed to the detriment of the parent who was the victim of the abduction. And in time such parent will either be nonexistent for the abducted or thought of as an evil being or worse.

A noted Catholic Pope if I recall correctly or perhaps it was a Jesuit priest of high station once said-"Give me a child under seven years of age and I will make the child one of the greatest Catholics.”

When children who are abducted are very young, their minds and thoughts can readily be turned against the innocent parent by brainwashing techniques.

It has been found that because the children have with them only the parent who abducted them a bond is then formed because they fear the loss of the parent, the abducted children no longer, possibly never, know their innocent and bereaved parent.

They fear being left without any parents and all that they have been told for the brainwashing becomes the "truth," the reality.

My decent to hell began in March, 1973 when my wife, the mother of our five children, perished needlessly because of gross surgical negligence and hospital error.

Gross negligence and error in a minor surgical procedure that she did not need.

Shortly after the surgery before there was any indication or appearance of what was to quickly manifest itself, I spoke to her surgeon, Bernard Ludwig MD of Toronto, who advised me that "she really did not need the operation."

"I asked him "why then did you advise her to have the surgery and then perform it when she didn’t need it?"

He answered-"I thought that she would feel better emotionally if she had the surgery." I said nothing and disgusted, quickly took my leave of him.

Details of the surgery are available on request.When my first wife, Ruth, died she was in her thirties and we had five children ranging from 18 years to 16 months old.

Needless to say that thereafter I looked after and raised all the children to the best of my ability and ensured they would be educated properly. Our two sons are noted physicians and our daughters are all university graduates.

I was advised by friends and in particular one who is both a doctor and lawyer to institute a lawsuit against the doctor and he hospital. After giving the matter much thought I decided not to sue for several reasons.

At the time I was at the peak of my financial wherewithal and did not need the money. The lawsuit would not bring my wife back. I did not want to subject my self and my children to years of litigation-we had all suffered greatly, suffered needlessly unto this very day.

Finally I could not destroy the doctor's life and career-my wife did not die because her doctor wanted her to do so. He made an irrevocable error and the cause was not known until some two weeks after she died. About two weeks later the blood cultures told the story.

I asked myself how many errors have I made in my lifetime and even though no one died, could I destroy a doctor because of one careless error he made? I could not do so. Apparently the doctor nicked or inadvertently cut into the large colon and released E-coli into the blood stream.

If this was known at the time and if she had been treated immediately, there was at best a 50/50 chance she would have survived. The odds were not very favorable. It was not known what she was suffering from when she went into coma and five days after the surgery she expired, died before long before her time.

My custom was to work out daily at the "Y" and while doing so an emergency call came to me. My mother was on the telephone and crying, told me to quickly rush to the hospital. I drove as a madman and quickly arrived and was beside my wife.

She had a fever that spiked to 108 plus degrees F-a fever so sever that her temperature control centers were knocked out and she fell into a deep coma. Four days later she was gone. She was dead. I didn’t believe, could not believe it and stayed with her alone-my dead beloved wife, for several hours until four of our children arrived.

On Friday evening with tubes in every orifice and arteries in her shatted body she came out of the comma for a few moments and wrote on a plastic child's writing pad-"What’s wrong with me? Why am I here?"

Then she closed her eyes, fell back into the comma and the next day she was gone forever.

The pain and emotional turmoil I endured was indescribable and I suffered not only for myself but for all five children who had lost their mother. I shrieked constantly at the skies and to no avail. If there is or was a God, he surely must have hidden himself well for so vile were my curses.

For many months I barely left our home not having any desire to do anything except be with and raise the children. My older children began to urge me to go out-to a movie or anywhere. Then one day some six months later, a lawyer friend of mine and his wife invited me to join them for dinner and reluctantly I did so.

What they had not told me was they also had invited another guest-a young women-in anticipation that we might get along. I assumed they were trying to be matchmakers.

After spending several hours at dinner and after dinner she and I began to talk. Before long I asked her if she would care to have dinner one night with me. She agreed.

Her name was Bryna Levy and she had lived in Hamilton, a steel city some forty miles from Toronto but she lived in Toronto and had a position as an actuary with a Toronto company. A relationship began to develop and several weeks later I invited her to my home so that she and my children might meet. They met, seemed to get along with each other splendidly and they urged me later to ask her back to our house again. I acquiesced and did so.

Several months later we became engaged and we were married in December 1974. She was divorced, cultured, mild mannered, soft spoken, never showed anger, well educated, intelligent and had no children.

After she met my children she often told me how wonderful they were and she was very fond of all of them. She said although she could never replace their mother she would do all she could to be as a mother and look after them as though they were her own. She was sincere. I believed her and the children were delighted that we had married. For the next year or so all was wonderful between us and the children even though I still felt guilty about having been married again.

However certain things then appeared that struck me as somewhat odd. We seldom went out with my friends or hers and more and our constant companions were her mother and father. Even though I felt somewhat strange about their companionship, in a way I was content with it because my father had died at 45 while I was still a teenager.

I rather began to think of my father in-law as a father figure. We also traveled together-to Europe, the Caribbean, Las Vegas and other places and all of it was most pleasant.

Her father, Frank Levy, the owner of USARCO Limited, was relatively uneducated, toughly hewn and a very successful businessman in the steel and scrap business. I understood he was eminently wealthy.

Her mother, Sarah Levy, had been a bank teller and seemed somewhat distant at times, which I ignored. They also had a son, Monte, who was in his early twenties and was at University while being groomed to enter his father's business.

One day I was invited by her parents to join them in their steel business and although I was flattered I declined the invitation and found out long after that the invitation was for the purpose of controlling me.

I declined the invitation because I had never worked for anyone, have ample wealth of my own and did not want to work for my father in law or any one else.

They were quite upset with my refusal to accept their invitation and shortly thereafter the relationship especially with my mother in law seemed to grow colder.

In April 1977 Bryna gave birth to our first child, a boy. We named him Ira Hanock Solnik and he turned into a bright, and happy young boy. His name "Hanock" means in Hebrew "He who brings wisdom."

Then in March 1979, another son was born to us. He was named Ronan David Solnik. He too was a very bright, happy child, and a bit more of a thinker than his brother Ira. His name in Hebrew means "He who brings pleasure."

Jonathon, the fifth child that my late wife Ruth and I had, was 16 months old when she died and about ten years younger than our youngest daughter, Shawna. He was six years old when Ira was born and eight years old when Ronan was born.

He loved his brothers and they were as close as peas in a pod except perhaps for Ronan who was still an infant. As soon as he began to walk and talk the three boys were inseparable.

My life had substantially returned to normal but not for long. In the spring of 1979 Bryna told me her mother wanted Ira to have a haircut which I vetoed because it was customary among many Jews including myself not to cut hair their sons until they were at least three years old and I thought that it was the end of the matter.

Several days later when I returned home from work, I found that Ira had been shorn of his long way hair and was as a newly shorn lamb. I asked Bryna what happened.

She told me that her mother had come to visit and insisted that Bryna cut all of Ira's hair off and she did so. To say I was furious was an understatement but for the sake of peace and harmony I did not make a great issue out of it.

In the summer of 1979 Bryna's parents again invited me to join their business and again I declined to do so. This time the anger was most apparent especially in Bryna's mothers face. In effect she thought as I was told by Bryna-"How dare he refuse us?"

This was the beginning of a fast and unpleasant deterioration between Bryna's parents and I.

Shortly thereafter her mother gave Bryna orders to Bryna where and when Ira was to go to school, how he was to be brought up and was to be groomed to take over their steel and scrap metal business.

I realized that matters must come to a head and that they could deteriorate even more so and quickly too. I said to Bryna and her parents when they were at our home "Ira and Ronan are our sons, not theirs and we would bring them up in the way only we deemed fit and they were not to interfer in our lives or that of our sons any further.

"The hate and anger in her mothers face was like that of a furious and vicious jungle cat whose cubs were in danger. Her father did not say a word. The visits stopped-they had been almost daily and every weekend. I could see that Bryna was sorely disturbed and unhappy.

Her mother telephoned and constantly harangued her. She even advised her to consider divorcing me. It was obvious even to the blind that something must be done and quickly if our marriage was to last.

At the time I was developing land in Houston, Texas and I suggested that we sell our house and move to Houston lock, stock and barrel even though it might cost me dearly because of projects I had in Toronto that were ongoing.

She wanted to think about it and finally but reluctantly agreed and she then confirmed that her mother was now urging her to divorce me. We moved to Houston in December 1979, bought a home and settled down. I hoped that our move would allow us to live our lives together without her parents interference. How wrong I was.

By then I had learned that Bryna's ex husband, an accountant named Harvey Borden of Toronto, was also a victim of her parents. When they invited him to join their business he agreed and some two years later when he returned home he found his house totally empty of everything except his personal belongings and clothes.

He was removed from the scene for reasons unknown to me and which he did not want to discuss when I finally spoke to him. He since remarried and wanted to forget the nightmare of his marriage to Bryna. I became much more concerned then.

Bryna told me that her parents did not want him on their business any longer, insisted that she divorce him and her father sent trucks to empty out their house while he was at work in their plant.

A divorce followed. Now history seemed to be repeating itself but I felt insulated because we were living in Houston, a long was from her parent.

How wrong I was. During our stay in Texas, Bryna was constantly depressed for months and cried frequently-she had volunteered not to have anything to do with her parents knowing what they were up to and she promised me that she would not speak to them.

We applied for resident alien status and obtained what are called "green cards" that allowed us to live and work in the USA as resident aliens. Normally the process took about five years and I retained counsel who advised me that since we were in Houston, that I owned and was developing land there, he thought we might have the green cards for all of us within two years.

Two years seemed to be forever and I asked him if he would give the law books-the statutes covering immigration. He did so and I studied them intensively over the next few days and lo and behold I found a way to expedite our green cards.

The statute stated that members of the professions were entitled to preference over other green card applications and I pointed this out to my attorney. He had never realized the significance of the clause.

We applied for our green cards shortly before the end of December 1979 and because as a lawyer I was a member of the professions I hoped that we would have shortly. Many other Canadian doctors, some of whom I knew did likwise.

The green cards were in our hands by early April 1980-less than four months later. All of us had obtained green cards and the only difference between us and American citizens was that we could not vote.

Bryna's depression grew, she refused to go out, to meet and make new friends and was reluctant even to go out altogether-even dinner.

Finally I told her "Bryna, if you truly want to talk to your mother by telephone I wont hold to your promise." Her face brightened but I knew that much worse was yet to come. And it did in a way I never expected.

Bryna then communicated almost daily with her mother and occasionally with her father.
Her depression was lifted and she was again almost the woman I met several years ago. But somehow, in some ways she had changed, almost imperceptibly in ways I could not put a name too.

In April 1980 the day before Passover both her parents suddenly showed up at our home. She had not told me that they were coming and to say I was surprised was the understatement of the year.

Nevertheless I greeted them in a friendly manner in the hope that all would be well. How wrong I was. On the first evening of Passover I held a Seder-a Passover dinner during which we read the Hagodah, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt-their exodus from being slaves in a strange land.

No bread or any yeast product is eaten. Only matzoh instead of bread and other customary Passover foods. I had conducted Seders in my home for many years in the way I was taught and believed was proper and appropriate for Passover.

After I said the opening prayers my father in law, Frank Levy began to berate me because I had served boiled potatoes in salt water to remind us of the tears the Israelites shed several thousand years ago in Egypt when they were slaves.

Frank raised his voice and said to me I was carrying out the Seder improperly and that I should use green leafy vegetables such as lettuce in stead of potatoes. I was aware that lettuce could be used but I was accustomed to potatoes and said so to him.

"This is my home and my Seder and I am holding it as I was taught and as I have done for many years."

Again he raised his voice to what was a shout and didn’t stop criticizing and berating me.

The Seder was cut short when I walked out of the dining room to avoid losing my temper and if I had not done so I didn’t know what I would do for when, on the rare occasion, when I lost my temper I was capable of vicious cutting words and worse.

Knowing this I left the dining room and shortly thereafter they left my home and no further words were uttered, thankfully. The evening was ruined in any event.

Bryna, my wife, did not say anything but I noticed the tears in her eyes and she was trying to prevent herself from crying.

During the following days and weeks not a word passed between us as to the Seder or her parents but I heard her speak to her mother frequently on the telephone and said nothing for I had released her from her promise.

Weeks turned into months and Bryna was not the same woman I knew. She had changed beyond question and was inhibited, rarely spoke, made to effort to make friends as I had done nor did she invite couples we had met for return dinner invitations to our home as a quid pro quo for their invitations.

There was little I could do. I did not want the marriage to be destroyed and could only hope that with the passing of time all would be well once again.

In August of 1980 there was an outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis-an often fatal disease born my mosquitoes and the outbreak seemed to be on the verge of turning into an epidemic.

Towards the end of the month, shortly before the Jewish high holy days, she suggested that she take our two sons and my son, Jonathon to Hamilton, Ontario where her parents lived, for the high holy days hoping the outbreak of the disease would fade away by the time the threat of the disease was over. I agreed with her and said I would join her for the holidays because I was otherwise busy until then and she agreed.

Within three days the three boys and Bryna flew to Hamilton to stay with her parents. I called her several hours after they arrived and was told by her father she did not want to speak to me and he then abruptly hung up.

I called several times again but no one answered the telephone. I could not understand what was happening. Then I recalled a conversation with my late mother who visited us in July 1980 and stayed at our home. Inadvertently she picked up an extension telephone to call Toronto and heard Bryna and her mother talking.

My mother was somewhat aware of what had transpired but said nothing about it. She, for unknown reasons, decided to listen to the conversation when she heard Bryn'a's mother begin to shout.

In a loud and threatening voice she said to Bryna-"if you dont leave that hell hole of Houston and the bastard, your husband you will be cut out of our wills and everything we have will be left to your brother. You wont receive anything."

Bryna has one younger brother, Monte, a rather quiet and unassuming young man in his early twenties who was being groomed to run the business in the future. What had happened began to make some sense but I still questioned her actions and was unsure of her motives.

Since she had left most of her clothes and jewelry in Houston, this was perhaps an indication that she intended to return. Again I was wrong for the next day I was served with divorce and custody papers by a US marshal.

She had instituted an action in Hamilton, Ontario for divorce and sole custody of our two sons and Jonathon, my son was included. The I was advised that she would return Jonathon to me if I allowed her to have custody of Ira and Ronan.

Of course I refused. I decided to fly to Toronto and do what I had to do to get my sons back and try to prevent Bryna from obeying her parents. I had learned that she did not particularly care for them.

Yet she had been trained to obey every order they made. "Jump", they might say and would ask "how high?" She was also afraid of them.

It became obvious that fear, training and greed-namely that her brother would inherit all-was the cause of all she did-what they ordered her to do.

I had found out that all Bryna's actions had been well planned to keep me in the dark so that I would not prevent her from taking the boys and flying to Canada. That was the reason for leaving her clothes and jewelry in Houston.

By taking the boys out of the USA without my consent and under false pretences was close to a criminal act. I telephoned my brother Sidney in Toronto before Jon and I left and asked him to pick us up at the airport after I told him what happened.

He agreed and even though it was the first night of Yom Kippur, the holiest of all the Jewish holidays, he picked us up at about 8pm at the Toronto airport.On the spur of the moment I asked him to drive us to Hamilton where Bryna's parents home was located and he did so.

I did not know what I was going to do or what would happen with a heads on confrontation. A house keeper answered the door and she recognized me.

She said that Bryna and her parents were at the synagogue and would be home in an hour or so. I then asked where the boys were and she said Ronan, the youngest was two years old was sleeping and that Ira and Jonathon were playing.

I heard their voices in the den and they both greeted me with hugs and kisses. Again on the spur of the moment I told them to get dressed and that we were going for a ride.

They asked what about Ronan and I said he was sleeping and that I did not want to wake him and take him with us. A serious miscalculation I later found.

I asked Sidney if he would drive us to Buffalo New York where my sister Bernice lived with her husband and children and he did so.

On the way we stopped for some food and I called Bernice, told her I was coming with Jonathon and Ira and that I would explain everything when we arrived but that we would appreciate it if we could spend the night at her house. Of course she agreed.

We arrived in Buffalo and at her home about an hour later and I told her all that had transpired and that we were going to fly to Houston on the first flight we could get.

The boys and I slept together in one bed that night and returned to Houston on the first flight we could the next day..I had even telephoned Bryna-the housekeeper answered and I said The boys are with me and are fine. We are on our way back to Houston."

My objective in taking the two boys home I hoped would make Bryna realize the errors of what she was doing and that she would return to Houston with Ronan. Again a serious miscalculation.

She came to Houston in ways I did not expect and for oblique purposes.

Shortly thereafter it was necessary that I attend the court hearing in Hamilton. My brother recommended a young but experienced lawyer who was familiar with family law and I retained him to act for me at the hearing.

His argument when he addressed the Court was that the court had no jurisdiction because all of us were no longer domiciled in Ontario and that Houston was were we were domiciled and we had the green resident alien cards to confirm that Houston is where we lived and intended to continue living there indefinitely.

The Judge agreed and dismissed the action she had instituted with the help of her parents.

Now her only choice was to start another divorce custody action- in Houston and I hoped that she would not but it was a forlorn hope.

In October 1980 I took Ira and Ronan and my youngest daughter, Shawna who then was about 18, with me to Las Vegas for a short vacation and to relax from the stress of the past months. The boys and my daughter had been in Los Vegas with me before on several occasions and thoroughly enjoyed being there.

Unbeknown to me shortly after we returned to Houston, Bryna with the help of her parents several men were hired to keep us under observation 24/7 and Bryna accompanied them as they kept the house under constant observation and also followed us whenever we left the house. They were there to find an opportunity to kidnap Ira.

They found out we were traveling to Los Vegas, Bryna having been there with me alone several times in the past and with the family on several occasions. Had I know what was taking place matters would have ended differently because Bryna succeeded again in abducting Ira, this time from Las Vegas.

On our second day in Las Vegas all of us went down to the swimming pool. Shawna and I were on lounges talking while Jonathon and Ira were playing in the swimming pool-at the shallow and far end so that we could keep an eye on them.

Suddenly Jonathon ran over to us crying and screaming saying the three gorillas had taken Ira with them. I immediately called security and they called the Las Vegas police who notified security at the airport and they also went there immediately assuming that Bryna, Ira and her thugs would fly quickly back to Hamilton.

However they found no evidence that any of them had booked a flight out of Las Vegas and for all intents and purposes they could do nothing further but put out an all points bulletin advising all the police to keep an eye out for them-I had given the police a photo of Ira and Bryna.

We immediately returned to Houston and I had to plan my next move and I didn’t wait very long before I executed it. Shortly after our return to Houston I was served with court papers that had been filed in Houston asking for sole custody of Ira, Ronan and for a divorce.

Now I had to find a capable lawyer in Houston who was familiar with child abduction. I spoke to the lawyer I was using for my real estate endeavours and he discussed a number of lawyers.

I had not heard of any of them before and asked who he would recommend. He said that two lawyers we had discussed were the best in all of Texas.

One of them was named Early Lilly and my lawyer Larry, advised me to think carefully about retaining Earl because although he virtually never lost a case, he often when necessary bent but never broke the rules and many other lawyers thought less of him because of his actions in bending the rules but more important the dislike of Earl was based on jealousy. I called and made an appointment to see him and told him all that had transpired.

He was very candid and felt that I would be fighting an uphill battle because the courts at the time were usually in favor of the mother, if she was a decent women, not a dope addict, prostitute or the like, she could end up either with sole or joint custody of the two boys.

He asked what Bryna was like and I stated she we was a good mother and wife and that we had no major differences until her parents interfered in our lives. He indicated that this made my case either more difficult and I asked what he thought the odds were that I succeed.

He said he never calculates odds and reiterated that the battle would be an uphill one but if I wanted him to take the case he would do so on two conditions.

The first was that I sign a lengthy retainer agreement with numerous disclaimers and that he and only he would have full right to do whatever he deemd desirable without my interference.

I was not to be the lawyer or quarterback. I agreed and executed the retainer that required I pay him at the time a retainer fee of US$100,0000 against an hourly fee of $1250.00 hourly and I agreed. I paid the fee because Earl had impressed me with his bluntness and candor believing he was the kind of lawyer I needed.

He advised me to hire a private investigator and recommended one he frequently used. The investigator had been a ranking CIA officer and after retiring from the CIA decided to open his own private investigation agency.

His hourly fees were exceptionally high but I felt that if he successfully did what wanted I had no objection to his fees.

Within several days he advised me as follows. "Bryna's father had hired several unsavory individuals to help his daughter, my wife, to get Ira and return him to her and then to Hamilton.

When she arrived with her coterie of thugs in Las Vegas they rented Paul Anka's private jet and as soon as they picked Ira up, still in his bathing suit, and together with Bryna they headed straight for the section of the Las Vegas airport where private planes landed and were docked.

They obviously had called ahead and the aircraft was fueled and ready for an immediate take off. The goons, Bryna and Ira went directly to the aircraft. It took off immediately and flew to Pearson Airport in Toronto, some thirty miles from Hamilton. Bryna's father and mother were waiting in a limo for them and they drove directly to the Levy home in Hamilton. The battle had begun in earnest.

Several weeks thereafter I was served with documents advising me that a hearing was being held in a Texas court that asked the court to give Bryna custody of both boys until the divorce/custody action was completed.

The hearing was before a Judge Stewart who was known for his belief and previous rulings whereby custody was invariably given to the mother except when it was proven she was not a fit mother.I was called as a hostile witness by Bryna's lawyer who was well known for in success in custody cases.

Because of my anger and anxiety I forgot for that at the time that I was a lawyer, well versed in direct and cross examination. I was argumentative and combative when her lawyer questioned me. I was in the stand for about two hours until the court recessed for lunch.

Earl and I went for a quick lunch and he severely admonished me and told me I was a terrible witness and if I continued in the same vein the judge would readily rule in favor of Bryna. I took heed of his words determined to be Irving Solnik, the lawyer and not the defendant.

When my examination and cross examination began again I was the lawyer and used my legal knowledge perfectly. I simply answered the questions, did not argue with my wife's lawyer and did not volunteer anything except a direct answer to the questions.

Then Bryna as plaintiff was called to take the stand and the claims she made against me were horrendous lies.

According to her testimony I frequently went about the house with a machete or axe and chopped up furniture and anything that was in my way. More damaging was her claim that "Irving often took the two boys (not Jonathon) down into the basement and whipped them with a horsewhip and at other times played Russian roulette with them using a loaded revolver.

"She appeared to be a credible witness and then was subjected to cross examination by Earl who managed to put her testimony as questionable. However one could see that the judge tended to believe her and ruled that I be examined by a psychiatrist before he rendered a judgment.

Earl objected and stated that he had no problem with a psychiatrist examining me but on my advice he asked that Bryna also be examined by the psychiatrist as well and reluctantly the Judge agreed.

There was disagreement as to what psychiatrist be used and Bryna's lawyer insisted that no Houston psychiatrist in Houston be used. (He apparently felt that Earl or I or both could somehow sway the psychiatrist's decision). It was finally agreed that a psychiatrist and psychologist team in Tucson , Arizona would be used to examine each of us independently.

I then made the necessary arrangements, appointments with the psychiatrist/psychologist and airline reservations. I flew to Tucson and was subjected to myriad tests for three days and I assumed that Bryna was also subjected to such tests.

The opinion of the pyschiatrist aand pyschologist was that I was incapable of physically harming the boys and that I was a fit father and Bryna a fit mother based on their initial examinations.The Judge them made a Solomonic decision. Bryna would have custody of the boys for 50% of the time in Houston until the family court made the final decision as to custody.

I was also to have custody of the boys for the remaining 50% of the time. A small but important victory. At least the boys would be in Houston (She flew to Houston with the boys shortly after the Judge's decision) and I would have them with me one half the time.

Shortly after the hearing and the decision of the Judge I received some rather startling information. I was told that a contract had been placed on my life by Frank Levy, my father in law.

My initial reaction was disbelief. But then I recalled he once told me that he was close to Johnny Papalia, the boss of the local mafia and he continually did business with him though his company USARCO.

He implied that he melted "hot" steel for him and not being familiar with Frank's business I was uncertain as to the meaning of what he said. Nor did I want to know.

He had rather proudly revealed this to me during a dinner we had some time ago and at which his wife and my wife were present but ignoring our conversation.

Frank had consumed several glasses of a truly delightful bottle of wine-Chateau Haute Brion, Vintage 1959-a rare and very expensive wine that we were imbibing in the Palace Court at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.The wine was priced at US $14,000 for the bottle but I was comped by the house.

In other words it was free because I was a valued and steady visitor. Frank was unaccustomed to drinking wine, particularly an expensive bottle that his tongue loosened up and he spoke freely.

Since Frank had a close relationship with Papalia I became fairly certain that a contract had indeed been placed on my life. I then purchased 9mm 14 shot Glock automatic which was quite easy to legally purchase then from a gun shop.

I practiced intensively with it at several shooting ranges until I became a crack shot and carried it with me wherever I was. I was not used to carry a gun with me and worried that no matter how carefully I kept it in our house under lock and key, that Jonathon or the boys would somehow find it I then began thinking how to get rid of the threat and the gun.

An idea came to mind. I contacted my private investigator who had extensive contacts everywhere and requested that he let it be known if I died for any reason, naturally or otherwise, his son Monte, his only male heir to the business and Franks millions, that Monte would face extreme sanction. Which meant that he would quickly go where I went.

A short time after word was passed to whomsoever I was told that the contract placed by Frank on me was cancelled. He believed the story that made its rounds.

Nevertheless I continued with my precautions for another few months and neither saw or heard anything to the contrary or that was suspicious.

I then placed the gun in safekeeping where is would be totally impossible for any of my three sons to find.

I sighed a sigh of relief, for the time being in any event. As the weeks passed a court date was set for January 1981 and until then I had Ira and Ronan living with me half the time and the other half with their mother. In Texas there existed a law that juries could be invoked in custody trials.

I opted for the jury as did Bryna. My only concern was that Judge Stewart who did not like me and was opposed to fathers having custody would be the presiding judge.

As it turned out one of the Judges junior to Stewart was the presiding judge-his Honor Manuel Leal. I found out subsequently that Stewart had tried to influence Judge Leal to grant custody to my wife but as the trial progressed there did not appear any indication that Judge Leal had been unduly influenced.

Finally in late January 1981 the trial began. The jurors were chosen and all in all the choice of jurors appeared to be reasonable.

Bryna had a slew of witnesses-child psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, her parents and friends who we went out with when we lived in Toronto.

I was more than surprised at some whom I thought were my friends testified against me including one Ronald Kobrick and his wife. Ronald had worked for one of my construction companies and was my chief project manager.

Whats more he had bought a house in Toronto and as I later found out he had renovated it at my expense using subcontractors who did not charge him any money but added the costs to the company's projects. He was also the highest paid individual that worked for me.

So much for honesty and loyalty. My one and only concern was Ira and Ronan, my two young sons. The trial had no outstanding highlights and the jurors seemed to be bored particularly by the testimony of Bryna's expert witnesses and their unending statistics.

Five days passed and the jury retired to deliberate the fate of Ira and Ronan. They were sequestered during the trial for several days.

This was a deep concern for Earl Lilly for he had told me that when fathers obtain custody the jury is usually out for no more than several hours at best. Finally the jury had made their fateful decision.

It was a hung jury and after they were polled we found that ten had voted for me and two for Bryna and they could not reach a unanimous decision or even obtain eleven of the twelve to vote other than they had.

Yes, I was sorely disappointed but all was not lost. It meant that another trial was to be held and during the time preceding it the boys would spend half their time with me and the other half with their mother.

Over the following days Earl and I met frequently to discuss and agree on the strategies for the trial to come.

When I retained Earl to act for me one of the stipulations was that he was to be in absolute control of the trial and the strategies some of which I vehemently opposed.

Nevertheless I abided by our agreement and since he had extensive and successful experience in similar trials I allowed him to proceed as was agreed upon.

But with the new trial coming up I altered the terms of our agreement. I made it unequivocal that I was to control and dictate strategy and if he did not agree I would retain other counsel.

He reluctantly agreed and I carefully planned the strategies.
The new trial was slated for February 1982 and I inherently knew that if I did not win my sons would be forever gone from me.

I was certain however that I would and that the strategies I devised were infallible even though he disagreed with some of them. My sixth sense, ESP or other mind energies we know that were at work and indeed, notwithstanding that at times my certainty was weakened but it was weakened for but moments.

Without hesitation I told him "Earl, I kept my agreement and allowed you to carry on in the trial as you wanted. I did not win and henceforth I will dictate strategy and you will do ask I ask."

He was angry with my decision and said "Irving, if you lose the fault is yours and don’t blame me." I accepted the responsibility.

"Earl, I accept full responsibility for the outcome of the new trial and all I ask of you is to carry out my instructions and strategies to the best of your ability. I cant put words in your mouth-doing so is solely your function but heed carefully that you follow my dictates and strategies."

He was extremely angry at my decision and reluctantly accepted. I was ready, almost anxious that the trial begin. I reviewed all my strategies and revised them many times until I believed that they were as perfect as I could ever make them.

I anxiously awaited the day the trial that was to begin-now only several days away and during the year preceding it I retained a top child psychologist and an expert in jury picking.

Somehow, call it what you will as I have written, Karma too. I was totally and absolutely certain that I would prevail. And I did prevail and describe the ups and downs, the moments of glory and those of despair as you will read hereafter.

The battle was joined and I won the trial with all the jurors unanimously voting for me to be the custodial parent because the test was "what is in the best interest of the boys?"

I was awarded sole custody of them- because the jury believed that I was the better parent by far and their decision was based on the best interests of the children.

The trial began but this time the carriage of and the actions that took place were as different from the first trial as day is to night,

Bryna was called as the first witness, the plaintiff and this time instead of treating here gently as Earl did in the first trial, he was to prove that she lied constantly.

This was obvious to all, especially the jurors, she tried to cry but could not bring even tears to her eyes even though she had Kleenex in her hand.

She was also argumentative and it was obvious that the jurors did not find her, the mother, a particularly a convincing witness.

Her new lawyer, John Nichols, was a respected and a well known lawyer who usually won his cases but he would not win this one.

She also had retained one of the most powerful law firms in North America, Vinson, Elkins, who it was said, made their own laws. Their clients were the bluest of the blue chip companies in the USA but the mis-deeds they committed which became apparent after the trial was over backfired as you will read.

Numerous experts were called by John Nichols her lawyer, psychiatrists, child psychologists, social workers and other experts.

When we polled the jury, we found the witnesses as a whole bored the jury with hours of statistics that were written on a black board.

Cross examination by Earl, as instructed easily pointed out that statistics were only numbers and not abducted children.

Also called as witnesses on Bryna's behalf were the Kobricks, as stated earlier and their present and testimony was at best neutral. Then her father was called to the stand.

My strategy was that Earl was to question him about his net worth which he stated was only $20 million and not several hundred million as was implied effectively by Earl on cross examination.

Because Frank Levy was in the scrap metal business, Earl, on my instructions referred to him on cross examination as the garbage man or garbage collector and went into detail about the vast sums of money he spent for his daughters legal actions that ran into millions of dollars. The jury was less than impressed with his testimony.

When Bryna was examined and questioned by her lawyer she was asked about alleged money-millions of dollars I allegedly had in Swiss bank accounts, the same questions he asked Bryna and both denied that she or Frank had such accounts.

According to Bryna she testified under oath she had seen statements from Swiss banks with millions of dollars in the accounts on one of my lawyer's desk in New York.

This lie necessitated that my lawyer in New York testify. He was formerly a district attorney in New York, his reputation and name was highly respected in New York and his fame was known throughout most of the country.

He denied the allegations Bryna made as totally false and because of who he was, his demeanor and his evidence was totally believed by the jurors.

Bryna's mother was also called as a witness basically to confirm Bryna's evidence but not only was she emotional and argumentative that it was obvious that she too has not told the truth.

She also stated what Bryna had previously testified to, namely that I was insane, horse whipped the boys in the basement of our home and played Russian roulette with them using loaded guns.

She also testified that I was an uncaring father, had nothing whatsoever to do with the boys and that I went through our home either with a machete or axe chopping up everything when I was angry.

Perhaps the most unbelievable statement she made was that I would constantly use my hand gun and practice shooting it in the house using pillows as the target.

Another witness that testified for her was Dr. Harvey Freedman, a Toronto psychiatrist with whom I exercised at the why and he also treated me for "white collar medical syndrome "unsuccessfully."

I had regarded him as a close friend as well as a doctor but he testified for Bryna and I was sorely hurt.

Again as the other experts who had previously testified his testimony was much less than credible after Earl had cross examined him .

Bryna's last expert witness was a Dr. Greenberg from Tuscon, Arizona, the psychiatrist who had examined both Bryna and myself after the first hearing before Judge Stewart and his letter to the court was that both of us were good parents with a slight edge being given to me.

The psychiatrist wrote in his letter that on balance I was a somewhat better parent than Bryna. He was the last witness called by John Nichols, Bryna's lawyer.

The doctors testimony was to be of great importance. My lawyer, Earle Lilly had spoken to the pyschiatrist by telephone several weeks before the trial and the doctor stated that his testimony would not be changed from that which we wrote in letter after both of us were subjected to his psychiatric evaluation.

Early in the morning of the day that the psychiatrist was to be Bryna's last witness I received a vital telephone call from the private investigator I had hired.

He had at my request continued to find out as much as he could about the psychiatrist and his psychologist associate. He had until then found nothing that was detrimental to me.

However since the doctor was to testify the investigator, I had him investigated further during the days prior to the doctor being called as a witness for Bryna.

He told me that both the psychiatrist and psychologist were each driving new and very expensive imported cars and that large sum had been recently been deposited into their bank accounts.

Frank Levy, Bryna's father had in the past often spoke about various officials and others to whom he paid substantial amounts in cash-bribery-to get certain results.

I asked myself the doctor and his asssociate had been bribed to change their testimony. It didi not appear likely taking into account their reputations but with Frank Levy involved and knowing his modus operandi, it was very much a reality.

During a court short recess that morning I advised Earl what I had learned and he "it was impossible and that the reputations of the psychiatrist and psychologist was not only unblemished there was no hint whatsoever of their having done anything that could harm their stellar reputations."

I simply told Earl to be on guard and be prepared to counter attack if indeed the witness changed what he had said to Earl previously about his testimony. The doctor was called to take the stand and then was questioned by Bryna's lawyer.

He said that in his opinion that Bryna was the far better parent and that it was in the children’s' best interests that she be awarded custody. Without the warning I received the testimony would have been devastating.

Earl's face turned red and the anger in him was quite apparent. He turned to me and I advised him that I had my micro cassette tape recorder in my briefcase.

"You are to take the taped cassette from it and hold it in your hand so that the Judge and the doctor but not the jury could see it.

I gave it to him and he deftly removed the tape and then began his cross examination.

He stood up at the desk, tape recorder in his left hand that could only be seen by the doctor and the Judge. He then asked the doctor whether he recalled the telephone conversation they has several weeks ago.

The good doctor turned purple, started to hem and haw and finally said that what he had erred in his testimony and that what he had written in the letter stands.

He then said to the Judge-"Mr. Lilly taped our telephone conversation about what I would say when I was examined in Court. It is illegal."

The judge then asked Earl what he hand in his hand and Earl gave the judge the tape recorder and the judge found it empty. Earl then said "we shot him down with blanks."

He also told the psychiatrist that such taping was legal in Texas but no taping had been dome, what with no tape cassette in the recorder.The psychiatrist was decimated as was his initial testimony that he recanted Earl then whispered to me "we shot him down with blanks."

Then it became out turn to call witnesses. My five children from my first marriage all testified as to the kind of father I was who had raised them. My lawyer from New York testified as the false statements Bryna made under oath.

The child psychologist whom I had retained observed me at various times with all the children and has seen Bryna and her actions when she came to pick them up for the time allocated to her. My late mother also testified as to the kind of son and father I was.

Rabbi David Monson, who had performed the marriage ceremony for Bryna and I was kind enough to fly to Houston from Toronto.

He testified what kind of person I was, how often I had helped others in need, how I gave money to charity-anonymously-I did not seek glory or praise and that he had known me before I had my bar mitzvah-my thirteenth birthday.

John Nichols, Bryna's lawyer cross examined my witnesse at length and to no avail. If anything his cross examinations simply confirmed what type of person and father I really was and not the crazed maniac Bryna had attested to.

Finally Earl called me to take the stand and his examination in chief was superbly done.

He asked me whether or not Bryna was a fit mother and I answered affirmatively with the qualification that she was totally obedient to her parents and seemed unable to or did not want cut the knot, because of fear and/or greed.

Many of the points Earl covered were points that John Nicols wanted to use against me but he brought them out and some were not necessarily those that attested to my best qualities as a father and as a man.

One strategy I earned well from-"Never duck when a when the cross examining lawyer questions you about unfavorable traits or acts. Take it on the chin and when I reexamine you leave the rest to me."

When Bryna's lawyer cross examined me he tried to ruffle me, anger me and used several tricks unsuccessfully to do so. I remained calm, cool and collected and simply answered his questions and no more.

One strategy of several I had created still stands out in my mind. When Earl questioned me in direct examination he asked what were some of the reasons that I sought custody.

The reason that still stands out most of all was that Bryna wanted to break up the family-the three boys. I had Earl find an excellent photographer and he took a photo of me together with Jonathon, Ira and Ronan-all appeared to be exceptionally happy.

The photograph was enlarged to virtually life size and as I finished my statement that Bryna wanted to separate us, to tear us apart and as I said it Earl picked up the photograph from the desk and tore it down the center, from top to bottom.

By so doing he most effectively demonstrated what tearing us apart meant. The jury was mesmerized. The jury then retired to deliberate and hopefully come to a descision quickly and one that was for me.

At lunch break Earl and I went out to a nearby Chinese restaurant and ordered some Chinese tidbits-near of us had much of an appetite.

Earl was quite depressed and worried because his summation to the jury was not up to par and in fact is wasn’t. But I told him not to worry for I had no doubt as to the final decision.

"The jury" I said "had made their decision and there was not anything to worry about." I felt totally certain that they would decide in my favor.

Fortune cookies were brought by the waiter and when I opened mine, it stated " Smile and be happy for good fortune shines upon you." There it is" I said to Early, The jury will vote for me but he was still not convinced.

We went back to the court to await the jury's return. Several hours passed and it was just past 4PM when the jury finally returned.

None of them looked at me or at Bryna. A bad sign and furthermore when a jury does not look directly at a plaintiff or defendant and when a jury does not come to a decision quickly-usually no more than a few hours- it was also a bad omen for the father.

None of the jurors looked at neither Bryna nor I. However I was not concerned being totally certain they had awarded me custody. The jury foreman read their decision and there it was.

All twelve jurors had voted for me-it was unanimous. When we later polled the jury as I have stated we found that that they did not look at Bryna or me because they found it difficult to face her, to state that she, the mother, had lost.

Furthermore they told us that they had reached a decision in less than an hour but waited and waited several hours before they dared to return to the courtroom-again their concern about Bryna.

Earl and I then went to the hotel where the children were-with Bryna's mother who was then looking after them. She screamed and shouted and cursed us more so that the toughest sailor could. But the boys were mine and we quickly left and went home.

The wars were from over after I won custody of the boys and they continued for many years-years that seemed a lifetime.

I had not done much of anything during the years in court and this severely drained my cash and resources. Shortly after I won Bryna was allowed to have them for weekend. She kidnapped them again and went into hiding.


Indeed the wars were far from over and lasted for several more years in Ontario and Houston in ways that were horrific and defy the imagination.

To learn more read http://irvingsolnik.blogster.com/ and http://www.irvingsolnik.com/

(to be continued as time and my strength to write permit)

Irving Solnik