Steve McCusker told me he was desperate for money. He told me that he was trying to protect his son by taking him away from the marital home (where the son had been assaulted by his mother Liz McCusker). Yet he said that he needed to maintain the marital home, where Liz was living.
When he made this request, we'd just left a meeting with a lawyer named Marty Foley, where Steve had been planning to file for divorce. He spent 2 hours with Marty, and clearly intended to file. Marty explained to Steve his fee schedule, and Steve asked me for a loan to pay Marty. The initial consult was $500, but Marty had told Steve that he thought if Liz fought the divorce, it would likely cost at least $6000. Again, Steve asked me for a loan for this, and I said I'd deal with Marty on it.
I was parked up on Munjoy Hill because I'd been teaching a history class up there prior to meeting Steve. So after the lawyer-meeting, Steve gave me a lift back to my car. During that brief drive, he talked to me about how he was having difficulty even buying food for his son and himself, let alone support Liz.
I was leaving the U.S. very shortly for an extended trip; I was expected in Paris within a couple of days and after that had planned a long trip through Italy for over a month, after which I was going to the Seychelle islands (which Liz apparently didn't know where they were) for another month.
I remember tossing off the question, "Will a $10,000 loan tie you over?" and he seemed very grateful. I just wanted to get rid of the problem. However I have to say that I really expected that this money was just to help him get back on his feet. He'd told me that he was having trouble paying his rent.
This of course turned out to be a total lie. Steve's partner Sam was paying his rent. Did Steve think that Sam and I would never talk to each other, when he was shaking us both down? OK, Sam and I were stupid in that it went on for 6 months, but we trusted Steve. Big mistake, as Steve McCusker has turned out to be the most untrustworthy person I've ever known.
Want to know what he did with the money he borrowed? He bought a ring for the woman he'd been cheating with on Liz for the prior 11 years. One wonders if Liz now has a ring that nice-----a sapphire with diamonds. Steve later told me he bought it because it looked like a smaller version of the one I wear.
I was parked up on Munjoy Hill because I'd been teaching a history class up there prior to meeting Steve. So after the lawyer-meeting, Steve gave me a lift back to my car. During that brief drive, he talked to me about how he was having difficulty even buying food for his son and himself, let alone support Liz.
I was leaving the U.S. very shortly for an extended trip; I was expected in Paris within a couple of days and after that had planned a long trip through Italy for over a month, after which I was going to the Seychelle islands (which Liz apparently didn't know where they were) for another month.
I remember tossing off the question, "Will a $10,000 loan tie you over?" and he seemed very grateful. I just wanted to get rid of the problem. However I have to say that I really expected that this money was just to help him get back on his feet. He'd told me that he was having trouble paying his rent.
This of course turned out to be a total lie. Steve's partner Sam was paying his rent. Did Steve think that Sam and I would never talk to each other, when he was shaking us both down? OK, Sam and I were stupid in that it went on for 6 months, but we trusted Steve. Big mistake, as Steve McCusker has turned out to be the most untrustworthy person I've ever known.
Want to know what he did with the money he borrowed? He bought a ring for the woman he'd been cheating with on Liz for the prior 11 years. One wonders if Liz now has a ring that nice-----a sapphire with diamonds. Steve later told me he bought it because it looked like a smaller version of the one I wear.