The Safra Mystery

Monaco is a beautiful country but Race cars and royalty aren't the only attraction for the very rich. Monaco is also one of the best places to dodge the tax man and clean up your dirty money. On December 3rd, 1999 at just before dawn the residents of the tiny principality of Monaco are all tucked into bed. Among the richest of Monaco's very rich is banking billionaire, Edmond Safra. What was about to transpire to him and his nurse in the next few hours would put an American in prison in for the next 11 years and create a mystery that causes controversy to this day.

Edmond Safra was the richest man in Monaco after the Prince. He and his wife Lily own the largest penthouse in Monte Carlo. It is a vast duplex apartment sitting atop a six story financial building known as the La Belle Apop. On duty at the ground floor lobby is a concierge. Mrs. Safra sleeps in her own wing of the elaborate residence. Her 67 year old husband suffers from Parkinson's disease and must have around the clock care. Nurse Vivian Torenta is by his side.

Suddenly, one of the other nurses, Ted Maher, enters the room with a knife sticking out of his stomach. He tells Safra and Torenta that he has been attacked by two men who had broken into the apartment. Maher explains that as he sat outside the bedroom, someone hit him from behind but he fought back. Then another men pulled a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. Maher tells Torenta to get Safra into the bathroom and lock the door. He gives his cell phone to Torenta and tells her to make some calls while he goes for help.

Maher realizes he needs to alert the police but he just gave his cell phone to Torenta. So he takes a piece of paper with his free hand and starts a small fire in a trash can to set off the smoke alarm. The smoke alarm goes off, so he figures someone will have to be notified and everything will be alright. As police respond to the alarm, Maher stumbles down to the lobby on the first floor of the building. He tells the concierge that he has been attacked. He then collapses on the floor. The concierge thought he had been shot. When the concierge called the police they thought their were terrorists inside the building and that's what they told the police.

After the police and Ted Maher tells them what has happened the rush him to the Princess Grace hospital. By 5:00 AM sleepy Monaco residents are awakened by dozens of fire and police vehicle sirens around the penthouse. Edmond Safra's chief body guard, Smula Cohen, arrives from another Safra estate nearby and rushes to save his boss. But he is stopped by the police from going to the aide of Safra because they did not know who he was in all the confusion. The police scramble to figure out what's happening inside the apartment with the principalities wealthiest resident.

Their first move is a floor by floor search for the assailants, working from the basement up. Meanwhile Ted Maher's trash can fire begins to rage. Fearing that the intruders are still inside, police won't let firefighters into Safra's apartment. Smoke begins to filter into the bathroom. Safra and Torenta telephone for help. Waking from the smoke alarm at 6:00 AM, Lily Safra makes her own escape. When she learns her husband is still inside she tries to go back in. But she too is stopped by the police. After all what can she do against two armed intruders and a burning fire?

The billionaire and his nurse were barricaded in the bathroom like caged rabbits. One can only imagine the fear they endured. Torenta and Safra grow more panicked and again they call for help. Over an hour after the ordeal began, the police still tell Torenta to stay put and that help is on the way. Unable to find the assailants, police finally allow firemen into the penthouse at 7:30 AM and what do they find but Safra and Torenta both dead. The fire may have been out but the smoke still hadn't cleared on this bizarre case. How had two knife wielding assailants gotten into and out of the Safra penthouse without detection? Someone clearly had a lot of explaining to do.

The biggest question on Investigator's minds is what became of the assailants that caused Ted Maher to set that fatal fire? Detective question Ted Maher about his assailants and he tells them everything he can remember. He tells them that they were big, dressed in black and they way the man whipped out the knife he could tell they were professionally trained. Monaco, long considered a safe haven is reeling in the wake of the attack. There is no violence of any kind in Monaco, not even suicide. But the Safra attack threw into question just how safe the residents of this little utopia, smaller than Central Park, really were.

There were a number of groups who would have benefited by the death of Edmond Safra. He had recently made headlines for negotiating to sell his Republic National bank for three billion dollars. Men like Safra don't have average enemies. His bank was involved in the contra arms deals. He is also one of Israel's largest contributors. His bank was also involved in the Russian money laundering operation investigation which he was fully cooperating. So the PLO or Russian mobsters would have benefited from his death.

Police discover that Safra's wife Lily will inherit the lions share of his 2.5 billion dollar fortune at the expense of Edmond's brothers. His will was changed just two weeks before his death either taking out the brother's or limiting the amount they would inherit. But Lily came into the marriage with millions of her own money and by all accounts she and Edmond had a strong relationship. They quickly rule out her as having anything to do with the death of her husband.

Edmond and Lily lived a spectacular life. They owned an apartment in one of the most luxurious and historic buildings in New York. They owned two townhouses on Eaton Square in London and La Leopold built for the king of Belgium which is on the market now for $265,000,000. Meanwhile, Detectives continue their investigation of the gutted penthouse but find no sign of forced entry nor any sign of the attackers on surveillance cameras. So how could a pair of armed intruders enter the most heavily fortified buildings in Monte Carlo and then completely disappear? And just where was Safra's security detail? Edmond Safra lived virtually surrounded by private security guards, many of them veterans of the masoud, the Israeli Intelligence Agency. But not one of the guards was on duty the night in question.

Back in the h/ospital, police question Maher again. This time the delve into his background, trying to learn what motivated him to travel to Monte Carlo. After serving in the Army and going to nursing school, Maher became a highly regarded neonatal nurse in New York City. One d/ay some friends who had twins Maher was taking care of, recommended him to one of their friends, Edmond Safra. There is something almost unbelievable about the rags to riches story of Ted Maher form his humble background tending to preemies to caring for one of the richest men in the world. This was truly a dream come true for a private nurse. But now with his boss dead and two knife wounds to his abdomen his dream has come crashing down.

Lily flies Ted's wife, Heidi, from New York to Monaco to be with her husband side. But police have other business with Mrs. Maher. Three men shove Heidi into a van and drive to the hotel where Ted lived. By abducting her and taking her to the room, they were able to conduct a search of the room under Monaco law. The search turns up a vial of Xylocaine that Ted was never prescribed. The discovery leads the police to doubt Ted's creditability. Heidi begins to realize that the police no longer consider Ted the hero of this story, they are treating him more like a suspect. She calls Ted's sister Tammy and tells her she was kidnapped by police and what has happened with her brother. In the days after the attack, the residents were asking themselves if it was the Russian Mafia, the PLO, or just who had attacked their most revered resident? They were shocked to learn that the prime suspect was an average American living right under their noses.

24 hours after the death of Edmond Safra and his nurse /Torenta, panicked Investigators have learned nothing about the armed attackers who stabbed Ted Maher. To Heidi Maher's horror, suspicion has suddenly turned to her injured husband. Police also discover that the knife found in the lobby of the penthouse may be of the same make and model as own previously owned by Ted Maher. Detectives repeatedly visit Ted Maher. They tell Maher that he is behind the deaths of Safra and Torenta. Police lay out the evidence against Maher. During the fifth round of questioning he tells them exactly what they want to hear. Maher is discharged from the hospital and taken to police headquarters. They have heard his story, now all they need is his signed confession. When he refuses they remind him that they have his wife's passport in their possession and will not return it to her unless he signs it. So having no choice he signs it.

Just three days after the Safra fire as Edmond Safra is laid to rest in Geneva, the key prosecutor holds a press conference to announce the arson charges against Ted Maher. Lily Safra couldn't believe it. Why she asked, why do you charge the man who tried to save my husband? Most folks who heard about the story were immediately skeptical. In no time, the Monaco police had wrapped the case up in a nice neat little bow and the residents of Monaco were safe once again.

Monaco's prison, where Ted was held awaiting his trial, is as luxurious as everything else in Monaco. It was air conditioned with a view of the Mediterranean. Ted had a refrigerator, a 3/4 bed, and a place to sit and write. A typical meas consisted of a first course of Avocado Vinaigrette followed by a second course consisting of a local Mediterranean fish with a special sauce. For two years Maher languishes in Monaco's luxurious prison. He is brought before the investigators nine times and each time he sticks to his story in his confession but in his own mind he knows their were intruders even if no one else saw them.

The trial is finally set for November 21st 2002. Heidi Maher brings American lawyer Michael Griffith onto the case. He and others were convinced that an innocent man was being railroaded by a principality that couldn't live in an unsolved crime in their perfect little world. Maher's defense team argues that he never meant to hurt anyone. It was their position that the most he was guilty of, in light of his confession, was involuntary arson. As the victim's wife Lily Safra was allowed to participate in the proceedings. There is no doubt she was the star of the show. She spent no less than $1,000,000 on her prosecution of Ted.

Monaco and it's ruling family also have a stake in the outcome. Where the rich and famous come to such a safe haven if it were ever to get out that a man and his nurse died because the police and the firemen would not let anyone in who were trying to save them, the rich and famous would no longer feel safe and the tourist dollars would go away. It would be devastating to the economy. Against the riches of Lily Safra and the vast wealth of Monaco, Maher has no resources of his own. The government of Monaco had nineteen attorneys on their side. Ted had one.

A couple of days into the trial the Grand Rabbi of France arrives to testify for his friend Edmond Safra. Under Monaco law the accused is allowed to question all witnesses. Ted asks the Rabbi to say a prayer for Edmond Safra and Vivian Torenta. Ted's question was so bizarre that people began to wonder if he was all there. The Rabbi began chanting in Hebrew and the Judges, witnesses, and lawyers all rose and bowed their heads. It was an astonishing and surreal moment.

Maher's lawyers then take aim at the police and fire department for botching the emergency response. When the first police officer who was on the scene and thought Maher had been shot, Maher's lawyer asked him if he had ever seen a gunshot wound before. The officer replied that he hadn't. So the lawyer asked him if he had ever seen a knife wound before and the officer replied. The lawyer then asked the officer how long he had been a police officer and he replied 22 years. The lawyer then asked what was the worst wound he had ever seen and the officer said that once he had one time one guy had hit another his head with a champagne bottle. Obviously this was not a crackerjack police department.

The defense contends that Edmond Safra could have been saved if only rescuers had gone in sooner. The prosecutor stated that it "was a necessary slowness". Nobody knew what he meant by that. The person who touched people in the courtroom the most was Heidi Maher. She was crying most of the time. Her love for her husband and belief in him had never wavered. Ted Maher was under such immense stress that his answers rambled on a little too long and he had a far away look in his eyes. By the end of the trial most had ceased to believe him.

At the end of ten days of testimony, Ted Maher's fate is in the hands of three Jurors and three Judges. One of the local papers referred to the defendant as Dr. Ted and Mr. Maher a veiled reference to Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde. Everyone wondered which one the Judges and Jury would believe. They didn't have to wait long. Ted Maher was found guilty. Everyone felt sorry for her while no one felt sorry for Ted.

In a strange twist Ted publicly apologized to the Safra and Torenta family. Heida said later that she felt like standing up and saying "What about me and the kids?". The marriage had clearly reached the breaking point. She simply gave up. She was sick of the whole thing. The outcome, the media, all of it. She now felt like he was guilty and just wanted to move on with her life. That hurt Ted's sister to the quick but she says she still loves her. Heidi decides to leave Ted and now the American nurse faces ten long years in jail. But the story isn't over yet.

Ted says while he was in prison they were trying to get him to kill himself by making things as miserable for him as possible. But he refused because he knew the truth, that he was attacked by two assailants and no one would ever know if he died with that secret. Just eight weeks into his incarceration Monaco has moved on from Ted Maher and he has moved on from them. He and his cellmate begin collaborating on an escape plan. Night after night Maher secretly saws away at his bars with a hacksaw blade smuggled into him.

After weeks of cutting and concealment on the night of January 21st 2003, the night of his sisters birthday he and his cellmate finally make a break. They tied some sheets together and made the long trip down from their windows to the ground below. His cellmate abandoned him once the sheet hit the ground. He made his way through Monte Carlo and said good evening to three policemen on his way. He made it to Niece France. He checked into a two star hotel and called his sister and told her that his car had broke down and he needed a credit card number. What could she do, it was her brother? She gave him the card number. He checked in under an alias and thought that there was no way they would be able to find him with over a million people in that town.

This was big years in Monaco. Ted's great escape was the first prison break in over fifty years and it was pulled off by an American nurse and a local thief. But most people wondered how long he could remain on the lam in a country where he didn't speak the language, with no friends, and no money. Ted called his wife Heidi who didn't want to help him. Heidi calls Ted's lawyers to find out what's going on. They, in turn contact prison authorities who totally dismiss the accusation. Maher the calls a local priest who has been holding money for him for prison consessions. The priest tells him to call back in the morning.

In the morning Father Peter Ball calls Ted back and tells him the man he wants is on the phone. Maher suddenly realizes the police are with the priest and Maher makes a run for it. But he doesn't get far. Five French Nationals are waiting for him when he gets down to the hotel lobby. He had been betrayed by his wife, his attorney, and a priest. Like he said, "It doesn't get any better than that". Maher is arrested and eventually extradited back to Monaco. Once again he is on trial at the Monaco Palace of Justice, this time for the prison break.

As punishment for his escape, Maher gets another year tacked on to his 10 year sentence. Maher struggles to cope with his long jail sentence. His sister said it best when she said "He is a tough sonofabitch" and "he has a stronger faith in God than she does". In August 2007 he is released from prison. He was no longer the forlorn man who attended his own trial. Now he was going public to assert his innocence. He immediately returns to America eager to see his children and begin his new life as a free man.

He sister meets him at the airport when he arrives. She is afraid he will be damaged goods but he isn't. She says he is the great pain in the neck great brother she has always known. The next thing that happens to Ted is he is served with a restraining order so as to preclude him from seeing his children. Most believe that any story that comes from the Monaco government is basically untrue. As far as the real truth about what happened that night to Edmond Safra went with him to his grave. You decide which side of the story you believe...