Monaco murders hit home
By Amy Wallace
awallace@seacoastonline.com
Portsmouth Herald
KITTERY, Maine — While a man held by authorities in Monaco for more than a year-and-a-half awaits a trial in a wrongful death suit, local family members speak out for the first time in hopes of helping their loved one return home to America. Kittery resident Gerry Wheeler is on a mission to encourage Maine and New Hampshire residents to sign a petition that may help to bring Ted Maher home to his wife and two children in upstate New York. Maher has been languishing in a Monaco jail for 500 days while awaiting trial in the wrongful death of multibillionaire banker Edmond Safra.
The Safra case has received national attention. It was the subject of a Dominick Dunne article in the December 2000 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. It was also the topic of a Dateline NBC report.
"He definitely couldn't have killed anybody," Wheeler said. "Ted was always trying to help people, not hurt people. I know that his children and wife miss him terribly, and we just want to get him home as soon as possible."
Maher, Safra's nurse, is accused of lighting a fire in the multibillionaire's Monte Carlo penthouse that allegedly led to the death of Safra and nurse Vivian Torrente. Safra died on Dec. 3, 1999. Wheeler has been writing to Congressmen John Sununu, R-N.H., and Tom Allen, D-Maine, in hopes they will help to free her great-nephew. Mark Sullivan, a spokesman for Allen, confirmed his office has received dozens of letters regarding Maher's detainment in Monaco. "We're assuring the correspondents that (Allen) is following the case and has conveyed their interests to proper officials in the State Department," Sullivan said recently.
The history
Ted Maher was a nurse working in a neo-natal intensive-care unit in the United States in the summer of 1999. During that time, he found an expensive camera in the unit apparently left behind by one of the patients. After developing the film and recognizing the people in the pictures, he sent the camera and photos to its owners, who were close personal friends of Safra. At the time, the 67-year-old billionaire was suffering from Parkinson's disease and needed another nurse. According to reports, Safra needed to trust his nurses because they watched the billionaire at all times, including while he slept. Maher went through a process of interviews and a psychological profile. Safra was impressed with the nurse's honesty and liked the fact that Maher was an ex-Green Beret. Maher was hired and offered $600 a day. After discussing the opportunity with his wife, Heidi, they decided the job was too good to pass up. Maher left for Monaco, and his wife and three children stayed behind in what they thought would be a temporary situation. Maher worked for Safra for about four months before his death.
About the fire Heidi Maher told the Portsmouth Herald during an interview conducted by e-mail recently that her husband was the only witness to what happened the night of Dec. 3, 1999. Heidi believes a theory reported in Vanity Fair, on DatelineNBC and in at least one French magazine — that Ted is being used as a scapegoat in a double murder. Safra was apparently obsessed with security and apprehensive about his family's and his own safety.
Ironically, he died in his penthouse on Avenue d'Ostende in Monaco, a playground for the super rich and known as one of the safest places to live in the world. In Monaco, the wealthy two-square-mile principality that was home to Princess Grace has one police officer for every 100 residents. Streets and shops are monitored by police through cameras set up in various locations in the city. On any given day, one can see royalty, movie stars or presidents sipping on a cappuccino at the Cafe de Paris, having lunch at the Stars and Bars or shopping on Rue de Caroline — named after one of Princess Grace's two daughters. Monaco is home to the richest of the rich, and Safra was one of its wealthiest residents. Despite the safety of Monte Carlo's streets, the multibillionaire spent millions of dollars on security every year. Safra hired former Israeli special forces soldiers for his personal security.
According to written and broadcast reports, the night he died, there were no guards on duty at his penthouse. Maher and the second nurse who later died in the fire weren't supposed to be working that December day, but were scheduled at the last minute, Heidi Maher told the Herald. There was apparently trouble that day. In the early morning hours, Maher reported a break-in to his employer and said two hooded intruders entered the penthouse, which is located above Safra's Republic National Bank. The intruders allegedly stabbed Maher in the leg and abdomen. While Torrente huddled in a locked bathroom with Safra, Maher gave her his cellular phone and told her to call for help. "He was trying to save them that night," Heidi said. Maher then went and lighted a fire in a wastepaper basket and placed the small fire under a fire alarm. That December night, Safra's penthouse went up in flames. "The only fire my husband lit was a piece of paper being held under the smoke alarm leading to the fire station," she said. "It was lit solely to get help to arrive since the police refused to respond to pleas of help." Safra's wife, Lily, had been alerted of the intruders and as the flames and smoke engulfed the luxury penthouse, she escaped through the bedroom window. Between 4:50 and 6:30 a.m., Safra and Torrente made nearly a dozen calls on two cellular phones. Police and fire officials pleaded with Safra on the phone to come out of the burning building, according to reports, but he was so afraid of being killed, he refused to leave the bathroom. Instead, he placed wet towels along the bottom of the bathroom door. Two hours later, rescuers reached the banking tycoon and Torrente, but it was too late, Dunne reported in Vanity Fair.
Rumors quickly spread through the tiny country that the Russian Mafia or Palestinian terrorists may have assassinated Safra. Initially, Ted Maher was named a hero, even though his billionaire employer had perished in the blaze. Maher faces wrongful death charges in that by lighting the fire, he caused the deaths of Safra and Torrente. Maher was rushed to Princess Grace Hospital, where he was treated for his wounds. But authorities began to focus on the American nurse as their prime suspect. Heidi said her husband never would have purposely harmed Safra or anyone else. Authorities in Monaco later discovered a second fire that night in the basement of Safra's building, but nobody has been charged at this time for lighting that fire.
Heidi said there is no merit to Ted's arrest and several key pieces of evidence that would prove her husband's innocence are missing. Safra's security system was revamped six months before his death, but videotapes of the intruders are missing, she said. The police are missing records of 911 calls made from the penthouse. "DNA evidence excludes my husband from the crime scene," Heidi said. "The fire report shows the fire started after my husband was taken to the hospital for over 100 staples to his stomach and internal bleeding." Heidi said her husband was forced to sign a confession, which he was unable to read because it was written in French.
Maher and his family continue to profess his innocence while he awaits a trial. "Monaco just passed a law allowing a prisoner to be held for up to four years without a trial," Heidi said. "Ted is now waiting 500 days." Back in the states In the meantime, Maher's family is working diligently to ensure his return to the United States. Heidi was forced to sell their home and move herself and her children in with family members in upstate New York. Ted's great-aunt in Kittery has been going to local churches and other areas in town in hopes that more people will sign the petition to free Ted.
"He's a fun-loving person, very kind and considerate person," Wheeler said. "I don't feel that Monaco has been fair to him, from what I've heard. We're hoping to bring him home soon." Heidi said she is grateful for her help. "I appreciate all their support and help on my husband's behalf and thank them all," she said. "It's too much for one person to fight alone. I will continue to fight for my husband until he is home." Local residents interested in signing the petition can contact Wheeler. Reporter Amy Wallace lived in Monaco during the early 1990s.
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