Christopher Ambrose has finally spoken on the record.
Readers may recall Ambrose from a series of stories in Frank Report about his divorce and custody case in Connecticut Family Court.
The father of three children showed great skill in removing the mother from their lives, keeping all the marital assets, and absconding with their mother’s inheritance.
He admits all of this in an astonishing 10-page letter to me and, in the process, proves everything I have written about him is true. We will get to his letter in a subsequent post and review it line-by-line.
I expected this kind of letter – a projection-laden masterpiece, blaming me for what he has done to himself.
When I heard that he admitted he might consider suicide, I was surprised.
Naturally, he blames me.
Keep in mind Ambrose is a good writer. For years, he made big bucks writing fictional screenplays for TV shows such as Family Law, Judging Amy, Harry’s Law, NCIS New Orleans, Law and Order, Bones, and others.
On his last TV show, Instinct, in 2018, he was accused of plagiarism, upending his career abruptly.
Ambrose wrote to me: You… claim I admitted I stole intellectual property and was fired for being a plagiarist. None of this is true, which is why there was never legal action, and contrary to your claims, my agents didn’t drop me. There were, however, a few erroneous reports in the press, and since you have told so many other, wholly unsupported lies, disputing this falsehood is not necessary here.
We do not need to dispute it. But Ambrose did tell Dr. Jessica Biren-Caveely, and it appears in her custody report:
“Ambrose stated that ‘I did a stupid thing.’ He explained that he had written some episodes of Bones that were ‘shelved,’ and he believed they were never used.
“Mr. Ambrose stated that he combined two episodes for Instinct using the Bones scripts as a template for the new episode of Instinct, stating, ‘I didn’t think anything of it.’. After the show aired, fans noticed the similarity with episodes of Bones.
“He explained that it was ‘shameful’ and ‘hugely embarrassing.’ Mr. Ambrose stated that there were articles written about him plagiarizing, but there was ‘no blowback.'”
According to Ambrose, TV Guide, Plagiarism Today, QZ Independent, and TV Line got it wrong.
Now I want to address his threat or call it a cry for help, of suicide.
Here is what he wrote to me:
Chris Ambrose
Ambrose: Your life-altering lies have exposed me to public hatred, contempt, and ridicule. Your lies have pulled apart my extended family and destroyed relationships. The psychological damage done by defamation is severe and can cause suicide and attempted suicide; for me, it has resulted in a diagnosis and need for treatment.
Ambrose says he is suicidal or at least considering suicide. If someone can help him, I hope you will do it.
I would advise him that if he wants to be happy, he should make peace with his wife, whom he has injured, and let his children be happy again by being with their mother, whom they miss deeply.
He has presided over a no-contact order that he purchased from CT Family Court and kept his children apart from their mother for two years. But I cannot contact him, though he has written to me, for he claims I am defaming him to the point that it rises to a crime.
Ambrose wrote: I recently discovered that defamation is a crime in Florida, FL Stat. §836.04, and it has been confirmed that your conduct also constitutes cyberstalking, another crime, FL Stat. §784.048. Both of these crimes are punishable by incarceration, FL Stat. §775.082 and 775.083.
So, of course, he is threatening me with criminal complaints because I have written about him.
He wrote:
Ambrose: I will… file a criminal complaint reporting your defamation and cyberstalking to the Monroe County Sheriff and State Attorney in Key West. Both are very familiar with you.
Ambrose was a lawyer, but his license appears to have expired in 2006. As a result, his grasp of the law is vague. First, let’s look at the criminal defamation statute he cites.
Ambrose: Defamation is a crime in Florida, FL Stat. §836.04,
Here is FL statute: 836.04 “Defamation.—Whoever speaks of and concerning any woman, married or unmarried, falsely and maliciously imputing to her a want of chastity, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.”
This law was passed in 1883 and has not been prosecuted this century and possibly not during the last century.
There are several reasons why Ambrose probably won’t succeed in this criminal prosecution of me based on this law.
The First Amendment, ratified in 1791, supersedes it.
The US Supreme Court, in New York Times v. Sullivan, reconciled state defamation with the protection of public discourse afforded by the First Amendment.
After Sullivan, a jurisprudence of “constitutional defamation” arose, limiting liability in cases involving public figures and limited-purpose public figures.
Truth is a complete defense to a charge of defamation.
Ambrose is not a woman.
Now let’s look at the cyberstalking law.
Ambrose: Your conduct also constitutes cyberstalking, another crime, FL Stat. §784.048.
The state of Florida defines cyberstalking.
}1. To engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, directly or indirectly, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at or pertaining to a specific person; or
“2. To access, or attempt to access, the online accounts or Internet-connected home electronic systems of another person without that person’s permission, causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose.”
There are several reasons why my conduct is not cyberstalking:
Cyberstalking must involve electronic communication. I never emailed Ambrose.
I attempted to reach him once by phone and three times by text over seven months to seek his comments on my stories. He did not reply.
I did not try to contact him again.
Publishing Frank Report is not sending electronic communications.
Frank Report exists in cyberspace and is accessed only by those who choose to view it.
The First Amendment protects speech even when it is uncomfortable and challenges conventional beliefs, attitudes, or standards of good taste. United States v. Stevens is emotionally distressing or outrageous, upsetting, or arouses contempt. Boos v. Barry.
Under the First Amendment, online speech is protected Reno v. Am. Civil Liberties Union.
Frank Report posts about Ambrose may inflict emotional distress, though not nearly as much as he caused his children when he deprived them of their mother, their primary attachment figure for their entire lives.
Unlike his children, who cannot see their mother because of him, Ambrose can protect his emotional distress by simply averting his eyes from Frank Report.
He can also contact his wife, the mother of his children, and seek a path to heal the terrible things he has done. He will be far less suicidal the moment he does that.
I do understand he may be mentally unstable and becoming unhinged. He sees things at the end of his driveway and hears from imaginary callers who he thinks are Frank Report readers.
Ambrose: It’s likely your readers are making the anonymous phone calls and sitting in idling cars at the end of our driveway late at night.
Are people making anonymous phone calls to Ambrose and coming over to his home in rural Connecticut, sitting in idling cars at the end of his driveway? Are these my readers? If so, I ask all of you not to go over to his house and sit at the end of his driveway for reasons unknown and let your car idle late at night. However, I wonder why he would not call the police if vehicles were at the end of his driveway.
But really, this sounds like an unstable man.
He secretly records his children, puts bells on their doors, or removes their doorknobs. A store reportedly threw him out because of his temper.
He seems to think I made up stories about his sex life. His children, who wish to be back with their mother, posted information about him on social media. In my next post, I will show what the children and others have revealed about his unusual predilections. For now, he blames it on me.
Ambrose: You falsely say of me… that I “admit to viewing what can only described [sic] as gay Latino child porn.” You claim I said this to the custody evaluator, but none of it is in her report or her testimony. I have never said these things to anyone.
I beg to differ. The custody evaluation report reads: Chris Ambrose stated, “as an adult, [I am] allowed to look at porn.
“Mr. Ambrose stated that Ms. Riordan had showed the teacher a website called Latino Boiz, [which she said was found on Ambrose’s computer] which he stated does not include children.”
If Ambrose never viewed Latino Boiz, how does he know it does not include children? There is much more to write about this. But Ambrose goes on with his extraordinary exaggerations.
Ambrose: You intentionally and maliciously causing [sic] me severe emotional distress… You have also deliberately set out to ruin every aspect of my life and reputation. Your intent is so malicious, your misconduct so inartfully aggressive… maliciously, intentionally publish[ing] in a scorched-earth smear campaign….deliberately telling lies to utterly ruin the life of someone you never met.
So, he thinks I have ruined his life to the point of suicide. On the contrary, I submit he destroyed his life when he decided to steal his wife’s share of the marital assets and her inheritance. This theft enabled him to buy the custody evaluator and the guardian ad litem.
I will get into this more in my next post on his fantastic letter. Finally, he concludes his letter with a respectful, or so he calls it, advice.
Ambrose: I respectfully suggest that you find a good therapist with whom you can explore your motivation, your hubris and your cruelty.
I could only offer him the same advice.
In our next post, I will discuss his specific claims of lies and what he wants me to do about them. But here’s a hint: He said if I publish another word about him, he will come after me like all hellfire.
He wants me to apologize to him.
Ambrose has begun to think of me as the devil who’s ruined his life, and he thinks he will stop me.
So many men like him have tried to silence me, and never a soul succeeded.
He might get burned even more.
Like it or not, his road to peace is to stop the bullshit, stop threatening others, and let his children see their mother.
I will respect him when he does that, but not until then.
***
Stay tuned for my next post on this topic.
Here are a few stories I have written in the past about this disgraceful deprivation of a mother from her children.
https://frankreport.com/2022/03/08/ct-family-court-corruption-ambrose-knows-the-game/
https://frankreport.com/2022/04/09/high-conflict-in-family-court-fiction-in-connecticut/
