MacWeeney Child Support Nightmare
MCP
By Sean O'Driscoll
Dublin photographer Alen MacWeeney known for his vivid portraits, has been locked in a New York jail, gone through 25 years of
legal wrangling and most recently, been criticized by a New York Post columnist for failing to pay off his wife in a child support
argument that has garnered media attention for over 30 years.
"I don't read the New York Post, it gives me indigestion," he told the Irish Voice this week.
MacWeeney's ex-wife, Artelia Court's campaign for alimony and child support has gone on for so long that her daughter is now in
her 30's and she herself has reached retirement age. The stakes are very high, as Court claims that she is now owed $600,000 in
child support, lawyers fees and interest.
The case has brought massive turbulence to the life of MacWeeney, known for his portraits of William Burroughs and other literary
figures. He said that he and Court went into mediation before getting a divorce and agreed a memorandum of understanding on how
best to divide up assets. However, their lawyer later converted the memorandum to a separation agreement, which MacWeeney signed,
opening up a whole new round of legal disagreement that has dogged him for decades. He added that the case could have been
resolved two years ago.
Court says that she was prepared to give up the case until she saw her ex-husbands pictures in the lobby of the Brooklyn federal
court. "It was as if the court system was laughing at me," she told the Post.
For his part, MacWeeney, 65, says that he already paid out $250,000 to her.
"She wanted my negatives and my portraits. Just to end the whole thing, I agreed, but then she withdrew that demand and started
again. Every time I try to end all of this, she just increases the demands," he told the Irish Voice.
MacWeeney says he is entitled to pay his daughter directly and should be allowed to keep some of the money he has earned since he
emigrated from Ireland in the 1960's and began working with some of American's most prestigious portrait photographers.
Artelia had the case moved from district to federal court in1998, then back to state court and also took up the case in Ireland,
where MacWeeney inherited money.
In June 2001, MacWeeney was arrested and throw in jail for six weeks after arriving back from Ireland for noncompliance with a
court order.
Court's lawyer, Anthony Feldmesser, says that the Dubliner has deliberately delayed the case, a claim he denies.
"She is looking for absurd amounts of money," he said.
MacWeeney said that the couple was to divorce in 1980 but it took so long to get through the legal wrangling that their marriage
didn't formally end until 2005.
He admitted that he would have handled the case differently if he was starting over.
"I had a chartered account in Ireland do an exhaustive spread sheet of all the payments I have made to her. If anyone studied
that, they could see that I have done all I can to resolve the situation but the demands keep coming," he said. He vowed to
continue on his work and wasn't perturbed by the adverse publicity.
He said he still enjoyed a good relationship with his daughter, who graduated from college in Santa Fe and will begin graduate
college in London in September.
--
Men are everywhere that matters!
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>http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishinamerica/news/mcweeneynightmare-050810.asp
>
> By Sean O'Driscoll
>
> Dublin photographer Alen MacWeeney known for his vivid portraits,
> has been locked in a New York jail, gone through 25 years of
> legal wrangling and most recently, been criticized by a New York
> Post columnist for failing to pay off his wife in a child support
> argument that has garnered media attention for over 30 years.
How can he pay "child support" to his wife when the kid is in her 30s
and no longer lives at home? If they're saying he should have paid it
years ago, why didn't they jail him years ago?
[...]
> Court says that she was prepared to give up the case until she saw > her ex-husbands pictures in the lobby of the Brooklyn federal
> court. "It was as if the court system was laughing at me," she told > the Post.
So she admits she's carryign this on because she's a basket case. At
least she admits it.
> For his part, MacWeeney, 65, says that he already paid out $250,000 > to her.
>
> "She wanted my negatives and my portraits. Just to end the whole
> thing, I agreed, but then she withdrew that demand and started
> again. Every time I try to end all of this, she just increases the > demands," he told the Irish Voice.
Typical. It's not really about money. She just hates you, and she
uses our courts and police to get back at you, as if I pay taxes
for_that_. If this were about money, she'd have come to an agreement
years before, because she'd have wanted the money. She obviously _has_
a good amount of money if she's been able to keep this going.
> MacWeeney says he is entitled to pay his daughter directly and
A good point. They do call it "child support," after all.
[...]
> Artelia had the case moved from district to federal court in1998,
> then back to state court and also took up the case in Ireland,
> where MacWeeney inherited money.
But it sounds like the Irish govt isn't after him, or he would have
been jailed there before he ever got to NY.
[...]
> He said he still enjoyed a good relationship with his daughter, who > graduated from college in Santa Fe and will begin graduate college > in London in September.
Great! If he's an Irish citizen, and the Irish aren't after him, he
should cross the US off his to-visit list, and tell his ex to fuck off.
[...]