Origanalist
02-02-2020, 09:37 PM
‘They’ll be safe’: Inside the court hearing that sealed Thomas Valva’s fate
The autistic Long Island boy left to freeze to death in his garage — allegedly as “punishment” by his father — was sent to the house of horrors by a judge who ripped him from his mother’s custody without even holding a hearing, court transcripts obtained by The Post show.
Nassau County Judge Hope Schwartz Zimmerman’s fateful Sept. 6, 2017, decision to put 8-year-old Thomas Valva and his two brothers in the custody of their dad, Michael, was made on the fly, the shocking transcripts show, without any formal, court-filed accusation of wrongdoing against their mom, Justyna Zubko-Valva.
Michael Valva and his fiancee, Angela Pollina, now face murder charges in Thomas’ death.
Zimmerman even went so far as to bar Zubko-Valva from any contact with her children — a decision she made after listening to spoken, unsubstantiated complaints from the father’s lawyer and an attorney appointed to represent the boys, both of whom accused the mom of flouting court directives.
A month later, a lawyer who briefly represented Zubko-Valva tried to get the decision reversed, questioning whether Zimmerman had acted within her authority in switching custody from the mother to the father, according to court records.
“So my concerns are certainly the consequences of this order without a hearing; on what basis, I don’t know,” attorney Jason Barbara said.
Zimmerman stood steadfast.
Mom of 'frozen' LI boy: No one believed my warnings about NYPD cop dad
“Mr. Barbara pointed out that he believes I overstepped my role: I don’t believe I did; I don’t believe I did,” she said, court records show.
The boy’s parents had been in Nassau County divorce court before Zimmerman for about a year when the jurist, who is legally barred from publicly discussing the case, made the abrupt custody change.
The September transcript repeatedly shows the judge admonishing the desperate mom.
As Zubko-Valva attempted to represent herself in the proceeding by raising her hand, Zimmerman repeatedly shut her down, at one point telling the desperate mom, “Stop talking.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer who represented the children, Donna McCabe, appeared to side with the father, Michael Valva, noting that the NYPD transit cop had been granted limited time with the boys and no overnight visits.
“I believe it might be time for this Court to make a change in custody at this point,” McCabe said, according to the transcript.
But Michael Valva had failed to pick up the kids 29 times, Zubko-Valva replied, according to the transcript.
The mom then went on to tell Zimmerman something shocking, the transcript revealed: A previous divorce judge in the case had barred the dad from overnight visits after reviewing hundreds of evidence files, compiled by Zubko-Valva, documenting disturbing behavior by Valva, including the dad “taking pictures of his private parts, penis, and sen[ding] it to other women while he was putting the kids to bed, kids were watching it,” according to the September transcript.
continued..https://nypost.com/2020/02/02/theyll-be-safe-inside-the-court-hearing-that-sealed-thomas-valvas-fate/
The autistic Long Island boy left to freeze to death in his garage — allegedly as “punishment” by his father — was sent to the house of horrors by a judge who ripped him from his mother’s custody without even holding a hearing, court transcripts obtained by The Post show.
Nassau County Judge Hope Schwartz Zimmerman’s fateful Sept. 6, 2017, decision to put 8-year-old Thomas Valva and his two brothers in the custody of their dad, Michael, was made on the fly, the shocking transcripts show, without any formal, court-filed accusation of wrongdoing against their mom, Justyna Zubko-Valva.
Michael Valva and his fiancee, Angela Pollina, now face murder charges in Thomas’ death.
Zimmerman even went so far as to bar Zubko-Valva from any contact with her children — a decision she made after listening to spoken, unsubstantiated complaints from the father’s lawyer and an attorney appointed to represent the boys, both of whom accused the mom of flouting court directives.
A month later, a lawyer who briefly represented Zubko-Valva tried to get the decision reversed, questioning whether Zimmerman had acted within her authority in switching custody from the mother to the father, according to court records.
“So my concerns are certainly the consequences of this order without a hearing; on what basis, I don’t know,” attorney Jason Barbara said.
Zimmerman stood steadfast.
Mom of 'frozen' LI boy: No one believed my warnings about NYPD cop dad
“Mr. Barbara pointed out that he believes I overstepped my role: I don’t believe I did; I don’t believe I did,” she said, court records show.
The boy’s parents had been in Nassau County divorce court before Zimmerman for about a year when the jurist, who is legally barred from publicly discussing the case, made the abrupt custody change.
The September transcript repeatedly shows the judge admonishing the desperate mom.
As Zubko-Valva attempted to represent herself in the proceeding by raising her hand, Zimmerman repeatedly shut her down, at one point telling the desperate mom, “Stop talking.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer who represented the children, Donna McCabe, appeared to side with the father, Michael Valva, noting that the NYPD transit cop had been granted limited time with the boys and no overnight visits.
“I believe it might be time for this Court to make a change in custody at this point,” McCabe said, according to the transcript.
But Michael Valva had failed to pick up the kids 29 times, Zubko-Valva replied, according to the transcript.
The mom then went on to tell Zimmerman something shocking, the transcript revealed: A previous divorce judge in the case had barred the dad from overnight visits after reviewing hundreds of evidence files, compiled by Zubko-Valva, documenting disturbing behavior by Valva, including the dad “taking pictures of his private parts, penis, and sen[ding] it to other women while he was putting the kids to bed, kids were watching it,” according to the September transcript.
continued..https://nypost.com/2020/02/02/theyll-be-safe-inside-the-court-hearing-that-sealed-thomas-valvas-fate/